Contexts that discriminate: international perspectives on the education of Roma students

Abstract

Theoretical assumptions about educational disadvantages of minority students can be broadly distinguished between approaches assuming that inequality is triggered by characteristics of the minority students (their parents and communities) and approaches assuming that inequality is triggered by characteristics of institutional schooling and its surrounding dominant discourses (Diefenbach 2010 Diefenbach, H. 2010. Kinder und Jugendliche aus Migrantenfamilien im deutschen Bildungssystem: Erklärungen und empirische Befunde [Children and Youth from Migrant Families in the German Education System: Explanations Empirical Results]. 3rd ed. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag. 10.1007/978-3-531-92186-0[CrossRef], 90). Several articles published in this journal have emphasised the latter approach and explored the complex dynamics of racial and ethnic discrimination in education (e.g. Araújo 2016 Araújo, M. 2016. “A Very ‘Prudent Integration’: White Flight, School Segregation and the Depoliticization of (Anti-)Racism.” Race Ethnicity and Education 19 (2): 300–323. doi:10.1080/13613324.2014.969225.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®]; Beratan 2008 Beratan, G. D. 2008. “The Song Remains the Same: Transposition and the Disproportionate Representation of Minority Students in Special Education.” Race Ethnicity and Education 11 (4): 337–354. doi:10.1080/13613320802478820.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®]; Gafford Muhammad 2009 Gafford Muhammad, C. 2009. “Mississippi Higher Education Desegregation and the Interest Convergence Principle: A Crt Analysis of the ‘Ayers Settlement’.” Race Ethnicity and Education 12 (3): 319–336. doi:10.1080/13613320903178279.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®]; Gillies and Robinson 2012 Gillies, V., and Y. Robinson. 2012. “Including While Excluding: Race, Class and Behaviour Support Units.” Race Ethnicity and Education 15 (2): 157–174. doi:10.1080/13613324.2011.578126.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®]; Hamilton, Bloomer, and Potter 2012 Hamilton, J., F. Bloomer, and M.Potter. 2012. “The Adequacy of Traveller Education in Northern Ireland.” Race Ethnicity and Education 15 (4): 501–524. doi:10.1080/13613324.2011.645574.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®]; Johnson 2007 Johnson, E. 2007. “Schooling, Blackness and National Identity in Esmeraldas, Ecuador.” Race Ethnicity and Education 10 (1): 47–70. doi:10.1080/13613320601100377.[Taylor & Francis Online]; Kruss 2001 Kruss, G. 2001. “Towards Human Rights in South African Schools: An agenda for research and practice.” Race Ethnicity and Education 4 (1): 45–62. doi:10.1080/713693047.[Taylor & Francis Online], [CSA]; Webb 2015 Webb, A. 2015. “Indigenous Schooling Grants in Chile: The Impacts of an Integrationist Affirmative Action Policy Among Mapuche Pupils.” Race Ethnicity and Education 18 (3): 419–441. doi:10.1080/13613324.2014.918944.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®]). This special issue follows this tradition by concentrating on the ways in which education systems and prevailing discourses disadvantage minority learners.