186 pages
234 x 150mm
ISBN: 978 185856 437 1
May 2009

Speaking openly about their ideas on race, these nine and ten year-olds show they have internalised the prevailing western mindset - whatever their own ethnicity,. And this mindset is racist.

Research has long been needed into what children themselves think about cultural diversity and about efforts to counter racism in their schools. Here is the empirical, child-centred research that tells educators what they need to know. It was conducted with a sample of Year 5 pupils in two predominantly white and two diverse schools, all of whom were themselves involved in the research process. The book is suffused with their vibrant, profound and original voices and their often surprising ideas.

The children's views are accompanied by the researcher's sociologically informed close observation of school life and the views and practice of the teachers, and the book concludes with the important implications she identifies for policy and practice in schools.

'It's not just about Black and White, Miss' is an enlightening and enjoyable read for primary teachers and trainees and offers important new grounded information for policy makers and school managers.