Race, Gender and Educational Desire

In the government, media, and public mind the relationship between race and education is overwhelmingly negative. In Britain, and other countries, when the talk is of black and minority ethnics in schools most think of underachievement, rising exclusions and low aspirations. However, research evidence shows that people of color, particularly women, have a positive and enduring relationship with education.

Drawing on historical, archival, personal and research evidence, this lecture looks at the pervasive myths behind the link between race and education and asks, "Why is there a crisis in multicultural education in 21st Century Britain?" It argues that by understanding the black and Asian collective desire for education, we can begin to reclaim the meaning of education, reinstating it as a radical site of resistance and refutation, so evident in the postcolonial experience.