King's College London

The project seeks to answer three main research questions:

• How do young people in the UK experience colourism?
• How does its extent and impact vary according to characteristics such as skin shade, ethnicity and gender?
• How is colourism understood and negotiated?

Additional research questions include:

• What impact does colourism have on the self-esteem and wellbeing of young people in the UK?
• How do young people and their peers help to perpetuate colourism in their everyday lives?
• What impact do families, teachers and the media have on understandings and experiences of colourism?

The research uses both qualitative and quantitative methods. We conducted focus groups with both young people and teachers, and interviews with students in years 8 and 9 and 12 and 13 in 2023-2024. We then conducted a national survey of secondary school-aged young people (11-18 years) in 2024 and 2025. The focus groups and interviews enable in-depth analyses of the colourism narratives of young people of different ethnicities in London and Bristol (cities with long-established multi-ethnic populations).

The focus groups explore young people’s perceptions of colourism and how it is experienced in secondary schools and beyond. The individual interviews elicit narrative accounts that examine the personal experiences of students of colour with regards to colourism and consider the impact of families, the media and schools on their experiences and perspectives.

The results of the survey will be used to provide an indication of the prevalence of colourism and its impact on young people of different ethnicities, skin shades, genders, social classes and sexual orientations.

The research will help to shape and develop understandings of ‘racialisation’ in the UK by providing valuable data on how colourism operates and how it affects secondary school-aged people in the UK. It will have a significant impact on promoting equality and social justice in schools, the media and amongst policymakers and the general public. The pathways to this impact will include collaborations with NGOs.

The research will form the basis of a short film on colourism among young people created by minoritised ethnic young creatives.

The research team will also work with schools and young people to produce a three-session intervention on colourism for schools for students in Key Stage 3/4 (years 9 and 10). In London and Bristol freelance artists will be hired to work with students who are in years 7-9 on artworks inspired by narratives on colourism from the research, which will feature in exhibitions. We will disseminate the research through events at participating schools.

We will also produce a policy briefing in conjunction with KCL’s Policy Institute highlighting the research findings and outlining steps policymakers can take to ensure that colourism and its effects are recognised.