Race Relations in Education Theory: A Study Based on Observations Made in Two Schools.

The nineteen sixties nave been a very important decade for race relations in Britain. It witnessed large-scale immigration from the non-white Commonwealth and the restrictive measures which the government took in order to curb it. It saw, in many inner city areas, the emergence of immigrant communities and schools with large numbers of coloured pupils many of whose teachers had little knowledge of what their educational difficulties were and how to cope with these difficulties adequately. Some of these pupils - probably very many of them - are among today's educational failures, having spent a significanr part of their lives in remedial classes which, because of an abysmal lack of the proper resources, could not remedy their disadvantage. study which focused on the educational experience of group of 175 fourth year pupils of mixed ethic origin in north London comprehensive school. An attempt was mada to explore a wide range of differences in educational experience between English pupils on the one hand and West Indians and Cypriots on the other, based on observation made at another north London comprehensive school. Special reference was made to West Indians as an ethnic group. Two questionnaires were employed to sample educational experience. One was administered to the population of fourth year pupils and the other to eight fourth year tutors who were asked to rate the pupils in their respective tutor groups on a number of characteristics which were thought to effect teachers' perception of pupils. The questions in the pupils' questionnaire fell into seven categories: I Academic Orientation II Pattern of Friendship Choice III Pupils' Evaluation of the Grading Philosophy IV Class work, Games, Athletics and the Inter-ethnic attorn of Ascription. V Home work Practice VI Plans for the Future VII Self Image The findings of this study suggest that while immigrants and nonimmigrants diverge in terms of school experience, their job and further education plans are very similar. This is particularly so between English and West Indian pupils