The antiracism framework for initial teacher education and training (ITE/T) in England is an ongoing project for our team, engaging with ITE/T providers across England, with the aim of making teaching an antiracist profession. We continue to work with our partner organisations (Centre for Race Education and Decoloniality; CitizensUK; Show Racism the Red Card; Universities of Sanctuary; BAME Ed Network; NEU; NALDIC; NASBTT; UCET) to disseminate the framework and gather evidence of its impact on practice in ITE/T. Having previously shared with BERA members the urgent need for antiracism in ITE/T (Smith & Lander, 2023), in this blog post we ask for your input on the further development of our framework as part of our ongoing work to embed antiracism in the teaching profession.

It is always a critical time for education and schools policy: however, we are optimistic about recent progress in getting antiracism in education onto the policy agenda of the current government, and in connections with the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Race Equality in Education, the Curriculum and Assessment Review and the Teaching Commission (see also Bibi, 2025). But we cannot be complacent. Our work continues against a background of far-right nationalist rhetoric particularly following the racist riots of summer 2024, and of right-wing political opportunists attempting to sow division when school (and household) budgets are already running on empty after years of enforced austerity.

It was both energising and necessary to hear BERA President Marlon Moncrieffe use his inaugural Presidential Address at BERA/WERA in Manchester last year to so clearly state an antiracist message for education. It was positive to see BERA members welcome this forward-looking view: when Dr Moncrieffe asked BERA keynote attendees to rank educational research priorities towards influencing the new government, teacher education and antiracist education were by far the highest-ranked priorities. We are looking forward to continued productive discussions at the ongoing Presidential Seminar series.

The teaching profession must continue to meet the needs of all children, families and communities served by our schools, and all teachers joining and progressing through the profession. We know that teachers from all racially minoritised groups are underrepresented at course acceptance and at enrolment in ITE/T, and at every subsequent career milestone: achieving qualified teacher status (QTS), employment as a newly qualified teacher (NQT), progression into middle and senior leadership, and as headteachers (NFER, 2022). Alongside strategies for diversifying the teaching profession (Yip & Xu, 2024; Keane et al., 2022), it is incumbent on all members of the teaching profession to make antiracism a priority – and particularly so in ITE/T, as the gateway to the teaching profession.

‘Alongside strategies for diversifying the teaching profession, it is incumbent on all members of the teaching profession to make antiracism a priority – and particularly so in ITE/T, as the gateway to the teaching profession.’

Our framework focuses on ITE/T in England, and we have heard from colleagues applying it in universities, on School-Centred Initial Teacher Training programmes (SCITTs), direct-entry and further ITE/T provision. We have also been encouraged by international colleagues adapting our framework for use in ITE/T contexts around the world, and are keen to continue these global conversations alongside links with Wales’ Diversity and Anti-Racist Professional Learning (DARPL), and Scotland’s Anti-Racism in Education Programme (AREP).

We would like to invite all BERA members and all those involved in ITE/T to share your experiences of antiracism in ITE/T with us. We hope you have already begun to engage with our team’s antiracism framework for ITE/T; let us know how you’re getting on. We know there are many obstacles to embedding antiracism in ITE/T curricula that are already full to bursting point; let us know what obstacles you’ve encountered, and what strategies are working in your professional contexts.

We also recognise that many colleagues are new to this area of practice and research, and this blog post is perhaps a first introduction to the framework; if so, welcome! Use the framework to help familiarise yourself with key terms and their relevance to ITE/T, and let us know what resources and further developments to the framework could help you build antiracism into your ITE/T provision.

We would greatly appreciate your help in any or all of the following ways:

• Please (continue to) use and share the framework.
• Please contact our team (lydia.wysocki@ncl.ac.uk) with any feedback based on your engagement with the framework .
• Please fill in our survey to give more structured feedback on your experiences of using the framework. This survey will remain open through spring 2025; you are welcome to complete it as an individual, or as a joint reflective exercise as a team of colleagues working in ITE/T.
• Please consider contributing a case study based on your own professional experiences of antiracism in ITE/T. Our team can support you through this light-touch process, and you can choose whether to publicise your/your institution’s involvement or to remain anonymous.

Anti-Racism Framework for Initial Teacher Education/Training (from artwork by Stacy Bias)

Anti-Racism Framework for Initial Teacher Education/Training (from artwork by Stacy Bias)

Anti-Racism Framework for Initial Teacher Education/Training (from artwork by Stacy Bias)

References

Bibi, Y. (2025, March 11). We must address racism to solve the recruitment and retention crisis [Opinion]. Schools Week. https://schoolsweek.co.uk/we-must-address-racism-to-solve-the-recruitment-and-retention-crisis/

Keane, E., Heinz, M., & Mc Daid, R. (Eds.). (2022). Diversifying the teaching profession: dimensions, dilemmas and directions for the future (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003188735

National Foundation for Educational Research [NFER]. (2022). Racial equality in the teacher workforce: An analysis of representation and progression opportunities from initial teacher training to headship. https://www.nfer.ac.uk/media/ytnjlaz4/racial_equality_in_the_teacher_workforce_summary_report.pdf

Smith, H. J., & Lander, V. (2023). State of the discipline of ITE/T in England and the urgent need for anti-racism. Research Intelligence, 154, 20–21. https://www.bera.ac.uk/publication/spring-2023

Yip, S. Y., & Xu, Y. (2024) Increasing the diversity of the teaching workforce: A review of minority teacher candidates’ recruitment, retention, and experiences in initial teacher education. Pedagogy, Culture & Society. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2024.2384492