Racism Issues in Schools - Literature review Example

Racism Issues in Schools Student’s Name: Institutional Affiliation: Date Assignment is due: Racism Issues in Schools Introduction Race is one of the groupings that human beings can be put into. This grouping is done on the basis of physical traits like skin color and hair texture or color and, cultural commonalities that people have because of a similar descent. The practice is fueled by a belief which is that particular races have distinct characteristics that determine their ideals and cultures and these specific traits make it superior to other races (Lorde, 2008, p. 82). The feeling of superiority carries with it a belief that the superior race can rightfully dominate and that they should have more access to resources and those individuals become aggressive or offensive towards others from a different race they regard as being inferior. In some cases, a policy or an education system can be racist (Aveling, 2007, p. 71). Racism in Australia is connected to the country’s history of colonization and resettlement (Forrest & Dunn, 2007, p. 699). Torres Strait Islander People and aborigines were discriminated against by British settlers and others from Europe who went to Australia initially. Racism has persisted and affects people from non-English speaking countries. Other than them, other races that have immigrated to Australian, especially those from non-English speaking backgrounds, also face racial discrimination. About thirteen thousand people from other countries go to Australia every year (Windle, 2008, p. 554). Australian schools are also afflicted with the disease that is racism. Sometimes, students are discriminated against directly or other times indirectly. Racist abuse, discrimination and harassment are examples of direct incidences. In addition, policies formed with prejudiced mind-sets and activities that are biased indirectly discriminate. Whether racism is shown in an overt or covert way, the effects are equally devastating. The types of racist actions that students may fall victims to in Australia are racial harassment, abuse, vilification, propaganda, personal items damage, physical attack, and ridicule (Aveling, 2007, p. 72). Also, they can face incidences of institutional racism where the practice stems from provisions of the law and other organizational bodies or institutions (Aveling, 2007, p. 71). However, there are laws in Australia that aim to stop and prevent racism. Though they may be well articulated with possibilities of prevention, they also have some limitations that may deter efforts to implement educational and antiracist policies effectively (Aveling, 2007, p. 75). When people are born, they do not have mind sets about others around them and how to relate to them and the things they learn from experiences and other environmental factors mould their opinions. As we grow up, we interact with other people of different sexuality, gender and race then the experiences that people had when they were younger are channeled to come up with the responses to them. Body Abuse and harassment One of the types of racism that is common in schools involves abuse and harassment. Students may decide to call others names that abuse their race or some quality that they have that is unique to their race (Aveling, 2007, p. 72). Also, teasing and verbal abuse may take place and also, they may be excluded from social or educational activities and experience bulling. In most cases, this racism was done by their classmates and other students. When this happens, sometimes teachers may not have the right tools to intervene appropriately (Aveling, 2007, p.72). Parents of indigenous decent reported that teachers often punished their children for something they had not done or more than other students. They children also face overt types of discrimination. In addition, children who do not have English speaking backgrounds are bullied by other students (Aveling, 2007, p. 72). A report on Immigration and schooling had racist incidences reported by the teachers. They mentioned that student from non-English speaking backgrounds were called nicknames that are connected to their culture. Other students also disliked it if these students were assisted. Also, they are often told to go back to their homelands and the other students refuse to work with them making them feel ostracized (Cahill, 1996, p. 124) and while this happens, the school administration often ignores their plight (Aveling, 2007, p. 73). The policies that have been put in place to address this are those that apply to teaching students about how different cultures lead to experiences (Klenowski, p. 2009, 85). If they understand each other different backgrounds, they will abuse less though some may use the knowledge to abuse them more. The implication of this is that teaching may not be as effectively done by the teachers because they are reluctant to address the issue of the harassment stemming from racism (Aveling, 2007, p. 72). In addition, the community, mostly the parents of white children, is reluctant to bring up or accept that the abuse and harassment is happening. Violence Another type of racism is violence. The violence that occurs in Australian schools can either be part of a racist act or retaliation to such an act. It can be shown in the form of pushing, destroying and spoiling property, shoving, fights and attacks. Since violence is considered to be more serious than things like name calling or bullying, the perpetrators often face severe punishments like suspension. However, sometimes the cause of the fight may not be investigated and students who may have been defending themselves against racism may end up getting more punishment than the racist instigators (Windle, 2008, p. 560). The effect of this is to reinforce the behavior being exhibited by racists. Increased incidences of racist violence have been reported to happen to indigenous Australians (Mansouri & Jenkins, 2010, p. 93) Older students tend to engage in more racial violence than younger ones. As a result, secondary schools report more incidences of racist attacks than primary schools. Incidences with younger students can be managed easily while older students have complex factors that determine their violent racist behavior. For instance, they could be fuelled by external factors like family, gangs (Windle, 2006, p. 558). However, most of the violence that is reported in these schools occurs as retaliation to bullies. As a result, this is the most common reason for them getting suspended. To decrease the number of misunderstandings that end in violence, policies have been put in place to enable better understanding between western and indigenous cultures through education (Williamson & Dalal, 2007, p. 51). This is good because if they understand each other, they may decide to coexist peacefully. However, the limitation is that some educators may use methods that will deepen the animosity (Klenowski, p. 2009, 86). The implication of racist violence in schools is that the students will be uncomfortable in their learning experience and this will affect how they respond to teaching. Since their response if not positive, they will fail in their assessment (Klenowski, p. 2009, 86). Negative attitudes Indigenous students and those from non- English speaking countries face racism being exhibited in schools through negative attitude towards them and the schools they are in (Mansouri & Jenkins, 2010, p. 94). Most children in Australian schools do not have respect for other people’s cultures and differences. Understanding and accepting multiculturalism is often hard for them and the influential people around them like parents and policy makers. This has led to schools with high percentages of indigenous student enrollment to lose their white children population. Schools with many indigenous students are regarded as being of low quality and many parents do not want the negative image of the school to be reflected onto their children (Gulson, 2006, p.268). Therefore, they do not enroll their children or they pull them out. Parents opt not to send their children to inner city schools. Because of the lives that indigenous children live and the racism they experience at school and in their societies, they are often thought to be violent when they defend themselves and some of them develop negative attitudes towards others (Mansouri & Jenkins, 2010, p. 94). This adds to the reason for the schools they heavily enroll in to be discriminated against. Though most of the parents who pull out their children cite violence and bullying as the reason, the fact that white students leave and others stay suggests that racism plays a crucial part (Gulson, 2006, p.269). Building the future policy has led to more schools being taken to the inner cities in Sydney through development of the area (Gulson, 2006, p. 259). The goal of this policy was to increase education levels. However, this it has limitations since the indigenous students are discriminated against even more. The implication is that teaching in these schools will be substandard and students in these schools will not have the motivation to learn and schooling may lose importance to them. In addition, the white community around them will not support the school in terms of donating money or contributing to school events (Gulson, 2006, p.265). Teaching methods and policies Institutional racism is faced by indigenous students on schools when the teaching methods used may not be effective enough to help them understand what is taught to them (Klenowski, 2009, p. 84). The rules that dictate what and how teachers do their duty has been specified in curriculum policies. The experiences that indigenous students have are different and so when the curriculum is based on what other students’ experience, they may not relate (Klenowski, 2009, p. 85). The content and the method of teaching will fail to engage these students and since they do not understand, they may get lower marks in the assessments. In addition, since these students already feel discriminated against, they are less likely to participate in class activities or show their knowledge through practical actions (Klenowski, 2009, p. 85). Another factor that may be contributing to this is that other students are reluctant to engage in activities with them and when a classroom assignment may require group work, they will not benefit. One of the policies that may help manage this kind of racism is that the theories being embraced when restructuring multicultural education are better. Teaching techniques and the curriculum are being reshaped so that students will be prepared for existence in a multicultural society and to teach that the world being diverse is a positive thing (Hambel, 2005, p. 57). The education system is transformed to include interaction between school and cultures so that the culture of the school can incorporate those of all students. As a result, the values and customs of the students will be reflected in the school curriculum and culture (Hambel, 2005, p. 60). The implication for teaching is that teachers do not teach the students equally and effectively while the Indigenous students do not have a forum for effective learning. They will feel left out by the school community and will not reap the full benefits of education and may therefore be unable to get good jobs and contribute positively to the community (Klenowski, p. 2009, 86). Responding to Identity The racist incidences in schools are brought about by racist attitudes that are formulated in people’s minds when they are young. From the time when children can make sense of what is around them, they begin to read into matters from the experiences they have and what they witness. These form constructions of childhood which shape how we understand issues like race, sexuality, class, gender and their intersections (Lorde, 2008, p. 81). Lorde (2008) explains that an individual’s identity is constituent of various issues like name, gender, social status, sexuality, education, culture and religion (p. 81). It is these issues that make up someone’s race. The specifics that make us unique are associated with certain norms, characteristics and stereotypes. These associations then further dictate how people view and define us. The context in which our assumptions about other are formed is a diverse one because of the global nature of the world (Mansouri & Jenkins, 2010, p. 95). The nature of the experiences children have and their environment shape their perceptions. The root of racism is in the belief that the success of an individual is based on their value. This idea limits the capability of those who are advantaged to see issues that may be preventing opportunities of success for others. Characteristics of people like sexual orientation, race, gender and class intersect and form a larger social field that presents more opportunities for some people and limits opportunities for others (Lorder, 2008, p. 82). Conclusion The persistence of racism will keep on unless the issue is confronted and addressed openly. Australia has the most welcoming policies and laws for immigrants. However, the welcoming atmosphere is not reflected in educational institutions. Indigenous students and those from non-English speaking countries are discriminated against in the hands of racist students, teachers and institutions. They have to go through abuse, harassment, violence, negative attitudes and poor teaching stemming from racism. Those charged with protecting them and the policies that are to assist them are inadequate. The problem of racism is a deep seated one that has its roots in the constructions of understanding that people form in childhood years. These are carried on to school and are also evident in parents. Teachers, school administration, students and other staff members should refrain from practicing racism and those who do so should face serious consequence (Mansouri & Jenkins, 2010, p. 101). More effort should be made to create a non racist environment in schools. References Aveling, N. (2007). Anti-racism in schools: a question of leadership? Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 28 (1), 72-73. Cahill, D. (1996). Immigration and Schooling in the 1990s, Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, Belconnen, ACT. Commonwealth of Australia copyright reproduced by permission. P. 124. Forrest, J & Dunn, K. (2007). Constructing Racism in Sydney, Australia’s Largest Ethnicity. Urban Studies, 44 (4), 699. Retrieved on April 2007, from http://www.uws.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/29408/A291.pdf Gulson, K. (2006). A White Veneer: Education Policy. Space and “race” in the inner city. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 27 (2), 259, 268-269. Hambel, S. M. (2005). Critical multicultural education: Beyond the constraints of policy. In I. Milojevic and J. Yamanashi (Ed.), Researching Identity, Diversity and Education (pp. 55- 66). Teneriffe, QLD.: Post Pressed. Klenowski, V. (2009). Australian Indigenous students: addressing equity issues in assessment. Teaching Education, 20 (1), p. 85. Lorde, A. (2008). ‘Creating your web: Positioning and shifting’. In Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches. 6, p. 81-82. Mansouri, F & Jenkins, L. (2010). Schools as Sites of Race Relations and Intercultural Tension. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 35(7), p. 93-95. Retrieved on November 7, 2010, from http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol35/iss7/8 Williamson, J., & Dalal, P. (2007). Indigenising the curriculum or negotiating the tensions at the cultural interface? Embedding Indigenous perspectives and pedagogies in a university curriculum. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 36(8), p.51 Windle, J. (2008). The Radicalization of African Youth in Australia. Social Identities, 14(5), 554. Read More