Young anti-racist voices of Scotland: Anti-racist youth ambassadors
Intercultural Youth Scotland’s Youth Ambassadors worked alongside the Scottish Government’s Anti-Racism in Education Programme to develop the following recommendations:
Education Leadership and Professional Learning
When discussing racism in schools, teachers should be aware of the resources they select. Some texts could be hurtful for Black students and students of colour.
"We would want to know if our educators are taking part in an anti-racist programme as we want to ask them questions and have meaningful discussions."
Educators should share with their students the knowledge and skills they have learned on the Building Racial Literacy programme. Together, they would be able to critically reflect on this experience.
"In line with UNCRC, we feel our voices should be heard in schools and not taken away by our educators when we discuss our views on current events in the world or the changes that need to be made in schools."
Diversity in the teaching profession and education workforce
School staff should have opportunities to develop their skills in navigating conversations about racism and racist incidents.
"This would make us feel a lot safer and would make students more likely to report a racist incident instead of keeping it to themselves”
Only 1.9% of teachers are from an ethnic minority background. There should be more opportunities for teachers from ethnic minority backgrounds to connect.
“Taking an exam can be daunting and having more Black people and people of colour working as invigilators in the exam room would make us feel more comfortable.”
Curriculum Reform
Anti-racism in the curriculum should be an ongoing process that is continuously evolving. Language in exams and curricular resources must be scrutinised and investigated.
“We want to learn about the origins of mathematics in relation to Arabian history. We want to see various forms of art from across the world. We want to see Black people and People of Colour in books, videos and poems.”
Language used in exam papers could be less hurtful, harmful and offensive. An example of this is when exam papers used terms such as ‘slaves’ instead of ‘enslaved people.'
"We encourage all schools to have anti-racist clubs. Clubs should be student-led but a teacher could oversee this provided their have anti-racism training.”
Racism and Racist Incidents
Some parents might experience a language barrier or anxiety around visiting a school and speaking to senior staff. Appropriate measures should be put into place to make sure that the parents are supported and listened to.
“We recommend that families of the victims are given more involvement in the decision-making processes to racism and racist attacks and have frequent communication with the school about what is being done.”
Denial of racist attacks or reluctance to take them seriously can lead to students feeling as though they shouldn’t report an attack when it happens to them.
“We recommend there should be adequate mental health support from trained professionals so that victims of racist attacks can receive counselling.”
Many Black students and students of colour have been told they are too sensitive or exaggerating their experiences of racism. They are told a racist attack was simply a joke, a harmless incident, and it is their fault for bringing race into situations or making it a big deal.
