It is very easy to be swept along in a society that stems from a highly colonised background, with the majority of those in positions of power being both white and male. Our UK House of Commons, for example, has just 14% of its’ population from ethnic minorities, and 40% female, lauded as the “most diverse parliament by race and gender” (Starmer, 2024) in its’ history. Critical Race Theory (CRT) draws on the understanding of a society shaped by racism which is endemic, systematic and unrecognised, leading to disadvantaged minoritised groups of individuals and implications for the wider society as a whole.
Bradbury (2020) crafts a policy analysis framework drawing on CRT and policy sociology, engaging a variety of different contexts, emphasising how policies can unintentionally support white privilege & power despite presenting themselves as neutral and fair.
Fig. 1 CRT Framework for Policy Analysis, Bradbury, 2020.
This highlights how a “one size fits all” policy approach may impact negatively on children or students who speak English as an additional language, contributing to lower expectations and attainment for these minoritised groups. It is clearly not just those who speak English as a second language, but anyone marginalised by race, ethnicity or nationality too.
As infants, we start life as a “blank sheet of paper”, affected and influenced, as we grow up, by layer upon layer of information, experiences, education, culture and affluence, through which our individual personalities and beliefs are formed. It was, indeed, heartbreaking to witness the moment when a group of schoolchildren learned about white privilege (Channel 4, 2020), otherwise explained as the absence of having to live with the consequences of endemic racism in society.
As the divisions between white children and the rest of the group becomes evident, the inequalities are realised, and the atmosphere amongst the group completely changes. It is a vivid reminder that I myself, sit in a position of privilege, and that my interactions in academic practice have the potential to generate an inclusive learning experience only when looked at through the pro-active lens of anti-racism.
In a Ted Talk on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Asif Sadiq reinforces this message by stating that the change has to come from education. However, given Sadiq’s example of his own son requiring additional support in school, how do we build the resources, both human and financial, to deal with the specific requirements of every individual? In a university environment, where we might have upwards of 130+ students in a room, how do we give our lecturers the tools to “adapt their teaching style according to each individual’s needs”? With this in mind, we must consider how the policies we develop and implement in everyday practice fight against the norms and stereotypes which are structurally embedded, in order to reduce inequalities of attainment and experience.
In looking for solutions and a way forward, conclusions would indicate that policy development must be anti-racist in its stance (race-aware, not race-blind or even race-neutral), include a diverse cohort of decision-makers, consider minoritised groups from inception, and identify and challenge disparities. We are, as Sadiq states, going to have to step out of our comfort zones, and build our own lifelong learning journeys to enable change in society, and in our teaching practice. Simply monitoring the data will never be enough to actively drive that change.
Resources
Bradbury, A., 2020. A critical race theory framework for education policy analysis: The case of bilingual learners and assessment policy in England. Race Ethnicity and Education, 23(2), pp.241-260.
Channel 4. (2020) The School That Tried to End Racism. [Online}. Youtube. 30 June. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I3wJ7pJUjg
Garrett, R. (2024). Racism shapes careers: career trajectories and imagined futures of racialised minority PhDs in UK higher education. Globalisation, Societies and Education, pp.1–15.
Mahmood, S (2024) Record levels of diversity in parliament. Sky News [Online]. Available at: https://news.sky.com/story/record-levels-of-diversity-in-parliament-not-by-chance-but-because-of-purposeful-effort-13176726
Orr, J. (2022) Revealed: The charity turning UK universities woke. The Telegraph [Online]. Youtube. 5 August. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRM6vOPTjuU
Sadiq, A. (2023) Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Learning how to get it right. TEDx [Online}. Youtube. 2 March. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR4wz1b54hw
I would like to pick up on the ‘blank sheet of paper’ as I have just come across another brilliant source by Dr.Dawn D. Bennett-Alexander, a black American lawyer explaining how her daughter thought all doctors must be black, an anecdote and a reminder how children perceive the world differently and thus there is hope that if society changes under good leadership and joint systemic efforts, how quickly change is possible.
I enjoyed reading your take on the topic.
Practical diversity: taking inclusion from theory to practice | Dawn Bennett-Alexander | TEDxUGA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExcDNly1DbI&ab_channel=TEDxTalks
Thanks for your feedback Eva, and for sharing the TED Talk. I totally agree that good leadership, combined with systemic development are key to driving the pace of change.
You raise a really important point Julia, which is having large cohorts can makes it impossible to address each student’s individual requirements. Changes need to happen at institutional level if they are going to be significant and sustained. I don’t get a set group of students until part 2 of the foundation course (we do a teaching rotation in part 1 where I teach 8 different groups for 2 days for 8 weeks, adding up to over 200 students!) which means that I can only get to know and support students individually after over 2 months into their studies. As tutors we feel a big pressure to support everyone, but this can become overwhelming and be ineffective without a wider, more efficient and agile support mechanism.
I completely agree, Ignacia. The size of the cohorts is increasing (233 students have accepted offers on the BSc Fashion Management for this coming academic year, vs 134 last year) and with reduced staffing levels & HPL hours, accommodating the individual needs of each student, is going to be extremely challenging. A more efficient and agile support system is indeed, going to be essential.