Please find below a blog, authored by Katherine Aston, Research
Manager at the National Foundation for Educational Research
(NFER), which provides an analysis of the findings of NFER’s new
report: Ethnic diversity in the teaching workforce:
evidence review. This new research, funded
by Mission 44, a charitable foundation launched by Sir
Lewis Hamilton, explores the barriers to achieving a more diverse
teaching workforce from entry to senior leadership levels. It
also aims to identify challenges and potential solutions.
NFER research manager Katherine Aston shares the findings
from our latest evidence review.
In two-thirds of English primary schools and almost a fifth of
secondary schools, pupils do not get the opportunity to be taught
by a teacher of colour*, because there are none. While graduates
of colour are more likely to apply to teacher training than their
white peers, they are less likely to be accepted for teacher
training, or to become a qualified teacher. These disparities are
most stark at career entry but are compounded at later stages of
a teaching career. We need to promote four times as many teachers
of colour to headteacher positions – about 2,500 more – for the
role to become representative of the ethnic makeup among people
of the same age in the wider population.
This inequity is not new. But to change the story, we need to
understand why and take appropriate action. That’s why we
partnered with Mission 44 to undertake an
evidence review, to
understand the barriers faced by teachers of colour and identify
promising approaches to increasing ethnic diversity at all career
stages. They are using this review to inform their commitments
and actions towards the goal of a more inclusive education system
led by diverse teaching staff.
The message from the research was clear. Teachers of colour
report being socially excluded, stereotyped, rejected for
promotions or professional development, and experience overt
racism. For example, teachers of colour may be motivated to
introduce diverse content into their teaching only to find this
is challenged or disparaged by colleagues. Teachers of colour
commonly report being encouraged to take on pastoral or
behavioural responsibilities based on stereotypical perceptions
of their ethnicity, only to find that it’s difficult to progress
to more senior leadership from these roles.
They may also experience racist attitudes and barriers to
promotion which are not appropriately addressed. Over time, these
experiences add up to an extra hidden workload for teachers of
colour, in a profession where workload is already the main factor
causing teachers to consider leaving.
We must remove this workload by creating a positive and equitable
working environment for teachers and leaders from diverse ethnic
backgrounds. From looking at leading-edge work in this area in
this country and beyond, we know that our actions can make a
difference.
The small proportion of schools with ethnically diverse senior
leadership teams are better at retaining teachers of colour. And
school leaders who committed to long-term professional
development in anti-racism, supported by opportunities to reflect
with others, have developed strong, insightful anti-racist policy
and practice in their schools.
Teach First saw their
acceptance gaps narrow after introducing equitable recruitment
strategies used in other professions. These include blind
applications, where written applications are assessed without
knowing a candidate’s name or which university they attended, and
contextual recruitment, where a candidate’s grades are assessed
in the context of any educational or personal circumstances which
are known to negatively affect academic attainment. Their
acceptance gap by ethnicity is now lower than for other training
routes.
At system level, the Scottish and Welsh governments have
committed to specific targets for the ethnic diversity of
teachers and fund anti-racist work across education. For example,
Scotland has committed to achieving representative ethnic
diversity among teachers by 2030, and all teachers in Wales have
access to free diversity and anti-racist professional learning
resources.
We need to learn from these examples and take action. Graduates
of colour continue to want to be teachers and are applying in
increasing numbers. They have a great deal to offer. It’s up to
all of us to ensure that the professional culture that teachers
of colour enter will support them to thrive as teachers and
leaders for the sake of the profession and the young people they
teach.
*People/teachers of colour is an umbrella term
referring to anyone who is not/does not identify as
White. Source: https://www.theantiracisteducator.com/person-of-colour
