A new study shows that racism is evident in Finnish schools. It is embedded in the school structures and school staff frequently lack resources and practical knowledge on how to take action against it.
Racism is prevalent and present in multiple dimensions of everyday life in schools. This became evident when professor Gunilla Holm and her team studied how racism is manifested in lower secondary schools and what kind of antiracism actions took place.
Holm says that the study shows that racism is something that everyone in the schools must relate to in one way or a another.
"Racism was prevalent in different forms in all schools, irrespective of social class background, language of instruction, or patterns of racialization. Therefore, one can say that racism structures school life and schools' operational culture profoundly. "
The study concluded that racism is embedded in formal structures such as teaching materials, but also in interpersonal dynamics between staff and students as well as among students themselves and among staff members. Racism is also present in digital environments in classrooms and schools.
"Racism can, for example, take the form of racist jokes, racist slurs (like the N-word), or Nazi expressions and gestures, or be the lack of interventions or the downplaying of racism by teachers or school administrators. The lack of interventions often discourages pupils from reporting racism and undermines their trust in the school and their wellbeing", Holm says.
The data in the study is based on interviews with students and school personnel as well as on participant observations in six Finnish-speaking and Swedish-speaking lower secondary schools. Furthermore, the researchers analyzed the ways racism is discussed in international, national and local education policy documents.
Clear guidelines needed
The study also shows that school staff frequently reported a lack of resources, practical knowledge, and time to take strong action against racism.
"Therefore, staff members who work against racism and for an antiracist pedagogy and work culture often work alone without support from others."
Many educators did however express the need for clear guidelines and institutional strategies for addressing racism.
"The current short-term antiracism education for school staff is necessary, but needs to be developed into an ongoing, embedded process of professional learning and support, Holm points out."
The research concludes that current educational steering policies do not adequately address the various forms of racism, nor do they provide clear guidance for promoting antiracism in schools. Equality plans are often underutilized and rarely serve as active tools for antiracist work.
Furthermore, the National Core Curriculum for basic education fails to frame racism as a complex societal, political, cultural, and historical phenomenon. Without explicitly acknowledging the political dimensions of racism, schools lack the conceptual and practical tools needed to engage systematically with antiracism.
A structural problem in society
According to Holm, racism has been a persistent and under-addressed problem in schools in Finland. While numerous informal accounts from teachers, staff, students and parents/guardians have highlighted the prevalence of racism, there has been a lack of systematic and in-depth research to understand how racism operates within schools.
"Our vast data, often missing from earlier research, gave us deeper insight into how racism manifests in everyday interactions and structures. In addition, as the National Core Curriculum does not explicitly address racism, racism is allowed to be overlooked in practice. Thus, it is critical to examine how schools are (or are not) equipped to recognize and respond to racism in meaningful ways."
Racism in schools has mostly been understood as taking place among students, but seldom that racism can be institutional or structural. Holm hopes that the results can broaden the understanding of how racism operates within schools and that wide actions are necessary to tackle the problem.
"Our study shows that racism exists throughout the education system and is closely connected to society as a whole. What happens in schools reflects wider societal issues, and social inequalities also affect students' experiences at school. "
