Urban Education and Segregation.

Responses from young people

Elisabet hrn University of Gothenburg, Sweden

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ECER 2011 Urban Education, Freie Universitt Berlin

Content
Urban education and segregation Schools and teaching in marginalised areas Lack of support for analysis and critique? Student responses Targets, strategies and resources A school supporting student critique Joint responses and political analysis

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ECER 2011 Urban Education, Freie Universitt Berlin

Schools leading to acceptance? 1

Young people in the marginalized neighbourhoods in which we have done our research generally (with a few exceptions) do not believe they have the same opportunities as Swedes and pupils from other schools in other areas do, nor do they seem to have these opportunities. --- At an early age these young people develop a perception of themselves as subordinate and as not belonging.
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Schools leading to acceptance? 2

This is not actually done only or perhaps even primarily through the schools. However, by not challenging this situation and helping to develop a critical perception of it, but instead providing a normalization related to individual aspiration and ability, schools do lead to an acceptance of the situation experienced as almost natural... (Beach,
D & Sernhede, O. (2011), p. 269-270, British Journal of Sociology of Education, 32(2), 257-274)

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Teaching & students experiences 1

the teacher asks the students what they think a racist is You could hear a pin drop. --The teacher asks again, this time a girl, Lena: Do you know what the word racism means? No way, no way The class begins to laugh. Then Mohammed starts to describe a time when he was chased by a gang of racists with shaved heads who wore army style clothes. He says, I know what that feels like, and looks straight at the teacher, do you? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ECER 2011 Urban Education, Freie Universitt Berlin

Teaching & students experiences 2

The teacher breaks off his presentation and hushes further questions. She says that it was a good example of racism but that they should think about putting their hands up before asking permission to speak. Then she asks about the term segregation and what it means. No one tries to answer. The room is just quiet. (Fieldnotes, April 2007). (Schwartz, A & hrn, E.
(forthcoming), in W Pink (Ed), Schools and marginalized youth: an international perspective. Cresshill, NJ: Hampton Press).
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Separating or mixing students

hrn: To whom would that [mixing pupils] be beneficial? Louise: To both groups of pupils, to both social classes so to speak. So they could understand each other. Now they say like well, they are such Rich mans children and the others like, well, they are such fucking Rita: poor ghetto kids.
(hrn, E. (2011), p. 352, Education Inquiry, 2(2), 345-357).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ECER 2011 Urban Education, Freie Universitt Berlin

Students aestethic responses

While the poem does not eradicate the often painful experiences with school surveillance, the writing whether in a poetry club, an after-school organization, or a poem puts youth in dialogue with a wider audience and a shared critique. Students poems and raps help them to locate and identify an audience comprised of others who refuse to listen, be denied a voice and impact on their educational lives.
(Weiss, J. (2009), p. 72, In Anyon (Ed), Theory and educational research, New York: Routledge).
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Students informal teaching 1

you could say that the group is also a kind of school, see like Immanuel, hes a Muslim and he takes care of his own, Muhammed and Niladh who are Muslims too, you know, so he teaches them about their history and I teach Ronaldo and Pablo and the other little rappers who hang around us about Latin Americas history ---

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------ECER 2011 Urban Education, Freie Universitt Berlin

Students informal teaching 2

I can talk a little as if lecturing when I tell it was this or that Indian tribe living at the time, and this or that year when it happened, it was then that the Spaniards came, the Indians had a certain religion and all that. Its fun to talk, you see, and now theyre going to make a new song about Latin Americas history, see.... (Sernhede, O.
(2007), p. 472, In A Luke & W Pink (Eds), International handbook of urban education. Dordrecht: Springer).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------ECER 2011 Urban Education, Freie Universitt Berlin

Students public political actions

A struggle against the local politicians with resources as:
Access to media Traditions in the school and its neighbourhood Spaces for meetings Political knowledge among students Students joint actions Teachers and teaching
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Teaching political strategies

I had to go to my class and see if someone showed up. And some pupils who were fairly strong chose to come to the lesson. And while sitting there five people, we might as well choose well it was not the time to talk about the subject, but we talked about this [action] instead. And then they could dash off into real life and put it into practice. (Teacher C). hrn, E. (2005)
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Teacher support for student critique

The perceived risks (for teachers) The importance of students target (for support) The implications (for power relations)

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 Individualised youth with little potential for political action? Schools not supporting youth to analyse and challenge their situation?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ECER 2011 Urban Education, Freie Universitt Berlin