International audienceThis article is based on the theoretical framework developed within a research project on the construction of Eurocentrism and, more specifically, on the analysis of Portuguese history textbooks. We propose that the textbooks' master narrative constitutes a power-evasive discourse on history, which naturalises core processes such as colonialism, slavery and racism. Showing the limits of an approach that merely proposes the compensation or rectification of (mis)representations, we argue for the need to unbind the debate on Eurocentrism from a perspective that fails to make problematic the 'very idea of Europe'. Accordingly, our analysis of Portuguese history textbooks focuses on three core narrative devices: a) the chronopolitics of representation; b) the paradigm of the (democratic) national State; c) the definitive bond between concepts and historical processes

This paper examines issues of selection, merging an analysis of policy with data from a qualitative case study. It focuses on the 'modernisation of the comprehensive principle' proposed by New Labour, in which selection within schools (through setting 'by ability') is increasingly encouraged. Data collected at an inner-city, multi-ethnic comprehensive school are used to illustrate how discourses on selection are being reworked locally. The school was largely supportive of setting, despite some teachers acknowledging that the practice prioritised high-achieving pupils with perceived 'good attitudes'. In the form under study, setting involved disadvantaged pupils from ethnic-minority backgrounds, particularly those who received support in English as an Additional Language. It is concluded that setting did not contribute to an inclusive agenda for education, in spite of government claims of increased 'standards for all'.

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This article explores the contemporary legitimation of institutional racism resulting from the prevailing depoliticized framework of integration, which became prominent in the 1960s and is now hegemonic in political and academic debate in Europe. Integration has helped shift the focus to the supposed cultural inadequacies of ethnically marked populations, who ought to show a willingness to pursue the modern dream; simultaneously, it has invisibilized institutional racism and made an antiracist repertoire unavailable. This argument is illustrated through a case of white flight and school segregation in a rural area in Portugal, revealing both the enduring racism against the Roma/Gypsiessuppressed and repressed throughout the last five centuries in Europeand its depoliticization within the normal working of institutions. It draws on qualitative research with representatives from public bodies and mediating agents (e.g. teachers and social workers), as well as on analysis of the official reports by the Portuguese state and European institutions.

This paper examines Fresh Start, a New Labour flagship initiative to raise education 'standards' in a radical and innovative way. Drawing on a qualitative study of a comprehensive school in England, I argue that the initiative added to the problems faced by the 'failing school' and promoted rather traditional ways of raising 'standards' due to the close surveillance that Fresh Start schools were subjected to. In the case studied, the needs of the pupils that the initiative was meant to address were being sacrificed in the school's construction of a 'successful' identity. While the initiative has now lost momentum, some lessons can still be learnt. This paper illustrates the complexity of creating a new school, as well as the need to attend to the specificities of the local context and experiences in raising 'standards for all' pupils.

RESUMOEste artigo analisa como, nos discursos políticos e no contexto educativo português, o racial se insere num jogo de in/visibilidades, sendo considerado como resultante da presença do "outro" da colónia e, logo, naturalmente irrelevante para a formação do espaço nacional-metropolitano e, de modo geral, para a formação da noção de "Europeidade". A partir desta análise, ilustramos a despolitização do racismo via a naturalização do colonialismo e a reificação do "imaginário imigrante"; neste sentido, o racismo é interpretado como algo que sucede aos outros -etnorracialmente marcados -mas que não diz respeito ao que "nós" somos, um "nós" que, aliás, nunca é questionado. O texto está dividido em três partes: (i) examinamos a consolidação da presente ausência do racial considerando como se tem constituído um ciclo de silêncios e consensos sobre o racial na própria ação de combate ao racismo -marcada pelo antirracialismo -de organizações globais como a UNESCO. Examinaremos ainda como a dissolução do racial está a ser produzida através da associação entre racismo e imigração no contexto europeu contemporâneo, tanto na política como na academia; (ii) analisar-se-á o trabalho empírico e os livros didáticos de história contemporâneos que 1 A expressão "a presença ausente de raça" foi utilizada anteriormente por Michael Apple (1999).

-Race, History, and Education in Brazil and in Portugal: challenges and perspectives. This article proposes a dialogue between the political and academic debates on race, identity, and history in the Brazilian and Portuguese contexts. In order to do so, it examines the myth of racial democracy (as it was known in Brazil) and the idea of a national vocation for interculturality in Portugal to explore how they shape the contemporary debate on racism and Eurocentrism, as well its evasion, focusing on education -which is understood as an arena for important political struggles. By addressing crucial moments in these debates, this article seeks to contribute to wider discussions on race and power in the teaching of history, and to challenge the depoliticization of contemporary narratives that continue to take refuge in the tropes of the historical specificities of each of the national contexts. Keywords: Racism and Eurocentrism. History Teaching. Public Policies. Brazil. Portugal. RESUMO -Raça, História e Educação no Brasil e em Portugal: desafios e perspectivas. Este artigo propõe um diálogo entre os debates políticos e acadêmicos sobre raça, identidade e história nos contextos brasileiro e português. Para tal, examina a relação entre o mito da democracia racial (como ficou conhecido no Brasil) e a ideia de uma vocação nacional para a interculturalidade em Portugal e o debate contemporâneo sobre racismo e eurocentrismo, assim como a sua evasão, focando na educação -tomada como palco de importantes lutas políticas. Abordando momentos cruciais destes debates, o artigo procura aprofundar a discussão sobre raça e poder no ensino da História e contestar a despolitização das narrativas contemporâneas que continuam a escudar-se nas especificidades históricas de cada um dos contextos nacionais. Palavras-chave: Racismo e Eurocentrismo. Ensino da História. Políticas Públicas. Brasil. Portugal.

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