Tacit Racism Toward Roma Students: The Case of a Turkish Public School
This study aims to reveal hidden racist practices within a Turkish public school and explores their perpetuation through daily interactions between teachers and Roma students. As part of an applied research project dedicated to empowering Roma children in the educational setting, the study employs d...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Istanbul University Press
2024-06-01
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| Series: | Journal of Economy Culture and Society |
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| Online Access: | https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/3263792 |
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| _version_ | 1832541054012751872 |
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| author | Ozan Uştuk |
| author_facet | Ozan Uştuk |
| author_sort | Ozan Uştuk |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study aims to reveal hidden racist practices within a Turkish public school and explores their perpetuation through daily interactions between teachers and Roma students. As part of an applied research project dedicated to empowering Roma children in the educational setting, the study employs discourse analysis to expose tacit racist discourses circulating within the school. Using participant observation, casual conversations, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions, the research reveals implicit discriminatory practices in classrooms. Teacher interviews expose a prevalent coping mechanism, i.e., denial, which reflects reluctance to acknowledge their role in perpetuating discrimination despite awareness of the structural inequalities faced by Roma students. While comprehending systemic challenges, the adherence of the teachers to the myth of meritocracy fosters cognitive dissonance, which results in a dismissive incomprehension of the realities of and occasional assignment of blame to Roma students. Cultural stereotypes and pseudogenetic explanations function as convenient means of rationalizing existing biases. Navigating cognitive dissonance, teachers frequently redirect their focus toward the behaviors of Roma people due to a sense of helplessness and the influence of the pervasive meritocratic narrative. This dynamic contributes to the perpetuation of institutional racism through the daily discourse of teachers, which inadvertently exacerbates this systemic issue. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-068b672aa5b944b08e8ce6640affaae0 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2645-8772 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-06-01 |
| publisher | Istanbul University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Economy Culture and Society |
| spelling | doaj-art-068b672aa5b944b08e8ce6640affaae02025-02-04T10:17:34ZengIstanbul University PressJournal of Economy Culture and Society2645-87722024-06-0169778510.26650/JECS2023-13273334Tacit Racism Toward Roma Students: The Case of a Turkish Public SchoolOzan Uştuk0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4062-8404IZMIR INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGYThis study aims to reveal hidden racist practices within a Turkish public school and explores their perpetuation through daily interactions between teachers and Roma students. As part of an applied research project dedicated to empowering Roma children in the educational setting, the study employs discourse analysis to expose tacit racist discourses circulating within the school. Using participant observation, casual conversations, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions, the research reveals implicit discriminatory practices in classrooms. Teacher interviews expose a prevalent coping mechanism, i.e., denial, which reflects reluctance to acknowledge their role in perpetuating discrimination despite awareness of the structural inequalities faced by Roma students. While comprehending systemic challenges, the adherence of the teachers to the myth of meritocracy fosters cognitive dissonance, which results in a dismissive incomprehension of the realities of and occasional assignment of blame to Roma students. Cultural stereotypes and pseudogenetic explanations function as convenient means of rationalizing existing biases. Navigating cognitive dissonance, teachers frequently redirect their focus toward the behaviors of Roma people due to a sense of helplessness and the influence of the pervasive meritocratic narrative. This dynamic contributes to the perpetuation of institutional racism through the daily discourse of teachers, which inadvertently exacerbates this systemic issue.https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/3263792discourse analysisinclusive educationinstitutional racismroma |
| spellingShingle | Ozan Uştuk Tacit Racism Toward Roma Students: The Case of a Turkish Public School Journal of Economy Culture and Society discourse analysis inclusive education institutional racism roma |
| title | Tacit Racism Toward Roma Students: The Case of a Turkish Public School |
| title_full | Tacit Racism Toward Roma Students: The Case of a Turkish Public School |
| title_fullStr | Tacit Racism Toward Roma Students: The Case of a Turkish Public School |
| title_full_unstemmed | Tacit Racism Toward Roma Students: The Case of a Turkish Public School |
| title_short | Tacit Racism Toward Roma Students: The Case of a Turkish Public School |
| title_sort | tacit racism toward roma students the case of a turkish public school |
| topic | discourse analysis inclusive education institutional racism roma |
| url | https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/3263792 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ozanustuk tacitracismtowardromastudentsthecaseofaturkishpublicschool |