Leadership

Race & Equality – 5 Questions for Every Headteacher

Written by Viv Grant

Director of Integrity Coaching

Like many, following the death of George Floyd, I was swamped by almost daily waves of emotion. I heard someone the other day that their “mind was full and their heart heavy”. It was how I felt too. It was as though my whole nervous system experienced some kind of historical trauma.

The flagrant disregard for the life of a black person brought up many painful memories from my past, of times when I was made to feel “less than” simply because of the colour of my skin.

Swallowing the pain of racism

As a young black woman growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, incidents of racism were peppered throughout my life. When I was 15, I was told by my careers teacher that my aspiration of becoming a nursery nurse was too high and I should consider becoming a cashier in the local supermarket instead.

On another occasion, I was reprimanded for talking in class and told to “go outside and swing on the trees, like my friends and relatives the monkeys do”. Complaining or expressing my hurt was never an option, so I simply learned to swallow the pain.

Despite my school experiences, in 1988 I decided to train as a teacher.

In my first year, I was introduced to the work of Bernard Coard, and his research on “How the West-Indian Child is Made Educationally Sub-normal in the British School Education System.”

It was not the lecturer’s intention, but as the only black student in my year, I felt a deep shame and discomfort when she read excerpts from his book that matched so closely with my own experiences of the British education system. For the majority of the white trainee teachers, Coard’s work was simply an academic treatise. For me it was personal.

I come from a black, working-class family. Social and economic deprivation and racial inequality were the backdrop for my childhood years. No one in the lecture hall shared my story.

As the lecturer read how the structure and design of the British education system had led to many black children underachieving and living with a hidden, yet deep, sense of inferiority, it felt as though she was shining a light on my own hurt, leaving my bruised and conflicted inner world for all to see.

I wanted to get up and leave the lecture hall. I didn’t, but I spent four years at teacher training college wanting to escape. I was tired of being in the minority, tired of being on the outside, tired of fearing that I could never truly achieve in a system that had only ever seen black children as a problem.

Low expectations for black pupils

When I eventually qualified as a teacher, I taught at schools in Brixton and Stockwell. One of them was on the border of a road that had been a flashpoint for the Brixton riots in the late 1980s.

It was a time when, just as we have seen in recent weeks, black people protested against the level of police brutality exhibited towards them. And it was here, at this school, where I faced some of the worst levels of racism.

It was a one-form entry Church of England primary school, where the majority-white teachers believed they were there to save the black children. Expectations for them were incredibly low.

In the early days, children spoke down to me. Why? Because the only other black staff were cleaners, and, on a daily basis, pupils witnessed the derogatory ways their white teachers spoke to them (and to me) and so it perhaps seemed inconceivable that I could be there to teach them.

There were times when I cried in the staff toilets because teachers referred to black boys as “gorillas” and I found my own voice stifled by staffroom hostility when I tried to counter these abhorrent views.

Despite all of this, within six years I rose to the position of headteacher at this school. I used my position to bring about change and ensure that high expectations, a sense of pride and achievement were a reality for every black child at the school.

Quest for change

If ever there was a time for education leaders of all hues to seize the moment and do the same, it is now. Bernard Coard’s conclusions still reverberate around our education system today.

It has not been easy for me to process the emotional pain that has arisen as a result of recent events. But I am continuing to lean into the pain because I know that if I don’t, I limit my own capacity for change; not only for myself, but also for my children and my children’s children.

School leaders have to go on a similar quest. It is perhaps the most difficult quest a leader can take because it will require them to explore issues of identity and integrity and what they truly mean in the context of their own school settings.

It will require them to have difficult conversations and face uncomfortable truths about themselves and their schools. Yet it is these sorts of conversations that truly define leadership and are fundamental to growth and positive change.

Furthermore, it’s only by leaning into the uncomfortable spaces and finding help and support that something new, something better, can be brought to life.

This is what true moral and ethical leadership is about. And it is only by going on this journey that school leaders can effectively model what leadership for racial equality and social justice really look like.

In order to navigate this journey, perhaps for the first time, leaders will have to ask themselves:

Am I willing to listen to the black communities’ stories of pain, discrimination and hurt?
Am I prepared to let down my defences and look at my own unconscious biases?
Am I willing to engage with the weighty feelings and emotions that are a necessary part of this terrain?
Am I willing to shine a light on every single aspect of my school and our education system and call out all the policies and practices that have limited the progress of black children and black educational professionals?
In this struggle for racial equality and social justice, what is mineto do?

In my 30-plus years in education, I have seen how an unwillingness to truthfully engage with these questions has hampered progress for all. However, this time I hope things will be different.

In the months and years ahead, black parents will be looking at their children’s schools and wondering whether school leaders have truly heard the deep, searing cry that has shot through the black community for racism to be eradicated.

They will be looking for evidence that their child’s experience of school will be different and that the dreams they hold dear for their children are also held by those who teach them.

We can do better and we must do better. This is a defining moment for our education system; for our black children and black teachers to see that their lives really do matter.

Inclusive Allyship

Written by Yamina Bibi

English Teacher and Assistant Headteacher

This is my speech from the virtual @DiverseEd conversation on 17th October 2020.

 Whenever I want to go ‘out out’, I think about my outfit, which colour scarf will match the outfit and the perfect handbag that will enhance that outfit. The handbag might be a large or a small bag. It might have many compartments or just have the one for my phone and purse. My handbags change according to whatever it is I’ve decided to wear that day.

 Sometimes, it feels to me like some organisations treat diversity and inclusion like it’s a handbag, picking and choosing the one that enhances their ‘outfit’ for that occasion.  Do we just pick the protected characteristic that suits us or are we inclusive allies for every community that we say we represent? Are we committed to anti-discriminatory work in order to be the inclusive allies that we say we are? If so, how is this evident in every sphere of our organisation?

 As a visibly muslim female leader, I have experienced workplaces where I have been one of a few Muslim women being represented at a middle and senior leadership level. I have known organisations where SLT are made up of male and or female white heterosexual leaders who claim to be inclusive allies but each time there’s a senior leadership role, it’s the same type of person that gets the job.

 Can we truly call ourselves inclusive allies if our leadership teams do not reflect the staff and students we lead and represent? Can we be allies if we do not stand shoulder to shoulder with all marginalised groups and communities and actively ensure their voices are represented and heard? Can we call ourselves inclusive allies if we only stand and advocate for the rights of one community over the rights of other communities?

 A few years ago I realised the importance of inclusive allyship in the workplace when I had wonderful white allies advocating for my voice to be heard as a visibly Muslim British woman. I noticed its power when I had colleagues from different communities such as LGTBQ+ community standing shoulder to shoulder with me and others from my community. I particularly noticed how important was for me that, when I spoke about the islamophobia I faced and the way I felt as a Brisih Muslim woman in the workplace, I was listened to and supported by white allies.  

I also noticed the power of inclusive allyship when I stood and spoke to my students at an assembly for LGBT week alongside my colleague, Nick Bentley, about the power of intersectional and inclusive allyship. When a BAME student came to me to disclose that they identified as non-binary and they came to tell me because of an assembly I led on gender identity, I realised the power of representation and inclusive allyship.

 We cannot underestimate the power of representation and the power of being allies because in so doing, students and staff are taught that who they are matters. They know that they bring their authentic selves to school and work and there is someone who will be recognise them and advocate for them regardless of whether they are from the same community or not.

  I am very aware that my current workplace, where my Headteacher is a Muslim woman and where the Senior Leadership Team include BAME leaders, LGBTQ+ leaders and mothers, is different but it shouldn’t be. It should be the norm if we are truly dedicated to diversity and inclusion.

 As a result of the diversity of my school, I am longer afraid to show up as my authentic self because I have allies who support me and advocate for me.  I also look to actively and positively promote others from diverse backgrounds as a leader to ensure that diversity, inclusion and representation are not just words on our school walls or our School Development Plans but are lived by us all.

At my school, we are aware that there is still work to be done in ensuring that we are truly representative of our staff body.  We must actively promote and be held accountable for our anti discriminatory work if we are to call ourselves allies.

 So what can we do to ensure that allyship is not just another handbag we pick up when it matches our outfit?

 Schools should provide coaching for members of marginalised groups and communities to help them develop professionally and to ensure they have someone whose key role includes eliciting the brilliance from within them 
Actively partake in anti-discriminatory work and provide unconscious bias training for all staff regularly so we can recognise our own biases and challenge ourselves and each other to check our biases  Provide opportunities for people from under presented groups to be seen and heard through in all spaces 
Ensure the curriculum celebrates diversity and inclusion and is embedded in all we do. I am done with seeing curriculums where marginalised communities are always victims, enslaved or need rescuing by someone with privilege and power such as a white heterosexual man. While it is important to remember the hurt and horrors of past experiences, we need to also show our students and staff that diversity and inclusion is a part of any successful society. We must usualise this. We need to celebrate excellence within all communities and we need to scrutinise our curriculum and our organisational values and be held accountable for the narratives we are advocating through our curriculum.
 Organise assemblies and events where colleagues stand shoulder to shoulder to show that inclusive allyship is the way forward in creating a society where everyone is welcome, represented and encouraged to thrive.

 Let’s stop picking up D&I like it’s a handbag and ensure it’s a staple item in every organisation by standing with all communities in our words but most importantly, in our actions! 

#DiverseEd Virtual Conference - Reflections

Written by Hannah Wilson

Founder of Diverse Educators

Yesterday, Bennie Kara and I, the co-founders of #DiverseEd hosted our latest virtual event. Bennie is a Deputy Headteacher in the Midlands, and soon to be published author. I am a former Headteacher – we founded a values-based school with Diversity as a core value.

If you missed the event you can view the broadcast via Twitter here or Youtube here.

Panel 1: Diverse Children

Amanda Jane Carter-Philpott – a campaigner for inclusivity – shared her work with refugee children – encouraging us to consider the labels we use and the approaches we need to take to be both inclusive and trauma-informed.

Anton Chisholm – a Maths teacher – reflected on his experience as a black student and now black male teacher, sharing some of the stark workforce statistics. He shared a letter sent by a group of students asking their high-performing school to become actively anti-racist.

David Hermitt – a MAT CEO – shared his trust-wide approach to responding to the impact of COVID-19 on the children with protected characteristics his schools serve. He also suggested how trusts can deploy their diverse staff to enable more children to see visible role models.

Lisa Stephenson – the Founder of the Storymakers Company, one of our partners – encouraged us to consider how we can diversify storytelling to amplify pupil voices. Sharing the pupils’ feedback on their experience of co-creating their own stories emphasised the powerful impact the process had had on them.

Nic Ponsford – the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of our latest partner, GEC, challenged us to think about representation and how our biases are formed. The GEC app and #SmashingStereotypes campaign are some of the practical steps schools can take.

The threads, for me, from part 1 were the need for visibility of diversity, how we can increase and amplify diverse role models and who has voice in our school system.

Part 2: Diverse Curriculum

Amardeep Panesar – a Headteacher – shared her leadership of cultural competency in her school to develop her pupils’ ability to understand, communicate with and effectively interact with people across cultures by being aware of one’s own world view.

Christopher Richards – an international teacher in Spain – addressed the lack of diversity in textbooks and encouraged us to identify the gaps of who is invisible. He urged us to consider the voices being silenced through their absence.

Laila El-Metoui – a consultant and Stonewall Champion – shared her vision for a compassionate and trauma-informed curriculum. She reminded us that visibility and representation are needed every day, all year long. Moreover, that ESOL funding + provision of digital devices are important to ensure all children are supported to access the curriculum.

Sufian Sadiq – a Teaching School Director – emphasised that inclusivity needs to be part of the ethos and culture of the school, not just another box to tick, and it needs to be done in a way that adds value. He urged us to reflect on the micro and macro pictures of diversity and inclusion in the local context and to use the dominant characteristic in your setting as a catalyst for exploring other ones.

Penny Rabiger – our partner speaker for Lyfta – spoke poetically about the power of human storytelling. She invited us to get curious about each other and ask us to share our stories with each other. She is also introduced us to a new word: ‘Firgun (פירגון)’ an informal modern Hebrew term & concept in Israeli culture: genuine, unselfish delight or pride in the accomplishment of the other person.

The threads, for me, from part 2 were for us to consider our perspective, to explore human storytelling and to create opportunities for all stakeholder groups to be catalysts for change.

Part 3: Diverse Staff

Abena Akuffo-Kelly – a Head of Computing/ ICT and Councillor – unpacked her intersectional identity. As she peeled back each layer, she shared the challenges and conflicts of each circle she sits in.

Javay Jeff Welter – a MFL teacher – addressed the lack of diverse males in teaching and asked us to challenge the lack of visible role models. Reflecting on the lack of representation at every layer of the education system he challenged us to consider how we can meaningfully diversify the school workforce.

Lily Bande – a PSHE lead teacher and Councillor – encouraged us all to challenge inequality and discrimination as we see and hear it, by being upstanders and not bystanders, by being consistent in our commitment to making a difference.

Yamina Bibi – an Assistant Headteacher – shared the analogy of diversity not being a handbag that we pick and choose. She spoke passionately about inclusive allyship and how we each need to consider our power and our privilege to address inequities in our workplaces to give voice to those who are marginalised.

Tasha Fletcher – an international teacher – was our partner speaker for Teaglo. Joining us from Uzbekistan, she shared a A-Ha moment during lockdown. Tash was a central voice in the #DailyWritingChallenge and joined me at an #IamRemarkable workshop where we unpack our relationship with self-promotion. Her call to action was there is no better time than now for us to stand up and be counted.

The threads, for me, from part 3 provoked reflections on authenticity, allyship and the call to be upstanders.

Part 4: Diverse Schools

Andrew Moffat – a trust Personal Development Lead and the founder of the ‘No Outsiders’ campaign – reminded us that diversity is not a single issue (one protected characteristic) work but the need for true equality in context – the desired outcome of everyone being equal, everyone being welcome in our schools.

Ebanie Xavier-Cope – a Year 6 teacher and KS2 lead – shared her sobering story of dealing with racism as a teacher. Her distressing experience highlights the need for systemic change – she emphasised that schools need to address these incidents, not the individual who is the victim. The racism she has experienced has galvanised her passion for change and she is leading on projects to re-educate her school community.

Jared Cawley – an international teacher in The Netherlands – talked about the importance of feeling safe in your school, how diverse people can be celebrated not just tolerated. Being given opportunities to thrive, include creating cultures where diverse people can bring their whole selves to work.

Sajid Gulzar – a MAT CEO and OBE recipient – shared his thoughts on talent management and how we need to create open cultures and transparent conversations to have the difficult conversations. From recruitment, to retention to talent-spotting he shared some of the thinking and conversations his team have been having about how to commit to a system wide strategy.

Professor Vini Lander – our partner speaker from the Centre for Race, Education and Decoloniality, encouraged us to create a safe space for all of our children as racism is a safeguarding issue. Race and racism has to matter to all educational leaders because our CYP are demanding that their teachers are conversant in and cognisant of all matters related to race. Her call to arms was for “courageous leadership” to move beyond the status quo and to commit to being ”Racially literate”.

The threads, for me, from part 4 centred around safety and the need to create safe spaces where everyone in our schools can be themselves, where our commitment to inclusion is for our staff as well as our children, and the call for us to be courageous leaders in our commitment to this work.

A massive thank you to everyone who contributed to the event, your contributions were phenomenal. Thank you also to our partners for supporting the event, to my co-host Bennie and wingman (behind the scenes) Richard and to the audience for joining us – your engagement, reflections and questions brought the virtual event to life.

At the end of the event we invited everyone to revisit their #MyDiverseEdPledge from June and to make a new one – please do make a commitment for something you can actively make happen in our collective responsibility to improve diversity, equity and inclusion in schools.

If you have not yet visited our #DiverseEd website the quick link is here.

You can sign up for our monthly #DiverseEd newsletter here.

You can submit a blog for us to publish here.

We will let you know the details for how you can contribute to the Diverse Educators book and will update on the Diversity in Governance series once they are live.

Finally, Bennie and I are hosting Diversity Masterclasses during half-term on October 29th for Teachers, Leaders and Governors if you would like to join us.

Student leadership programmes and celebrating diversity: students as drivers of change

Written by Sadie Hollins

Students are drivers of change. As educators I’m sure we can all think of times when students have been the key stakeholder that affected positive change in our schools, whether that be at the classroom level or at a schoolwide level. I have felt fortunate to witness a number of our students make a stand, whether it be fighting for the rights of the student body as a whole, or coming together to support a member of their peer group facing a particular challenge, such as ‘coming out’. This is student leadership.

I have been in awe of what our Student Council has been able to achieve in terms of the quality of events they plan and host, and the fundraising projects they have created. As well as how the Student Executive Board works together along with class and year group representatives for the Student Council to discuss ideas and how they might be implemented in the school. This is student leadership.

Students drive change.

It struck me recently that often this instinct to drive change comes intuitively to students. School is such an important and informing experience for young people to learn about leadership, and for some may be the only ‘organisation’ they experience being a part of until they reach university or work. How we define leadership, and how we lead as staff, will indirectly inform students how leadership works. For better or worse.

Schools offer many leadership opportunities for students to be a part of, including captaining sports teams, editing school magazines, holding positions such as prefects, student mentors, peer tutors, Student Council members, and many more. However, a lot of these opportunities tend to be most readily undertaken by students that excel in some form, whether that be academically, socially, or physically. A lot of the time students that take on these roles are the ‘good’ students. This in turn can send a message to other students about what leadership is. Leadership is for ‘good’ students.

A lot of these roles don’t come with any ‘Leadership’ training for the role, so it’s often implied that you learn by doing. Whilst I think there is a lot of merit to this approach, I feel that if we work with students to help them define what Leadership means to them and help them (all of them) develop their skills, perhaps we can empower a bigger portion of our student body to drive change.

Last year we started 2 different Student Leadership programmes (Level 2 and 3 Leadership programmes from Sports Leaders UK) in our school. We’ve just begun the Level 2 course with our new Year 11 cohort, and this week we got students to rate themselves according to the different Leadership skills outlined in their course booklets (communication, teamwork, organisation, problem-solving, etc). One of the areas that they had to rate themselves on, and explain a little more why they had given themselves their score, was ‘self-belief’. When going around and looking at their work I was struck by how many students had rated themselves so lowly in this area (scoring themselves less than 5 out of 10) which made me feel a little sad. How can students drive change or lead (or push themselves forward in whatever they choose) if they don’t believe in themselves? We can’t ‘magic’ ourselves into developing a greater sense of self-belief, but we can gain it through experiencing challenges and getting through them (imperfectly). I also wonder if this lack of self-belief sometimes comes from comparing ourselves to the narrow view of what a successful student (or adult) is – normally the best of the best.

The hope for our leadership course is that we can challenge students to redefine what a good leader is, and for them to realise their own leadership potential. We all need and want different types of leaders for all types of situations – we just need to empower students to believe that they could be the leader that someone else needs.

In order to create a school (and organisation) that appreciates and celebrates diversity, we need to empower students to feel confident in who they are and drive the change they wish to see. Our job as teachers is also to be genuine and open about who we are, and model to our students that we all have the ability and power to affect positive change.

My Five Top Tips for Making Your School LGBT-friendly

Written by Jared Cawley

LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) Pride month seems like a very appropriate time to give extra attention to making sure your school is an inclusive, diverse and safe place for your families, students and workforce who identify as LGBT+. The month of June honours the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots, where LGBT people and allies fought against police brutality and harassment that many were and continue to be subjected to today.

Schools are well-known for their openness and celebration of diversity when it comes to students, but some LGBT teachers still feel isolated and uncomfortable to talk openly about their sexuality. Schools are heteronormative workplaces and being a person who is not ‘straight’ requires some careful navigation. Headteachers and school leaders have a responsibility to sustain a school environment that welcomes diversity, supports equality, and defend all staff, including those who identify as LGBT. If you are a school leader who identifies as heterosexual, or is not part of a minority group, you are less likely to notice the exclusion or the discrimination that may be happening in your school.

As a LGBT teacher and a gay man, I have been subjected to abuse and discrimination throughout my life for loving someone of the same sex. Even though Government legislation has strengthened over the last few years, there is still a long way to go. As a LGBT teacher, I am hypervigilant and cautious about who I ‘come out’ to. This feeling of uncertainty is because being straight is the preferred and presumed sexuality. Choosing to ‘come out’ to students, families and colleagues is fearful, as you do not know their opinions and beliefs when it comes to the LGBT community. Making your school LGBT+ friendly must begin with small, deliberate steps. We must acknowledge that this will not happen overnight, but with thoughtful planning and strong leadership, a school can improve its culture of inclusivity for everyone.

When making cultural change in your school, it is important to avoid tokenism. It is superficial to teach diversity for a week or a month as a bolt on to your curriculum, when that is the only time you discuss LGBT rights or teach how to be anti-racist. All members of your school community is needed to make real change, deliberately walking the walk, instead of just talking the talk.

Below are my five top tips for making your school LGBT+ friendly:

1 Use Inclusive Language

Making small changes around inclusive language can have a huge impact on either making people feel accepted and/or feeling excluded.

Here are my suggestions:

Instead of greeting your staff team or students with, ‘Good morning ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls’, say, ‘Good morning everyone’. With this, you have included all genders and identities without assuming everyone identifies with the gender they were assigned at birth.
Challenge students and colleagues who continue to use phrases that diminish showing emotion or acting like a particular gender. For example: ‘man-up’, ‘you throw like a girl’, and ‘boys don’t cry’.
Stop organising students into boys’ teams and girls’ teams, find different ways.
Avoid reinforcing gender stereotypes.

2 A LGBT+ friendly school is everyone’s responsibility.

It is a mistake to think that creating a LGBT+ friendly school should solely be the responsibility of the ‘gay teacher’. It should be a collective responsibility. Headteachers, senior leadership teams, teachers and the rest of the school community should be actively working together to promote an inclusive and diverse environment, ensuring all members of staff and students feel safe and can be their authentic selves.
CPD and INSET days could involve external speakers, offering your staff a refreshing voice and a different perspective.
LGBT+ people experience the world differently to their heterosexual counterparts, and school leaders should give them a safe space to talk about their experiences, with the support of their LGBT allies.

3 Be Proud of LGBT Visibility

If you are showing a prospective same sex family around your school, or a LGBT teacher comes for an interview, or a new student who may identify as LGBT or does not know their sexuality, how do they know that this school or future workplace is a safe and inclusive environment where they can be their authentic self?

Here are some suggestions:

Give teachers a choice to wear LGBT badges/pins or have LGBT lanyards
Display the Pride flag inside and outside your school. There are many flags here that represent the LGBT+ community.
Displays. Show your visitors that you celebrate inclusion and diversity. Have displays celebrating LGBT stories and issues.
Encourage LGBT+ teachers to make a network or support group where they can talk about LGBT issues and use this to show that LGBT+ voices matter.
Have your senior leadership team and staff go on a learning walk, where the focus is LGBT inclusion. Can you see it represented in your school?

4 Have an inclusive and diverse curriculum

Your curriculum should be well planned and deliberately tailored to minority groups and should not be left to chance. To avoid tokenism, these practices should be carefully planned and seen across all subject areas.

Here are some suggestions:

Children’s story books should include and promote different family dynamics, including same sex couples, single parents, foster parents, disabled children and parents, families of colour, families of different religions. Here are some ideas.
In mathematics, have word problems that are inclusive of same sex families. Instead of Mrs. Smith or John, have names that come from a range of countries and heritages.
In your presentations, ensure that the pictures you use show a range of minority groups.
In your humanities curriculum, teach about colonisation, the impact of imperialism, and celebrate indigenous communities and customs. See here for more about decolonising your school curriculum.
Diversify your set texts, offer a range of authors, not just white, heterosexual men.

5 Educate Yourself

I believe the best way to learn more about the LGBT community is to educate yourself, have an open mind and be comfortable with being challenged. I feel there can sometimes be a fear about people who do not belong to a certain minority group, making a mistake or unconsciously offending someone, or using a term or acronym that is outdated.

Here are my suggestions:

Read books and use organisations that specifically discuss LGBT voices in education and whole school approaches:

Catherine Lee’s ‘Courage in The Classroom. LGBT Teachers share their stories’.
Shaun Dellenty’s ‘Celebrating Difference. A Whole School Approach to LGBT+ inclusion’.
Andrew Moffat’s book series for the No Outsiders programme.
These organisations offer a plethora of teaching resources: Schools Out, Stonewall Education, Mermaids UK, LGBT Ed, and The LGBT Primary Hub.
The LGBT Primary Hub offers a snappy timeline of our history and glossary of LGBT vocabulary.

Did you think being a female leader was tough? Try being a diverse one.

Written by Susie Fernandez-Gomez

Med in Educational Leadership, Head of MFL and SLE

There are studies concluding that race and gender may interact to shape different dimensions of women’s employment experiences. Therefore, understanding the interlocking system of intersections is key to addressing diversity challenges in education. The theory of intersectionality articulates a framework which can help address the challenges that minority women face with regard to their identities and their experiences. When race and gender act as a barrier, minority women in leadership positions may face specific challenges which are often unmet by others.

I am one of those women. What some would class as the ‘too different type’ of leader.

According to research, women have developed values and beliefs that translate into specific behaviours. Women are considered to socialise to show feelings, compassion, patience and intuition. This has led to a judgement that all women need to showcase these attributes in order to become effective leaders. One could argue that this list of values and skills would be ideal if it wasn’t for the fact they have actually become barriers which women have to overcome to become leaders.

I am one of those women. What some would class as the ‘soft type’ of leader.

On the other hand when women display attributes such as strength in character, being passionate about their own views, the ability to ask difficult questions or relentlessly having high aspirations from their followers as well as their own leaders, frustratingly, there is still a tendency to class these women as difficult and scary.

I am one of those women. What some would class as the ‘hard type’ of leader.

At this point you are probably wondering:

How can she claim to have all these attributes at once?

I will answer your question by posing another:

How could anyone become a leader and not be a mixture of all those attributes?

Surely if you offer different views, can support and empathise with your followers at the same time as showing the strength needed to lead them and challenge the establishment, would that not make you a true leader that can connect pretty much with any type of follower?

It would seem not…

I have faced great challenges when attempting to reach senior leadership positions. In particular, I believe that cultural variations exist in terms of expectations of leaders. Kuckhohn (1951) defines culture as a pattern or way of thinking, feeling and reacting in specific situations. Culture signifies values, ideas and symbols. Leadership expression may therefore vary based on the values, practices and symbols followed by individuals within a society. Societies may support either masculine or feminine values. Societies like the UK which support feminine values are found to balance masculine traits like aggression along with feminine traits like cooperation and collaboration. When leaders from different cultures co-exist, it can lead to potential challenges regarding how a leader should behave.

I am one of those leaders who happens to be culturally different. That combined with being a woman that shows ‘soft’ attributes as well as ‘hard’ characteristics, which only male leaders are praised for, makes me a bit too weird, I suppose…

The truth is that many women, just like me, who attempt to reach senior leadership positions will need to balance potential biases from various levels. One such bias is expectations of specific qualifications and extensive experience, especially among those of different racial origin. The average white British male aspiring leader already has the most valued qualification desired for senior leadership that there is: the nationality and the gender. In regards to experience, as long as he can show potential, the box would have been ticked. Why not apply for the job, hey?

I am one of those leaders who is not British nor male so my lists of qualifications and proven experience do have to be quite extensive, indeed. Why would I dare applying for the job, really?

I have often felt that my non-Britishness has been a factor which has led to such lack of opportunities.

Diversity is key to education leadership, as the intersection of different characteristics may highlight some systemic challenges faced by leaders. Awareness and alertness exhibited during communications, along with insight into the rules, practices and conventions to be followed in various settings, are often more evident when there is diversity in leadership.

Moreover, diverse leaders may respect the cultural differences of their teachers and remain well-informed about the various cultures. Therefore, a diverse leader may define the roles and responsibilities of the members while acknowledging differences in expectations. Communication management and trust are important factors which support success in institutions that have diversity in their leadership positions.

Time has come for schools to understand the benefits of diversity leadership. Diversity in leadership is key as it can enhance a wide range of views and opinions. It has also been argued that such different perspectives can help in problem solving. By supporting diversity in leadership, it is possible to improve self-efficacy, resilience and self-management. Research has also identified that by enhancing trust-based accountability rather than test-based accountability, it is possible to enhance the quality of outcomes.

Women leaders are considered to establish better morale and therefore are able to achieve better results. A preference for diverse women leaders can help achieve such trust-based accountability. Diverse women leaders are considered to provide better support for employees. This can in turn mean that teachers are provided with independence, agency, and an ethical and righteous purpose, along with a trust-based accountability system.

I am one of those leaders whose team respect and love in equal measures, I can proudly say.

The key component to development of leadership is by establishing an identity as a leader. However, for the female leaders, it has been argued that the failure to include the discussion of the identity and the gender identity especially related to the leadership identity development can lead to additional challenges. The failure to discuss the issues with gender identity and its effect on the identity and the leadership can be essential to understanding credibility in a culture that is deeply impacted by the external environment.

Through the entire process of leadership identity development, the female leaders may be asked to prove their credibility as a leader. As a diverse female leader, at various junctures of my career I have been asked to mellow down my ‘Mediterranean’ ways.

I am one of those leaders who has said NO. This is who I am and I will stand united with many other diverse female leaders out there who, I am sure, have some stories to tell about their own tough journey.

Why Diversity Matters in Education: “The rise of an internationally-minded child.”

Written by Fatma Khalid

A lot has been written recently about diversity, especially in education. Whilst diversity has been “entertained” by a lot of administrators and specifically policy makers into bringing the novelty idea to practice, there is still a lot to be done in terms of making our society and specifically our educational sector more diverse.

Majority of times I have seen students, even my own children, being confused about their culture and identity specifically for children who are born and raised in countries that are not their countries of origin. The implications of this reaches out to sometimes loss of identity or even worse the breed of inferiority that we find most common even here in the UAE where certain cultures and nationalities are often viewed as being better because of how they are portrayed or advocated. This is further challenged by the market niche in the UAE which gravitates towards recruiting teachers of certain nationalities further compromising the practice or need for diversity and inclusivity. Children grow up feeling that the most knowledgeable and people holding high offices are isolated to only ‘a certain kind’ which itself is a huge impediment to ambition and self-esteem.

Although schools have tried to review their curriculums to include enriched activities that promote culturally diversified programs, little has been done to support world-wide inclusiveness or build a truly “international minded” child. Curriculums majority of times are still country bound; where they cover history or cultures to that particular country as compared to covering world history and include studying cultures of the world so children can truly build acceptance and respect and be aware of other cultures that are unique and significantly different to theirs; this is what after all is defined as an “international minded child”. How else can a child build compassion or become a global citizen if he/she spends all their lives thinking there was only one culture or history that was worth studying and understanding.

All efforts need to be in place to ensure that all children’s cultures are represented in curriculum which is highly recommended for a highly inclusive society such as the one here in the UAE. Culture awareness cannot be left for isolated occasions such as the most commonly celebrated “international day” where children and parents are encouraged to bring their traditional food and dress in their traditional clothes, then tribute done and the rest of the year, children go back to studying the curriculum (country bound) history. When we have made technology a mandate, cultural diversity too holds importance and should be integral and be embedded in our core curriculums.

Moreover, ensuring that our teams are made up of qualified individuals from different nationalities increases the opportunity for children to learn and understand cultures from multiple countries that most importantly also represents them. Curriculums are consequently enriched with creativity and increased global perspective for a truly diverse society that aims to understand, acknowledge and accept that although we are different, we are fundamentally the same kind…

The human kind.

What does it mean for education to be diverse and inclusive?

Written by Jitse van Ameijde

Social Entrepreneur and Founder of Social Change Academy

Education is without a doubt the most transformative force in society. Education lifts people out of poverty, it opens up choices with regards to the livelihoods they can pursue, and it empowers them to challenge the status quo. But education has a diversity and inclusion problem. Like any social institution, it is rooted in its history and has evolved within a system predominantly designed by white men. This means that much of the curriculum is based on the thinking, insights and mindsets of white men who were taught by other white men who came before them. There has been some progress in addressing this and making education more inclusive.

Many educational institutions have developed policies to promote equality, diversity and widening access and success, yet statistics consistently show students from a minority ethnic background are underrepresented in many disciplines within Higher Education. There is also a significant gap in the success rates with students from ethnic minority backgrounds consistently lagging behind their white counterparts. When we look below the surface of the marketing materials provided by many educational institutions – which show diverse students smiling and having a good time – these images do not necessarily reflect the experience of learners from a diversity of backgrounds.

As the recent surge in Black Lives Matter protests illustrates, we do not yet live in a society where everyone feels safe and included. Quite the opposite, this global movement has illustrated that large sections of our society face oppression and exclusion as part of their daily lived experience, including experiences within education. The fact that this experience has remained largely under the radar of white privilege does not make it any less real and urgent.

Now what would it mean for education to be more diverse and inclusive, and what steps can we take to move in the right direction beyond articulating policies and providing diverse images in marketing materials?

First of all, it is essential that education explicitly addresses its own biases and blind-spots and actively works to incorporate a more diverse range of voices within the curriculum. This means including works from authors and theorists who represent under-represented groups within society because of their gender, race, sexual orientation or other relevant characteristics.

Secondly, it means making the contested nature of knowledge explicit and encouraging active debate among students about how many current perspectives and understandings are rooted in white privilege and promote insights which serve the interests of an establishment that promotes the interests of some over the interests of others.

Thirdly, it means transforming some of metaphors prevalent within educational institutions. Masculine metaphors around competition dominate within educational discourse and education is seen as a competitive battle among students for the best grades and a competitive battle for institutions to acquire the “best and brightest” students. We should instead be shifting these metaphors to something more grounded in collaboration and sustainable growth. Life doesn’t need to be seen as a competitive struggle for survival – and opportunity does not need to be presented as a cake with a limited number of slices.

Fourthly, it requires educational institutions change their recruitment, development and promotion practices so that these are effective at removing any barriers for minority applicants and staff to join and develop within an organisation. This includes using blind recruitment processes, balanced recruitment panels which include minority representation and whose members are trained in avoiding the adverse impact of unconscious bias, as well as a range of development programmes aimed at supporting minority staff to develop as part of their role.

These four steps form a starting point for addressing issues of diversity and inclusion in education, and responsibility for their implementing very much lies in the hands of the those in leadership positions in our educational institutions. However, the systemic issues cannot be addressed within our education institutions alone and require the active participation of the media, arts, literature, and other institutions in stopping the damaging stories and limiting expectations which give rise to access and success barriers in education and beyond.

Bio

Jitse van Ameijde is a social entrepreneur and founder of Social Change Academy – a social enterprise focused on the development of tomorrow’s change makers passionate to make a positive difference to the lives of others. Originally from the Netherlands, Jitse came to the UK to finish his Masters in Social and Organisational Psychology, and ended up working for the Open University where he worked on the design of distance learning experiences and taught systems thinking in practice as an Associate Lecturer. He is passionate about issues of inclusion, social justice, and equal opportunities for all regardless of their past.

Jitse van Ameijde is the founder of the Social Change Academy: https://www.socialchangeacademy.org/founder/

The Role of Wellbeing & Resilience in Diversity

Written by Tasha Fletcher

Lead Primary Teacher in KS1

Resilience “an innate capacity to rebound from adversity and change through a process of positive adaptation. For young children and adolescence, resilience is a fluid, dynamic process that is influenced over time by life events, temperament, insight, skill sets, and the primary ability of caregivers and the social environment to nurture and provide them a sense of safety, competency, and secure attachments.” National Resilience Resource Center

International and local schools around the world are culturally, ethnically, and racially diverse. Now more than ever there needs to be a conscious shift in the role that wellbeing, mental health and resilience play in diverse classrooms.

But how can we as educators begin making this a priority in our classrooms?

What are some of the signs we should look out for?

What role can we play in ensuring our students feel valued and safe regardless of their ethnic backgrounds?

What is culture?

Culture shapes society’s attitudes, beliefs and behaviours. Every individual is a part of multiple cultural groups, based on several factors such as; race, ethnicity, faith, country, type of work, level of education, physical ability or disability status, sexual identity and so on.

If you work with young children or teenagers that have different cultural backgrounds from your own, there can be additional communication challenges, as teachers we face these challenges every day. Many communities have agencies that provide services for specific cultural and ethnic populations.

How is wellbeing and resilience linked to diversity?

Wellbeing and resilience play a huge role in diversity, especially in today’s classroom where the cultural differences that exist between teachers and their students/students and their peers are numerous.

Diversity may exist with regard to race, culture, religion, language, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status. Parents/guardians, teachers, caregivers, extended family members and other adults in children’s lives have an important role to play both in their responsibilities and opportunities to model ways for children and teenagers to feel safe, connected, valued, capable, respected and grow in resilience.

Unfortunately, within many school systems, a lot of students are faced with discrimination from other students as well as staff every day, due to a lack of understanding or empathy with regard to the variations in beliefs, practices, and values of different cultural groups. Since ethnic minority children have higher rates of suspension/expulsion, special education placement and school dropout, it is evident that numerous disparities exist within our education systems.

There are instances where students, for a variety of reasons, may face more challenges due to adversity, trauma or unsafe living conditions at home. On the other hand, children can grow up in completely nurturing environments and still, because of genetics, brain chemistry or a special educational need, have an emotional, mental health or behavioural disorder.

The role of culture

Culture has a significant impact on the beliefs and attitudes surrounding child development, identification of problems and judgment about the best way to intervene when problems do occur. Furthermore, each of us operates within an individual culture, which espouses specific beliefs that determine how we interact with others and interpret their actions.

Cultural variations in expressions of behaviour may contribute to misunderstandings and conflict, which can be decreased through enhancing multicultural awareness. And while risk is a contributing factor for poor outcomes, it is not a given because educators, parents/guardians and other adults entrusted with the care of young children and teenagers can help all children gain and maintain a sense of their own strengths and abilities (if they know how to and should receive support from the relevant authorities; DSO, counsellors, psychologists, child and wellbeing services etc).

So what can we do as educators and parents to promote diversity and inclusion in schools and communities?

Recognise the cultural diversity and uniqueness of students and learn as much as you can about your students’ cultural background by spending time with your students and getting to know them. (This is especially good to do at the start of the year) and a simple “All about Me” activity is a great way to start. Some teachers may argue that this activity is geared towards younger children, but as a teacher creativity is at the heart of what we do. You can turn this into a carousel activity of guess who clues for Middle School or KS2 children and staff around the school, in the gymnasium or sports field.

You can start a class mystery blog for Secondary students in which each student writes a blog about him/herself (I would suggest giving a minimum word limit but not a maximum).

The goal will be to feature a new student each week and the class has fun guessing who it may be while learning about each other.

Whatever activity you choose to do, don’t just collect the information, use that information to help your students and create successful relationships in which your students feel valued as a member of your class.

Recognise that socioeconomic and political factors have a significant impact on the psychosocial functioning of culturally and ethnically diverse groups

Develop an awareness of your own cultural and ethnic background and acknowledge differences in the culture between you and your students.

You can do this by incorporating instructional strategies into your school’s curriculum that are sensitive to cultural differences such as: text books, planned activities and field trips, print rich environments which can include key/everyday words which represents the various ethnicities of students in your classroom or invite students to contribute something from their different cultural backgrounds towards the classroom displays to help build a sense of belonging, feeling valued and a voice.

Promote tolerance and understanding of cultural differences – as a teacher or parent you can promote this in many ways:

Incorporating fun learning projects that teach about diversity, wellbeing, mental health and resilience through.

PSHCE discussions or peer and group collaborations using task cards. I have created some wonderful resources which can be used to help children recognise the value they bring to the group and to understand the role they play in keeping well and mentally healthy for both primary/early years and middle school/upper primary.

International day celebrations – children, staff, parents and members of the community can contribute to events like this to promote diversity, equality and respect.

Teachers and children could plan activities together with their parents to showcase a country for a day/week. Together you may all choose to dress up in the traditional clothes of that specific country/culture for a day, learn a new song, poem or read aloud in the language and present it. Inviting guest speakers, or watching a film together are also other hands-on ways you can promote and celebrate diversity in your classroom or school.

But why stop there?

As a teacher you can work together with schools in other countries and collaborate on a mutual interest with your students. The aim here is to expose the children to cultures and ways of doing things that are different from their own by instilling tolerance, respect, reflection and developing the understanding that although some people may look, dress, and speak differently than they do they each have a uniqueness that should be valued and celebrated.

What can we do as educators, parents/guardians and caregivers to support resilience?

Instil in children a sense of values while respecting other viewpoints.

Encourage good nutrition, exercise, diet and physical fitness for example you can include yoga or breathing exercises as part of your brain breaks with students during class times.

Teach gratitude and a recognition of blessings in life, as teachers we probably do this every day. We often ask our students to reflect on their lesson by checking their targets or filling in smiley faces.

Why not include wellbeing and resilience as part of that gratitude too?

You could create a reflective/wall of gratitude which could be placed on a wall or door to the exit. Students can then write something they were thankful for at the end of the year and add it to the wall as they leave for the day.

Another way to incorporate this could be creating a wall of gratitude in a padlet and students can fill in one thing on the wall as a home activity. It can also be a useful sharing tool for weekend activities.

Provide opportunities for friendships and a social support system to develop. As adults we know how important it is to have good, strong and dependable social groups from adults we trust and can count on.

The same goes for children and teenagers, as adults we should ensure that the children entrusted in our care know where to go to for help if they need it and are not afraid to ask for it too. Encouraging opportunities for social support systems with friends and trusted adults is a good way in which to do this. School counsellors, homeroom teachers, social support groups within the school or community are all ways in which we can promote this.

Try to encourage children’s ability to figure out life through trials, error and success. A lot of children because of cultural norms, low self esteem or socio economic status are under pressure “ to not accept failure” or grow up hearing that failure is unacceptable from the adults who are sworn to protect them.

Failure is a big part of success and growth, therefore young children and teenagers NEED to know that it is okay to fail. After all it is how we learn, and acceptance of that failure is paramount to the next step which should inevitably be success.

As adults it is equally important to take care of ourselves too.

Find ways to take care of yourself based on what you enjoy doing, for me going on long walks in nature or reading usually does the trick.

Be mindful of how your thinking is helping or hurting your situation. Always be careful of your thoughts, for what you believe have the tendency to become.

Find comfort in the small things and gratitude in your own accomplishments and contributions. This can be as simple as acknowledging out loud something you are successful at or grateful for each day.

Be a lifelong learner, find enjoyment through learning new ideas.

Promote ways to feel competent, connected, and to have life satisfaction.

And finally Instil a sense of pride in your family as well as your cultural traditions and rituals.

About the author:

Tasha is a lead primary teacher in KS1| mum of two boys | Designated Safeguarding Officer | ELT Materials writer. With a specialisation in Early Childhood and Psychology, she has more than 16 years of experience in young learner education, starting in pre-primary and primary in Trinidad & Tobago (Caribbean) before specialising in TEFL to young learners. She has lived and worked in 9 countries across the world, working in teaching, teacher training, assessment and educational development. When she is not teaching, she enjoys spending time with her family playing football, basketball and nature walks.