Ethnic minority teachers call for wider diversity training

A new report by Education Support looks into the mental health and wellbeing of ethnic minority teachers, and how it compared with the wider population.

It found that teachers from an ethnic minority background have to deal with the stress of teaching, plus the additional impact of racist and racialised experiences.

Alongside occasions when there is overt racism and discrimination, there are often microaggressions and ‘othering’ from staff – and there are reports of cliques and a lack of social inclusivity, leaving many feeling isolated.

Ethnic minority teachers call for much wider equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) training to create more inclusive cultures.

This is to make colleagues need to be aware of the effects of their words, comments and behaviour, even when they believe no malice is intended

The teachers who participated in our focus groups were in favour of EDI training. It was stressed that reactive training (that responds to racist occurrences) is less effective than proactive training that takes place before any racist events occur, and attempts to improve culture and awareness at school.

The report showed that line management experiences are variable but getting it right can help with stress management .

Where participants have effective line management relationships they can be useful for sharing information, discussing sensitive topics and managing stress.

Trust is an essential component of these relationships. A lack of trust can be a significant barrier to using the relationship to help manage stress.