Racism in School | Online Whitepaper

Calling Out Racism in Schools

21 March is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (IDERD). To mark this day, on 21 March 2022, The Zubin Foundation hosted “Calling Out Racism: How Racism Affects Children and Schools”. This event was supported by SCMP Events, our Media Partner

The panel comprised:

Key discussion points are shown below, supplemented by observations from The Zubin Foundation.

Racism in Hong Kong’s International Schools

Across Hong Kong, international schools claiming to be "diverse and inclusive" have not dealt sufficiently with racism. Racism is not uncommon and is perpetrated by students towards darker skin children at school.

Ways in which racism takes place in international schools:

• Called N****r", laughed at and ridiculed

• Sikh boys being called "girls" for their long hair, and bullied in male toilets

• Called dirty and microaggressions such as "Do you eat with your hands?"

• "My parents won't allow me to play with you because you are Indian" [regardless of what South Asian ethnicity]

Racism takes place on school buses, and playgrounds but also in classrooms.

Racism in Hong Kong’s Local Schools

With language posing as a barrier in local schools, children and their parents face discrimination in Hong Kong’s local schools too.

Ways in which racism takes place in local schools:

• Called "Indian", as an insult (regardless of what South Asian ethnicity the child may come from).

• Called dirty and microaggressions such as "Do you eat with your hands?"

• All communications with parents are in Cantonese, thus alienating them from the school

Having an onboarding session in English for Non-Chinese parents will help integrate them and the children better in the school.

Direct impact of racism

Speakers shared the direct impact of racism on their children, and these included:

• Low self-esteem, actively rejecting their ethnicity and feeling ashamed of their ethnicity and

• Fear, anxiety, and lack of motivation to go to school

• Anxiety in going to the toilet for fear of being bullied resulting in physical and mental health issues

• Anger, sadness, mood swings and the inability to regulate their emotions

• Fear of not belonging, feeling isolated and alone

Recommendations for Both International and Local Schools:

These experiences of ethnic minority children are not unique to any specific school. Instead, sadly, they impact children across Hong Kong. This reflects the lack of public education and awareness on racism. International schools need to be proactive rather than reactive.

1. Training:

Staff Training: Provide compulsory ongoing dedicated D&I training for teachers and all staff. Ensure that the 'race' part of D&I is included, and this is delivered yearly and is compulsory. This may include modules such as:

▪ History of ethnic minorities in Hong Kong and the use of terminology

▪ Unconscious Bias in Hong Kong on Race- using local case studies

▪ Risk Mitigation and what you need to know about race in Hong Kong

▪ What every child needs to know about race (Hong Kong specific)

Train All Students: students too should be educated about race in Hong Kong.

2. Learn about the Ethnic Minority Student: Learn about individual students, particularly when a child is not from the majority race.

• As part of onboarding, learn about their religion, important days including festivals, teachers should note these.

• Ensure that teachers keep an eye out and have1:1 feedback time with the child.

3. Engage Ethnic Minority Parents: Learn from ethnic minority parents

• Routinely ask about how their child is getting on, be clear that you want to ensure that the child is feeling inclusive, share that this is part of your inclusive protocol.

• Ask them about any gaps and opportunities for diversity education at school. Invite them to speak and share with teachers, staff, students and parents.

4. Representation: Representation in academic materials, particularly in:

Library books - include the Hong Kong minority experience too!

School presentations – ensure that the standard school template normalises diverse ethnicities and faiths.

5. Integrate Race: Embed D&I in all that you do, and all-year-round, examples include:

Suppliers: Ensure your suppliers understand your commitment to antibullying because bullying happens everywhere, so, for example: speak to your bus provider and let them know that their bus staff must go through diversity training (or better still, make it part of the tender process).

Marketing: Materials including brochures and websites, should all include diverse ethnicities

Student Ambassadors: Students that represent your school should come from various ethnic backgrounds, make this a point to be inclusive.

Recruitment: Be clear with recruitment consultants that diversity is a priority. In best practice companies, only diverse slates will be considered, this forces recruiters to look broadly for talent.

Community Partnerships: Partner with local NGOs that promote D&I and be part of Racial Awareness Week and others.

Diversity Days/Week: Set aside a time when everything diversity is explored and celebrated. Celebrate the foods and dresses but more so the great outcomes when people who are different work together. PTA: Stipulate that the school wants a diversity of voices.

Counsellors: Ensure that counsellors are aware of racism locally and importantly, de-stigmatise seeing a counsellor at school so students feel able to reach out for help.

6. Engage all parents: Communicate the importance of D&I to parents

This is critical. Because public awareness is low, if you want your students to be ethnically inclusive, you need to recognise that some of their opinions may come from home. Therefore, tell parents about the importance of D&I for your school and give them opportunities to learn too through 'Lunch and Learns' and afterschool talks. Encourage parents to:

Be curious and proactively educate themselves about different ethnicities, refrain from stereotypes and to not be afraid to ask EM parents questions.

Educate their child through books, movies and more. Speak to their child when you know they are about to meet someone who is different to what they are accustomed to. Not leave the reaction and interaction to chance.

Role model respectful communication so their children know how to behave when people look different to them.

7. Set goals: Understand that change is a perpetual cycle with no finish line. Define small milestones to keep check the initiatives being rolled out.

8. Nuts and Bolts:

Equal Opportunity Policy- make sure this is understood by all your stakeholders and is clearly communicated. Use times throughout the year in different subjects to raise equality.

Person in charge- identify a person in charge internally who will be responsible for equal opportunity.

Complaints Handling Mechanism- how does a parent, student, staff or teacher make a complaint?

Communication: Is this communicated clearly?

9. Consequences: Be clear with staff, students, teachers, and parents about the consequences of being racist. Be serious about this and make sure that everyone knows that racism will not be tolerated.

10. D&I Committee- best practice schools and workplaces have these. Make sure you have external input and ensure the senior leadership team is involved.

Where do students learn racist attitudes from in Hong Kong?

• Local media reinforces negative stereotypes which creates racist attitudes. For example, in Hong Kong, ethnic minorities are featured on local TV shows as delivery drivers and security guards, not doctors or lawyers. Also, in the local press, ethnic minorities are portrayed as thieves.

• Parents and the media who may see darker skinned individuals as "dirty" and "poor".

• From the home environment, where in some cases the domestic helper is called derogatory words that describe her as ugly or lower in status.

• From shops and advertisements that sell "whitening products "and the notion that "white is beautiful".

• From the lack of visibility of ethnic minorities in marketing advertisements across Hong Kong.

A Case Study- Inclusivity and Equity Committee at KGV [With thanks to KGV for sharing]

In June 2020, a graduate from KGV started a petition to KGV and ESF asking them to reform aspects of the school around race, gender inclusivity and other equity issues. KGV and ESF have taken this feedback seriously and have seen the petition as a learning opportunity. KGV’s Inclusivity and Equity Committee’s work was also accelerated by this petition. Here are some suggestions how your school can engage students to understand and call out racism.

1. Create an Inclusivity and Equity Committee comprising students, staff, and senior managers. Ensure that members of the majority population are included from the student body.

2. Educate students about the language they use and introduce them to the concept of impact vs. Intention. Make students aware of the meaning behind racist slurs, so they understand the impact and history of the words they use.

3. Teach students about racism and social issues and prevailing issues around diversity and inclusion globally.

4. Develop different channels where students can share their concerns with confidence (individual time with house master or tutor or counsellor) and encourage them to use these channels to freely share their troubles. This way schools can address them before they manifest into larger issues.

5. Involve students in the inclusivity and equity initiatives of the school. For instance, students highlighted key areas in the curriculum that needed to be reviewed.

#WeAreOneHK

A Hong Kong campaign to celebrate racial diversity, equity and inclusion in Hong Kong.

The Institute of Racial Equality

Is an initiative of The Zubin Foundation (registered charity IR 91/12344) to raise awareness of racial equality in Hong Kong and to support organisations and schools

Improves the lives of Hong Kong’s ethnic minorities by reducing suffering and providing opportunities

to understand and integrate racial equality throughout their operations. For more information, send an email to vibha@zubinfoundation.org.

@All rights reserved. The Zubin Mahtani Gidumal Foundation Limited. Copyright 2022.