Examining Racism, Diversity and Social Inclusion in Second Level Education in Ireland
Dates: 2021 – 22
Funding Organisation/Programme: Dublin based second level school.
Principal Investigator: Asst. Prof. Elaine Wilson (Social Work) with Dr Niamh Flanagan, School of Applied Social Studies, Maynooth University & Tonye Benson Olatunde, Tutor at the School of Applied Social Studies, University of Maynooth.
Background
Large scale migration into Ireland is a relatively new phenomenon, with the migrant population in Ireland increasing from 3% of the total population in 2003 to over 12% in 2019 (Byrne, Mc Ginnity, Smyth and Darmody, 2010; Central Statistics Office, 2019). The changes in Irish society are also reflected in Irish schools through increasing diversity in the student population and a growth in racism. However, there has been limited research on racism towards Black and Minority Ethnic children and young people in Irish schools (O’Connor 2004, Condon, 2017, Kane, 2019) and the research that has been carried out is often focused on primary schools (Devine 2005, 2006, Darmody et al 2011). The subject matter of racism, diversity and social inclusion is highly topical and emotive, often going unarticulated by victims, bystanders, and even those who are not witnesses, as a result of fears ranging from fear of victimisation to fear of causing offence. This study addresses the issue of racism in a self-described anti racist school. Central to the innovative nature of this research is that it is designed and executed by a group of Transition Year students with the support of two academics and one tutor.
Who is involved in the study?
This research was conducted in a large, co-educational school that welcomes students from across the globe and is committed to providing students with an understanding of key social justice issues and the part that they play within these issues both in the school and beyond. In order to understand and address the issue of racism in the educational setting, this school invited academics from two leading Universities – Dr Elaine Wilson, UCD and Dr Niamh Flanagan, Maynooth University - to work with a group of Transition Years students in conducting the research. With support from Tonye Benson Olatunde, Tutor at the School of Applied Social Studies, University of Maynooth, the co-investigators worked intensively with 20 transition year students to design all aspects of the study.
What is the study about?
The study is focused on researching the experiences and opinions of students, parents and staff about the issues of racism, diversity and social inclusion in the school and based on the findings to devise recommendations to address any issues which exist. Main aim of the study The principal aim of the project was to begin a dialogue about racism in the school, gathering real data about how students, parents and teachers actually experience racism. A longer-term goal of the project team is that their e-survey instrument might be disseminated to include other schools which in turn would contribute to gaining a wider understanding of racism and open similar dialogues about racism and social inclusion in other second level schools around the country.
Methodology
Together the research team concluded that an anonymous, school-wide e-survey would capture the range of various perspectives on the issue of racism and provide an evidence-base upon which to build dialogue about the issues of diversity and social inclusion within the school community. Flanagan and Wilson previously used Dialogue in a study with postgraduate students and were confident that it would provide suitable tools for the examination and analysis of subjectivity, theorised as changing and responsive to others and taking abstract and lived ideas as core to the understanding of any issue. The team held collaborative workshops to identify the aspects of racism and social inclusion that they felt needed to be researched.
The students, with the help of the academic team, developed the survey that was distributed across the entire school community – pupils, staff and parents. Students took responsibility for promoting involvement in the study and an impressive 779 people responded, sharing their experiences of racism in the school and beyond. In a further collaborative workshop, the students analysed the data examining the prevalence of racism in the school, the bystander experience and response, and the forms that this racism took.
Preliminary Findings
A subsection of the transition year students were selected to present the research at the European Social Work Research Conference in Amsterdam on April 8th 2022, representing the first time that the Conference has welcomed the involvement of a group of secondary school students. Literature shows that racism towards young people is a significant problem, even within the confines of schools.
- While there is a lack of research on racism within Irish secondary schools, that research which has been completed highlights racism as an everyday occurrence for BME students.
- This dialogue project demonstrated similar experiences of racism among a school population which was otherwise privileged.
- Students reported verbal abuse, particularly name calling, some physical violence, teasing about cultural differences and stereotyping.
- Although not yet analysed in this dataset, the intersectionality of age, gender and special educational needs also impacts how young people experience racism within educational settings.
- The complexity of young people’s interactions with each other means that understanding the process of racism in schools is also complex and multi-faceted.
- This study clearly demonstrated to participants and readers alike that students can also be seen to reject the presence of racism, often while also describing racism within their schools.
- It is argued that racism is relocated to other places, people and times or is reclassified as teasing or a joke. This highlights the prominence of white privilege where majority students can remain largely unaware of the presence of systemic racism.
- While anti-racism policies and education are undoubtedly required in schools, this will not be successful until racism is acknowledged, and students and teachers are prepared to confront their own biases and roles in reproducing unequal structures.
For more information please contact Dr Elaine Wilson. Email: (opens in a new window)Elaine.Wilson@ucd.ie