Instutional Racism:
‘Afro Caribbean girls as well as other black pupils are often subjected to institutional racism’ (Rattans, 1992). ‘English schools which can dramatically undermine their chances of academic success’ (Curtis, 2008). This is because teachers often underestimate the abilities of Afro Caribbean girls and within schools there is a lack of African-Caribbean teachers especially in inner city schools such as Brixton- in South London. Due to this it can be assumed that some teachers have ‘social stereotypes’ (Wright, 1992) about the behaviour of Afro Caribbean girls for example that they are loud and disruptive. Within the education system ‘Afro Caribbean pupils typically experience greater amounts of criticism and conflict in their relationship with white teachers’ (Gill,1992:5) reinforcing conflict between White teachers and African Caribbean pupils; because of these factors many teachers doubt the ability of Afro Caribbean girls and they are often put into foundation tiers, thus only able to achieve at highest a C .‘For every three White British pupils entered for the higher tiers, only two Black Caribbean pupils are entered’ (Curtis, 2008). This statistic gives a clear indication of how Afro Caribbean girls are legitimated within their opportunities and are unable to reach their full potential, this could be another cause of Afro Caribbean girls’ underachievement. Also within schools and more particularly in South London ‘African Caribbean students (girls) are significantly more likely to be excluded from school than white students’ (Gillborn, 1996:84). This could be due to the fact teachers’ act in a certain way towards the pupils and thus generate preconceived stereotypes about them. Due to this Afro Caribbean girls often retaliate, for this reason they often get excluded or expelled. As a result of this they miss out on work and are often held back, causing underachievement amongst Afro Caribbean girls.
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The graph above emphasises how black caribbean (red line), how they have had the most number of exculsions. (Guardian,2008)
Mirza (1992), conducted a study in two south London comprehensive schools, she challenged the idea that young Afro Caribbean girls are underachievers. She highlights there is a ‘myth of underachievement’ (Mirza, 1992). She says this because in general terms of educational achievement black women are often underestimated. Mirza reinforced that within schools there was evidence of racism from teachers, which affected the self-esteem of some girls. Girls within the study felt that teachers were constantly putting them down and were not given a chance to prove themselves. Within her study she found the girls tended to avoid teachers and were not prepared to accept their negative views on black people. The study demonstrates there is instutional racism within schools and that girls often choose to ignore teachers, due to that teacher conflict.