‘Our glorious diversity is not a threat. It makes us who we are,’ tweeted Michelle Obama on 6th January 2017 – a true inspiration.
Coupling this quote with the fact that there is more migration now than ever before, why is the promotion of BAME teachers still not a reflection of the number of BAME pupils in education? Why are BAME teachers not inspired into headship? What is happening?
We are all aware of the benefits of having more BAME teachers and the positive impact that can have on all of our children.
Possible barriers to senior leader and headship positions
- Not enough BAME teachers
According to the DFE report entitled: A profile of teachers in England from the 2010 School Workforce Census, the numbers of BAME teachers are very low indeed:
There simply aren’t enough BAME teachers out there which affects the numbers taking up leadership roles. However, we need to take a closer look at the data and compare percentages. Here are some approximate percentages: in primary schools there are 5% BAME teachers; secondary’s fare slightly better with 7% of teachers being from BAME origin; academies come in at first place, with BAME teachers at 14%, whilst special school have the lowest at 4%. We need to explore what the reason are for the higher percentage of BAME teachers in academies. The figures for White not British are even worse. Perhaps there are better systems in place for career progression in academies. Without further study, we cannot truly ascertain why.
2. Exploration of socio-economic background
In order to gain a further understanding, exploration of socio- economic background is required at a deeper level.
Current BAME teachers seeking assistant headship or headship would normally be second generation migrants, at present. We need to gain an understanding about the perception of education from the country of origin.
The first generation who migrated to England in the 1960s, have had extremely high expectations for their children. The way success is perceived is by becoming a doctor, lawyer or engineer. How much you earn, is another indicator of success. In third world countries doctors, lawyers and engineers earn more money than teachers- much more money. The vocational element of teaching is regarded in such high esteem that teachers’ salaries do not reflect the importance of the job that they do (sounding familiar?). Education in all these countries is regarded in high esteem and teachers are placed on a pedestal.
Although teachers are given much respect and high status in society, and are given an almost god-like status, children are discouraged to become teachers because one of the reasons is that they will not earn enough. A teacher teaches for the love of it and is poor and will always remain poor- fact. Children are taught from the minute they are born that education is the way forward, that the only way to succeed in life is through securing the top grades. However, due to first generation migrants facing all the pressures of complex issues that go hand-in hand with migration, they had to work extremely hard to provide.
Another reason is that whereas doctors, lawyers, engineers normally sit in an office, dealing with one customer at a time, teachers have deal with approximately 30 children per day- secondaries more.
In the 1960s there was no requirement to obtain a degree in order to become a teacher. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why second generation migrants were not pushed into the education sector. Teaching was not seen as an academic profession, not only abroad but also in England. Obviously things have changed and we need to ensure that the message is filtered through.
In addition to this, if you become a doctor, lawyer or engineer, the perception is that you are your own boss with immediate effect, so success is instant. If you become a teacher, you would need to perfect your craft over several years before becoming an assistant head teacher or head teacher, so success is neither guaranteed nor instant. Perhaps this view has been passed through the generations. How do we change this attitude?
3. Aspirations
BAME students are already underrepresented at university and on initial teacher training programmes. If children and adults alike see people of ethnic origin perform cleaning and administrative duties in schools, how can we expect BAME teachers to break the mould? If students are not inspired to become teachers or head teachers, then how can we expect BAME teachers to follow suit? Surely, we need strong, positive, resilient BAME role models to lead the way.
The educational profession is renowned for the lack of passing on knowledge in securing promotion or reaching the top. There is a lack of career guidance. Perhaps this is a cultural aspect of education, where you are responsible for your own learning and need to develop the independence to seek out knowledge and opportunities for yourself. Perhaps we need to get them young. Perhaps we need to ensure that we use our current BAME leaders as role models more in education and start sowing the seed, when teachers start teacher training. Perhaps we need to start promoting teaching careers in education whilst pupils are still in secondary education or even as early as Years 5 and 6.
4. Fear, and lack of promotional opportunities
I have heard countless stories, where experienced BAME teachers had not been promoted over their inexperienced white counterparts. We can only ponder over the reasons for this. Unless they have the skills required for the post, a teacher should not be promoted, from ethnic origin or otherwise.
Perhaps BAME teachers do not have high expectations of their own career development due to fear. My understanding is that BAME head teachers have it tougher than most. Not only are they expected to shield their staff from negative issues constantly but they are faced with complex challenges beyond imagination, not experienced by other heads.
Perhaps this clouds a BAME teacher’s decision when applying for a head teacher post. Perhaps we need to highlight the rewarding aspects of the profession more. Perhaps there needs to be more incentives put into place to attract potential BAME head teachers, particularly if there are more difficulties facing them. Perhaps there needs to be more support available for them.
Obviously, recent press highlights of misdemeanours of a handful of BAME teachers/ head teachers have not helped paint the image of teachers in a positive light.. In fact, the general negative image portrayed, by the media, does not help. This negates the beneficial impact on pupil success. As a result there is more of an urgency to necessitate inspiration.
We teach pupils to become resilient when faced with challenges, perhaps this needs to be applied to adults too. We need to understand the motivations of BAME teachers. Like a number of teachers, some BAME teachers do not desire the ultimate- headship. However, we do need to inspire and encourage them, for the sake of our children. There are some teachers who naturally desire to become head teachers and they need recognition and support. They should not be held back for selfish or political reasons. They need to be encouraged, nurtured and shown the way. As well as having a duty of care to our pupils, we need to have a duty of care towards our staff and encourage them.
It’s been just over 10 years, since I started my PGCE and I had never heard of any BAME head teachers. Now there are at least three in my borough, one of which I work for, one of which is a local and national leader of education and another head teacher who works with her. So the future is looking hopeful.
My hopes for diversity in the educational profession
Due to the lack of BAME head teachers and people in top positions in education, BAME teachers need to inspire themselves and each other, in order to have a positive impact on the children of our society. I am pleased that there organisations such as @BAMEedNetwork, who are doing an amazing job at inspiring and supporting BAME teachers.
I hope that this continues and grows. My hopes are for BAME teachers to remember that they are important and that they do matter. I hope to see positivity in the face of adversity . I hope to see more BAME teachers resilient to failure. If one school doesn’t work for you then move on- doors usually open when you make that change. Sometimes we have to be the masters of our own destiny.
My hope is to see more teachers believing in themselves and knowing that they can lead because they are worthy of it. I have always believed in leading by example and I hope to see more of this. I hope for teachers to rise above the flood of criticism and destruction, to overcome barriers placed upon them by others.
I also hope that with the arrival of the new Chartered College of Teaching, the nation will become united and we will gain a more positive impression of teaching as a whole. I am hopeful that the new Chartered College of Teaching can inspire BAME teachers into the teaching profession and into leadership roles.
Imagine the benefits of having more BAME teachers, in an ever increasingly ethnic diverse world. Not only will the children from ethnic backgrounds benefit by having more BAME positive role models but so will the children native to this land. Imagine a land without prejudice or hatred but filled with tolerance, patience and understanding.
Finally I am going to leave you with another quote from Michelle Obama ‘show yourself for who you truly are, in order to inspire others.’
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/182407/DFE-RR151.pdf
Musings of a mughal 
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