Critically discuss the extent to which Race (ethnicity) and religion remain the` troublesome un-dead of the British education system’.

                Race and Religion have been a constant issue within the education system over the past years. In Tomlinson’s (2008) book on ‘Race and Education’ she express that ethnic minorities have been at a disadvantage within the education system in Britain since the 1960’s, where there was a lack of political will to make sure that ethnic minority groups were treated fairly. An individual’s religion can also have an impact on their education in terms of how they are treated by teachers and peers. (Mizra, 2005) states that ethnically minoritised people have been disadvantaged within the education system for years and these disadvantages still underlie within the education system today. The aim of this essay is to discuss the extent to which ethnically minoritiesed people in education are still discriminated against or based on their ethnicity and religion, using the critical race theory as a theoretical perspective.

Introduction of the critical race theory.

            I order to speak about the critical race theory in education it is important to understand where the movement stemmed from. One of the major goals of the Civil Rights Movement in the Unites States was to stop segregation between white and African American students in public schools (Borwn, 2014). The civil rights Act of 1964 prohibited any form of discrimination in public schools due to race, colour, religion, sex or national origin of pupils. Years later, the movement was in crisis and the long fight for equal rights had begun to disappear. With African Americans left fighting for their rights, white people looked at ‘black power’ with fear, felt there was a sinister tone to it which was associated with violence (Jones, 2002). After the CRM, the Critical Legal Studies in 1970 (CLS) emerged, claiming that laws are used to maintain status and power within society (Unger, 1986). From the CLS emerged the critical race theory which brought to light the racial inequalities that people of colour faced within the law and society (Hiraldo, 2010). It critiques the idea of liberalism (Billings, 2010) and has now been integrated into the educational system (Hartlep, 2009), arguing that white people benefit from the education system more than people of colour do. The CRT in a sense is committed to supporting justice for individuals who hold a ‘minority’ status, bringing to light how arrangements in society disadvantage and discriminate these minority groups.

Experiences of ethnic minorities in education.

            In order for voices to be heard, people must speak up about the discrimination they have faced. Counter storytelling the account of people of colour sharing their experiences of being discriminated and marginalised within the education system (Hartlep, 2009) because of their race and which according to the British Educational Research Association (n.d), is considered a major factor which influences experiences within education. There have been studies which aim to bring to light the experiences that ethnically minorities’ people face within education.

            A recent study carried out by UCU (2016) focused on the experiences of black and ethnic minority staff in post 16 and higher education. 89% of respondents from post-16 institutions and 90% from higher education said that they had often faced barriers when they have tried to seek promotion. When it came down to bullying and harassment, 70% of respondents from post-16 education and 72% from higher education reported being subject to bullying and harassment from managers. The results for being excluded from decision making, bullying and harassment from colleagues and cultural insensitivity were also high from respondents. Before the UCU’s (2016) survey, there have been previous studies which have focused on the same areas (ECU, 2009; Gardner, 2008). They also conducted a study to assess the experience of black and minority ethnic staff working in higher education. The results were somewhat similar to those from the UCU’s. Isolation, marginalisation, challenges to status, authority and difficulty gaining promotions were all factors that staff of ethnic minority reported facing and an underrepresentation of minority-ethnic teachers. It is clear to see that despite individuals sharing their experiences of racial discrimination in the workplace and policies such as the Equality Act (2010) and the Race Relations Act (1976) in place, which institutions should follow, race is still in an issue within the education system. Gardner (2008) suggested that the ethnic minority in the teaching workforce are to blame for their underrepresentation. The results stated that Black and Asian teachers felt that the underrepresentation of ethnic minority groups was a deterrent in the recruitment process and described this as ‘Catch-22’ situation because it then leads to a low level of recruitment, resulting in fewer role models, becoming a cycle in the educational system.

            The critical race theory favours more of an aggressive approach to any sort of social transformation instead of liberalisms vigilant approach. This stemmed from the idea of colorblindness; the ideology that suggests the best way to end discrimination is to ignore ones colour, race, culture and ethnicity (Williams, 2011). At face value, colorblindness seems like a positive ideology as it would make people judge characters instead of the colour of one’s skin. Nonetheless, many have interpreted it to mean that race should be ignored. The Critical Race theory would argue that white people use colorblindless as an excuse to ignore racism (Hiraldo, 2010) which makes discrimination still exist within education.  Since the UCU’s survey, RHS (2018) also completed a survey aiming to find out about the experiences of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) teachers. From the survey it was reported that BME staff were more likely to have witnessed discrimination or abuse to colleagues in comparison to white staff. The CRT would explain that white staff use colorblindness as a way of justifying discrimination. It is quite easy for white staff to say that they are focusing on the colour of these individuals and are in fact focusing on their characteristics when in fact discrimination is right in front of them. This puts BME groups at a disadvantage because it spreads the message that race does not matter and also encourages ignorance.

Underachievement of black students.

        NUS (.) report on ‘Race for Equality’ focused on the experiences of Black students in further education. The report concluded that black students are at a disadvantage within the education system and that white people benefit the most from it. The Critical Race Theory argues that racism controls political, social and economic realms including the education system which white people benefit from (Hiraldo, 2010), in which is called the ‘permanence of racism’.

            Mizra (2005) focuses on how the underachievement of Black Caribbean children has been persistent for more than 35 years despite the levels of concerns and reports that brought this to light. For example, the Rampton and Swann report (Rampton, 1981 and Swann, 1985) both drew to light that students from a Black Caribbean background are underachieving in within the education system compared to white and Asian (Chinese) pupils. Statistics from Dfe (2018) show that the school teacher workforce is led mostly by white British teachers which also puts Black Caribbean students and other ethnic minorities at a disadvantage. The fact that the teacher workforce is led predominately by white people can lead to those of the white race believing in white supremacy (the racist belief that white people are superior to other races and should dominate over them) in the classroom and discriminating other races and ethnic minorities because of this.

            Low teacher expectations are one of the factors said to contribute to the underachievement of Black Caribbean boys. Mizra (2005) explains that teachers have low expectations of these students because of the lack of pupil motivation within them. However, Black Caribbean students lacking motivation doesn’t stem from nowhere. Low self-esteem leads to low pupil aspiration which then leads to low expectation from teachers. These students may experience low self-esteem due to how they are represented in the media, specifically in newspaper articles where there a lot of stereotypes towards black youths, especially males always associate them with being involved in gangs and associating black youths with violence (Cushion, Moore and Jewell, 2011) and not doing well academically because they find it difficult concentrating (NUS, … ) . Students from the NUS () report, reported feeling a lack of support from teachers, felt as though teachers were more favourable towards white students and that stereotypes based on race effected their sense of self and confidence. With this being said, it seems as though teachers accumulate prejudice views towards black students, and do not put in as much effort to help them excel academically as they would with white students, leaving black students feeling unmotivated. Statistics from the DfE (2017) shows that black students are still underachieving but the gap doesn’t appear to be as significant as what it used to be, suggesting that it still remains un-dead within the British education system.

            Angelou (1991) states that the permanence of racism includes the idea that white dominance is maintained within society and education. She proceeds to say that white people fear any type of social reform that will benefit black people so they chose not to support them. An example which supports Angelou’s statement is the belief that Black and minority ethnic groups are less inclined to apply to or be accepted into further and/or higher status institutions compared to white British candidates. Study shows that black applicants and minority groups are less likely to receive university offers, especially offers with elite universities compared to white applicants (Noden, Shiner and Modood, 2014) which raises the question on whether white privilege still exists in today’s educational system. Statistics from the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) (2019) revealed that from 2002-2018, there was a very small percentage of Black, Asian, mixed and other ethnic minority groups who were in further education in comparison to white pupils. However, figures from the UCAS (2019) revealed that from 2006-2018 white pupils had the lowest entry rate into higher education and have had the lowest entry rate since 2006. Because of this, it can be argued that at some points within education, certain ethnic groups may dominate others in terms of academic success which individuals may interpret as form of racial discrimination. For example, according to Ofsted (2012) Black Caribbean pupil’s attainment at primary school level is considered reasonably well, achieving the average grades. But when these pupils enter secondary school level Black Caribbean boys in particular tend to underachieve.

            It may seem that no matter if individuals try to disregard race as having an impact in one way or the other in the education system, the topic still finds its way in. Studies have shown that an individual’s socio-economic background can also have an impact on their educational attainment (…) and for black and other ethnic minority groups levels of poverty seem to be a lot higher in comparison to the white population (JRF, 2011) again, routing back to the individual’s race. There has been a considerable amount of evidence which shows that poverty or high levels of deprivation has in effect on educational attainment (Wheeler et al, 2005 and Lupton, 2004/05). With this being said, coming from a deprived background comes with disadvantages such as not being able to access the internet, the lack of educational resources available and financial problems. Problems in the financial area can result in parents/carers not being able to provide basic necessities which as a whole also influences an individual’s education, explaining attainment gaps between ethnic minority groups and white students.

Religion and education of the critical race theory.

            Islamophobia is the term used to describe an unfounded fear, hatred and prejudice towards Islam or Muslim people (NASUWT). With the events of 9/11 and it being carried out by an Islamic terrorist group, Islamophobia is something that has increased since then.  Sarwar and Raj (2016) states that today, the Western society associate Islam with being at war and both are not willing to understand each other’s viewpoints. It is quite sad that Muslims are one of the largest religious communities in the world and they wrongly understood by the Western world as well as media. It is important to look at few reasons and understand that why western society including UK has been in the grip of Islamophobia. The western people do have a certain level of hostility, hatred as well as fear towards the Muslim community. It is not that post 9/11 era has been the start of this concept, but it was there in the society even before the incident of 9/11. However, this concept was sparked in the western world after the 9/11 attacks, because it was done by a group, who was related to Muslim community. This is how the perception about Muslims started to change largely all around the world. The people started fearing with the idea of Islamophobia, where it was perceived that Islam and Muslims are a biggest threat to the peace and safety of the world.

            It is important to analyse the western media that how Islam and Muslim community has been portrayed by them. The western media has been portraying things differently for the Muslims and American media especially ignited the Islamophobia in society. The recent horrific attacks on two mosques in New Zealand is the biggest example that how Islamophobia has captured the mind-set of western and European people that they even can’t bear the presence of Muslims in their communities. The attacks shaken the whole world but some of the western media was hesitate to call it a terrorist attack, rather it was just associated being an attack by a white person for the white supremacy. If the United States and western world is really serious about the discrimination being done with Muslims in the name of Islamophobia, then they will have to respond differently, otherwise such incidents will continue to happen in the future as well. If American President will openly say that “Islam hates us” then issues like Islamophobia cannot be avoided at all. If people on such responsible positions will have this attitude towards Muslim community, then fear and hatred towards them will increase and will create more chaos in the future ( AMIR 2019)

            According to critical race theory, it is quite evident that the idea of race is not taken as a natural phenomenon; rather it is constructed on societal level, where white people have been the dominants of this theory, who constructed it to protect their own interests. It has been observed that critical race theory is used to differentiate between different races on various aspects and these differences are based on legal, economic as well as social perspective. So, when people supporting this theory are in power, they make laws and develop a social perspective, which goes against a certain race and religious communities ( Curry 2019). It is important to keep critical race theory in view to understand the issue of Islamophobia. It is prevalent in various societies including Britain society, where Islamophobia is sued as a discrimination tool against Muslim community. A book written by Breen has focused on this concept of Islamophobia with regards to faith schooling in Britain keeping critical race theory in context. The author focused on Muslim schools that how various issues are faced by them in Britain. The Islamic schools have to face so many problems, if they want to get the state funding for their schools, as point of view about these schools is not very welcoming about Muslim community. The discrimination and prejudice is there due to the Islamophobic concept in the minds of politicians and people of Britain territory. The book revealed with primary research that if state funds these Muslim community schools and a soft corner is developed for the Muslims, and then issues created by critical race theory can be dealt effectively ( Breen 2017)

            It is important for the British society to understand with more details that why Islamophobia has been increasing in their society since 2001. The reasons must be dig out so that British Muslim community is given an equal status, which every other British community enjoys in Britain. The Islamophobia has been developing as a cultural racism approach against Muslim community In Britain and this has been employed by vested groups, who have their own vested interests. That’s why Muslims have been treated as “others” in the British society; even then they are one of the largest communities in the region. It is quite sad that due to few terrorist incidents around the world, the whole Muslim community has been deemed as an enemy from the British and European world. That’s why it has been observed that different large amount of gatherings and campaigns have been launched against Muslim community in Britain such as social movements based on anti-Islamic sentiment, no-mosques campaigns etc. The people who do belong to Muslim community are being victimized through the concept of critical race theory and Islamophobia, and this discrimination is prevalent everywhere, which needs to be sorted out by spreading more awareness about the Muslim community that all of them are not terrorists (Jackson 2017)

            It is a fact that British education system is one of most renowned and diverse education systems in the world, and thousands of students across the world come here for college and university level education. It is important to analyse that how British education system as well as educational institutions behave with the students belonging to Muslim community. It was found in one of the recent studies conducted in UK that Muslim students in UK are facing discrimination, inequity as well as inequality in the Universities. This report was issued by Sheffield Hallam University's researcher Professor Jacqueline Stevenson. The professor found in his report that intended or even unintended discrimination and racism is faced by the Muslim students because of Islamophobia, which is increasing with the passage of time. The overall experience at the university campuses for Muslim students have not been pleasing as Islamophobia has really spread hatred and discrimination towards them in every aspect. Professor said in his report that “Negative experiences including Islamophobia can have a profound effect on Muslim students' confidence, motivation or self-esteem” It clearly shows that situation for Muslim students is not welcoming at all ( Stevenson 2018)

            It has been observed that British education system is creating more chaos by coming with counterterrorism policies, which are being spread to even schools to spot any kind of extremism and radicalization. A counterterrorism strategy was developed, which asked schools to keep an eye on children, and report if any radicalization is found. The results have shown that British community is being made extra sensitive towards Muslim community by following such policies. As per facts, the reporting number for suspicious children have been increasing, and it was found in 2012 that 1041 number of children were referred by schools for de-radicalization channel of government, whereas only nine of them were found with any such aspect. This treatment especially with British Muslim children that they are considered as terrorist, it not going to do any good to the British community and education system, rather it will create more chaos in the society (Khaleeli 2016)

            It has been seen over the years that hate crime against Muslim community has increased in community as well as education institutions across UK. The Muslim students have to face a lot of hatred and they are stared as terrorist by people, just because the concept of Islamophobia is changing the mind set of people. It is critical for Britain and its education system that they work on the policy and efforts to fight with Islamophobia everywhere in the society including schools. The teachers as well as politicians should play their part by spreading awareness about Muslim community as part of them and they are also peaceful. The schools and education system certainly can play a big role in fighting Islamophobia ( Lewis 2018). The positive image of Islam and Muslim community should be advocated at all levels by the government, and education system should be used for this purpose as well so that increasing Islamophobia can be stopped, as it is not good for the world in long term perspective.

References of the critical race theory.

AMIR , FAHEEM. 2019. ISLAMOPHOBIA AND WESTERN MEDIA. Accessed May 4, 2019. https://weeklycuttingedge.com/islamophobia-and-western-media/.

Breen, Damian. 2017. Muslim Schools, Communities and Critical Race Theory: Faith schooling in an islamophobic Britain? Springer.

Curry, Tommy. 2019. Critical race theory. Accessed May 4, 2019. https://www.britannica.com/topic/critical-race-theory.

Lewis, Bethan. 2018. Schools urged to help tackle Islamophobia. Accessed May 4, 2019. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-42650014.

Stevenson, Jacqueline. 2018. Report: More needs to be done to support British Muslim students at university. Accessed May 4, 2019. https://www4.shu.ac.uk/mediacentre/report-more-needs-be-done-support-british-muslim-students-university.

Jackson, Leonie B. . 2017. Islamophobia in Britain: The Making of a Muslim Enemy. Springer.

Khaleeli, Homa . 2016. Treating Muslim children as terror suspects does not make Britain safer. Accessed May 4, 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jul/25/prevent-strategy-muslims-children-school.