Breaking Barriers: The Transformative Effect of Black Educators in Leadership

One percent. This is the stark figure of Black Headteachers in England with a slight  increase to 1.3% for Deputy Headteachers, compared to 92.5% and 90.8% respectively  for White British equivalent (DfE, 2023). With many of the positions held by Black senior  leaders highly concentrated within inner London, the figures decline as we venture  further afield from the capital, with the northeast of England the worst affected, where whilst children of Black-African origin make up 1.3 per cent of the student population,  just 0.1 per cent of the region’s teachers identify in the same way (Gorard et al. 2023). 

The data is there for all to see, and whilst the conversation about change has been  ongoing for many years, with copious localised initiatives to address the issue, the  results appear the same, with little momentum or genuine centralised government  appetite for structural or transformative change. Whilst the implementation of short  

lived ‘successful’ localised responses to this historic problem has led some to herald  this as progress, worthy of celebration, I think it pertinent that we ask ourselves the  following questions: 

• How much work, dedication and strategic planning did it take for us to reach this  mere one percent? 
• What are the systemic barriers contributing to the underrepresentation of Black  Headteachers and Deputy Headteachers, and how can they be effectively  addressed? 
• If achieving racial equity is a sincere aim that we are striving towards, why have  we become comfortable with tokenistic adulations, for results that quite frankly  fall below mediocre?  

Navigating the Leadership Ladder: Obstacles for Black Educators in Advancing 

The underrepresentation of Black educators in senior leadership roles is not due to a  lack of eNort or ambition among teachers. In fact, Black teachers have repeatedly  demonstrated a strong desire to attain leadership positions. Evidence shows that Black  teachers nationally are able to successfully navigate to middle leadership, but the cliN  that appears in front of them when stepping into senior leadership, is one that many fall  oN (NfER, 2020). It seems there is little room for their presence around senior leadership tables, with many only able to sit on the periphery in newly formed roles such as secondee, associate assistant head or under the guise of being part of an ‘extended’  leadership team. The illustrious title of Assistant Headteacher or Assistant Principal, as  the first step in senior leadership, appears for many, out of their reach. The actuality of  one step forward, two steps back is far too apparent. Good enough to take on additional  workload, but not good enough to be part of the substantive team.

Teacher Diversity and Its Impact on Student Experiences 

Underrepresentation of Black teachers has been disproportionately low for decades in  the UK and despite Black people making up 4.6% of the working age population, only  2.5% of teachers identify as Black (Glowach et al. 2023). The issues that arise however,  are plenty. Gorard (2018) found that one of the downsides to a lack of ethnic minority  teachers is the real possibility that this underrepresentation is not only having a  negative effect on educational processes but on student outcomes too.  

Beyond just students outcome however, what is interesting to note, is that ethnic  minority students with similarly ethnic minority teachers are often less likely to be seen  as disruptive (Dee, 2005), be referred for disciplinary reasons, be excluded (Grissom et  al., 2009, Lindsay and Hart, 2017), or suspended from school (Gordon et al. 2023,  Wright, 2015). With suspension rates at an all-time high (Busby, 2024), along with the  fact that Black children are up to six times more likely to be excluded from school than  their White peers (McIntyre et al. 2021), it appears clear that the recruiting of teachers  from racially diverse backgrounds, might in fact help with this current crisis we find  ourselves within. 

Furthermore, even more intriguing, is that students with teachers from similar ethnic  backgrounds to their own are also less likely to be classified as requiring special  education (Stiefel et al., 2022) and in fact, where ethnic minority students have teachers  of a similar ethnic minority to their own, they are more likely to be referred to a gifted  programme (Grissom and Redding, 2016, Grissom et al., 2017, Ofori, 2023, Egalite and  Kisida, 2016). Please note, this is not to suggest that students are being wrongly  diagnosed by professionals, but rather creates a space for questions to be further  explored. Historically however, the misdiagnosis of students from ethnic minority  backgrounds was certainly the case, specifically those of Caribbean ancestry. The seminal work by Bernard Coard, ‘How the West Indian Child is Made Educationally Subnormal in the British School System’, written in 1971, explored the educational  inequalities within the British educational system and found that West Indian students  were disproportionately represented and often wrongly enrolled in ‘educationally subnormal’ schools. 50 years on, it appears this legacy continues. 

Moving Beyond Tokenism: The Role of White Allies in Educational Reform 

Now, allow for there to be no confusion to the argument being made. An increase in  Black teachers and leaders is no silver bullet. It will not solve the abundance of issues  within the educational system nor is there a golden percentage to be achieved. What it  required, however, are meaningful steps in the right direction, the removal of barriers,  and for many more White leaders and allies to go beyond mere rhetoric and delve into  the world of action. 

Whilst reviewing recruitment policies are fundamental, these are often used as a delay  tactic to consciously, or subconsciously, buy time before genuine action is taken. With  continuous delays and excuses, the cultural masquerading in many schools is far too prevalent. One of BHM celebrations, the monotonous assembly being delivered year  after year on MLK Jr or Rosa Parks, where the only information changed is the date, or posters scarcely scattered about the school building pinned up, only to be pulled down on the Friday before the half term break, shoved back into a dark cupboard for another  year. This must change. Note, I am not suggesting that these celebrations should not  take place, but rather, they must be part of wider school initiatives instead of a plaster,  attempting to cover over a gushing wound. 

From Rhetoric to Reality: Creating Pathways from Middle to Senior Leadership 

Delay tactics must be abandoned. Whilst many schools move towards actively considering the diversity of their workforce and have a staffing body that reflects the  community they serve, much more work is required than to add a tokenistic phrase ‘we  encourage applications from diverse candidates’ within job advertisements or the belief  that by removing names from CVs all issues are solved in eliminating biases within  recruitment processes. Schools must step out of their comfort zones on how they have  always done things, a way which is no longer working (and arguably never has), and actively seek and develop talent. The time has come for leaders to go beyond providing  a mere TLR to the only ethnic member of staff in the school to oversee all things  diversity, as they are ‘the best fit’, and ensure it becomes part of the larger conversation  around the leadership table. 

For substantial and sustainable change to take place, leadership teams must  collaborate with teachers and external organisations who in many instances, with the  greatest of respect, are more knowledgeable than they are in areas such as this.  Peaking over the horizon however, help is on the way. Through forward thinking initiatives such as the Leaders Like Us programme and Aspiring Heads programme to  name a few, the current landscape supporting senior leaders from GMH backgrounds is  shifting. 

Therefore, as we move towards a brighter and more equitable future, I leave the  following questions for you to ponder: 

• In what ways does your organisation address and dismantle barriers that may  hinder the advancement of minority ethnic teachers into leadership roles?
• What partnerships or collaborations do you have in place to support the  leadership development of teachers from minority ethnic backgrounds?
• How are you ensuring your organisation is not pushing diverse talent of the  middle leader to senior leadership cliff, but rather building a bridge for them to  cross?

References: 

Busby, E. (2024) Exclusions and suspensions hit record high as warning issued to all  schools, Independent, Available at:  

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/school-exclusions-suspensions figures-record-b2581943.html 

Dee, T. F. (2005) A Teacher Like Me: Does Race, Ethnicity, or Gender Matter? The  American Economic Review 95(2): 158–165. 

DfE (2023) School teacher workforce, Available at: https://www.ethnicity-facts figures.service.gov.uk/workforce-and-business/workforce-diversity/school-teacher workforce/latest/#full-page-history 

Demie, F., Kulwinder, M., Race, R. (2023) Ethnic inequality in the teaching workforce in  schools: Why it matters, BERA 

Egalite, A. J., Kisida, B. (2016) The Many Ways Teacher Diversity May Benefit Students,  Education Next 24(3)  

Glowach, T., Richards, M., Mitchell, R. (2023) More ethnic minority teachers are needed  in UK schools – but teaching can affect their mental health and wellbeing, School of  Education University of Bristol 

Gorard, S. (2018) Education Policy. Bristol: Policy Press 

Gorard, S., Chen, W., Tan, Y., Huat See, B., Gazmuri, C., Tereschchenko, A., Demie, F.,  Siddiqui, N. (2023) The disproportionality of ethnic minority teachers in England: trends,  patterns, and problems, Routledge Open Research, 13(2) 1-28. 

Grissom J., & Redding C. (2016) Discretion and Disproportionality: Explaining The  Underrepresentation of High-Achieving Students of Color In Gifted Programs, AERA.  

Grissom J., Nicholson-Crotty J., Nicholson-Crotty, S. (2009) Race, Region, and  Representative Bureaucracy Public Adm Review; 69: 911–919. 

Grissom J., Rodriguez L., Kern E. (2017) Teacher And Principal Diversity And The  Representation Of Students Of Color In Gifted Programs, The University of Chicago  Press, 117(3). 

Lindsay, C. A., & Hart, C. M. D. (2017) Exposure to same-race teachers and student  disciplinary outcomes for Black students in North Carolina, Educational Evaluation and  Policy Analysis, 39(3), 485–510. 

McIntyre, N., Parveen, N., Thomas, T. (2021) Exclusion rates five times higher for black  Caribbean pupils in parts of England, The Guardian, Available at:  

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/mar/24/exclusion-rates-black caribbean-pupils-england

NfER; Kettlewell, K., Lucas, M., McCrone, T., Liht, J., & Sims, D. (2020) School and trust  governance investigative report: October 2020, London: Department for Education 

Ofori, M. (2023) Lack of diversity in teaching in England means minority ethnic pupils  miss out, The Guardian, Available at:  

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/aug/29/lack-diversity-teaching-means minority-ethnic-pupils-england-miss-out 

Stiefel L., Syeda S., Cimpian J., O;Hagan, K. (2022) The Role of School Context in  Explaining Racial Disproportionality in Special Education, EdWorkingPaper: 22-661. 

White, N. (2024) No Black or Asian teachers in more than half of English primary  schools, report finds, Independent, Available at:  

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/no-black-asian-teachers-england primary-schools-b2544072.html 

Wright, A. (2015) Teachers’ perceptions of students’ disruptive behavior: The Effect of  Racial Congruence and Consequences for School Suspension, Association for  Education Finance and Policy Annual Conference.