Youth perceptions of Racism in Newham
Luke Boardman
Youth perceptions of Racism in Newham
AIM
My aim is to find out if people have different ideas of what racism is. Can 'race' affect the perceptions of racism of Newham youth? I intend to interview several Newham youths, from different 'races' and cultures to find out what they believe racism is and why. A study by E.J Rose et al shows that racism differs depending on your social group, which is why I want to do this research. My research has social significance because racism is still a problem in multicultural areas, and as Newham is a multicultural area my research could offer explanations or racism. My theoretical approach is interpretist.
(105 words)
CONTEXT AND CONCEPTS
My first article is 'The institute of Race Relations 1969 report' by Rose et al, from the book 'Sociology themes and perspectives' by Haralambos and Holborn. Rose et al carried out research to discover how widespread racist beliefs are amongst individuals. The research involved a questionnaire asking four key questions about discrimination of West Indians, Indians and Pakistanis. The respondents were then divided into four categories depending on how prejudice they were. Rose and his fellow researchers found six differences. Amongst these, were that women were slightly more tolerant than men and Conservative voters were more prejudice than Labour voters. Their results prove that social groups do have different perceptions of racism, which is why I want to know if 'race' affects perceptions of racism.
My second article is from a National Educational Association, which I found from a textbook called "Contemporary moral issues". This is a particularly interesting article for my research because it suggests that White people are frequently racist without knowing. It says, "When we discriminate, we are racist. When we live in a segregated neighbourhood, we are being racist. When we avoid friendships because of race, when we use racist language, when we tell jokes based on racial stereotypes, we are being racist." Racial stereotyping is labelling people and thinking they will be a particular way because of physical ...
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My second article is from a National Educational Association, which I found from a textbook called "Contemporary moral issues". This is a particularly interesting article for my research because it suggests that White people are frequently racist without knowing. It says, "When we discriminate, we are racist. When we live in a segregated neighbourhood, we are being racist. When we avoid friendships because of race, when we use racist language, when we tell jokes based on racial stereotypes, we are being racist." Racial stereotyping is labelling people and thinking they will be a particular way because of physical characteristics. This article is important for my proposal, because I need to understand all forms of racism to see how far people will agree with them.
My proposed research aims to explore different social constructions of racism. The concept Racism is believing or acting as though an individual or group is superior or inferior on the grounds of racial or ethnic origin. Usually due to skin colour or other physical characteristics, and suggesting that groups defined as inferior have lower intelligence and abilities. This is the official definition, the reality for some groups is different, which is why my argument is that different people understand racism differently. Some people, therefore, are arguably racist without realising it.
My aim is to find out how 'race' can affect someone's attitude towards racism. The idea of 'race' refers to the attempt to divide humans into different racial groups according to physical characteristics. Sociologists generally regard this as a pointless exercise as it doesn't explain human culture. This is because human behaviour is largely due to socialisation not physical characteristics. Despite this 'race' is a major source of identity. Does this 'race' identity mean people view racism differently?
(417 words)
MAIN RESEARCH METHOD AND REASONS
My main research method will be the same as Anne Oakley and Hannah Gavron, that is, in-depth unstructured interviews. These two women benefited from the rapport that they established with their interviewees, which is something that I hope to achieve. My theoretical approach is interperatist and is in the style of Howard S. Becker (1963) Outsiders.
I will interview 10/20 people from Newham. These people would be youths, aged between 16 and 18, and they will have to represent the ethnic mix in Newham.
The significance of Newham, is not only because I live there which means I could offer my own experiences of racism to my proposal, but also because it is a very multicultural area. This means that I will be able to get people from all ethnic groups to participate in my research.
When I do my interviews, I will be doing them as if the interviewee and myself are just having a normal conversation. I will ask the interviewee a series of open-ended questions, where their answer to one question will lead to my next question.
I have chosen a qualitative method, so my research will be very valid. This is because I am asking for an opinion, so my interviewees will be able to give a better, more valid answer to them.
I will tape-record my interviews so that the interviewees can talk freely, I will try to find out things like what they think racism is, and why, I would like to know if they have experienced racism personally, or if they know someone who has and I would also like to know how racist they think Newham is.
It is important to let people speak for themselves to understand exactly how they feel about racism, as everyone is different, and they couldn't express their true feelings in a questionnaire, and statistics of racist attacks don't explain why racism exists.
After I get my results I might be able to see if someone's 'race' does affect their idea of racism, and I might also be able to explain why racism exists in Newham. However, I have to remember that I have used a very small sample group, so it might be useful for a future study, to write up a small questionnaire, asking people if they agree with some of the more important ideas put forward by the interviewees.
(395 words)
POTENTIAL PROBLEMS
The gender of my interviewees could become a problem, because boys and girls generally have different attitudes towards most aspects of life. This is a problem because it could bring in how gender affects perceptions of racism, which I don't want to happen because it would complicate things and it would draw away from what my research is all about. However, my proposal is about youth perceptions of racism, so I will use both sexes and avoid the gender issue.
Another problem could be my influence on the interviewee, I must be careful not to influence their answer. This poses a bigger problem for when I ask questions to people outside of my 'race', because they might not speak their mind, to avoid offending me.
The setting of the interview, may affect it, so I would have to talk to the interviewee on their familiar grounds, to avoid intimidating them. It would also take a long time to set up and carry out the interviews, find the sample and then compare all of my results.
Because my research method is qualitative it lacks reliability. So I might not get the answer I want. I also won't be able to generalise my results because I haven't used a big enough sample group.
Recruiting my interviewees could pose a problem, because I need one person per ethnic group from Newham. I know people from most of the ethnic groups, but for the rest I would need to look for people in college.
I have to make sure that the interviews are kept confidential, because some of the interviewees might have racist opinions that they don't want anyone to know. From this, another problem could arise, that is, can I guarantee confidentiality. What if one of my interviewees tells me about a racist attack they were part of.
(304 words)
