Gang Culture In Schools 'Unchallenged' (UK)

Schools are failing to tackle the growing problem of gangs in the classroom because they fear accusations of racism, according to a study.

The gang culture permeating schools is bringing drugs and stolen goods into the playground but is often going unchallenged, according to Dr Ikhlaq Din, a Bradford University researcher.

His findings, published in the latest edition of the Race Equality Teaching journal, follow a warning earlier this year by school inspectors that one in five secondary schools in England was concerned about "gang behaviour" among pupils.

Based on interviews with teenagers at three schools in Bradford, the West Yorkshire city that was the scene of race riots in 1995 and 2001, the study revealed that being part of a gang allowed pupils to do virtually "what they wanted" in front of other pupils and even teachers, whose authority was limited.

"Because the gang members are from a minority ethnic background, schools may be reluctant to deal with gangs for fear of accusations of racism," said Dr Din. "Schools host a hidden economy where illegal activities like selling drugs and stolen goods can be carried out away from the public gaze."

In the study, 17 of the 22 respondents, aged 14 to 19 and of Pakistani origin, reported that gangs were operating in schools, while 13 said they had seen drugs being sold on school premises.

One 16-year-old male pupil said: "It starts in the school - the bad kids who walk around in gangs, who steal or beat someone up for no excuse, because they want everyone to know they are hard. The problem is that no one thinks there are gangs in schools."

Teachers are seen as having little authority and can even be targeted by gang members. When pupils are disciplined, they claim they are being discriminated against, according to one female pupil.

"I've seen teachers get picked on, sworn at by these lads," said the 17-year-old.

"They can't really do anything because the kids will make something up against the teacher.

"On one occasion, this lad stabbed another pupil and the police were called in to school. His mates were cheering him. What's the worst that can happen to them? They get suspended or excluded. These lads are not scared of that - they would say that the white teachers pick on them because they are Pakistanis."

Dr Din said tensions between parents and their children, lack of employment opportunities and the pressure put on Pakistani boys by their own communities contributed to the development of gangs. He recommended that schools develop close relationships with parents and elders and be more aware of the particular concerns of young people from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Cedric Cullingford, a professor of education at Huddersfield University, who contributed to the paper, said that gangs made up of minority ethnic groups played the "race card" as a way of supporting each other.

"It might not be justified, but it is inevitable," he said. "We are talking about students who feel disfranchised and have a deep-seated uncertainty about their personal identity in schools, which is exacerbated by schools' concentration on tests and league tables."

John Dunford, the general secretary of the Secondary Heads Association, disputed the claim that schools were failing to act.

"I don't think schools are turning a blind eye," he said, "far from it. Schools do what they can to uphold good behaviour.

"One also has to bear in mind that children have always had gangs of one sort or another. When does a group of friends become a gang?"

"I don't think schools are turning a blind eye," he said, "far from it. Schools do what they can to uphold good behaviour.

Your lengthy list of ZERO examples sure is convincing to me. Those are all very good measures indeed.

"One also has to bear in mind that children have always had gangs of one sort or another. When does a group of friends become a gang?"

Well, genius, when do I need a band-aide, and when do I need deep cranial surgery to remove a stage III medulloblastoma?

But it's all the same, moron. It is all the same behavior...

First the blacks riot in France now we have minority problems in the UK that are so bad they are afraid to name the minority. We have been going through this same thing for about 30 years now and still they play the race card. gets a bit tiring after a while, but you get used to it.

It wasn't 'blacks' rioting in France .....it was Islamic youth, most of them from Algeria and Morocco. Now, I know Algeria and Morocco are in Africa, but you have to consider that those who stem from there do not look 'black,' and that the identifying factor was Islam not blackness. In fact the only black faces in the whole shebang were a few Senegalese muslims, and even THEY considered this an Islamic situation.

As for the British situation it is Asian youth ....and in the UK Asian doesn't mean Japanese or Chinese but Pakistani etc. Europe is facing a huge problem due to sizeable numbers of Muslims who are getting radicalized in large numbers, and the Europeans (be they in Germany, France or Britain, and lately even Sweden) apparently do not know what in blazes to do with them. Furthermore these muslims, particularly the young ones, are not only falling into the whole radicalized camps, but they also have full citizenship and thus are (or are going to be in the near future) prized targets for recruitment by Jihadi groups. After all it is far easier for a Pakistani-heritage British citizen who was born and bred in the East End to get through security (especially due to papers)than it would be for a Pakistani citizen. Now, compound the above with the fact that a good number of the young muslims do not even identify themselves with the countries in which they reside (this is a huge issue in France and Germany, particularly in France where many of the Islamic youth consider themselves affiliated first and foremost with their flats and ghettos, and not to the nation and flag).

Huge issue, and one that will affect a good part of Western Europe. It will be interesting to see how Europe deals with this. We'll either see more cowardice, or it might go the way of iron-handed measures. Currently France is kind of in the middle of this .....they have some of the toughest anti-Islam (yep) immigration measures in Europe, and in fact the authorities have carte blanche to do stuff that would make our ACLU pull at their hair, BUT when it comes to those already within (i.e French muslims) the French authorities seem totally confused. They are virtually burying their heads in the sand when it comes to their internal Islamic issues. And this problem is just starting.

However it has nothing to do with 'black riots.'

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