Interest-divergence and the colour of cutbacks: race, recession and the undeclared war on Black children

Abstract

Drawing on Critical Race Theory (CRT) and illustrating with examples from the English system, the paper addresses the hidden racist dimension to contemporary education reforms and argues that this is a predictable and recurrent theme at times of economic crisis. Derrick Bell's concept of ‘interest-convergence’ argues that moments of racial progress are won when White power-holders perceive self-interest in accommodating the demands of minoritised groups; such moments are unusual and often short-lived. Presently, we are witnessing the reverse of this process; a period of pronounced interest-divergence, when White power-holders imagine that a direct advantage will accrue from the further exclusion and oppression of Black groups in society. Behind rhetoric that proclaims the need to improve educational standards for all and celebrates a commitment to closing the existing achievement gaps; in reality education reforms are being enacted that systematically disadvantage Black students and demonstrably widen educational inequalities.

Keywords:

• critical race theory
• education policy
• interest-convergence
• interest-divergence
• racism
• inequality
• recession
• economics

Notes

1. Verbatim transcript, by the author, from BBC News night, TV broadcast.

2. By ‘Black’ I mean people who would generally self-identify in relation to that term, especially where they identify their family origins as – at least in part – in Black Africa and/or the Caribbean. In UK census categories, this would include ‘Black Caribbean’, ‘Black African’, ‘Mixed: White and Black Caribbean’, and ‘Any Other Black’ Group.

3. Although the majority of funding for academies comes directly from the national government, they enjoy freedoms usually associated with private schools and are entirely independent of local authority control. The number of academies has risen from 203 in May 2010 (when the coalition came to power) to 2309 just over two years later (BBC News, 2013).

4. The general category ‘Asian’ became much less prominent in official statistics from the late 1990s until the coalition's election in 2010. The category is especially unhelpful because it lumps together particularly diverse demographic groups (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi) whose political, economic, cultural and educational profiles are markedly different. Indian students, for example, generally achieve above the national average, whereas Pakistani students tend to achieve below the average. For an extended analysis of Indian students' educational experiences and achievement, see Gillborn (2008), especially Chapter 7.

5. The GCSE is the dominant form of assessment for young people in England at the end of compulsory schooling, aged 16. Students are assessed for separate GCSEs in each curriculum subject that they follow throughout their secondary schooling.

6. These are the distinct ethnic census categories with a minimum of 5000 students in the annual cohort: together they account for 89.7% of the student population in 2010–2011.