Minority student’s agency: resistance to inequality at multiethnic primary schools

Abstract

The study explores the resistance of minority students in Ethiopian multiethnic primary schools to discrimination and inequality. It also examined the influence of hidden curricula on minority student’s agency. This qualitative phenomenological research involved 32 ethno-cultural minority pupils and used participant observation, in-depth interviews and document analysis. The results showed that minority students used passive symbolic and active resistance techniques against the persistent inequality and discrimination in multi-ethnic primary schools of Ethiopia. The hidden curriculum negatively affected their agency, leading to schools and the education system blaming the victim and adopting a defective attitude towards minority students. The results of the study and subsequent discussion demonstrated that in these educational settings, the assumption and notion about the role of formal education as an instrument of individual achievement, personal and social empowerment, equal opportunity, and large-scale social mobility have been broken. Teachers should tailor their classes to their student’s interests and past experiences, ensuring their flexibility and adaptability to foster student agency.