Education, psychology and the construction of black childhood

Abstract

In 1985, a Committee of Inquiry, chaired by Lord Swann, proclaimed that the British school system was failing children from ethnic minority backgrounds. Fifteen years on, the question still remains as to whether we are prepared to formulate polices or design programmes to ensure that, regardless of race or ethnicity, all children have an equal chance of unfolding their potential, both within the education system and society at large. This article discusses some of the ways in which psychologists, such as Jensen, Eysenck, Rushton, and other writers, have contributed (and continue to contribute) to ethnic minority children’s difficulties in the school system. It suggests that a genuine desire for and commitment to racial justice is required both within the school system and society in order to rectify the situation. Ways in which educational psychologists and other professionals may avoid being caught in a web of institutional racism, including sensitivity to racist literature which masquerades as ‘science’ are also suggested. The authors call on psychologists to be social change agents, as opposed to guardians of the establishment, restricted to administering tests to, conducting research on, and providing psychotherapy to its victims and maintaining the status quo.