‘Do you ride on elephants’ and ‘never tell them you're German’: the experiences of British Asian and black, and overseas student teachers in South‐east England

Abstract

In this article we report on part of a small‐scale study into the experiences of 28 British‐born Asian and black, and overseas student teachers, who were following both Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) and school‐based routes to qualified teacher status (QTS), in Sussex and Kent. The results indicate worrying degrees of racism, xenophobia and general ignorance in schools in South‐east England, a finding underscored by some recent interviews undertaken by a local council in the same region. The authors conclude that, in order to challenge this racism, xenophobia and ignorance, there is an urgent need to be proactive in undermining racism. This should include the full implementation of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act in all educational institutions and the endorsement of the Stephen Lawrence Enquiry (Macpherson) Report's recommendation for the amendment of the National Curriculum to provide an education which deals with racism awareness.