‘Changing the context’: Tackling discrimination at school and in society

Caroline Howarth and Eleni Andreouli

International Journal of Educational Development, 2015, vol. 41, issue C, 184-191

Abstract: In this paper we propose a social psychological framework for studying the role of schools in promoting positive intercultural relations. We draw on data from schools in England where addressing issues of cultural diversity is a key aim of educational practice. We focus specifically on the role of social context in educational activities that tackle discrimination. We consider the socio-political context, local community context, and immediate school context from a social representations theory perspective. Using data from interviews with staff and focus groups with students in schools from three very different localities, we show that the socio-political context may limit schools’ ability to promote positive intercultural relations but also that it is possible for schools to promote broader change from the bottom-up, acting as agents of change at a societal level, i.e. in terms of changing the local and broader societal contexts in which they are located.

Keywords: Educational policy; Discrimination; Social representations; Context; Intercultural relations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:injoed:v:41:y:2015:i:c:p:184-191

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2014.06.004

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