Coincidence or Conspiracy? Whiteness, Policy and the Persistence of the Black/White Achievement Gap

Autor/in	Gillborn, David
Titel	Coincidence or Conspiracy? Whiteness, Policy and the Persistence of the Black/White Achievement Gap
Quelle	In: Educational Review, 60 (2008) 3, S.229-248 (20 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0013-1911
Schlagwörter	Free Schools; Academic Achievement; Minority Groups; Critical Theory; Race; Foreign Countries; Racial Bias; Blacks; White Students; Public Policy; United Kingdom (England) + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Free school; Freie Schule; Schulleistung; Ethnische Minderheit; Kritische Theorie; Rasse; Abstammung; Ausland; Racial discrimination; Rassismus; Black person; Schwarzer; Öffentliche Ordnung
Abstract	Adopting an approach shaped by critical race theory (CRT) the paper proposes a radical analysis of the nature of race inequality in the English educational system. Focusing on the relative achievements of White school leavers and their Black (African Caribbean) peers, it is argued that long standing Black/White inequalities have been obscured by a disproportionate focus on students in receipt of free school meals (FSMs). Simultaneously the media increasingly present Whites as race victims, re-centring the interests of White people in popular discourse, while government announcements create a false image of dramatic improvements in minority achievement through a form of "gap talk" that disguises the deep-seated and persistent nature of race inequality. The paper concludes by reviewing the key elements that define the current situation and notes that they fit the essential characteristics used in law to identify the operation of a conspiracy. It is argued that conceiving the racism that saturates the system in terms of a conspiracy has a number of advantages, not least the insight it provides into the workings of "Whiteness" as a fundamental driver of social policy. (Contains 5 figures and 5 notes.) (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10