What can we do about the lack of cultural inclusivity in technical education?

By Suki Dhesi is a Research Further Scholar, Vice Principal at Havant and South Downs College (HSDC), and a member of the Black Leadership Group

It was my privilege to lead a breakout session at the Association of College’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Conference in March in which I explored the themes identified in my PhD research on lack of cultural inclusivity in technical education. Colleagues that attended the session provided meaningful insights and evidence from their own institutions and lived experiences.

Initially, we discussed the paradox between supply and demand when exploring an increasingly multicultural Britain and the increasing skills gaps in the UK economy. We know that there is a demand for talented individuals who possess highly skilled technical abilities to address the shortfall in skills shortage sectors such as health and social work, business services, construction, information technology and manufacturing sectors. To address these skills shortages, we now have the T Level qualifications, designed for the technical elites, in addition to the already well-established apprenticeship provision.

We discussed possible reasons why, despite the skills demand, this technical education provision does not attract students from ethnically diverse backgrounds. We know that the percentage of students in further education from Asian, Black, mixed, and ‘other’ ethnic groups went up from 19.3% to 23.6% in the 10 years to July 2021. Despite this only around 14% of 16 to 19-year-olds within these groups are represented in T Levels and 14.3% in apprenticeships. The McGregor-Smith review adds that by 2051, 21% of the working age population will be from an ethnically diverse background. So, it is imperative to understand why sufficient young people from ethnically diverse backgrounds do not choose technical education.

A survey by Youth Employment UK in 2023 found that 33% of Black respondents had never had apprenticeships discussed with them, compared with 13% of white respondents. The McGregor-Smith review found if the Black workforce achieves its full potential in terms of its participation and progression, this will add 1.3% to GDP, which is the equivalent to £24 billion per year.

We then examined the research that may present some explanations.

1. There is a historic academic and vocational divide that persists. In 2019, Guile and Unwin highlighted that by contrast, in Germany, the quality and standing of technical education and the earnings returns in the labour market are much more secure. The Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities Report concludes that ‘it is vital that ethnic minority young people do not see their future only through a higher education lens’ but provides limited analysis of what needs to be done.
   
   
2. Bourdieu's concept of habitus represents the way in which a person's past experience and understanding of their social world has created a learnt, almost subconscious predisposition to think and act in certain ways. The individual attempts to acquire and maintain dominant forms of social, cultural, and economic capital. However, an individual's identity is not uniform and fixed but fluid. Bourdieu explains the idea of there being a number of interconnecting fields, each with particular forms of capital at their centre and with individuals constantly moving from one to another, this helps us to understand the complexities associated with a particular person's multiple forms of habitus. Familial habitus results in the tendency to acquire expectations that are adjusted to what is acceptable ‘for people like us’, therefore decisions regarding educational choices are often made within families.
   
   
3. To further expand the habitus in the field of schooling, in 2016 Priest found that the majority of teachers in primary schools said they only talked about racism when the children raised it, and most likely or more commonly the response was to dismiss it as wrong without explanation. The inability to discuss these concerns further compounds the familial habitus influence with regards to educational decision making. YMCA’s study in 2020 found that 49% of young Black people feel that racism is the biggest barrier to successfully navigating through school.
   
   
4. The final factor we discussed relates to a lack of teachers from diverse ethnic backgrounds in our classrooms. In 2024, Sharp and Aston explained that ethnically diverse teachers possess different types of social and cultural capital, including multicultural, ethnic, transnational and linguistic. This benefits all students to ensure they learn how to live life in multicultural Britain, benefiting from diversity and recognising this as a positive that enriches our lives. These teachers are also more likely to embrace and teach ‘powerful knowledge’. In 2013, Young argued that ‘powerful knowledge’ is so instrumental because it provides an enhanced understanding of the social world that we have and helps us go beyond our individual experiences. It enables us to envisage alternative viewpoints and embrace cultural diversity.

In the second part of our breakout session, we explored possible ways to make technical education more culturally inclusive. We agreed these potential solutions are complex and multifaceted but cannot be avoided.

First, we explored the importance of data to identify and act in response to inequalities in education. In 2004, Pollock explained that “we must truly dismantle racial achievement patterns. We need to acknowledge that any existing such patterns are not just remediable problems, but problems shared by students, educationalists, communities, and parents and we might then learn to start all conversations about achievement with the stated plan that all players will work together to dismantle any racial patterns found.”

We then discussed employers as they are key stakeholders in a student’s journey to mastering technical skills. In 2024, the Edge Foundation found that Asian, Asian British, Black, African, Black British or Caribbean respondents reported ‘lack of work experience’, ‘anxiety’, ‘having no contacts’ and ‘racial discrimination’ as the biggest barriers to them gaining work and were eight percentage points less likely to have undertaken in-person work experience. In 2023, the Department for Education stated in the local skills improvement plans (LSIPs) guidance that there will be a greater focus on promotion of diversity and empowerment of communities to access opportunities irrespective of their backgrounds, however we felt in reality this has not been a priority. We discussed the need for employers to ensure a sense of belonging and create a protective environment that ethnically diverse young people are more likely to receive in a classroom setting.

When discussing role models, we explored strategies in our own institutions to ensure that the teaching profession attracts ethnically diverse talent. There are a range of strategies suggested in Sharp and Aston’s Ethnic Diversity in the Teaching Workforce: Evidence Review. These include making a career in teaching appealing through strategies such as events and tasters, include racial justice in the curriculum for trainee teachers, training for senior leaders and governors to include content on how to promote EDI in their schools and a much needed action plan from the government to plan to improve diversity in the teaching workforce.

The issue of staff development was also explored as was highlighting the benefits of cultural cohesion to all staff and students. We discussed the importance of preventing teacher stereotypes, which are often unconscious. This highlighted the importance of unconscious bias training, but also going beyond a tick box approach and devising case studies to highlight how this behaviour labelling can create a self-fulfilling prophecy and low self-esteem, delaying a young person’s entry into the workplace. In 2020, Gillborn highlighted common misconceptions about certain groups such as boisterous African Caribbean students or shy and unambitious Asian young women.

Finally, we acknowledged the need to address the divide. The leaning towards academic pathways for many ethnic communities has been recognised in the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities report, highlighting that improvements to the quality of, and access to, careers advice for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds is needed. The report does not, however, highlight how this could be implemented or achieved.

In conclusion, it is imperative that we make race matter every day. Pollock stated that “given our racialised society and the mutually harmful consequences of colour muteness, it seems we actually have no choice but to rally the strength to keep talking. Race talk will continue to be full of pitfalls both social and analytic; but armed with a knowledge of these pitfalls and with compassion for those who traverse them with us, we can together muddle through the project of figuring out when and how to talk as if race matters.”

The views expressed in Think Further publications do not necessarily reflect those of AoC or NCFE.