Chapter 14: Ability, Selection, and Institutional Racism in Schools

Students of minority ethnic heritage have traditionally not enjoyed equal opportunities in the British school system. From the Rampton and Swann reports of the 1980s, through to the educational statistics of the early twenty-first century, certain minority ethnic groups consistently experience inequalities in attainment at the end of compulsory schooling. In particular, African Caribbean, Bangladeshi and Pakistani students are significantly less likely to attain recognised benchmark qualifications, such as five or more higher grade examination passes (DfEE, 2001; Ofsted, 1999; Rampton, 1981; Swann, 1985).² Recent analyses, of Black (African Caribbean) students’ progress at different points in their schooling, reveal that these inequalities actually grow as the students move through school (see Gillborn & Mirza, 2000; Richardson & Wood, 1999). These patterns of unequal experience and attainment provide the context for this chapter. My argument is that racism (in numerous and often subtle guises) remains a major force in the education system; a force that is often at its most powerful when operating through unrecognised (apparently color-blind) discourses and assumptions about ability, discipline and student “potential.” Current reforms of education are increasingly seeking to differentiate between students on the basis of “ability.” These decisions have important consequences for the style of teaching that students’ receive, the curriculum on offer and even the examination grades that can be awarded at the end of their studies.