Page 9 - Anti-Racism Pocketbook for Schools and Academies

This normative standard surrounding whiteness translates
outside of clothing stores or pharmaceutical items.

The dominance that surrounds the ideology of whiteness

means that ethnic individuals are usually compared, judged,

and made to feel inferior to the white population. This has

subsequently caused white people to build a system that

supports, promotes, and benefits them disproportionately to
ethnic individuals. This is why we often see conversations

surrounding the topics of white supremacy, white silence,

and white privilege. These interlocking discussions motive
racism due to the fact that white people are able to

continuously oppress and subject ethnic people to harm

without severe repercussions.

Unfortunately, the impact of racism translates directly into

the educational system within the UK. According to statistics

provided by the UK Department for Education:

• White British people made up 92.7% of headteachers,

89.7% of deputy or assistant headteachers and 84.9% of

classroom teachers.

• 0.1% of classroom teachers were Mixed White and Black

African – the lowest percentage out of all ethnic groups

in this role.
This demonstrates that the UK has a real issue with hiring

and retaining ethnically diverse teacher and staff within the

education system. Having a general lack of diversity in ethnic

minority teachers within the educational sector stems from a
multitude of issues linking to racism and present a wide

range of issues for staff and engaging students.

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