Education and internalized racism in socio-political context: Zimbabwe and Swaziland

We focus on the scarcely researched concept of internalized racism (INR), conceptualized as the internalization by blacks of white stereotypes about blacks, to investigate the extent to which it is impacted by education. Samples were drawn from two countries in Southern Africa, Swaziland (N = 308) and Zimbabwe (N = 319). We examined the contrasting socio-political contexts of a history of apartheid in Zimbabwe, and the absence of de jure segregation in Swaziland, the levels of INR, and the relationship of education to INR in both societies. Analysis showed that there was no difference in the levels of INR. Education, our variable of main interest, was negatively related to INR in both societies, and age, and a “sense of helplessness” were positively related to INR also in both societies, although the latter was marginally significant in Swaziland. We discussed the unexpected similarity of INR levels in these societies, and the potential of education to mediate negative psychological effects in both socio-political contexts.