Previous research shows that racial hierarchies continue to inhabit educational spaces in Finland (Kurki, 2024; Alemanji, 2016) as well as other Nordic countries (Stachurska-Kounta, 2025). Non-white students are aware of their disadvantaged position in society (Kurki, 2024) while white students are privileged to remain ignorant towards racial hierarchies (Peltola & Phoenix, 2022). Although whiteness should not be essentialised as a universal experience (Twine & Gallagher, 2008), white supremacy, as an oppressive power structure, maintains colonial values and positions people who do not fit expectations of whiteness outside the norm (Ahmed, 2007).

The aim of this presentation is to outline the main arguments for the summary of my doctoral thesis. Drawing from three journal articles published as part of my doctoral research (Jones et al., 2025; Jones et al., forthcoming; Jones & Mikander, forthcoming), I explore current challenges for practising antiracism pedagogy in Finland and question how dialogue could be used as a tool to challenge colour-evasiveness (Annamma et al., 2016) and silence around race. The main research questions are:

1. How are the concepts of race, racism and whiteness framed in the empirical materials – expert interviews, teaching guides and discussions with groups of young people?
2. In what ways, and to what extent, could dialogical praxis shape antiracism pedagogy?

In approaching the empirical materials from an antiracism pedagogy perspective, the theoretical framework draws from Franz Fanon’s work on the processes of Othering (1952/2021) as well as Paulo Freire’s and bell hooks’ work on critical pedagogy. More specifically, the Fanonian argument of white supremacy creating “a racist structure” (Fanon, 1952/2021, p. 72; see also Fanon 1963/2001), which manifests in processes of Othering across transnational boundaries, functions as the starting point for exploring racialising processes in educational settings. Contemporary educational practice that results in Othering is rooted in the colonial process.

Furthermore, Freire and hooks’ belief that dialogue is foundational for forming critical learning communities that question societal hierarchies has guided the theoretical and methodological thinking for this thesis. Both, Freire (1968/2017) and hooks (1994), perceive dialogue as a tool for questioning hierarchical power structures and building communities with the aim for a more just society. In this thesis, I consider how the critical pedagogy might be applied in Finland today as a moral and political praxis that encourages young people to rethink their perception of societal hierarchies and prepares them for social justice action. Alemanji (2016) argues that antiracism education in Finland requires more participatory methods.

I particularly focus on critical approaches to race from the perspective of whiteness – how might antiracism pedagogy look like in a context where the ideology of white supremacy dominates in educational settings. The work of Fanon, Freire and hooks mostly centres around working with people who experience oppression. However, they all believed that those with (white) privilege become dehumanised by their own oppressive actions and position in society should they not stand up for justice, highlighting the importance of critical education to change oppressive systems.

Questions of power and oppression are often intersectional (Hill Collins & Bilge, 2020). Antiracism should be perceived as a practice that is not limited to race but questions all power structures, such as gender and class (Alemanji, 2016; see also hooks, 1994). In this thesis, the argument centres around how overcoming silence around racial hierarchies might look like in practice in Finland, but the empirical discussion includes intersectional analysis when appropriate. Although the context of the research is on education in Finland, its theoretical framework and methodology add to the international conversation that recognises racism as a continuous barrier for educational equity.

In addition to contributing towards the theoretical framework, the praxis of critical pedagogy inspired how the empirical data was produced. Overall, the methodology aimed to follow critical pedagogy in preparing for and carrying out discussions on race with groups of young people, who may not have engaged in such discussions previously. In summary, the empirical materials consist of expert interviews (n-10), teacher guides (n-5), group discussions on race with young people aged 16-23 (n-20). This presentation outlines the methodological decisions that draw together the empirical materials rather than analysing them separately. In investigating how dialogue on race could be approached with young people, I interviewed antiracism experts and analysed teacher guides for staff working in upper secondary schools in Finland. The expert interviews were conducted with the intention to consider various perspectives when inviting young participants to engage in discussions around racial inequity, avoiding a top-down approach and a strict participant / researcher hierarchy (Nivala & Ryynänen, 2024) where the researcher would have taken full authority on how the dialogue should be initiated. In other words, the expert interviews were analysed as empirical material, but they also contributed towards the planning of discussion meetings with the young participants. The analysis of teacher guides contributed to the understanding on what kind of support materials are provided to teachers working in upper secondary school, and what kind of representations related to racial equity do the materials create. The guides also provided an important outlook to how the question of race is (not) talked about when offering teachers support in educational non-discrimination. In analysing the empirical materials concurrently, the thesis applies both, thematic (see Jones et al., 2025) and discourse analysis (Jones et al., forthcoming) by bringing forth reoccurring themes and silences before considering how they are discursively produced. In order to answer the research questions, the analysis considers in what ways and to what extent are race, racism and whiteness consistently or conflictingly framed – how the materials ‘talk with each other’ – before considering the possible role of dialogue in addressing colour-evasiveness and silence around race.

As the doctoral thesis is a work in process, the following outcomes are based on the current stage of analysis. Predominantly, the analysis reveals how the meanings of race, racism and whiteness are inconsistently perceived and understood in Finnish education – a point that was also emphasised by some of the experts directly in their interviews. Overall, I argue that the misconceptions around race, racism and whiteness emerge from the ongoing issues of colour-evasive attitudes and the silence surrounding race. The empirical materials also suggest towards a lack of historical awareness at different levels with regards to how the system of racial hierarchies is rooted in the deceptive ideologies of white supremacy. The analysis supports previous research in Finland’s ignorance towards its participation in reinforcing colonial values (Keskinen et al., 2021), placing whiteness at the top of the hierarchy. This highlights an urgent issue in the educational system: when race, racism and whiteness remain silenced and cautiously approached through colour-evasive perspectives in education, young people cannot obtain a critical education in formal schooling. The examination of dialogue aims to question how it might be applied as a tool for young people to perceive racialised systems and white supremacy. While such conversations can encourage reflection, the analysis suggests that they do not always lead to a clearer understanding of race.

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