The status of minority ethnic teachers in England: Institutional racism in the staffroom

Abstract

This paper reports research conducted with Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) teachers in England, specifically to find out (i) whether the status of teaching influenced their decisions to join the profession, and (ii) their perceptions of their status within the profession. The data are drawn from the national Teacher Status Project conducted in England 2002-6 combined with previously unpublished data from a follow up study with Asian teachers in 2007. The conclusions, based on focus groups with 65 teachers (African Caribbean, Pakistani, Indian, Bangladeshi) in four regions of England, are that the teachers were not influenced by the status of teaching but joined the profession for intrinsic reasons, such as to improve children’s achievement, and to be role models for all children and for other teachers.  Their self perceptions of their status within the profession are that it is low, as shown, for example, through the rejection of their culturally sensitive approaches to teaching, and their struggles to achieve leadership roles. The latter finding is repeatedly endorsed in studies of BME teachers and demands national monitoring of their career trajectories.