Migrant, Roma and Post-Colonial Youth in Education across Europe. Being 'Visibly Different'

Abstract

This book compares the educational experiences of adolescents from a variety of 'visible' ethnic minority groups such as Roma in Central Europe, post-colonial minorities in France and England, Turks and Arabs in Germany, and recent immigrants in Scandinavia. Focusing on underprivileged urban contexts, it reveals the structural inequalities and also the often conflict-ridden inter-ethnic relations which develop in classrooms, playgrounds and larger communities. Ranging from explorations of quasi-ghettos to experiments in racial and ethnic integration, the encountered situations shed light on the challenges of managing diversity in local communities and on an all-societal level. The contributions consider both the routine practices of ethnic distinctions and colour-blindness in schooling, as well as the ways in which various actors - students, teachers, and parents - experience and understand these practices. In doing so, this volume reveals that despite the broad consensus on equal opportunity as a desirable aim, ethnic differentiation remains a key source of exclusion across Europe.