Power and Racialisation: Exploring the Childhood and Educational Experiences of Four Mixed Young People (Who Identify as Having One Black and One White Parent)

Abstract

This Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis study aims to explore the experiences and understandings of childhood and education of four young people who identify as having a mixed Black and White heritage. The research utilises the theoretical positions of Critical Race Theory and recognises intersectionality. Participants took part in semi-structured interviews, and analysis led to the proposal of a series of “higher-order” superordinate themes across participants. These themes included “The significance of culture/heritage”, “Mixedness as challenging constructions”, “The significance of intersectionality”, “Blackness as problematic”, “Mixedness as an identity”, “Racialised perceptions in the development of self-identity” and “The power of Educational Experience”. Implications for practice are explored through Reflecting on Educational Psychology Practice and considering how educational psychology practice might develop through these accounts with reference to specific cultural and ethnic competencies in the British Psychological Society “Standards for the accreditation of Educational Psychology Training” (British Psychological Society, 2019).