Exploring the importance of institutional contexts for the development of ethnic stereotypes: a comparison of schools in Belgium and England

This article suggests the usefulness of an ecological approach in studying the development of teachers' ethnic stereotypes in schools. It builds on existing research in this area by exploring the importance of nationally specific educational contexts and school characteristics on the development of teachers' stereotypes of Turkish minority students. Observation and interview data from case-study research involving one Flemish (Belgian) and one English secondary, multicultural inner-city school suggest differences between Flemish and English teachers' ethnic stereotypes. These differences can in part be explained by the influence of nationally specific regulations governing teachers' power to evaluate students, a nationally specific policy on ethnic minority cultures and needs, the ethnic and gender composition of the school's student and staff population, and the enforcement of an inclusive school policy by the school's senior management. The conclusions discuss implications for further research on ethnic stereotyping and discrimination in schools.