Racial Identity, Context and Practice: An IPA study exploring the experiences of Black Educational Psychologists in the UK
Apontua, Georgia (2020), Doctoral thesis, University of Essex & Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.
In the wake of heightened awareness of racial injustices following the murder of George Floyd and the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, there has been an increased emphasis on addressing systemic racism and promoting equity in various fields, including education and psychology.
Despite years of efforts to address long-standing racial disparities, research in psychology and the UK education system continues to highlight inequalities, particularly in the treatment of children and young people from minority racial groups.
Whilst some current literature has attempted to address these issues, the voices of individuals directly affected by these injustices and working within these systems are frequently overlooked.
This thesis aims to explore the experiences of Black Educational Psychologists (EPs) working in the UK and seeks to understand how their racial identity has influenced their professional journey and current practice.
By highlighting the perspectives of Black EPs, this research hopes to offer distinctive and valuable insight into their experiences of working in psychology and the UK education system as well as their experiences of anti-racist and culturally responsive practices.
The research recruited six EPs who identified as either Black British, Caribbean and/or African. Semi-structured interviews were conducted using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to analyse their experiences.
The analysis elicited overarching themes highlighting the 'impact of racial discrimination within educational psychology', 'unjust treatment towards Black EPs', 'the importance of representation, shared identity and allyship', 'anti-racist work and community support as an integral part of EP practice' and 'maintaining perseverance and commitment despite inequities'.
The findings are discussed in relation to psychological theory and existing literature with implications for the practice of EPs, EP services and training providers.