The implementation of racial discrimination policies at public primary schools

Rotterdam is considered one of the largest and most diverse cities in the Netherlands. With over one million people living in the city, the municipality of Rotterdam faces several challenges in its daily work. The challenges include living together free from any discrimination and being a city free from prejudice and social distance. After the events that occurred in the demonstrations of Black Life Matters, the Municipality of Rotterdam once again undertook work on the issue of race discrimination. Although racial discrimination is a topic that is not openly discussed because it has been condemned and is assumed not to be practised, it is a form of discrimination that still exists today. For this reason, this thesis addresses the issue of racial discrimination in an important subsystem of society, namely public schools. This research is based on the analysis of the implementation of one of the action lines of the reinforcement plan of the initiative "Relax. This is Rotterdam". After the launch of this programme, the "Rotterdam Against Racism Plan - RARP" was launched one year later. This new plan strengthened areas of the coexistence and integration programme in the city of Rotterdam. The RARP as referred to throughout this study has three levels of operationalisation. However, this study focuses on the meso-level, where education is addressed, and educational institutions are found. It is important for the municipality to address the root of the problem through knowledge. To do this, the municipality must address the problem of racial discrimination by strengthening and promoting understanding of the historical past, especially the history of the city and its fellow inhabitants. In this sense, the present research refers to the implementation of this line of action in the public primary schools of a neighbourhood in the city of Rotterdam. In this neighbourhood, racial discrimination is particularly strong, but at the same time the diversity of the inhabitants is very high. The Feijenoord area is the scenario in which the present research is developed and the public primary schools in its jurisdiction. The implementation phase in the public policy cycle is a key phase that can lead to the decision to develop changes or adjustments to the decisions made by policymakers. When an elaborated policy moves into scope, it may be seen as a result of various factors or variables that affect the performance of the policy positively or negatively. The dimensions within which the implementation phase of the policy cycle moves must also be considered. In this sense, the analysis of the level of consensus among the actors involved in the implementation and the expected level of change in the institutions involved plays a role in the performance of public policy. These variables and dimensions are analysed to answer the research question that motivates this work. Recommendations such as establishing effective communication between stakeholders and others related to the implementation phase of public policies are provided at the end of the investigation