BJSW Advance Access originally published online on November 23, 2005
British Journal of Social Work 2006 36(8):1309-1324; doi:10.1093/bjsw/bch390
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A Contested Identity: An Exploration of the Competing Social and Political Discourse Concerning the Identification and Positioning of Young People of Inter-Racial Parentage
Ravinder Barn is Professor of Social Policy and Social Work at Royal Holloway, University of London. Ravinder has researched and published extensively in the areas of race, ethnicity and child welfare, and in particular on the situation of minority ethnic children and young people looked after by the state.
Vicki Harman is a Lecturer in Social Policy and Social Work at Royal Holloway, University of London. Vicki is currently in the process of writing her doctoral thesis into the formal and informal support networks of lone white mothers in inter-racial families.
Correspondence to Ravinder Barn, Department of Health and Social Care, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX. E-mail: r.barn{at}rhul.ac.uk
The development of racial and ethnic identity of minority ethnic children and young people in contemporary multi-racial Western society remains an important academic concern. More recently, a relatively new debate about the identity and ‘correct’ labelling of children of inter-racial relationships has been brewing in British academic literature. Nowhere is this more vociferous and intense than in the field of social work. This paper identifies two competing perspectives vying for position in this ideological and political battle. It is argued that whilst overall consensus may not be possible or even desirable, it is important to explore these ideological positions as they play a key role in influencing social work policy and practice.
Keywords: identity, black, mixed, anti-racism, post-modernism, social work