Racism is a phenomenon that dates back to ancient times and it still represents a prevalent issue of today's society. Xenophobia, in this context, is generally a behavioural disposition that can be traced back to the early history of mankind. In this regard, it can be considered a result of the lifestyle at that time. Nowadays, however, xenophobia has lost its purpose which is why it cannot be used to justify any form of racism anymore. In addition, no proof for a scientific classification of

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... nkind into races is present in any form. In order to be able to adequately discuss racism and all related aspects with adolescents in school, the embedding of this topic in the curriculum, the right approach and intentions as well as appropriate school materials are required. Although current curricula already intend to highlight the importance of racism, results indicate that its critical examination in school could still be extended and improved. In this context, findings of a survey with teenagers in Austrian high schools show that particularly didactics in biology should focus more on this aspect. As regards the questionnaire, results furthermore suggest that the majority of young people does not believe in outdated concepts, yet they notice that the classification of humankind into races is still present in today's society. Moreover, a great number of adolescents want racism and related topics to be more embedded in school education. Additionally, findings reveal that the progress of a society, a country or a culture is perceived as main reason for worldwide differences between people. As a consequence, the focus on racism and other related topics directly in class needs to be more emphasised. In particular, didactics in biology is ought to stress teaching scientific facts as well as background information on racism-related aspects, as it is essential to be able to historically and ethically explain, understand and discuss the topic of racism.