ABSTRACT

Over the last decades a great deal has been written about race, ethnicity and schooling. Within the educational establishment, the debate has on the whole focused on issues of underachievement’ and its many causes, and on a meritocratic notion of equality of opportunity based on some undefined norm of equality of performance. From more critical educational and political quarters have come the arguments that such an approach, centred as it is on the perceived educational ‘problems’ of the minority groups themselves, fails to take on board the more important issue of racism, both individual and institutional, as the prime obstacle to the educational advancement of black minority pupils. This debate continues to generate much research and analysis, though considerably less action to alleviate proven disadvantage and injustice than the situation should demand.