Ethnicity and Education in England and Europe

Gangstas, Geeks and Gorjas

Ian Law, Sarah Swann

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN:
  9781138255081
• eBook ISBN:
  9781317140825
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Emigration & Immigration
• Index: Social Sciences

Ethnicity and Education in England and Europe examines where, when and how minority ethnic groups miss out on educational opportunities. Through a combination of comparative, quantitative and qualitative methodologies and the showcasing of new research, it provides a fresh approach to examining the long-standing debates over ethnicity, and in particular ethnic differences in educational achievement. Drawing on extensive empirical research in England, as well as information gathered as part of a major international programme of research under the auspices of the European Union (EDUMIGROM), this book both synthesises the findings of the English team and puts these findings in context through comparison with the analytical material generated in a range of other European countries. With a key focus on the educational experiences and outcomes of the Roma in Central and Eastern Europe, as compared with the experiences of minority ethnic groups in Western Europe, this volume provides a contemporary assessment of ethnic relations across a selected range of European countries. Presenting comparative, cross-national analyses of ethnic inequalities and policy interventions, Ethnicity and Education in England and Europe makes a significant contribution to debates in the fields of migration, ethnicity and education, and will be of interest to both scholars and policy makers concerned with questions of race and educational outcome.

Chapter 1
Ethnic Relations Across Europe

Introduction

The power of ethnicity as a constitutive force within and across European societies is urgently felt in the twenty-first century. The strength of ethnic loyalties is evident in contemporary patterns of ethnic conflicts and hostilities which continue, despite international declarations and interventions, creative national policies and inter-ethnic mixing. The processes of racial and ethnic immiseration and inequality accompany many situations and social relations where ethnicity is not a central feature and where post-ethnic, mixed human relations are being actively constructed. How ethnicity works in education and how the relational logics of ethnicised education work across European societies is a central focus for this book. This book is also concerned with young people’s lives and their world views whether street-orientated (gangsta) and educationally disaffected, intellectually-orientated (geek) with an obsessive thirst for certain aspects of knowledge and learning or inhabiting and performing elements of these two positions. It is also not only concerned with the lives of young people from minority ethnic groups but also with White identities, subcultures and the world views of the ‘gorja’, mainstream, settled communities as distinguished from Gypsy, Traveller and Roma young people and their communities.

This book arises from our involvement as the lead members of the UK team working on the European Commission 7th Framework Program project: EDUMIGROM1 which ran from March 2008 to March 2011. This project: ‘Ethnic differences in education and diverging prospects for urban youth in an enlarged Europe’ was a comparative investigation in ethnically diverse communities with second-generation migrants and Roma. EDUMIGROM studied how ethnic differences in education contribute to the diverging prospects for youth and their peers in urban settings. It is a comparative endeavour involving nine countries from among old and new member states of the European Union, including Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden and the United Kingdom. It explored how far existing educational policies, practices and experiences in markedly different welfare regimes protect youth against marginalisation and eventual social exclusion. Despite great variations in economic development and welfare arrangements, recent developments seem to lead to similar consequences for certain groups of second-generation immigrants in the western half of the continent and Roma in Central and Eastern Europe. Formally citizens with full rights in the respective states, people affiliated with these groups tend to experience new and intensive forms of involuntary separation, social exclusion, and second-class citizenship. The project critically examined the role of education in these processes of ‘minoritisation’. In ethnically diverse urban communities, schools often become targets for locally organised political struggles shaped by a broader political and civic culture of ethnic mobilisation. EDUMIGROM investigated how schools operate in their roles of socialisation and knowledge distribution, and how they influence young people’s identity formation. The project also explored how schools contribute to reducing, maintaining, or deepening inequalities in young people’s access to the labour market, further education and training, and also to different domains of social, cultural, and political participation. The results of macro-level investigations, a comparative survey and multi-faceted field research in local settings have provided rich datasets for intra- and cross-country comparisons and evidence-based policy making http://www.edumigrom.eu/).

This chapter examines selected aspects of this terrain and puts ethnic relations in the UK into this European context. This chapter provides a comparative overview of the working of inter-ethnic relations and the state of groups across nine EU countries (Germany, France, Sweden, Denmark, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and the UK. Firstly, the social significance of ethnicity is examined. Secondly, two key patterns of ethnic relations are examined, migrant workers and their descendants forming strong ethnic communities, for example Turks in Germany or Pakistanis in the UK, and the Roma. Common patterns of racism and discrimination are identified together with the formation of ethnic boundaries. Next, this chapter will also address the construction of official statistics on ethnicity, forms of self-identification and problems in the comparative analysis of ethnicity data and ethnic relations.

The main body of literature which examines ethnic identity discusses either macro level processes, policy formulations and effects, or micro-social settings and the integration of these three levels of analysis is a central objective for this book. The proposed three-level approach allows the mapping of variations in the construction of social status as it is forged through identity formation and empowerment in local communities, on the one hand, and through macro-level developments and policies in education and employment, on the other. With its focus on the combined effects of macro- and micro-level factors, along with individual experiences in shaping identity, this book aims to contribute to the advance of an interdisciplinary theory of identity formation.

The persistence, durability and, in some cases, increasing strength of ethnic identities, divisions and conflicts across these national contexts is evident. This contextualises the growing importance of ethnicity in forging young people’s career paths and life chances, despite political, legal and policy interventions to tackle discrimination and target support.

There are significant variations and differences in migration processes, economic development, welfare provision and forms of citizenship here, but these have led to some strong similarities in the creation of patterns of ethnic exclusion and minoritisation across second-generation immigrants in the western half of the continent and Roma in Central and Eastern Europe. The overt and covert mechanisms through which socio-economic, political, cultural, and gender relations that make ethnicity a substantive component of inequalities in social status and power are examined here.

This cross-country comparative chapter provides a meta-analysis of the themes and issues examined by national research teams in the EDUMIGROM project.2 In providing a comparative evaluation it is also important to acknowledge both the significance of specific contextual settings and the many dimensions of difference and diversity in these contexts. Many of the selected countries have long-established immigrant communities; in addition some are confronted with a more recent increase in migration. There are differences in the ethnic composition of these countries, such as overall size and types of ethnic groups, which makes a direct comparison of the countries rather difficult. The comparability of data is even more complicated due to different categorisations of groups used in the process of data collection, differences regarding the availability of differentiated data, and diverse educational systems. In addition, differences in processes of ethnic mobilisation and ethnic conflict are likely to be evident.

Why ethnicity matters

Ethnicity refers to the differentiation of groups of people, who have shared cultural meanings, memories and descent, produced through social interaction. In classical Greek the terms ethnos/ethnikos were used in a number of ways to refer to a collectivity that shares similar cultural or biological characteristics, for example a tribe of people or a band of friends, and who were not Greek, outside the nation, foreign, different and also inferior, barbarian and less-civilised. This distinction between ethnically marked ‘others’ and non-ethnically marked ‘us’ persists in modern popular usage with references to ethnic fashion, food, music, literature and forms of verbal and non-verbal communication. Sociological accounts of ethnicity are highly varied but tend to break the classical linkage between ethnicity and ‘other’, in asserting that we are all ethnically located in that our subjectivity and identity are contextualised by history, language, descent and culture. Ethnicity usually refers to the differentiation of social groups on the basis of five distinct criteria. Firstly, a notion of a ‘homeland’ or place of common origin is a key element, which is linked to the idea of a diaspora, where an ethnic group has migrated from that place to form communities elsewhere that identify with their place of origin. Secondly, a common language, either distinctive in itself or a distinctive dialect of a language shared with others, may be central to the construction of shared memories and affective belonging. Thirdly, identification with a distinct religion, e.g. Sikhism, or a religion shared with others can be a central feature of many ethnic groups. Fourthly, a common culture with distinctive social institutions and behaviour, diet and dress and, fifthly, a common tradition, or shared history of one’s own ‘people’ or nation are other criteria used in specifying ethnic groups. This last marker, a shared history is particularly important for ethnic groups like the Roma. Not all markers are used to differentiate all ethnic groups, but identification of the five, or less, criteria provide a sound basis for mapping the complexities of ethnic differentiation.

How and why does ethnicity matter? In fleshing out some of the ways in which ethnicity matters we need to look closely at specific social contexts. The strength of ethnic loyalties is evident in contemporary patterns of ethnic conflict which continue, despite international declarations and interventions, creative national policies and inter-ethnic mixing. It is ‘a world-wide phenomenon that has become the leading source of lethal violence in international affairs’ (Esman 2004: 26). In organised structure of domination, such as exclusionary domination in apartheid South Africa or inclusionary domination such as the French Republican model of assimilation, ethnic relations across the globe encompass highly varied, complex forms of social relations. Apart from these more formal contexts, ethnicity may also be of high importance in informal social contexts (Jenkins 1997) such as:

• Primary socialisation: in the social construction of children’s identities encountering and learning about oneself, who we are, and others may involve the use of ethnic labels and categories alongside other primary identities of gender, selfhood and human-ness.

• Sexual relationships and marriage: inter-ethnic sexual relationships have often been a key site for violence and conflict, for example in the British race riots of 1919 and 1948, and also for aspects of patriarchal power and control which may often be concerned to enforce ethnic exclusivity or group possession of women, for example where a female Irish Traveller may be ‘outcast’ if she marries outside the group.

• Routine public interaction: informal ethnic categorisation may often help to organise and interpret social interaction. Verbal and non-verbal cues including dress, language, humour and verbal abuse may often be key to the expression and mobilisation of ethnic identities and group boundaries, who is part of my group and who is not. Everyday cultural ignorance, miscommunication and misrecognition of difference, where individuals coming from two contrasting ethnic communities may bring with them different value assumptions, expectations, verbal and nonverbal habits that influence social interaction and communication, may result in offensive behaviour, affronts to dignity and lack of respect which can all lead to ethnic conflict and violence.

So, the extent to which ethnicity matters may be highly variable dependent on society, time and context, but it is arguably ‘a basic universal facet of the human cultural repertoire’ (Jenkins 1997: 77). The leading contribution of Modood’s work on ethnicity is widely acknowledged and his theoretical position is located as a bridge between political theorists of multicultural citizenship, including Parekh (2005) and Kymlicka (2007) and the long established tradition of sociological investigation of post-imperial migrant settlements in Western Europe. He emphasises five key dimensions of ethnic difference. These include:

Table 1.1 Dimensions of ethnic difference

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1. cultural distinctiveness (norms and practices such as arranged marriage),

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2. identity (affective meanings that may motivate or demotivate),

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3. strategy (differential responses to a set of circumstances that may contribute to group consciousness),

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4. creativity (group innovations e.g. clothing styles) and,5. disproportionality (differential structural characteristics e.g. unemployment).

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Source: Based on data in Modood, 2005: 189.

The purpose here is to capture both the subjective and objective features of a group defined by descent, and there is a central concern here to explore why certain social contexts over-determine or reduce the significance of ethnicity and the ways in which the different dimensions of ethnic difference may be operating in local circumstances. These issues are examined below in relation to the ethnic groups selected for analysis in this study.

Selected groups and inter-ethnic relations

The nature and complexity of relations between the movement of people (migration), the formation of boundaries between groups of people who have shared cultural meanings, memories and descent (ethnicity) and the formation and negative treatment of racial groups (racism) is a key focus for this study. Two key forms of ethnicity are examined in this study: migrant workers and their descendants forming strong ethnic communities, for example Turks in Germany or Pakistanis in the UK, and the Roma. This study is broadly concerned with comparing the situation of indigenous Roma in four Central and Eastern European countries with the situation of second generation migrants in five Western European countries. But, as the choice of selected minority groups shows, it is also concerned to identify how ethnicity and education operate across a range of different social and political contexts. Firstly, the situation of the Roma is examined in both Eastern and Western Europe, as the UK study also sets out to explore Gypsy and Traveller perceptions and experiences. Secondly, post-colonial migration flows to Europe are examined with a focus on a varied range of groups including North Africans, Black Caribbeans and Pakistani groups, which have differing patterns of educational achievement. Thirdly, other migrant groups including two guest worker migration flows from Southern Europe (Portuguese) and Turkey, and a refugee group, the Somalis, provide further detailed exemplars for the analysis of ethnicity.

Table 1.2 Selected groups

The migration history of each of these groups, and the resources and networks they have established, provide a set of key contextual factors that are likely to have a significant influence on patterns of educational achievement, together with the structural context of provision and discrimination. In examining this range of minority ethnic groups, it is to be expected that national, ethnic and intra-ethnic differentials in social, political and economic location and patterns of achievement will be significant and the complexity of positions and trends is important to capture, particularly for the purposes of policy intervention. Super-diversity is a concept that foregrounds a level and kind of ethnic complexity surpassing anything that has been previously experienced (this has been applied to the UK by Vertovec 2006). This is distinguished by a contrast with previous periods of migration and identification of the dynamic interplay of variables among an increased number of new, small and scattered, multiple-origin, transnationally connected, socio-economically differentiated and legally stratified immigrants. This concept is employed here. It is also important to identify structural dynamics at the transnational level, the articulation of global market forces within local networks and transnational forms of political identification and action, as seen for example in the construction of European Roma identity, agencies and agendas. Although the mobilisation of ethnicity is operating differently across these groups examined here there may also be commonalities in forms of negative treatment and majority hostility.

Negative treatment: the commonality of discrimination and hostility

There has been an accumulating mass of research evidence from the 1960s onwards which has sought to both establish an evidence base and win social and political recognition for the reality of mundane everyday racial discrimination in Europe and elsewhere across the globe. The response of many governments and their politicians and policy makers has been ambivalent ranging from denial of the significance of discrimination to pro-active recognition and intervention. Reaching ‘square one’ on this issue, i.e. recognition, has been a long and arduous task, let alone building a platform of successful interventions to tackle these fundamental problems. Here, the compatibility between, on the one hand, racial and ethnic exclusionary practices, and on the other, institutional behaviours, environments and objectives may be one key link in explaining their durability and persistence, rather seeing these as the exceptional, unwitting or warped attitudes of isolated individuals. General trends in racism and discrimination in a range of EU member states were examined in fieldwork with 11,000 respondents from minority ethnic and migrant communities between 2001 and 2005 (FRA 2006a). This shows that a significant number of migrants in all 12 countries examined3 have subjectively experienced discriminatory practices in their everyday life, with many being particularly vulnerable to such exclusionary behaviour in the spheres of employment, housing, education and in interactions with the police. This high level of everyday, often casual, racial discrimination and the resulting perception across many groups and communities of systemic hostility may have a range of significant effects including alienation.

The report also highlights a significant gap between the amount of experienced discrimination and the rate of reporting such discrimination to public authorities. This observation points to the theme of the availability and profile of institutions registering acts of discrimination. It may be that many victims either have no opportunity to report instances of discrimination, or are not aware of existing possibilities. About one third reported experiences of discrimination in employment including harassment at work, refused access to jobs and differential treatment in promotions. About a quarter reported harassment on the street, on public transport and by neighbours with 15 per cent of migrants saying that they had been the victim of violence or other types of criminal offences. One in five reported being denied access to either restaurants or discotheques and discriminatory treatment in restaurants or shops because of their ‘foreign background’, even including being denied entry to a shop. In the context of private commercial transactions just under 30 per cent reported that they had experienced discrimination in settings of commercial transactions being denied access to housing, credit or loans. In institutional contexts, every sector investigated in this study uncovered a significant level of experiences of racial discrimination across these European countries. About one in four had been subject to discriminatory treatment by the police in the last year and slightly less in educational establishments. One in five experienced racial discrimination in interactions with providers of welfare benefits and with employment agencies with slightly lower rates in healthcare and social service institutions.

Table 1.3 Racial and ethnic hostility by selected country

Across these differing national contexts targets and levels of discrimination vary widely. In Belgium for example Moroccan, Turkish, Congolese and Chinese people were key targets of discrimination with employment at 37 per cent being the sphere with the highest level of perceived discrimination. In Germany, Black people were key targets with 57 per cent reporting that they felt they had been denied a job for racist reasons, and in institutional contexts such as education the average rate of perceived discrimination was twice as high as for other groups such as Turkish people. In France over half of people from the Maghreb (North Africa) reported racial discrimination in access to jobs with slightly higher levels of discrimination being reported by people from Central African backgrounds. Lastly and most worryingly 86 per cent of those who had experienced discrimination did not report these incidents which indicate a gulf of trust between minorities, migrants and public and pri...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of Tables
• Acknowledgements
• Glossary
• Series Editor’s Preface
• 1 Ethnic Relations Across Europe
• 2 Ethnic Relations in the UK
• 3 Education and Ethnicity in England
• 4 Gypsies and Travellers, Perceptions and Experiences of Secondary Education
• 5 Young People’s Lives in Northcity: Gangs, Homes and Racism
• 6 Young People, Ethnicity and Schooling in Northcity
• 7 Ethnicity and Education in Europe, Comparisons and Case Studies
• References
• Index