ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the lack of an Local Education Authority policy assisted the perpetuation of unchallenged racism that occurred in both blatant and subtle ways. Teachers’ opinions of black pupils also contained implicit meanings gleaned from information about the home background. The issue of white middle class researchers studying aspects of black people’s lives is a sensitive one. From observations this ‘low-key’ response was typical of black pupils’ reactions to any incident that had racial overtones to it. If black pupils saw little in the way of racial incidents at school, and played down taunts and jokes, then it might seem fair to assume that little or no serious racial discord existed at Leafield. To be fair to teachers, no-one was observed to overtly discriminate between their pupils but some teachers’ typifications led to them hold stereotypical views about West Indian-origin pupils, seeing them as disruptive and boisterous.
