Tag: Anti-racism

Dancing our way to Tackling Diversity in Teaching

Posted on by Lucy Backwell

By Dr Lorna Smith, Senior Lecturer in Education (PGCE English), School of Education

It is a truism that English is a humane subject and hence that all humanity should be represented and celebrated. Yet there are, in practice, significant hurdles that mean that Black, Asian and minority ethnic students are marginalised in English classrooms. These students rarely see themselves represented in literature; if they are, racial stereotypes are perpetuated; and lessons on these texts are mostly taught by white teachers. This blog focuses on positive action happening in the PGCE English programme to ensure that all students can feel engaged and visible in all English lessons – and that includes learning from some global majority students themselves. (more…)

More ethnic minority teachers are needed in UK schools – but teaching can affect their mental health and wellbeing

Posted on by Lucy Backwell
wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock

Terra Glowach, University of the West of England; Malcolm Richards, University of the West of England, and Rafael Mitchell, University of Bristol

There is a major shortage of new teachers in England, and this includes teachers from ethnic minority backgrounds. Research from 2020 found that 46% of schools in England had no Black or ethnic minority teaching staff at all.

But the treatment of ethnic minority staff in schools raises ethical concerns about recruiting them into a workplace which puts significant burdens on their mental health.

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What the government’s report on race gets wrong about the education system

Posted on by Lucy Backwell

From ‘The Conversation’, by Leon Tikly, University of Bristol

The UK government’s recent report on race, drawn up by the Commission on Ethnic and Racial Disparities, has been roundly criticised for its findings. Its primary claim, as chair Tony Sewell writes in the foreword, that the British system is no longer “deliberately rigged against ethnic minorities” has drawn particular ire.

With regards to education, specifically, the report argues that “if there is racial bias within schools or the teaching profession, it has limited effect”. Sewell’s credentials as an education consultant appear to give special credence to that position. The problem is that it flies in the face of four decades’ worth of research.

As a former science teacher, a university professor and UNESCO Chair in inclusive education – with expertise at local authority, national, European and global levels – I am well placed to unpick quite how flawed Sewell’s statement is. (more…)