Needles in a haystack

Abstract

This article draws on a study of black male teachers who teach in primary schools, and aims to contribute to studies of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) teachers. Interviews with 10 participants examine the nexus of professional and social identities and how these are (re)constructed in or by schools. The teachers’ agentic actions provide insight into the intersections of race, ethnicity, gender and class, and point to the ways that social and professional identities are in a constant state of (re)formation as black male teachers traverse (and tiptoe) within and between social and professional contexts. Critical race theory (CRT) and intersectionality explore teachers’ racialized experiences and perceptions of black male primary school teachers. Findings suggest that black male teachers’ agentic actions support them in (re)constructing their professional roles and in the negotiation of their identities in primary schools.

Notions of ‘experience’ in a high performing primary school: implications for practice, policy and research development

“…'is unequally open to people' (Lumby 2013: 589) along the lines of race, gender, ability, geography etcetera. Hence, making experience in retrospect a prerequisite could (un)knowingly further compound systemic racial injustices, for example, perpetrated against some black ethnic minority teachers (Callender 2018;Elonga Mboyo 2017) and disadvantage non-White overseas-trained teachers (Miller 2019). For example, if a vacancy for headship/ principalship is ringfenced for those with experience in retrospect as deputy headteacher, as reported for example by Hayes (2005), that rules arguably out a segment of the workforce that, for gendered and racially motivated reasons, are being held back from acquiring the deputy headship experience in retrospect to ever become headteacher.…”