Racism, Education and the StateEdition 1

The education system should be in the forefront of the battle to combat racial inequality. The contributors to this book, however, argue that, far from reducing racial inequality, the education system in the UK systematically generates, maintains and reproduces it. Through careful consideration of the complex and pervasive nature of racism (and the practices it gives rise to) the contributors draw attention to the failure of the contemporaneous multicultural education theories and policies. The contributors’ concerns are with: the role of the state in sustaining and legitimating racial inequalities in education; black students’ experiences of racism in schools and post-school training schemes; and proposals for the realization of genuine and effective antiracist education principles.