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CHAPTER SIX: TEACHER INTERVIEWS - Issues and findings

6.1 Introduction

6.1.1 The Swann report (HMSO, 1985) Education for All was the first government report to urge all schools, irrespective of ethnic composition, to confront the issue of racism as part of education. Since then, schools and authorities in Scotland have begun to adopt policies and guidelines on developing a multicultural education approach, developed frameworks to record racist incidents, explored strategies for supporting pupils whose first language is not English and, more recently, recognised the need to adopt multi-faith approaches as well as addressing racism as an issue within the curriculum, irrespective of the ethnic diversity of a particular classroom, school or geographical area.

6.1.2 By the early 1990s, a range of supportive frameworks began to emerge to assist teachers to take forward multicultural and anti-racist education (MCARE). The General Teaching Council (GTC) published its first policy in 1994 which was updated in 2001. The document provided advice to teachers on how to embed anti-racism into their practice. Scotland's largest teaching union, the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), also provides advice and support to its members on how to take forward race equality in teaching and learning. By 1999, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education had produced a school self-evaluation audit, A Route to Equality and Fairness, which again offered advice on how to address equality issues including race equality. By 2002, the self-evaluation audit, How Good is Our School (HGIOS), had been revised to include a specific quality indicator on equality and fairness.

More recently, the Scottish Executive launched a national campaign and website, One Scotland. Many Cultures, as well as funding a specific staff development CD-Rom and website for Scottish teachers on anti-racism.

6.2 School ethos and teacher attitudes

6.2.1 Previous research established that the school plays a central role in shaping pupils' social identities, self-esteem and aspirations for the future (Pavis et al, 2000; Thorne, 1993). School culture and policies, particularly the manner in which the school approaches the implementation of multicultural and anti-racist education initiatives, can help or hinder the social and psychological development of all pupils (Gill et al, 1992; Gillborn and Gipps, 1996; Burnage, 1989). In particular, teacher's perceptions of ability, employment potential and family obligations inform the career and pastoral advice pupils are given and so impact on their aspirations and potential (Wright and Solomos, 1993; Wright, 1987; Klein, 1993). Research also showed that pupils from schools where multiculturalism and anti-racism were prioritised were more likely to leave school equipped with the self-confidence and the qualifications to succeed in many spheres of adult life, e.g. in further education, careers and family life (Howarth, 2000). A report by Ofsted, on Raising the Attainment of Minority Ethnic Pupils (1999), found that in schools which did not explicitly challenge stereotyping, low teacher expectations or divisive classroom practices, certain ethnic groups were more likely to leave school with few prospects.

6.3 Aims and methodological issues

6.3.1 The interview is probably the most widely employed method in qualitative research. Interviews with teachers for this research took the form of semi-structured interviews. This method was selected as the most appropriate as it allowed for the greatest consistency; the interviews were carried out on a one-to-one basis by four members of the research team who followed a basic interview guide. Interviews with 81 members of teaching staff were conducted over a period of three months.

6.3.2 The research team agreed that interviews had to be seen as a 'follow-up' to the areas covered by the questionnaire. The interview guide therefore covered three core areas. Firstly, teacher understanding of multicultural and anti-racist education issues, secondly, ways in which teachers embedded MCARE into their work, and finally, teacher's perceptions of minority ethnic pupils in their class or school.

6.3.3 It was agreed by the research team that the interview would take the form of a conversation and provide a great deal of leeway in how the interviewee might wish to respond. The element of flexibility within the semi-structured format was considered important as the area of multicultural and anti-racist education was recognised as an area which might be sensitive, new, controversial or 'political' for teachers. It was important that interviewees themselves had the space to raise additional or complementary issues which would contribute to the study's findings. The open-ended discursive nature of the interview process, as the research team found, provided topics for discussion identified by earlier interviewees that were taken up and presented to later interviewees. This often helped to 'break the ice' for interviewees (Beadsworth and Keil 1992: 261-2).

6.3.4 All 81 interviews were taped with the interviewees' permission. The majority of recordings were either fully transcribed, or, descriptive narratives with extensive quotations were produced. This was a highly time-consuming exercise but one which the research team found to be very useful as it allowed for detailed analysis as well as the extraction of verbatim quotes.

6.3.5 There was some concern over high noise levels interfering with the quality of recording as well as the potential for equipment malfunctioning. Furthermore, in some interviews, the interviewee provided useful information once the tape recorder was switched off so that written notes were often taken of final points. Many of the points raised covered personal experiences of racism or dissatisfaction with the apathy of colleagues. Such adding of unsolicited postscripts is not uncommon and other researchers have commented on how 'unsolicited accounts' such as these can often be highly revealing. (Bryman, A 2001; Hammersley and Atkinson, 1995).

6.3.6 All interviews lasted approximately 40-50 minutes (to fit into a 'free' period) and took place at the school where the teacher worked. Interviews with senior managers did, on the whole, take longer, some lasting an hour. In each school, a member of the senior management team was interviewed, normally the headteacher, as well as classroom or subject teachers. In addition, each school was asked to nominate others they deemed relevant to this study area for interview. The research team gave a guide as to the types of teachers that might be appropriate to interview though each school had the final say about who was interviewed. On a very few occasions, there were last minute changes as peripatetic teachers, mainly English as an Additional Language (EAL) teachers were substituted because of timetable changes. With the exception of a couple of interviewees, all were willing to take part in the research study. The two who were not keen took part either because they were 'asked to' by their senior managers or, in the case of one headteacher, because the original permission had been obtained from his predecessor.

6.4 Analysing the methodological approach: strengths and weaknesses

6.4.1 A potential weakness from the data gathered from the teacher interviews surrounds the issue of reliability. How 'honest' were the teachers in their responses? How representative were the interviewees given that they were 'selected' by the school? The interview was a one-off and it would have been difficult to build trust between interviewer and interviewee in a forty-minute period. Respondents were probably generally aware that race issues were 'in vogue' given imminent legislative changes in the shape of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000. Coupled to this was a recent announcement by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education that they were shortly going to be embarking on a thematic inspection on race equality issues. Did the teachers interviewed give us 'vocabularies of motives', telling the interviewers what they might wish to hear? It is not possible to conclude one way or another, however, it is important to be aware of these possibilities. Mills (1940) who first brought to our attention 'vocabularies of motives' suggests that rather than concentrate on what is said, we should consider what motives are around that create such talk. The researcher then becomes someone who reflects upon the context of talk as given by the interviewee.

6.4.2 One of the main criticisms of interviews is that what is said in interviews (and questionnaires) is often not necessarily what those interviewed do in practice. (Webb and Stimson, 1976; Gilbert and Mulkay, 1983). Those who favour ethnographic methods have used this argument to problematise the interview method (Becker and Geer, 1957) quoted in Seale (1998: 204). There is therefore no automatic guarantee of the analytic status of the data emerging either in terms of reliability or validity.

6.4.3 The data gained must therefore seen as illuminative rather than presented as generalisable fact. Denzin (1970: 133-138) lists a number of 'problems' which he suggests can 'distort' interviewees' responses. These range from the issue of self-presentation for the interviewee in the early stages of the interview, the difficulty of penetrating private worlds of experience, and the volatile, fleeting nature of one-off interviews which can lead interviewees to 'fabricate tales of self that belie the actual facts'.

6.4.4 However, it would be fair to say that in interviews, as Heritage (1984: 236) puts it, the mistake is to treat the verbal formulations of subjects as an appropriate substitute for the observation of actual behaviour. The analysis of the interviews might have been further strengthened if the researchers had also been able to work over a period of time with the teachers engaging in classroom observation, using diary recordings and other interview fora, such as focus groups, to assess teacher behaviour.

6.5 Profile of interviewees

Table 6a - Profile of interviewees

6.6 Themes emerging from the interviews

As with all other interviews conducted for this research, there was a great variety of views and experiences from the individuals concerned which reflect not only the ethos of the individual schools, but also the desire of school staff to provide inclusive education. For many of those interviewed, their personal experience and knowledge of racism was limited. There was a divide between those who had worked in settings with a high multi-ethnic intake and those who had only come across minority ethnic pupils intermittently. Nonetheless, all expressed a tremendous desire to do their best and to enable all pupils, including minority ethnic pupils, to have a successful and enjoyable school experience. Many contributors prefaced their interview with statements along the lines of 'I am not sure what I can contribute' or 'I have not really thought about this' but actually provided useful points which helped to build a picture. Quotes are inserted throughout to illustrate points made by interviewees. This does preclude identification of teacher designation and/or local authority but in selecting quotes, care has been taken to ensure the quotes derive from teachers at all levels from the range of sectors and authorities covered by this study. Equally, some highly illuminating statements made to the research team have not been quoted as they might identify the contributors.

Key themes that emerged are:

6.6.1 The dichotomy between visibility and invisibility
6.6.2 Putting race equality on the school agenda
6.6.3 Multicultural and anti-racist education
6.6.4 Terminology
6.6.5 Senior management and leadership
6.6.6 Bullying and racism
6.6.7 Working with bilingual learners
6.6.8 The importance of the English as an Additional Language Service (EAL)
6.6.9 The 'exceptional' child
6.6.10 Staff development
6.6.11 Working with a multiracial staff group and setting
6.6.12 Multiple deprivation and discrimination
6.6.13 The value of personal experiences
6.6.14 It's not just about white racism
6.6.15 Home school links

6.6.1 The dichotomy between visibility and invisibility

The question of 'visibility' and 'invisibility' recurred within teacher responses. Comments about 'not seeing difference' came from a range of schools, both those with very small numbers of minority ethnic pupils and those with a higher intake of minority ethnic pupils. Colour and ethnicity have historically been used as divisive categories and, in the eyes of some respondents, should now be ignored in preference of seeing the individual qualities and traits of each child, regardless of their background. For many, such a colourblind approach fosters inclusiveness.

We see the child, not the disability or colour or religion.Headteacher, Special

We don't see the colour of the child, we see the child.Depute Headteacher, Primary

I don't really like to rock the boat. We have a good community spirit and positive ethos in this school. We don't tend to highlight the fact that we have ethnic minorities in school and whether they are green, purple or whatever, they are all our children and we don't look upon them as different. Depute Headteacher, Secondary

The following statement was made by a teacher in a secondary school where 20-22% of the pupil population is minority ethnic.

I mean to be honest, I don't classify children by language or race or religion. I just accept the children as they are and we don't enquire closely into what nationality, what religion and so on and that's true of the white population as well ... I think our strength is that we treat them the same ... Teacher, Secondary

This interpretation of 'being fair' extends to other aspects of school life.

I don't think we make any special effort to encourage minority ethnic parents onto the school board because we treat everybody the same. Depute Headteacher, Primary

However, teachers who 'treat everyone the same' may inadvertently be oblivious to differences that are real and impact on minority ethnic people's lives. Pupil experiences of everyday racism, of being isolated as the only 'visible' person in the classroom or of having requirements based on their culture or faith, such as adjustments to the curriculum or classroom seating arrangements, illustrate the rationale for appropriate acknowledgment of difference. A continuing history of social damage would insist that teachers, as educators, require to develop an analytic comprehension of why it is important to 'see difference'.

Many of the interviewees did recognise the need to be conscious of difference and the benefits of acknowledging the diversity of their work settings.

Of course, you have to see the differences, how else are you going to cater for the different requirements.Teacher, Secondary

The rich mix of backgrounds of the pupils - we can draw off such backgrounds because we ourselves do not have much experience. Teacher, Primary

One teacher acknowledged how the school's actions and words had inadvertently had an effect on home culture.

I asked (the parent) if anything had changed with regard to school and she said the only thing was that I would say is I'm having a real difficulty with my children when it comes to mealtimes because they refuse to eat with their fingers. She explained that this food was all finger food and yet they insist on using cutlery. I had to put my head in my hands and say I know who that is - that's me, because in the dinner hall I'm constantly going round and saying 'Use your knife and fork. Can't eat mince with your fingers'. Indirectly, I had an effect on their culture at home.Headteacher, Primary

Another spoke of the importance of acknowledging differences and to ensure this was carried forward into learning and teaching practice.

We have principal teachers' meetings dedicated to curricular suitability and learning and teaching approaches regularly. Within these meetings, the HT and myself will ask, so what about this approach in relation to this particular group of young people, what about that group of young people.Depute Headteacher, Secondary

A further question raised by the discussion on visibility and invisibility was how the issues of colour, ethnicity and identity are taken up by minority and majority groups. Interviewing 272 white and visible minority ethnic young people in Glasgow aged 14-22 O'Connor et al (2002) found that white young people were more likely to state that 'ethnicity does not matter'. In contrast, minority ethnic participants were more likely to talk about their cultural mores or religious practices. In the same vein, teachers in this study who stated they did not 'see' the colour or religion were all white, while the very few visible minority ethnic staff interviewed all talked about the importance of acknowledging difference, particularly in relation to faith, language and culture which they saw as intrinsic components of identity formation. Equally, pupils and parents interviewed in this study wanted teachers to be more open and astute about diversity and to recognise the multiplicity they represented.

The confusion for white people about whether to see or not to see colour, ethnicity and difference is also discussed by others who have researched on race-related themes. Byrne (2000) in researching the views of London white mothers on matters related to child-rearing found that her interviewees were generally anxious not to be seen to be racist and that the simplest way not to appear racist was to avoid talking about race. Byrne described how difficult it was for her interviewees to sustain a discussion on race issues. She also commented on the irrelevance of race issues to white lives. In contrast, interviewees had no problems discussing issues of gender. She concluded that seeing physical (racialised) differences clearly appeared to be much more contentious and complicated than seeing gender differences. Byrne also suggested that the ability to avoid acknowledging visual racial 'markers' is something that white people can do but black people cannot. In her study, all of the white mothers of mixed race children found that their children had relatively complex responses to colour differences.

Given that the Scottish teaching force is overwhelmingly white and appears largely to be as uncomfortable or more on 'race' matters as the mothers interviewed by Byrne, there is a need to consider the message they convey to their pupils and the wider school community. Visible minority ethnic pupils walk the tightrope of wishing to have their difference acknowledged in such a way that it values their background but does not single them out for potential abuse or ridicule. However, if their teachers are not confident about taking issues of race, racism and difference forward, how does this assist the child on the tightrope? The teacher's discomfort or lack of confidence may unintentionally place the onus on the pupils and, judging by the research referred to above, presumably the minority ethnic pupils, to initiate discussions on racial diversity. If the ability or readiness to take on such a task is dependent on the personality of individuals it may be easier for some pupils to assimilate and not be noticed.

There is a need for teachers to be given the opportunity to discuss ways of working within multiethnic, multifaith, multilingual and multicultural classrooms in a manner that is inclusive while explicitly acknowledging diversity. This needs to be done in a manner that is neither tokenistic nor accusatory but is supportive. Equally, teachers who work in predominantly white schools, or in all white schools, must be assisted in placing and maintaining race equality on their agenda in a meaningful way when there is little diversity in situ to draw on.

6.6.2 Putting race equality on the school agenda

In its education chapter, the Race Equality Advisory Forum's report (REAF, 2001) warned against the practice 'that race equality issues are not absorbed to the point of invisibility within the generic equality framework or within concepts like mainstreaming or social inclusion'. It is now a requirement of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 that race equality must be addressed explicitly in policy and practice.

However, teacher responses showed that there remains a division, not only between those who recognise visibility and those who prefer not to acknowledge difference, but, furthermore between those who wish to see race issues placed explicitly on the agenda and those who view them as part of a generic human rights or inclusive education approach. The breadth of responses, which also included preference for a 'common sense' approach in relation to race and ethnicity issues, rejection of anti-racist policies and the opinion that there was 'too much emphasis on race issues', highlights the range of teacher attitudes and sheds light on the random way race equality appears to be pursued across different institutions and by different individuals. This is also supported by documentary evidence.

Most teachers interviewed in this study felt that race equality was best developed as part of an equal opportunities or human rights approach. However, there were divergent views on how this should be done so illustrating the disparity between those who held that anti-racism had to be explicit and the cornerstone of an equal opportunities approach and those who preferred not to think of it in terms of racism or anti-racism but considered it a matter of common human values.

Equal Opportunities means understanding the nature of anti-racism ... it has to be fundamental to any equal opportunities approach.Headteacher , Primary

Basically, we are encouraging youngsters and insisting that they treat one another with appropriate courtesy and respect. It's within that sort of ethos that we would deal with any issues that might be described as racial in any way. Teacher, Special

In one of the most recent works on the experiences of minority ethnic pupils in mainly white schools conducted in England by Cline et al (2002), teacher confidence was highlighted as an important feature that requires further exploration. Interviewee responses in this study also indicate how varying levels of confidence and ease with race equality matters affect the way teachers conceptualise them, translate their thoughts into practice or are conscious of shortcomings. They also make it clear that pupils' school experiences are influenced by their teachers' ability to engage with discussion around social justice.

There is a real need to move on from 'passive tolerance' to 'positive affirmation' of difference. There is still a lot of complacency and ignorance about racism and about ethnic minorities ... There has been a regulation of behaviour but I'm not sure about changing attitudes. Teacher, Secondary

I'm not convinced that we do actually promote race equality. We are aware of different cultures and we try to meet needs.Teacher, Secondary

I personally would feel that raising racism as a social issue in P2 is too young, but that may be more to do with lack of confidence on my part in knowing how to actually raise that with children of P2 level; I'd feel more confident in doing that with children further up the school.Teacher, Primary

From a very young age when I was 13 or 14, I joined the Anti-Nazi League and became active in this area. For me, anti-racism is an essential part of education, it's a core educational aim to achieve a position where people are non-racist, instead they are anti-racist. I think it is more than just accepting and tolerating other cultures. It's about being unhappy and challenging towards those who display racial intolerance ... I have no problems in discussing these issues with pupils.Teacher, Secondary

Troyna and Hatcher (1992) found that children tried hard to make sense of the racial aspects of their world. Contributors to this study again differed in their assessment of how minority ethnic young people would feel about open mention and indeed discussion of race issues.

I'm thinking of this particular school here, where say racism took on a high profile in a sort of cloth-eared way - the people who would like it least, I suspect, are the members of racial minorities, because I think, they would feel uncomfortable if the thing was spotlighted.Teacher, Secondary

It is not my experience that black pupils feel awkward, not in the slightest, not at all, absolutely not at all. And I teach different classes with different make-ups of pupils, some with a larger black make-up and some with a smaller black make-up and I find that is not the case at all. I find if you raise these issues

[referring to the learning of the roots of racism and of slavery] the kids are interested and involved and directed in what you are saying, and what you set up in terms of the learning activities.Teacher, Secondary

Pupils seem to respond more to situations closer to home ... when they saw a documentary about people in here who had faced racial abuse after 11th September, there was quite a lot of anger among the pupils on behalf of those individuals.Teacher, Secondary

Sometimes staff were overly keen for minority ethnic pupils to be proud of their identity but found the young people wished to 'blend in' and to be like their peers.

Where do you come from? 'Oh! Place X (local area)' Do you not mean Bangladesh? 'No no' You don't? But what about where your parents came from?Teacher, Secondary

Some felt that separating multicultural and anti-racist education as distinct strands did not assist inclusion.

If you wish to promote multiculturalism and anti-racism, then come up with a strategy which is not in itself divisive ... inclusion means inclusion for everyone.Headteacher, Secondary

A dominant theme running through the interviews was that teachers appeared to relate the promotion of race equality to working with minority ethnic pupils. Very few respondents spoke of race equality as relevant to the entire school community, regardless of the ethnic composition of the school, nor did the responses reflect an appreciation of the complex nature of race matters or their place within the learning experiences of all pupils, and, indeed, teachers. Whilst parents interviewed in this study interpreted the question of how to promote race equality in wide-reaching terms, discussing the way learning about social justice could permeate children's school and indeed life experience, the initial response from many teachers homed in on the needs of pupils who required EAL support and the difficulties associated with working with an underfunded EAL Service. (This is referred to again in 6.6.8 and 6.6.9) They also spoke of the school's handling of racist incidents, examples of multicultural work involving the use of artefacts, books or display materials in the classroom, the contribution of minority ethnic parents invited to demonstrate or cook or their contact with and respect for the local minority ethnic communities.

Whilst many teachers made positive reference to the way the diversity of the community had enriched their school and some embraced the opportunity to further inclusion within their work, it must also be noted that to a significant number, the notion of race equality was symptomatic of problems. One respondent, who kept emphasising that she had no problems because the presence of a few minority ethnic pupils did not present an issue to her, illustrates an almost involuntary problematising of 'race'. The perception that there was 'no problem here', which may or may not be accurate in terms of her pupils' settledness and happiness at school, fails to recognise the significance of race equality in its own right.

A few comments, often made by those most experienced in working with minority ethnic pupils, suggest that it is not simply that teachers lack knowledge but that some actively, and for various reasons, seem to choose not to engage with issues of race equality.

It's not to say those teachers don't care about the children, because they do, but … they don't see that it's their role to take on board the specific needs of those children (referring to bilingual pupils) and to incorporate that into the way they teach and present the curriculum.EAL, Teacher

I think if you've got teachers prepared to think then they will become concerned (about issues of equality, fairness, multiculturalism) but many just want to get through the day. It's not their fault, the authority is asking them to do this and that.Teacher, Primary

In Scotland, where currently the majority of schools have few visible minority ethnic pupils, education for equality needs to be understood as an approach that benefits all pupils, parents and staff. If race equality issues continue to be deemed of relevance only in multiracial schools, it is all too easy for teachers to disengage from discussion and development. Unless teachers work hard at placing the issue of race equality and diversity on their practice agenda, the issue is likely to become lost within a crowded curriculum. The effect on pupils would be loss of opportunities to acknowledge and understand diversity. Homogeneity, the current dominant discourse, would continue and minority ethnic young people, particularly where they are isolated, be taught to keep quiet and assimilate.

6.6.3 Multicultural and anti-racist education

The majority of examples given in relation to promotion of race equality were through

• learning about different faiths, festivals, customs and diets
• celebrating faiths and festivals
• encouraging pupils to talk about the countries they had come from
• discussions or presentations about diversity during assemblies
• involvement of minority ethnic parents (invited to demonstrate culture-specific activities, participate and attend meetings with teachers)

Much of the above was offered to the interviewers as conveying a message of mutual tolerance and respect to all pupils in the school. Overall, teachers felt that multiculturalism was enriching for all pupils and were happy to promote it.

Teachers from one school talked about the importance of respecting all faiths equally and their decision not to hold corporate worship within their school. Assemblies were based on themes such as peace and drew on the range of world religions. Parents were consulted with and, the respondents thought, understood the school's approach. As a result no child from any faith background had ever been withdrawn from religious education. The school's multi-faith chaplaincy was thought to signal genuine multiculturalism and respect.

A few contributors discussed the ways they raise the issue of racism with young people

• through teaching about the histories of black people and slavery in North America
• through discussing the effects of the Holocaust and its connection to present day forms of racism and xenophobia, particularly in relation to asylum seekers and refugees
• through the use of fiction and stories
• through inviting guest speakers such as the local community police or community organisations working with minority ethnic communities

Teachers used a range of methods to provide space for discussions on racism. One special school primary teacher based the exploration of prejudice with the pupils on the book 'Iggy's House', a story about two families, one black, one white, in America.

One headteacher had an interesting perspective on the notion of embedding of issues throughout the curriculum.

Every time there's a new initiative, let's do it by starting to integrate it across curriculums ... I'm not convinced that that delivers to the kids. It's better to do a big impact situation to them and deliver it in social education or deliver it in religious education. Whereas if you permeate it across the curriculum, I think there is a job to do there but I think you have to have the big impact situation then permeate it across the curriculum, otherwise you can lose it.Headteacher, Secondary

This notion of an explicit approach is one that is endorsed by education writers like Stephen May who argue that students whose backgrounds are more marginal to the discourses of power particularly need an explicit curriculum. He also argues that students from dominant cultures are taught more effectively with an explicit pedagogy. May (1999: 263) describes the explicit curriculum as a 'process of lending consciousness, lending language and lending culture for purposes outside the child's domestic or commonsense purview'. In other words, a curriculum that extends. Therefore a curriculum that is overly generic and disguises issues of racism and anti-racism as 'inclusion' or 'diversity' is not necessarily extending the pupil beyond their purview.

A few teachers across all sectors and levels were sceptical and cautionary about adopting a purely multicultural approach.

I was involved in something last week in another authority and we were talking about culture. I am not a multiculturalist in the sense that I think a lot of multicultural education is tokenistic. I think there should be a strong element of the cultures in the school pervading the whole curriculum and I say the background, the countries that children come from, but I think it would also be good for all children to know about the Indian subcontinent but also about partition and the context of why people moved.Headteacher, Primary

The above comment about learning not just about the Indian sub-continent but also about how the sub-continent was divided as a result of colonialism is an example of how it is possible to have a gear shift and to move beyond purely the multicultural to a contextualisation of multiculturalism within an anti-racist framework. May (1999) refers to this as 'critical multiculturalism'.

Interviews would suggest that the transition from multicultural education to anti-racist education remains a big conceptual hurdle for Scottish education and teachers. The gulf of understanding between those interviewed was great. There were clearly teachers who engaged with multicultural education (often seen as an issue about 'ethnic minorities') with well-meaning hopes that giving pupils an opportunity to 'learn about others' might foster values of tolerance. However, learning about others tended to remain at the fun, happy level rather than involve any discussion of racism or discrimination. There were also those who wanted to see the 'feel good' multiculturalism accompanied by a coherent consideration of 'race' in the context of inequity, discrimination and injustice.

Cynicism about multiculturalism is a long-standing and intensely debated topic among those working with race equality issues. May (1999: 252) found in one of his studies that teachers were cynical about 'the stuff of festivals', feeling that multiculturalism produced stereotypes which had as much potential to feed into racism as to alleviate it. He cited teachers who commented that 'cultural identity in terms of what people wear and eat doesn't mean anything; it's not hitting the mark'. For many of the teachers in May's study, multiculturalism was too often presented as a preservation of a distanced 'their culture' rather than something subtle and dynamic shaped by dialogue, a dynamic process of negotiation. The Burnage Report (1989: 345) confirms this view by stating that 'multi-culturalism does not in fact deal with or assist in the understanding of the complexity of people's lives and histories and does not draw upon the lives and experiences of the students who are being taught'. If multicultural education is going to be dynamic and contemporary, there needs to be dialogue and debate among the whole school community. Failure to open up the discussion would result in a static, and possibly outdated, presentation of culture which in turn would lead to further stereotyping as described above.

6.6.4 Terminology

I get uncomfortable with the word 'anti-racist' because I don't tend to use that in the school ... when you start using emotive words like 'racist' and 'anti-racist', it evokes all kinds of different impressions on people. So we talk about the egalitarian side of things more than the anti-racist, and I would contextualise that with anti-bullying as well; it's not a word that I like to use in the school.Headteacher, Primary

With the exception of the EAL and Bilingual Support Staff, a significant number of teachers expressed varying degrees of unease with terminology around race-related issues. Phrases such as 'Should I say a mixed marriage?', 'Can I use the word coloured?' and 'Can I still use the term blackboard?' reveal the confusion that exists. As illustrated by the above, there was a marked avoidance by some teachers of words such as 'anti-racism' or 'race equality'. Many teachers seemed more comfortable with the terms 'inclusion' and 'diversity'. On the whole, teachers were uncertain about the 'correct' language to use, finding it difficult to discuss and at times even embarrassing. Their unease may have been exacerbated where they were interviewed by minority ethnic members of the research team.

Multiculturalism or the phrase 'multicultural education' were seen as positive but the term 'anti-racist' was considered negative by many. Some argued that it emphasised the negative (anti) in contrast to the positive connotations of 'multicultural'. Some teachers clearly misunderstood certain terms, a few interpreting the term 'anti-racism' to mean 'supporting racism' and therefore 'not nice'.

'Multicultural' sounds a lot more positive than 'anti-racist' ... We're not used to the using the 'anti' word ... egalitarian is a bit more acceptable. 'Anti-' means against ... it is the connotation of the two together, if someone is anti-racist then they are against multiculturalism.Headteacher, Special

There were other inaccuracies, such as the constant usage of the term 'ethnic' to refer to minority ethnic groups. Phrases like 'my ethnic pupils' or 'we deal with ethnic issues by celebrating different faiths' demonstrate this.

We have such a large proportion of children who come from an ethnic background.Depute Headteacher, Primary

While the experiences of minority ethnic pupils may not be immediately improved by the correct usage of terms, there is a need for teachers to develop confidence to engage with race equality terminology and to appreciate it as a dynamic, evolving reflection of contemporary discourse rather than an obstacle-strewn path of static and imposed political correctness. If teachers see 'ethnic' issues as mainly relating to minority ethnic pupils and do not recognise the ethnicities of white people, then race equality work may continue to be seen as most appropriate for multi-ethnic schools. Equally, failure to engage with, and indeed rejection of terms like 'anti-racism' raises concerns about a possible subliminal denial of such issues as part of the learning and teaching process. This is bound to have a detrimental impact on the experiences of minority ethnic pupils, in particular, the negation of experiences of racism as identified in this study and also in other studies (Hampton, 1998; Virdee et al 1999; Cline, 2002).

6.6.5 Senior management and leadership

Senior managers who took part in the study expressed commitment to social justice and inclusion. Some were happy to be explicit about race equality but others preferred to discuss it under the generic banners of equality and fairness. All took their leadership roles very seriously and understood the importance of leading from the front on this matter.

The view I have for my school is that equality is the most important single issue in the school. It underlines everything we do. Whether it is for access to the curriculum, whether it is for minority ethnic issues, gender, class or whatever, we develop good policies about all of these aspects. But there is a danger that people will think we have cracked it. I think therefore it is even more incumbent upon us to keep it dynamic and keep moving forward.Depute Headteacher, Secondary

It is essential that headteachers take an active interest in the issues. Otherwise how are you going to pass that on to your staff that this is important and that not only lip service gets paid to it?Headteacher, Special

I think it is absolutely critical. It's vital to the whole thing in terms of as leader and manager of the school that I am demonstrating my full commitment to social inclusion. That my values are very clearly embedded and that I am supporting the school to ... ensure the rights of every child are met. Headteacher, Primary

As a head, you have an acquired power by your position and the staff do an awful lot of listening to what you say. The head in the main has a key role in shaping the attitude and ethos of the school.Headteacher, Secondary

Many talked about the time required to embed these issues in the fabric. In one school, the senior team spoke in terms of ten years to fully 'institutionalise equality' into all aspects of their school. Other headteachers used words such as 'evolve' to describe the slowness of a process which required a building blocks approach.

Both teachers and parents contributing to this study commented on the importance of leadership in generating a distinct school ethos. Where headteachers took race equality seriously and ensured this was communicated and acted upon across the school community, parents and most teachers gave praise. Equally, however, there was doubt and unhappiness expressed by many parents and some teachers when a headteacher did not take race equality seriously.

In this school, there is quite a lot of feeling on the part of the staff that the assemblies do not reflect the community the school services in terms of faith and issues being discussed ... But where is the layer above the headteacherdom, who tells headteachers they need to take this issue on board seriously ... the school was relatively recently inspected and it wasn't picked up by the HMI. So who tells the headteacher?Teacher, Primary

6.6.6 Bullying and racism

Overall, teachers did not report frequent or systemic occurrences of racist incidents or racist bullying. All the senior managers in particular were keen to point out that they tried to develop a climate within their school where young people were comfortable to report incidences of bullying. Some schools had formed strong relationships with the community police or voluntary sector and strove to tackle racial bullying as part of a multi-agency partnership.

Name-calling was reported by the majority of interviewees as the most frequent form of racist bullying. This concurs with the information gained from questionnaire responses. Time and again teachers stressed their zero tolerance approach to any form of bullying, including racial bullying. However, the absence of incidents was often taken as an indicator that all was well and, furthermore, that the subject of racism or racial bullying

should therefore not be highlighted. This ties in closely with the wider reluctance shown by many teachers, and discussed above, to place race equality on the school agenda.

There's been no incidents within the classroom, the [minority ethnic] children fit in very easily.Teacher, Primary

We do not specifically take a topic entitled racism or race equality, what we do have are units on bullying and bullying units ... it's all to do with being part of a community and respecting people within the community .... We don't necessarily raise it in terms of racism, we don't want to accentuate something that is not giving cause for concern or worry because we see harmony within the class ... and we see that inclusion is working. So if it's not broken don't try to fix it.Depute Headteacher, Secondary

Have not noticed any racist incidents. Anti-racist policy is not required.Teacher, Secondary

Others thought the issue of racial bullying was not about being racist but an indicator of a general culture of intolerance of differences.

You get two youngsters, fall out with another and one of them's got red hair, so the person they've fallen out with will make some derogatory comment about his red hair and I think sometimes with coloured children something similar might happen - it's a difficult area but perhaps should be responded to in the same sort of way?Teacher, Secondary

Yet studies have shown that it is important not to reduce aspects of bullying to generic bullying. Gillborn (1995) describes racist name-calling as insulting not only to the individual, but their family and culture. Small-scale studies indicate that minority ethnic children are especially at risk of bullying. This bullying would appear to start at an early age. Small-scale action research done by three teachers in Central Region in the mid-1990s found attitudes of 'them and us' among primary pupils to be prevalent and strong (Donald et al, 1995). A survey of perceptions and experiences of young black and white people in Glasgow (Hampton, 1998) and research on the experiences of refugee children in Scottish schools (Arshad, Closs and Stead, 1999) confirm that young people face racial bullying and name-calling in school.

It is clear from the contributions made by young people to this study that racism and racial incidents happen in school, as well as on the way to or from school. Some of the teacher respondents, particularly the EAL staff, reported that many of their colleagues were unaware of the experiences of minority ethnic young people outside the school gates. On the whole, teachers rated the occurrence of racial incidents as occasional or rare within schools but acknowledged that pupils faced racism in the street. This raises questions over terminology and what constitutes racism, and how prepared teachers generally are to enquire closely into the ongoings within their area of responsibility. Pupils stated that they would seek help from siblings, friends, parents, the police and, within school, the guidance teacher.

Very few [minority ethnic] kids are racially abused in the school but I know they are routinely racially abused [outwith school].Teacher, Secondary

Some teachers who did acknowledge the occurrence of racism within their school, mentioned techniques for dealing with bullying, ranging from operating a 'buddy' system to asking senior pupils to assist raising the issues using games, role play and discussion.

The lack of interaction between young people of different ethnic groups once they leave school was referred to by some respondents as a 'problem of social separation '. These teachers felt that pupils from different ethnic groups tended to 'herd together' for safety, especially after local occurrences of racism within the streets or vicinity of the school. The theme of social separation was also commented on by some of the pupils interviewed who were critical of the tendency for some visible minority ethnic pupils to congregate. Like their teachers who called for closer collaboration with other agencies to ensure opportunities for young people to engage in activities across ethnically defined groupings, these pupils too wanted their schools to do more to break down enclaves.

One of the points that I feel we've failed with in many respects is that we have tried to integrate and encouraged them to integrate, but you will see that often in the social areas and in the classroom that they tend to stick to their own ethnic group.

The tendency in terms of grouping is just to let the children sit in their peer groups unless it becomes a problem.Teacher, Secondary

One issue to emerge was the at times only implicit assumption made by a number of teachers of racism being connected with social deprivation. This is referred to in more detail in 6.6.12.

Another critical issue was comment from some teachers about racism generated by staff often through comments to other staff within the staffroom or in passing with each other. Teachers who commented on staff ignorance were disturbed at some of their colleagues' attitudes and wondered how to address this.

Teacher awareness of racism and how it affects the lives of minority ethnic pupils, whether overtly or covertly, needs to be developed if they are to fully appreciate the experiences of those pupils. Some minority ethnic pupils do discuss experiences of racism, others deny the occurrence of racism in order not to draw attention to themselves. Relying on the number of recorded racist incidents as a marker of the presence of racism would be erroneous. It is perhaps more important for schools and teachers to develop ways to communicate with minority ethnic parents and pupils about occurrences of racism. Links could also be developed with minority ethnic organisations working with minority ethnic communities as these organisations would be useful sources of information and guidance for the school. Developing teacher confidence in identifying and discussing issues of race equality will also assist the teacher to develop strategies and techniques to place the issue of racism on the learning and teaching agenda.

6.6.7 Working with bilingual learners

Schools operating in areas with a settled minority ethnic population were likely to have developed years of experience of working with bilingual learners and were able to draw on a network of voluntary sector minority ethnic organisations to assist the settling-in process. Teachers working in such schools, while still dependant on the EAL Service, appeared to have adapted their ways of working to better serve multilingual pupil cohorts.

When you have 33 children in an infant classroom and a child turns up speaking a language no one else does, it can be very difficult socially for the child to have this terrible isolation of having no-one speaking their language in the school at all. Now that doesn't happen very often, we very quickly link in to other people who will help - we are very fortunate here with the local community and so on, we generally find other people who can speak the language and we do have volunteers who sometimes come in and help to bridge gaps.Teacher, Primary

However, schools with transient minority ethnic populations often do not have such networks, nor do the teachers have the support necessary to develop the confidence to work with linguistic, faith and cultural diversity. Whilst the support provided by the EAL and bilingual support services was generally praised, their input was generally considered to be too infrequent.

It was lucky that Pupil X in [that class] spoke Mandarin, as a new pupil who came spoke Mandarin [too]. I mean, we would have been really struggling. If they're not going to come with a basic understanding, we need more help.Teacher, Primary

Where schools did not have the necessary support mechanisms in place or were unable to access them at short notice, bilingual pupils or their siblings were sometimes called upon to interpret for their parents and teachers. Whilst the schools' determination to maintain contact with parents is indeed laudable, it is necessary to examine how appropriate such a measure is given considerations of confidentiality and privacy, and how external and neutral interpreting services might be accessed more effectively. In one case, the teacher shared how her school, in a unit for children with profound and complex difficulties, worked with a young bilingual pupil from a minority ethnic background whose ability to relay educational information to his mother was received with much enthusiasm by all concerned. If such positive experiences could become catalysts for further improvement and engagement with the needs of parents, it would render this child's achievement even more revelatory.

We have one boy who is locked in his body ... he is probably the brightest child we have in this school, and he obviously translates ... he is using a talker (electronic equipment). He can communicate with his eyes and he will make noises, very, very good at communicating, and we know that he is going from English into his own language. We bought this translator last year and he actually translated all the reports for mum. It was wonderful for us because we knew that Mum was understanding because she was asking questions she had never asked before. So the parent meetings started to take a different dimension altogether. Mum said it was wonderful to have something (a report) that she understood completely.Assistant Headteacher, Special

Many respondents were critical of the way their colleagues favoured monolingualism or were inconsistent in their attitudes towards different languages, calling for teachers to re-assess long-held convictions and take on the concept of bilingualism as an asset. As it stands, staff attitudes appear to remain assimilationist, devalue bilingualism and relegate EAL to the 'additional support' category.

I think the SE have been very good about supporting the Gaelic language. It seems to me, there's an element of racism in this, in education authorities and higher up that it's good to support the Gaelic language because it's our native language, but they don't seem to see the same arguments hold for community languages Punjabi and Urdu and Arabic and Chinese. They can see why we must keep up the Gaelic but they don't seem to see the tie-up with the other languages.Bilingual Support Teacher

But the teachers are hard to convince, only the infant staff have been on bilingual training. Language is part of the culture but teachers want to tell parents to speak English to the children.Headteacher, Primary

Our main objective is to get the children to speak English ... wel,l we do take into account their backgrounds but what we're trying to do is get the children to speak English and that is the only direction that we're working in.Teacher, Primary

Several senior managers wished to see more bilingual teachers employed so that pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds could be given the confidence to speak their mother-tongue in class, and there was concern about the potential loss of home language, both with regard to identity and general language acquisition. Similarly, the lack of bilingual and minority ethnic educational psychologists in Scotland was noted, and interviewees raised the need for greater input at nursery levels to enable minority ethnic children to experience and enjoy pre-school education.

They refuse to speak [their] home language. They do not realise it is a whole part of themselves, they could lose their language and culture. Mother tongue deficit leads to language deficit in English as well.Depute Headteacher, Primary

The little ones are very upset, crying, being left. In groups, they are very quiet, withdrawn or can be aggressive. In time, they get used to the routine.Bilingual Teacher

Some teachers felt minority ethnic parents often preferred their children to speak only English. Arshad and Diniz (1999: 881) noted this phenomenon arising from the 1970s when minority ethnic parents eager for their children to achieve in their 'adopted' country often listened, in good faith, to teachers whom they credited with knowing best. Prioritisation of English thus meant refraining from speaking their mother-tongue to their children at home.

There has been a considerable amount of research into the assessment of bilingual learners. The need for dual language assessments is put forward as the fairest way to fully assess the attainment of bilingual pupils (Jones, 1997; Mitchell, 1987). Gravelle (1990) warned that formal testing in L2 (second language) does not assist bilingual pupils or pupils whose first language is not English to fully express their understanding the way they could in their home language. Shan (1990) points out that monolinguals are not confident about assessing bilinguals. This ties in with concerns expressed by teachers interviewed in this study, EAL teachers in particular spoke of the inequalities of testing a bilingual speaker or a speaker with little English only in their second language.

We have issues of equality here that if a child, for instance, comes into Primary 1 speaking only Arabic and his numeracy or literacy is tested by somebody who has got no knowledge of his language and his culture, is unfair, because the child could have a numeracy system, for instance, that's perfectly in place but that's not revealed in the course of testing him in English.EAL Teacher

6.6.8 The importance of the English as an Additional Language Service

A clear thread emerging from the interviews was the invaluable help offered by the various English as an Additional Language (EAL) or Bilingual Support services in the four authorities. The central role of the EAL services as support for classroom teachers and school managers was obvious. EAL staff were relied upon to draw up appropriate learning plans for pupils whose first language was not English. Equally, they were seen as a source of information and training for existing staff in accessing interpreting and translation services, adapting teaching styles and language and curriculum presentation to acknowledge linguistic diversity in a classroom. EAL staff were also depended upon to 'break the ice' and act as a link with minority ethnic parents and communities.

However, a sizeable number of teachers and senior school staff were acutely aware of the inadequacy of provision from bilingual support or EAL services. Others wanted the EAL provision to be much more class-based as too much was occurring outwith classrooms and, in the view of one contributor, the current funding system did not always assist schools. Monitoring, too, was acknowledged by a few to be important.

The EAL staff should have joint responsibility for the class.Headteacher, Primary

Our allocation for bilingual pupils support is assigned in August ... however, because of the nature of the children coming here, at different times of the year, the intake exceeds the allocation.Deputy Headteacher, Primary

Records are kept on all pupils, including the language profiles that are used to assess the precise support that is required for pupils who do not speak English as their first language.Teacher, Secondary

Some EAL and learning support staff interviewed spoke warmly of their relationships with colleagues and of the range of experiences they encountered.

We enjoy our work and appreciate being respected by the other teachers and school management. Teamwork has been developed in order to provide for the learning of pupils. In this school, we praise the record-keeping and monitoring achieved in the school, allowing high achievers and low achievers to be monitored and supported, especially in the first two years.EAL Teacher

I am allowed by the previous headteacher to sit in on assemblies and I was very thankful for that because it gave me a much broader view of the work that's going on right across the board.EAL Teacher

Yet the views from other EAL staff were less rosy. Some staff felt unsupported, lonely and vulnerable. EAL and bilingual staff were heavily dependent on their relationships with individual schools and members of staff and thought that whilst there was collegiate working within some schools, in others, EAL staff were treated as second-class.

Staff meetings, many long meetings ... I should be in on these. There is no support for children, it is all about teacher convenience. Timetables here are set like stone. I am very frustrated that people here aren't seeing that. I am taken away from my work to cover in the classroom, this is not on except in emergencies. My work is not respected, we are seen as people who work with the bottom group.EAL Teacher

There's no value attached to my job. The role of the bilingual teacher is tokenistic.Bilingual Teacher

6.6.9 The 'exceptional' child

The personality of a child appears to play a significant part in his/her relationships with teachers and other pupils. A happy, clever child who speaks English is seen positively by teachers. Many teachers were keen to accentuate the positive characteristics and working relationship they had with minority ethnic pupils or their parents. Pupils and parents were often described in glowing terms.

She has a happy disposition anyway.

X is a very bright boy, very impressive and although they lived in Y all their lives, his English is perfect.

Her dad's English is very good. He's a student here.

The question that arose here was to what extent did minority ethnic pupils have to become 'exceptional' in order to be liked and to fit in? Klein (1993: 129) asserted that pupils whose ethnicity, culture or class least resembled those of their teachers were vulnerable to teacher expectations and attitudes. She stated that what most affected pupils' learning was the way their teacher interacted with them in the classroom.

It seems therefore that a child perceived as 'coping' or 'achieving' is more likely to receive a positive message from the teacher. How would cultural differences affect such perceptions? Klein provided an example of a pupil of Caribbean origin with downcast eyes and a lowered head being regarded by the teacher as 'insolent' and berated accordingly. Klein suggested that had this teacher realised that the posture that had incensed her would have denoted deference and response in the child's home culture, she might have reacted differently.

Similarly, observational work conducted in multiracial schools (Wright, 1987; Mac an Ghaill, 1988; Gillborn, 1998) concluded that visible minority ethnic and white pupils experienced schooling differently. African-Caribbean pupils were typically stereotyped as having poor behaviour and attracted greater criticism from teachers. In contrast, Asian pupils, often perceived as not understanding or speaking English, were generally excluded from class discussions. In addition, teachers often spoke to Asian pupils in basic telegraphic language and when this strategy failed to get any response, they would quickly lose patience and then ignore them (Wright, 1992). Teachers often expressed open irritation or frustration when they believed that the Asian children's poor English language skills interfered with their teaching. Among the negative responses to Asian children expressed by teachers were open disapproval of their customs and traditions, often considered to pose problems for classroom management. Such disapproval added to the negative experiences of school for some of these children. Such examples also tended to counteract the positive attempts by teachers to address multicultural issues and led to an ambivalence from minority ethnic pupils on curriculum topics or school celebrations focusing on multicultural issues.

Clearly much of the above material was gained through observational methods. It would not be possible to draw any such conclusions or comments from teacher interviews in this study. However, the impact of teacher attitudes and expectations on the range of visible minority ethnic pupils requires to be raised for consideration. This is particularly important in Scotland where the teaching workforce is almost exclusively white and from majority ethnic groupings.

6.6.10 Staff development

A significant number of teachers indicated a need and desire for more staff development and spoke of the need to 'educate the educators' and some believed that the development of good ethos on racial issues was not as systematic as it might be. Teachers wanted practical support for maintstreaming race equality issues as well as authority-wide courses to provide teaching on the concepts of anti-racism.

I think it definitely needs some kind of a link person who has a perspective on race issues and can help teachers say 'right, let's have a look at this side as well, let's not forget about this ... we could incorporate that little discussion in there and that could be worked in' but I think it needs to be highlighted. It shouldn't just be down to individuals who feel that that's an issue. I think we have to know that it's an issue that has to be addressed. So it could be worked into lesson plans by senior management.Teacher, Primary

If there are people who have experience of teaching anti-racism in school … and are good at it ... I would like to attend courses run by them or see them at their own establishment and observe their practice or have them come to you and share their expertise with you. These kind of things would be really helpful.Headteacher, Primary

Many members of staff still felt reluctant and uneasy about speaking openly on racial matters. Commenting on the school's staff, one headteacher noted that 'as long as the kids come in and they're happy, then that's enough'. Others remarked that although on the surface the ethos was welcoming, it was essentially rather patronising as well as disingenuous.

There is still a lot of ignorance around about for instance, the fact Sikhs and Muslims have different faiths and different languages.EAL Teacher

I can see the other side, staff attitudes, conversations and stereotyping. Parents and pupils can be oblivious. Such attitudes will have an impact on minority ethnic and bilingual pupils.Teacher, Primary

The disclosure that staff do not necessarily endorse or abide by the drive for good practice implemented in many schools reveals alarming levels of ignorance and either thoughtlessness or malice. It also ties in with the 'canteen culture' of the police force criticised in the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report (Macpherson, 1999). In the same way, several interviewees remarked upon the culture of the staffroom and contributors cited examples of overt and covert racism which took place there.

The school where I was before where there were just 1-2 [minority ethnic] families I was horrified by what I saw and heard. The staff comments were horrible - talking about bad smells, mocking. There was a bad atmosphere and the majority completely blanked me. Here I am part of a team, part of a group, not an alien.Bilingual Teacher

Interviewer: I noticed you were sitting alone in the staff room, is this usual?

Teacher: There's ... [name of teacher]) she sits here. I would sit beside anybody but I don't think anyone ever comes and sits beside me.Bilingual Teacher

While the teacher in the above statement did not explicitly vocalise that this was due to racism, these types of comments, of being excluded, are often features of covert racism. Covert racism is often not tangible and qualifiable but can be felt.

Comments about the need for staff development and the changing of attitudes were not confined to qualified professionals but were made about the lack of progress within teacher education courses, specifically in the area of teacher competency in working within multilingual classrooms. However, one minority ethnic teacher felt that staff development did not necessarily improve practice. She did not even feel it was an issue of ignorance but simply the absence of any desire to change in order to benefit a more diverse range of pupils.

It is driving me mad that the more recent group of teachers do not see the importance of my role or [that] of the bilingual teacher.EAL Teacher

Teacher training is not productive in raising achievement of bilingual children. The teachers do not understand whatever the policy line is and what they say privately goes completely against the principles of bilingualism.EAL Teacher

6.6.11 Working with a multiracial staff group and setting

One of the interesting aspects of this study has been the focus on the experiences of minority ethnic pupils with little mention of the lack of diversity among Scotland's teachers. When schools are referred to as 'mainly white' it is generally interpreted as not having an ethnically diverse pupil population. Very few teachers in this study commented on the lack of diversity within the teaching force. The failure of an all white staff group to query what constitutes the 'norm' and the impact on young minority ethnic people of such a norm require to be highlighted. Some of this has already been discussed in 6.6.10.

Some teachers commented on the desirability and impact of having a multiracial staff team and the very few visible minority ethnic teachers or EAL/bilingual support teachers interviewed stressed how their pride in their own identity helped to shape their practice.

Well, yes, if you look at the Eid thing, for example, I suppose what we would have done in the past is a token reference to Eid. We teach Islam as a world faith in primary seven, but when we thought about it we would say happy Eid to the children and that would be it really. And over the last few years we've worked quite hard and particularly because we're now fortunate enough to have Muslim teachers, to make that festival come alive for the children who are Muslim and to make sure that we're expecting our other faith groups to celebrate Eid as we are now expecting them to join in with our Christmas things.Teacher, Primary

When we have minority ethnic teachers (maths, science, home economics and also Urdu) there is noticeable impact in the school. Sadly, some have left without replacement.Teacher, Secondary

We had one Chinese classroom assistant but she's also the leader of a Chinese family welfare, she was working with pre-school children ... that had an effect on the school and she tried to encourage parents to become interested in the education of their children ... organised a number of speakers for them, one of which was myself as the headteacher and from that it blossomed.Headteacher, Primary

I am proud of my identity. I encourage religious education, especially during Ramadan when we have a room set aside for boys and another for girls. Many of the children keep the fast.Bilingual Teacher

Quite a few teachers working within fairly large multiracial settings talked of a sense of loss if they were to move to a school which was less diverse and teachers who had moved from schools who had not taken race equality issues seriously to schools who had, also commented on this change.

How am I going to phrase this, if I moved to another school which wasn't a multicultural school, I would lose something in my teaching. There is definitely enrichment about having the different cultures there and I would find it extremely strange and a sense of loss if I was working in a school that wasn't multicultural.Teacher, Secondary

Immediately I feel that there's a totally different culture at work here. I am very, very impressed with the whole of School X's approach and awareness to these issues. I think it is thoroughly embedded within the school's administrative structures, paperwork, calendar. They don't just focus on festivals ... there's a danger if you constantly focus on festivals pupils won't want to listen so we use current topics, like the other week the headteacher talked about war and its consequences. It is really about embedding both formally through school procedures, through department procedures, through the curriculum and onto the range of informal activities.Teacher, Secondary

What is clear is that those who had experience of working within multiracial settings valued that exposure to diversity. This raises the question of how Scotland can create opportunities for teachers, both in training and qualified, to gain experience of working in multiethnic schools and/or in multiethnic staff groups.

The implication for minority ethnic pupils of a teaching workforce that is almost exclusively white has not been fully explored. Pupils interviewed in this study who had come from schools in the London, Birmingham or Leicester areas had noticed the difference and may in some ways be better placed to critique the ability of their schools in promoting MCARE. The wish for more visible minority ethnic teachers was an issue brought up by several pupils who acknowledged their wish for role models or felt they would be better understood by a more multiracial teaching staff. The notion that the presence of minority ethnic teachers promotes opportunities for minority ethnic pupils to develop a positive sense of identity is also one explored by Blair and Bourne (1998: 162). They further suggested that such a presence provided a check on fair practices in relation to race equality in schools.

6.6.12 Multiple deprivation and discrimination

A number of teachers spoke of the multiple discrimination and deprivation that is faced by some minority ethnic pupils. A few women teachers thought of parental attitudes towards Asian girls as being overly restrictive whilst others complained about the sexist attitudes of Asian boys towards female teachers. The sexism of male pupils, and specifically minority ethnic male pupils, towards women teachers is an area that requires further exploration. There are also interconnections between SEN and race equality issues. A poignant example of a child with complex learning difficulties who is also bilingual is discussed in 6.6.7. In other parts of this study, notably in Chapters 7 and 8, there are specific sections on SEN.

The interplay of the different equality and discrimination agendas makes it a complex course for any pupil or teacher to negotiate. There requires to be more discussion of the congruence of equality issues but also comprehension of where the interplay breaks down and fractures. This section discusses the interconnection of race and class, showing two aspects to have emerged from this study. The first is that of teacher perceptions, the second that of the reality of living with the 'double whammy' of race and poverty.

Firstly, some teachers appeared to associate the perpetrators of racism to be from areas of social deprivation. These teachers valued minority ethnic pupils, particularly those recently arrived from overseas as being hardworking, diligent pupils from highly motivated homes and lamented the potential influences of local pupils and acclimatisation to local culture.

If you get someone straight from Bangladesh, generally speaking they don't have this anti-education feeling, which you sometimes get with the local kids.Classroom Teacher, Secondary in an area of multiple deprivation

As the ethnicity and culture of one category of students were celebrated and valued, this contrasted with the negation of another category of pupils on grounds of class and socio-economic status. Nuances of this nature, relating racism, particularly overt racism, to class issues, were by no means dominant but they did occur with sufficient frequency to raise a degree of concern. Concern over labelling young people from poorer backgrounds, but also concern that a white, middle-class profession might view racism as most commonly occurring within lower socio-economic groups and thus absolve itself from any responsibility or need for self-examination.

Secondly, teachers from schools with multiple deprivation discussed the implications of raising race equality issues in a school where over 90% of the pupil population were on free school meals and themselves suffering discrimination and poverty. Many of the strategies proposed by multicultural and anti-racist educators do not pay sufficient attention to providing advice for teachers who have to work within complex circumstances. The Burnage Report (1989) highlighted very succinctly the dangers of failing to understand the situation. The murder of Ahmed Ullah, a 13 year-old Bangladeshi pupil in Manchester in 1986, was immediately cited as being motivated by racism on the part of the white boy, Darren Colburn. However, Colburn himself was a victim, a disturbed adolescent prone to bullying and violent behaviour who was labelled by a system that did not understand the stresses and difficulties of his upbringing and home situation. The system failed him and brought about tragic consequences for many.

What Burnage taught the education world was the need to be more sophisticated in any challenges against racism. All pupils needed to be supported and, in the case of race issues, working-class white young people who were themselves denied equality, needed to be supported to understand why racism was being discussed. Anti-racist initiatives in areas of multiple deprivation that focus purely on minority ethnic groups without considering the experiences and feelings of white pupils lead to further polarisation of majority and minority. The Burnage Report concluded that ignoring the needs of white pupils in such circumstances was just as racist as ignoring black pupils. (1989: 379.12)

6.6.13 The value of personal experiences

The benefits of exposure to and familiarity with multi-ethnic communities as a source of learning and developing was recognised by some. The situation of the majority of teachers who do not actually have to acknowledge or address the issue of race equality or racism in their personal lives was captured by one headteacher who was aware of unexplored territories.

I think there is a problem in society as a whole, but it doesn't touch my life personally. I would welcome staff development or some form of training because I feel a bit at sea .... because it's not something I've really thought much about before.Headteacher, Primary

Teachers with experience of diversity in their personal lives, either through family ties or because they had lived abroad and had been exposed to different cultural or linguistic settings, also appeared to take a more enthusiastic and positive approach in terms of work with minority ethnic pupils, anti-racist issues and diversity. However, the relatively high number of teachers with personal experience of this kind who contributed to this study, begs the question to what extent they are perceived within their work environments as 'experts' or people with a particular interest in minority ethnic issues and thus spokespeople for their school.

Partnership with parents is really vital in our job. There's really little point in us doing our bit at school unless we work alongside parents. A lot comes from my own personal experience as I have a child with learning difficulties.Teacher, Special

... and even if we use the interpreting and translation service for some parents it's still not enough and there is really nothing to replace face to face contact.Teacher, Special School

I lived in the Middle East - I love to do Eid al Fitri and Divali is another really popular one. The children love the shadow puppets and the lights.Teacher, Special

6.6.14 It's not just about white racism

A theme, presented by a considerable number of respondents, was that of racism as a worldwide phenomenon, perpetrated not only by majority groups on minorities, but also vice-versa and among different minority groups. A few spoke specifically of anti-English sentiments from colleagues but also from pupils. The statements revealed that many teachers were aware of injustice and intolerance of different types in Scotland, in the UK and internationally.

When we had that poster - if this man's a darkie, a chinkie or a Paki then you are racist ... I found it quite interesting because ... a kind of racism that has not been taken account of, I feel, is black on white racism. So I feel that is an aspect that needs to be more honestly talked about, you know both black on white racism and black on black and I don't feel we've even scratched the surface there.EAL Teacher

Also, I don't know it's just a white thing, there's also - I have lived in X [country in Africa] and there was a distinct problem of racism between Indians and Africans there. So I think it's a human nature thing and I think it's got to do with you know, which country you are in.Teacher, Secondary

It's not always the indigenous culture that's racist to the minority culture and I've heard children of various backgrounds being deeply offensive to children who are white. I've always felt that that side of racism was swept under the carpet. It was always said 'that's a reaction to what people have said to them'

- and it might be, in fact it probably is, but I still felt that it should have been taken more seriously.Assistant Headteacher

Sometimes children going to their classes in the local mosque are told this, and this, and this. I can appreciate that is their culture, but sometimes they can turn round and be very intolerant of us. And that's a them and us, and that's not right and I don't like it. Whoever's teaching the children in the mosque ... could they be encouraged to be a bit wider as far as we're concerned?Teacher, Primary

Clearly connections between issues should be made to allow for empathy and understanding to be generated and the teacher perceptions above illustrate the presence of different notions of discrimination. It is important, however, in discussing racism against visible minority groups not to lose sight of these aspects of the debate as we move on to considering inter-ethnic conflict or black on white racism, which to varying degrees clearly do exist. Moreover, it must be borne in mind that in the British context, where black on white racism does exist at individual and group levels, it is not built into the fabric of organisations as described by the Macpherson Report (1999) as 'institutional racism'. Teachers need to grasp the complexities of this discourse if they are not to inadvertently marginalise the daily experiences of racism against minority ethnic pupils.

Institutional racism is the collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture, or ethnic origin. It can be seen or detected in processes, attitudes and behaviour which amount to discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and racist stereotyping which disadvantage minority ethnic people. It persists because of the failure of the organisation openly and adequately to recognise and address its existence and causes by policy, example and leadership.Macpherson 1999, para 6.34, p. 28

6.6.15 Home-school links

Overall, discussion of home-school links was not given high priority by teachers. Although a few teachers/senior managers discussed the contribution of parents to the promotion of race equality in schools, the majority of teachers in the study made no mention of home-school links. Most senior managers interviewed considered their contact with minority ethnic parents to be good, but, equally, examples of difficulties were given, relating mostly to religious or cultural differences, especially in relation to gender.

Teachers frequently valued the assistance and information provided by parents in faith and cultural matters. They acknowledged that they were not sufficiently well informed and would find it difficult to read up on certain subjects. The contribution made by minority ethnic mothers in particular was praised as being invaluable to the school because it lent reality to what might otherwise have been dry subjects. Some described a sense of joy and

wonder in the school when parents, pupils and school worked together on multicultural events and celebrations.

The prominence of the involvement of mothers is also borne out in Chapter 8, where 32 (84%) out of 38 parents interviewed were mothers. Mothers were more likely to participate during school hours than fathers who presumably were at work during the day. On the other hand, some schools spoke about never seeing the mother and of having to communicate via the father despite the fact that caring responsibilities appeared to lie with the former. Teachers were often dissatisfied with this, asserting that they would prefer to speak directly with the mother as the principal carer.

Teachers from schools that were active in trying to attract minority ethnic parents to become more involved found their efforts worked. One school held open afternoons for parents, translated letters to help bring parents in onto the School Board and ran first language workshops about the school and curriculum with parental support.

Another opened up a channel of communication with parents from a particular faith group in response to parental concerns and needs. Having learnt that it was getting difficult for parents to return home to celebrate a faith festival because of costs, the school decided to explicitly celebrate these events for all young people. This gesture resulted in improved home-school links and an appreciation by the parents of that faith group for the school's flexibility and interest.

In general, however, the teachers interviewed applied the 'we treat them all the same' message to the parents too and did not see a need to make specific targeted efforts to bring parents onto school boards or Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs).

I think we could do more to encourage parents to come in to a meeting and have an opportunity to talk about the requirements of their cultures, so that the youngsters don't miss out on that experience.Teacher, Secondary

Teachers found they were ill-equipped to deal with values clashes, particularly where these appeared to breach their reading of equity or human rights. However, difficult and tense situations arose not only from ideological differences but also from practical matters. The issue of lengthy absences, often for travel to the Indian sub-continent, for some minority ethnic pupils was remarked upon unhappily by some senior managers. Fear of 'getting it wrong' stopped teachers from feeling sufficiently confident to openly discuss race-related issues.

At the moment I have an issue with a Palestinian parent who is coming up with a lot of anti-Semitic stuff ... at the moment his homeland is being bombed, he's talking to his daughter about this who is in the middle of a block of education on Judaism, and who is 7 years-old and saying all Jews are disgusting people.Headteacher, Primary

There is no short cut or easy answer to the dilemmas and constraints that can arise from working in a diverse society with diverse issues. Teachers do however need the space to explore and discuss these issues in a supportive yet challenging environment if they are to develop effective multicultural and anti-racist practice.

6.7 Conclusions

6.7.1 All teachers interviewed expressed a wish to support all pupils, including minority ethnic pupils. In particular, teachers felt they had worked hard over the years to develop a positive and inclusive school ethos, a zero-tolerance approach to bullying (including racial bullying) and had looked at ways of embedding a multicultural approach in their work.

6.7.2 Teachers in ethnically diverse schools felt they were assisted in their work by the composition of the school, and thought that predominantly white schools would have to make a much greater effort to promote an inclusive message. When asked how this could be achieved they cited the tools of multiculturalism as described in 6.6.3.

6.7.3 Teachers were not unanimous on how to teach minority ethnic pupils fairly. Some felt the best way to achieve this was not to single out aspects of a child, such as their ethnicity or colour, but rather to concentrate on the personality and abilities of each child. Others disagreed and felt that to fully meet the needs of minority ethnic pupils, it was important to be conscious of all aspects of the child, that is, their ethnicity, language, culture, faith, gender, class etc.

6.7.4 White teachers were more likely to not 'see' difference in terms of colour, religion or ethnicity, while the very few minority ethnic staff interviewed all talked about the importance of affirming diversity, particularly in relation to faith, language and culture, which they saw as part of identify formation.

6.7.5 Teachers were divided about how to place race equality issues on the agenda. There were those who saw placing the issue openly on the teaching agenda as uncomfortable for minority ethnic young people. Others had found that this was not the case and that young people wanted to grapple with such contemporary issues of identity. Some teachers felt that if racism was not evident, it was best not to place it on the agenda as this might precipitate it.

6.7.6 Teacher confidence varied on race equality issues. Teachers with less confidence had a greater degree of anxiety about placing race equality issues firmly on the learning and teaching agenda. Personal experiences appeared to play a role, as those who had lived and worked abroad, done international teacher exchanges, had links with minority ethnic communities or had experienced discrimination towards their families or themselves, were more likely to be passionate and confident about recognising and valuing diversity and opposing discrimination.

6.7.7 With the exception of EAL and Bilingual Support staff, the majority of other teachers were tentative about race-related terminology. Teachers preferred to use positive terms such as 'multiculturalism', 'inclusion' and 'diversity' rather than terms like 'anti-racism' which was perceived to have negative connotations. Teachers were concerned about 'getting it wrong' and some thought it would be useful to develop their knowledge about changing terminology and be kept up-to-date about theoretical debate in relation to race equality and education.

6.7.8 The majority of teachers interviewed appeared to relate the promotion of race equality to mean working with minority ethnic pupils. Race equality was often spoken of in terms of how well the school was supporting bilingual pupils through interaction with the EAL service, the school's strong zero tolerance stance on racist incidents and its promotion of multiculturalism through the celebration of faiths and festivals. Fewer teachers focused on how they used the curriculum to take forward anti-racist issues or what the benefits of race equality work would be for majority ethnic pupils or for themselves and their colleagues as teachers.

6.7.9 Without exception, all senior managers interviewed understood the importance of leading from the front on equality and fairness and took this responsibility seriously. Many spoke of the time it would take to fully embed these values into all aspects of the work of the school. Some acknowledged that despite all the policies and their own explicit backing, it was about winning the 'hearts and minds' of all staff and that this was an incremental and slow process.

6.7.10 Some teachers spoke of their concern about their colleagues' lack of understanding of and interest in multicultural and anti-racist issues. In particular, they spoke of the culture of the staffroom where racism was often displayed covertly, through comments and innuendo and, in a few instances, overtly and blatantly. They found some staff attitudes to be more racist than those of pupils.

6.7.11 Overall, teachers did not report frequent or systematic occurrences of racist bullying or incidents. A minority of teachers and senior managers spoke of a multi-agency partnership approach to tackling racism and racial bullying by developing their links with the community police and voluntary sector agencies.

6.7.12 The absence of racist incidents was often taken to be an indicator that all was well. Quite a few teachers felt that where that was the case, there was no real need to highlight issues of racism or racial bullying, 'if it's not broken, don't try and fix it.'

6.7.13 While all teachers interviewed saw racial bullying as a serious matter, they were not unanimous in how to address such bullying. The majority would acknowledge the racial aspects and address the matter accordingly, but a small minority felt racial bullying was no different to any other sort of bullying. It was not about racism but about a generic culture of intolerance of difference.

6.7.14 Most teachers felt racist incidents in schools were rare and were more concerned about the racism encountered by pupils either in the street or in society in general. Some commented on the effect of parental values which might be racist and how such values impact on the pupil in school.

6.7.15 Some teachers were concerned about the 'social separation' that still exists between young people of different ethnic groups once they leave school. They felt that schools should work more closely with community agencies to develop collaborative activities, for example, sporting activities.

6.7.16 The interplay of race and poverty was seen by some teachers as having insufficient attention. Teachers felt that there was not enough done to consider strategies for delivering multicultural and anti-racist education in schools where the majority of ethnic majority pupils lived in poverty and were themselves discriminated against.

6.7.17 A minority opinion from teachers seemed to equate racism with social deprivation. Racism was seen to be occurring in areas of multiple deprivation and a consequence of poverty. This makes the incorrect assumption that racism is most rife within lower socio-economic groups. It also falsely labels young people from areas of social deprivation as being contributors to racism. The racism of the middle-classes and other professional groupings was not discussed other than by those teachers who complained of racism among colleagues.

6.7.18 Teachers were very concerned about the lack of support for children whose first language is not English. Teachers and senior managers stated that they felt their authority's EAL services were not adequately funded to cover the needs of schools in supporting bilingual learners. In particular, concerns were expressed that EAL services should be better funded to provide support from nursery level and that first language assessment should be offered as routine. The lack of opportunity for first language assessment was seen by quite a few teachers as being discriminatory. The majority of those interviewed wanted to see more bilingual workers/teachers appointed across all levels, that is, from in-class support to cross-cutting posts as in the educational psychological services.

6.7.19 Many interviewed were extremely appreciative of the high quality work delivered by their EAL or Bilingual Support services. The central role of these services for schools should not be under-estimated.

6.7.20 However, some interviewees did see staff attitudes towards bilingualism as a barrier to ensuring that bilingual learners were properly treated and not merely assimilated or viewed as 'an additional support need'. EAL teachers in particular talked about their varied experiences of schools, with some schools developing a strong collaborative and team-teaching approach while others perceived EAL staff as second-class citizens who 'work with the bottom group'.

6.7.21 Many teachers were keen to accentuate the positive characteristics of minority ethnic pupils. It is clear that the minority ethnic pupil who is an 'achieving' and 'exceptional' child, especially if s/he does not have language needs, is appreciated by staff. The question that needs to be asked is how will the 'ordinary' or 'misbehaving' minority ethnic pupil, who may not be a fluent bilingual learner but has little English, be perceived, as an asset or a classroom management problem?

6.7.22 In relation to staff development, teachers wanted practical help on how to take forward multicultural and anti-racist issues within the classroom. They would value advice on how to mainstream race equality issues into their practice.

6.7.23 The role of teacher education institutions was also commented on by a significant number of teachers. In particular, teachers were critical about the lack of progress made in teacher education establishments to prepare new teachers for working with bilingual pupils.

6.7.24 Teachers who had worked in multiracial staff teams and settings all commented on the benefits of having done so and felt they could not now move to schools where diversity was not the norm. Many teachers wanted to see the Scottish teaching workforce become more diverse and multilingual and felt that such a workforce would bring diversity issues 'alive' for pupils.

6.7.25 Teachers acknowledged the complexities of dealing with a range of equality issues. Teachers were less aware of thinking about multiple discrimination and how it might affect pupils, for example, the pupil who is from a minority ethnic group but also facing poverty or the minority ethnic pupil with SEN.

6.7.26 Gender issues arose in several different ways. Firstly, some women teachers interviewed commented on the sexism they had to face from some minority ethnic male pupils. They commented on the difficulty of raising these issues because some of the pupils' behaviour was being attributed to faith and cultural practices. Teachers did not wish to discuss this for fear of being accused of being racist.

Gender issues were also discussed in relation to home-school links. Teachers appreciated minority ethnic parents who came into schools to help. As mothers appeared to be more available during the days, the participating role tended to fall to them. In these instances, teachers regretted that fathers were less visible.

However, teachers also spoke of their concern in some situation where mothers were not present and all the school's dealings were with the father. This was attributed to language but also cultural issues. Teachers wanted more contact with mothers whom they knew to have the main caring responsibilities for the children.

6.7.27 Overall, few teachers and senior managers discussed the contribution of parents in any depth. The few who did, valued the assistance and information provided by parents, particularly in faith and cultural matters. The issue of home-school links was not given high priority in the majority of interviews.

6.7.28 Interviews showed that there was a lot of goodwill in the profession to do the best for all pupils. However, the words of one headteacher probably summed up for many teachers how they feel about race equality issues.

I think there is a problem in society as a whole, but it doesn't touch my life personally. I would welcome staff development or some form of training because I feel a bit at sea ... because it's not something I've really thought much about before.

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