Policy & Practice: Segregation and Difference in Education

Between 2008 and 2011, an in-depth research project called EDUMIGROM studied segregation and its negative effects on minority students' prospects in Europe. Ten European countries were involved in the study, led by a team of researchers at Hungary's Central European University.

I am interested to read the project's policy recommendations on educational inclusion, though a cursory scan shows a lot of common sense advice in the face of increasing budgetary constraints and growing conservative/nationalist sentiments. In this atmosphere, it is more common to hear about the "failure of state multiculturalism" and the troubled EU than it is to hear about the social and economic benefits of greater interconnection.

I think an important point the study makes is that, despite the comfort both majority and minority communities often find in segregation, it only leads to poorer educational outcomes and decreased opportunities for both minority and majority students.

While majority communities can ignore this reality since their own children are "doing alright", in the long-run, this proves untrue. By having limited contact with members of other ethnic and religious groups, all students suffer. They suffer because are not being challenged to expand their conception of identity and belonging. They suffer because they don't hear stories of new places, and learn to communicate across cultural divides. And society suffers because this narrow vision perpetuates stereotypes and racism in successive generations.

I understand parents' concerns that academic quality not be diluted due to students with limited language skills who need remedial support, etc. But when parents make the decision to remove their children from schools that have witnessed an influx of minority students, they are also limiting every child's education, including their own.

I know this is a controversial thing to say, especially if there is real decline in a school's academic performance. But I believe that unless more people take the stance that escape from "otherness" is not an option, segregation will only crystallize structures of prejudice and injustice.

We are living in an era of engagement, not escape. We are being confronted with institutional decline and the systemic failure of governments, business and international organizations. Until our children learn how to live with difference, they will not be able to build the new structures and institutions needed to address injustice, insecurity, and ignorance.

An intern at my office recently wrote a blog article about the system of segregated education that continues to hinder Roma students from full access to social advancement. She flags an important stumbling block in processes of inclusion. It is all too easy to try to "mainstream" minority students without take care to preserve their culture and linguistic heritage.

I feel this loss of heritage in my own life. Two generations ago, my grandparents spoke at least two, if not three languages. My grandfather, for example, spoke German, Hungarian and English. But children at that time in American history were encouraged to speak only English in schools - to become "American", full-stop. So my parents speak only English, as do I. Now, I am back in the "old country" (Hungary), and I am surrounded by a language that is completely alien to me, although my roots are here. I feel a sense of loss, and wonder if it is possible for a universal language to exist without extinguishing linguistic diversity.

Interestingly, another research project called LINEE (Languages in a European Network of Excellence) has explored the role of "multilingualism" in education and society. Their findings? They recommend that teachers to be trained to recognize the benefits of multiple languages in their classrooms.

Of course, it is relatively easy for academics and researchers to pronounce how schools and teachers should approach diversity. But in practice, the lack of support and resources, combined with the complex needs of students, can be overwhelming.

And yet, despite these serious challenges, I know it can work. I have taught in London schools which boast some of the most diverse classrooms in the world. Teachers and school leadership make a huge difference, perhaps even more than gobs of money. Structured activities, encouragement and discipline, supplemental learning, and one-on-one mentorship are essential. But so too are learning experiences that all students can participate in.

Which is why, when addressing segregation, we cannot ignore the place of poetry, creativity and the arts. You can read here about a poetry workshop I gave to primary school students from Iraq, Lebanon, Ghana and Portugal (among many other nationalities). Everyone contributed - whether it was a word, gesture, or drawing.

When I asked the class how many were from England and another country, almost every student raised their hands. One boy proudly said, "I am from three countries. Jamaica, and England, and the United States." The next generations are going to be increasingly comfortable with multiple, overlapping and fluid identities, and less intent on planting their flag on a single plot of earth.

But as much as kids are capable of accepting difference, the educational structures in place are making it hard for them to have a positive view of it. When I was in primary school, there was a half-hearted attempt to mainstream mentally disabled kids. Yet, we only saw them at lunch and recess, where their unconventional behaviour often left them open to ridicule and outright cruelty.

This kind of "token" diversity is not enough. Tough conversations needs to be had, and students given a chance to engage in frank conversations. Teachers and parents also need to take a strong stance on bullying and other forms of social rejection. Instead of leaving kids to their own devices, adults need to really talk with them, especially when a child is labelled "different". Why is difference still seen as a sign of weakness, even among our youngest children?

Until this self-defensive instinct to attack the outsider is examined in open conversations, segregation cannot be addressed. Because the real segregation is not in schools or structures. The real segregation is in the human mind.