As Soon as They See You Coming, They Feel They Need to Protect Their Child: Black Male Kindergarten Teacher’s Experience Of Racism in Finland

Abstract

Celebrated as the country with the best education system globally, Finland has also gained a reputation as one of the most racist countries in Europe for black people, especially people from Sub-Saharan Africa. The best education system in the world is built on the sweat and blood of racialised people whose experiences and roles they play as teachers and students, or their systemic absence, is often ignored. Using critical discourse analysis, this paper argues that Black male kindergarten teachers in Finland have a lot to offer outside their racialised perceived hegemonic conceptualisations and practices. This paper demonstrates how this group of teachers experiences racism because of their skin colour and gender. Despite these experiences of racism, their essential role in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) cannot be underestimated.