A critical race theory framework for education policy analysis: the case of bilingual learners and assessment policy in England
– Alice Bradbury
This paper explores how Critical Race Theory and policy sociology can be used to analyse policy, with the aim to interrogate how policies that are seemingly there to bring about change for the better can have hidden intentions – “how policy is a tool for the continuation of white dominance, not a neutral bystander.” (Bradbury, 2019, p.244).
CRT is used to question the motivations of policy and to consider race when creating policy: “the aim in building a framework is to re-centre the issue of ‘race’ in studies of policy, at a time when it is too frequently an ‘absent presence’ (Apple 1999)” (Bradbury, p.242)
There were two authors in particular that I’d like to follow up on more in my own research:
“Scholarship on new teacher training routes has also used a CRT framework to consider the policy as an expression of white power and a tool for the continuation of white dominance (Chadderton 2014).” (p.245)
“Leonardo’s work on policy as ‘acts of whiteness’ (Leonardo, 2007” (p.245)
There are some interesting points here about how how intentional the inequality created by policy is: “In education, policy is always political” (Bradbury, p.256). “As Gillborn argues ‘although race inequity may not be a planned and deliberate goal of education policy neither is it accidental’ (2005, 485); there are many who gain from the continued inequalities that exist within the education system” (Bradbury, p.256).
In this example, the paper looks at how children’s educational trajectories are affected by labelling EAL students as ‘low-achieving’, and “explore how assessment operates as a self-reinforcing mechanism for maintaining disparities in attainment at age five” (Bradbury, p.244)
Policy is often biased, towards those creating policy, often systematically disadvantage minority groups and only bringing about progress where it is in the interest of white elites. So we should analyse who is creating the policy, and what their agenda might be. Also to consider diversifying the group who creates policy. This relates back the readings from Blog Task 1, and the example of Chay Brown, who spoke about the importance of those with lived experiences of disabilities in charge of making decisions and this will result in more empathetic decisions and understanding of needs. This should also apply to policy decisions, to ensure that policy will positively affect those who it is designed to help.
Key aspects of CRT
The article explains how rather than focussing “on the ‘what’, ‘how’ and ‘why’ of policy (Gale, 1999)”, a CRT perspective, uses three questions as prompts:
- Who drives policy and how does it prioritise?
- Who benefits from the policy?
- What are the effects?
(Gillborn, 2005, 492) (P.246)
The author goes on to to say, if racism is endemic then questions can be reframed as:
- ‘How do white people gain?’
- ‘How does this damage or disadvantage minoritised groups or individuals?’
- ‘How does this disadvantage one group more than another? What is the purpose of this?’
(Bradbury, 246)
Bradbury breaks policy down into three stages of policy:
Context of Influence
“Where policy develops, where various actors, including politicians and lobbyists, operate”
Context of text production
“the way in which the policy is presented”
Context of Practice
“where is policy is implemented, interpreted or enacted”
This made me thing about my own teaching context. Racial inequality is presumably not be and intended aspect of UAL policy or created with an agenda, but is this inequality (suggested by the attainment gap) created by policy decisions that are unconscious / endemic?
Racism shapes careers: career trajectories and imagined futures of racialised minority PhDs in UK higher education
– Rhianna Garrett
Overview
The paper looks at the experience of racialised minority PhD students in UK HE and the affect of these ‘white spaces’ on their career trajectories and imagined futures.
The paper argues that institutions need to do more than just diversify staff and student populations but need to implement cultural and structural changes that value intersectional identities and academic knowledge. “Inspired by the work of Campbell (2022), who argues cultural elements around assessment must be considered alongside diversifying curriculums to close awarding gaps, this paper aims to push institutions to take a more nuanced approach to intersectional cultural institutional change that goes beyond optical diversity.” (Garrett, p.2)
Quotes of interest
“Whiteness is more than an optical privilege but an ‘ecology of hostile structures and practices that shape what we consider to be daily norms” (Garrett, p.3)
“These are all elements of what is considered to be a professional work environment, which is also a constructed identity that works to code and maintain the illusion of inclusion, but in reality, serves to preserve white, middle-class models of knowledge, expertise and value (Mukherjee 2022)” (Garrett, p.3)
My teaching practice
Lots of useful information here about thoughts I’ve been having around decolonizing my teaching / curriculum. That the creating a more inclusive teaching environment is about more than simply diversifying references (although this is still important). What are the cultural and structural changes could I could make to my teaching? How do I value intersectional identities and academic knowledge from marginalised communities?
“For students, postgraduates and ECRs, these practices shape specific understandings of what is considered to be professional, and this can result in pressure to assimilate to white, Eurocentric patterns of behaviour to avoid reputational damage, that could affect career progression into higher education (Bhambra, Gebrial, and Nişancıoğlu 2018; Bonner-Thompson, Mearns, and Hopkins 2021).” (Garrett, p.3)
I found this quote interesting in relation to typography (or any practice). Do students assimilate their design practice/approach to the dominant pattern of behaviour, in order to fit in? Do marginalised students do this to fit in with the white-Eurocentric space of UK HE? Understanding this and trying to encourage students to react against this, could be one key to a decolonial approach in typography.