The place of ‘race’ and ethnicity in the lives of children and young people

Abstract

AbstractMany studies show that black and other minority children tend not to fare as well as children from the white majority in terms of educational qualifications and experiences of racial and ethnic discrimination. Gender and social class intersect with ‘race’ and ethnicity to affect life chances. While issues of ‘race’ and ethnicity are all too often ignored in psychological work and practice, there are some practitioners who (like Tim Jewell) are concerned to make the services they provide anti-oppressive and who want to avoid the reproduction of practices which are implicitly racially and ethnically discriminatory. Understandings of the impact of ‘race’ and ethnicity on children’s lives and on professional practice are essential if successful strategies for the promotion of equality are to be devised within educational and child psychology.This paper discusses ‘race’ and ethnicity as they impact on the lives of children and young people and examines their implications for professional practice. The main argument of the paper is that, even in early childhood, ‘race’ and ethnicity are features of everyday life. As a result, they are also part of professional-client transactions (even if implicitly so). There are, however, no single, correct and easy ways in which discrimination, ‘race’ and ethnicity in practice can be dealt with. However, practitioners who struggle with the complexities of anti-oppressive practices are also those who are likely to subject their work and ideas to scrutiny and self-examination and, hence, are likely to employ good practices. Approaches which attempt to be ‘blind’ to ‘race’ and ethnicity are argued to be inappropriate.