Young People’s Everyday Geopolitics in Scotland

Faith, Ethnicity and Place

Rowena Arshad (co-I) is interested in race equality and anti-discrimination issues and how these issues are taken forward in education (school, community education and tertiary) and within educational policy.

Kate Botterill (PDRA) researches issues of migration, identity and the lifecourse . Her PhD explored the motivations, experiences and aspirations of young Polish migrants living in Edinburgh and Krakow.

Peter Hopkins (PI) research interests include: young people’s geographies; religion, faith and spirituality; and the intersections between masculinities and ethnicities.

Gurchathen Sanghera’s (Co-I) research interests include the politics of race/ethnicity; education, exclusion and social capital; critical approaches to human rights; and UN peace support operations in Liberia and Haiti.

‘Everyday Geopolitics’

‘How international, national and local political events shape the everyday experiences of minority ethnic and religious young people in Scotland ‘

Participant Data

• 382 young people • 192 female and 190 male• Age: 12-25 with 70% in the 12-18 age range• Range of faith and belief groups• Range of backgrounds – Asylum seekers and

refugees, Eastern European migrants, International students, White Scottish, visible minorities

Qualitative

• Topics covered.. -Everyday life, home and belonging, being a

minority, neighbourhoods, school experiences, life in the city or countryside, identity, Scottish politics, local and global political events

Shera• When moving from London to Aberdeen…I was a lot

quieter. A lot. I had…I wouldn’t speak as much, I wouldn’t say too many things people, and I would stay out of certain conversations…simply because it could associate me, associate myself with something else that could be related to…anything. I mean people, they look at me and I have got a turban, I have got a beard, so they would normally associate me with someone who is highly religious or…a religious extremist or whatever have you. So I tend to stay away from those kind of topics and stuff like that”

Tylo

I don’t mention it too much because people can become very kinda judgmental about it. And if they found out that you’re Muslim and not just another religion, they can, they can kind of not befriend you. Which I mean, I guess it’s a bit sad. But so I don’t, I don’t really mention it too much. I kinda just act as if I’m normal. I mean, I mean I’m not saying that I’m embarrassed but it’s just that people can become very differing and kind of bullyish in a way with their views.

School focus group - SikhI remember when I first made like one of my friends like someone like two years ago and she was like 'what are you?' And I was like 'well Sikh'. She was like, 'what like a Muslim?' And I was like, 'no like Sikh'. And she was like, 'is that not the same as Muslim?' And I was just like, 'Oh god, no!' And she was like, 'I don’t get it, so you are Muslim.' 'No' people actually just think that if you are brown you are Muslim, and was in school and I was just like, and this was only like two years ago, she was like 15. And she didn’t even know what a Sikh was. I was just like, oh god! Haha But I think that it is everywhere in Scotland. Obviously how bad it is will change but even in school I think that there is (Sikh focus group, Westhills, mixed)

Donald

… Most people actually do [think I am Muslim]. Like, and our RE teacher once thought I was a Muslim because of my skin colour. Then, yeah and when I first came to this school some of my friends now were shocked that I was a Catholic. They thought I was Muslim as well.

African girls focus group

Participant 1: Yeah that is another thing. Every time like they are, it has happened to me in this school actually as well actually. I will get my lunch, and the woman is like “it is not halal” haha. I say, “I am not a Muslim!”

Participant 2:I know. I get that all the time.

Participant 1: It is okay, I understand, I get it a lot. …But most of the time in school, they will be like, “Why are you not off for Eid?” “I am not a Muslim!”

To reflect on….• What impedes parity of participation for diverse learners

in your context?• What institutionalized value patterns would need to be in

place to enable and foster parity of participation?• Is there a culture where pejorative views of young people

and associate characteristics (gender, ethnicity, class, disability, sexual orientation etc…) are explicitly challenged?

• How aware are staff (teaching and support) of issues?• What everyday street experiences do the young people in

your context encounter that might disrupt their ontological securities thereby impacting on their learning?

• Can schools do more to educate against misrecognition?

Leading for justice and change (1)

• Talk social justice and challenging discrimination all the time – inclusion is not enough

• Have an understanding of how power and privilege works in society but also in schools as social institutions….harmony is no indicator of justice

• Understand how different issues intersect e.g. poverty and ethnicity, gender and religion

Leading for justice and change (2)

• Make sure your team is alright• Provide continuing professional development

opportunities on the table – help open eyes!• Use data to lead conversations about equity• Changing what and how we teach• Understand the positionality of who you are• Advocate for those less powerful – impact of

standardised testing on different pupils

Reports available at

• http://www.ceres.education.ed.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/Faith-Ethnicity-Place-Executive-Summary.pdf

• Thanks to my colleagues Peter Hopkins, Kate Botterill and Gurch Sanghera for ideas which have helped shaped this talk.