Institutional Racism in Higher Education - Essay Example

al racism in higher education Introduction al racism is a racism form which occurs in s for instance schools and occurs when the institution either directly or indirectly discriminates against a certain group and limits their group rights. Institutional racism denotes patterns, practices, procedures and policies that operate within a social institution to disadvantage non members of the racial or a certain ethnic group (Better, 2008). There usually occurs a cultural assumption of one group being dominant, their practices considered as the norm which must be observed by all the cultural practices. The institution then places a great importance on the dominant group and the minority group is viewed as being inferior. There are many disadvantages that occur as a result of institutional racism. For instance the institutional racism by students in schools may result to high level of school drop out by the students belonging to the minority group which may extend to the minority group having limited opportunities in places of employment which then leads to low incomes for the people in the group and as a result poor housing, health care and a deprivation to other opportunities. It as well limits the contribution of the people from the inferior group, destroys their self confidence and limits them from achieving their potential (Better, 2008). One of the current issues that reinforce oppression and discrimination in the context of institutional racism is social learning and conformity which entails the social environment of the institution. Social learning and conformity People in institutions for instance institutions of higher learning have values which are internalized, as people experience different socialization agents available in the institution and the community. When new students join the institution of higher learning, they acquire the existing practices through social interactions and if these practices are discriminative they also end up being discriminative. The socialization agents lead to people’s acquisition of the perceived attitudes, beliefs and behaviors. These may further act as reinforcement towards oppression and discrimination in institutions in cases where the socialization agents encourage creation of superior and inferior groups by presenting to people the stereotypes attributed to the inferior groups. People may therefore learn to be discriminative and oppressive through socialization processes such as modeling, internalization, and reward and punishment. The different socialization agents include family, school, peer groups and media. The family is the most important socialization agent. It is responsible for development of values and perceptions, attitudes towards religion and the culture. Individuals in an institution may have acquired a certain discriminative attitude towards a certain group of people even before they get to join the institution (Andersen, 2008). On joining the institution, they may share their views with others who might adopt this attitude and thereby resulting to increased discrimination of this group. The school is the second agent where young people interact and share a particular belief towards a particular group of people which if discriminative affects the minority group. Peer groups as well are another socialization agent where peers can share a certain social characteristic that may lead them to discriminating a certain group of people. This as well may extend as far as to the institution level. Media is another socialization agent that has a significant effect on institutional racism. The symbols, practices and programs broadcasted on the media affect the institutional values, attitudes and beliefs towards a minority group. The media’s way of portraying some racial and ethnic groups may be the principal source of information for institutions’ racism. The stereotypes presented in the media concerning a minority group normally end up becoming the reality considerations for the institution about the group without even allowing personal contact with the members of this group to test the truth and reliability of the stereotypes. The institutions however pick the stereotypes and use them as basis for discrimination against and oppression towards the group (Andersen, 2008). Selective exposure and modeling is another issue concerned with social learning and conformity. If an institution is exposed to a certain way of thinking and values concerning a racial or ethnic group over time and holding certain stereotypes concerning the group it holds these beliefs and uses them against the group, not willing to test their truth and reliability and thus end up attributing this group in relation to these stereotypes and beliefs. Moreover, if the institution upholds models who directly or indirectly discriminated against a certain group of people it ends up adopting this discrimination believing that this is what ought to be. The individuals who join this institution continue to exercise this discrimination as well considering it to be the normal way of operating. The minority group on the other hand continues to be oppressed and discriminated against as a result (Andersen, 2008). Another issue concerned with social learning and conformity is reward and punishment. Many rules set at the institutional levels greatly encourage institutional racism. These rules may be set to reward or punish behaviors towards or against the agents of socializations. These rules are aimed towards a certain minority groups, and ensuring that the rights of the minority groups are limited. This therefore leads to the minority group being oppressed by the majorities. The minority groups are as well forced to abide to these riles that are against their own rights. Social learning and conformity therefore is currently a major contribution towards institutional racism. Institutional racism has demonstrated critical value in highlighting the need for positive, continuous action in expunging racial discrimination rather than assuming it will fade (Fleishman, 2008). The society therefore should aim at coming with ways that social learning will cease to be an issue of enforcing discrimination. This is only achieved by clearing the stereotypes that act as people learn socially and which act as a basis for discrimination. This may be through the use of ways such as the institutions coming up with forum that bring together members from the minority and majority groups for them to learn and be able to appreciate their backgrounds and experiences (Bhavnani, 2005). The institutions may as well come up with laws that prevent discrimination, indicating the punishments and rewards accorded to these laws. The socialization agents as well will only be effective in reducing the racism if they provide the information that is not aimed at discriminating the minority groups. Media as a socialization agent may contribute to this by reducing the levels of stereotyping presented concerning the minority groups. This will help to reduce the discrimination basis and oppression basis. Family as the main socialization agent can still contribute to reduction of institutional racism. Individuals who learn positive aspects concerning a minority group improve the attitude of people towards the group. This can be extended to the peer group levels as well as the institutional level (Fleishman, 2008). Conclusion In conclusion, institutional racism negatively affects the minority groups involved. One current issue that reinforces oppression and discrimination in the context of institutional racism is social learning and conformity. It constitutes the several agents of socialization that affect people’s attitude at the individual and the institution level. These social agents as discussed are the family, the school, peer groups and media. The agents contribute to oppression and discrimination by presenting stereotypes about the minority groups, which the individuals accept as reality without even considering testing their viability. The stereotypes then act as basis for discrimination at the institutional levels. Social learning and conformity therefore will only cease to be reinforcements to institutional racism if the social agents present positive information about the minority groups rather than stereotypes, allowing interaction between the minority and majority groups, and the institutions’ implementation of anti racism laws. References Andersen, M. L., & Taylor, H. F. (2008). Sociology: Understanding a diverse society. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning. Bhavnani, R., Mirza, H. S., & Meetoo, V. (2005). Tackling the roots of racism: Lessons for success. Bristol: Policy Press. Fleishman, R., & Gerard, C. (2008). Pushing the boundaries: new frontiers in conflict resolution and collaboration. Bingley [etc.: Emerald JAI. Better, S. J. (2008). Institutional racism: A primer on theory and strategies for social change. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Read More