Race and Education (Pelican Books)

Why is our education system unequal?
How does race play a part?
Is Britain still institutionally racist?

Education remains the greatest indicator of life chances in Britain. What we study, where we study, and how long for shape all aspects of our lives. Our careers, our long-term health, our wealth and security are all moulded in the classroom.

But who we are ultimately matters the most.

In Race and Education, Professor Kalwant Bhopal shows how race still determines who gains the best education in Britain, and who falls by the wayside. Through case studies, original research and interviews with students, teachers, and academics alike, she reveals how the construction of privilege starts at a young age: with Whiteness taking some students on a gilded path from cradle to career, while many still struggle to build the futures they deserve.

This book highlights how classrooms and lecture halls are at the centre of perpetuating white privilege - and how racism continues to exist in Britain.

Reviews

Kalwant Bhopal is one of the most important voices in contemporary critical scholarship on race inequities in education. Her carefully argued and thoroughly evidenced analyses expose the multiple strategies through which white supremacy is legitimated and extended. This passionate and compelling study offers a powerful insight into the everyday reality of education in racist Britain. This is a crucial book, of equal value for students of race inequities and those coming fresh to the questions raised by Black Lives Matter. As Bhopal shows, in terms of education policy and practice, from classroom to university, white lives matter more.