Across Europe minority ethnic children are being failed by education systems (EduMigrom 2009, 2011, EUMC 2006) These groups include historic migrants, mixed ‘race’ children, recent migrants and Roma. Educational underachievement leads to or reinforces social exclusions and marginalisation of communities. In this symposium we will examine a number of educational issues that have occurred in our respective projects and countries, in relation to the educational experience of minority ethnic children and families. We aim through the sharing of these experiences and analyses to develop some theoretical tools to help our understanding of the issues and identify potential strategies for change.

The reasons for minority ethnic underachievement are varied and complex. There is a substantial amount of research that demonstrates the prevalence of racist practices in education (for example: Archer 2003, EUMC 2006,

Gillborn and Youdell 2000, Gillborn 1990, 1995, Mac an Ghaill 1988, Mirza 1992, Shain 2003, 2011). Likewise, there is evidence of institutional, structural as well as personal racism. Manifestations of racism shift according to the socio-economic and political context nationally but are also influenced by global factors (Sivanandan 2002). This has given rise to the development of racisms in terms of forms of discrimination and structural inequalities based on colour and also perceptions of certain cultures. Modood (2005) argues that whilst there often is a connection between colour racism and culture the two facets of racism need not always be present. He makes his argument on the basis of many contemporary developments but the rise of Islamophobia in Europe and the media representations of Islam as an international threat is central to this. Culture, itself a contested term and within race discourses leads into the diffuse and tangential territory of ‘diversity’ and ‘difference’. However, cultural racism does link in with reference to ‘superdiversity’ (Vertovec 2006) and as Sivanandan (2002) has said, racism never stands still and “the racism that faces us today is not the racism we faced 40 or 50 years ago” (p1). He recognises the racism that is perpetrated against refugees and asylum seekers and enduringly includes Roma and Sintis; he also includes “poor whites from Eastern Europe”. He argues that the experiences of those white groups is based on “fear of strangers” and thus xenophobic but is also racist in the way “it operates”.  In a Europe experiencing extensive migration, these are particularly important and apposite issues to address.

In this symposium we aim to discuss this enduring issue of ethnic minority children’s educational underachievement and marginalisation or exclusion from equal educational opportunities, with reference to some key sociological issues that have emerged in our countries. These include: addressing educational differentiation policy and teachers’ perspectives and practice (the Netherlands), educational implications focusing on Roma children and parents’ school experiences (Cyprus), school exclusions of Black Caribbean children and institutional practices and academic implications (Britain), structural discrimination and the marginalisation of minority ethnic young people and the implications for academic under/achievement (Britain). In the symposium we will employ a range of analytical resources as indicated in the paper abstracts including Critical Race and Critical Whiteness theories, cultural responsiveness and adaptive teaching. We will explore and engage with the tensions, contradictions and possibilities of these different theoretical perspectives with a view to furthering understanding and identifying strategies for meaningful challenge and change to exclusive and damaging policy and practice.

Archer, L. (2003) Race, Masculinity and Schooling: Muslim Boys and Education. Milton Keynes: Open University Press. EduMigRom, (2009, 2011) Ethnic Differences Across Europe. info@edumigrom.eu EUMC (2006) Roma and Travellers in Public Education: An overview of the situation in the EU member states. European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia. Available at: http://fra.europa.eu/fra/material/pub/ROMA/roma_report.pdf Garner, S. (2007) Whiteness: An Introduction. Abingdon: Routledge Gillborn, D. (1990) ‘Race’, Ethnicity & Education: Teaching and Learning in Multi-Ethnic Schools. London, UnwinHyman/Routledge. Mac an Ghaill, M. (1988). Young gifted and black. Milton Keynes/Philadelphia: Open University Press. Modood, T. (2005) Multicultural Politics. Racism, Ethnicity and Muslims in Britain. Edinburgh: Edinburgh Press. Sivanandan, A. (2002) ‘The Counters of Global Racism’ Crossing Borders: the legacy of the Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962, 15/16 November. Institute of Race Relations News. www.irr.org.uk/2002/novemeber Accessed 29/05/2008. Shain, F. (2003) The Schooling and Identity of Asian Girls. Stoke-on-Trent: Trentham Books Shain, F. (2011) The New Folk Devils. Muslim Boys and Education in England. Stoke on Trent: Trentham Books. Vertovec, S. (2007), Super Diversity and its Implications. Journal of Ethnic and Racial Studies, 29, 6, 1024-1054.