This research by Shift Insight found that 88% of educators have not received training about how the Equality Act applies to Afro hairstyles, an increasing aspect of racial discrimination in schools which falls within uniform policies.
The research shows the growing disparity between the law and school policies (e.g. uniforms) and practices – because while Afro hair is an intrinsic part of race, hair is not yet explicitly protected, like skin colour. This is also an important and increasing issue with Afro hair penalisation based on school policies increasing from 27% to 46% in one generation.
It revealed that while more than half (52%) of respondents had very high confidence when discussing issues of race and ethnicity with students, almost one third (29%) were unable to correctly identify a scenario involving Afro hair discrimination.
While educators reported feeling very confident broaching conversations about certain aspects of equality, diversity and inclusions, such as gender inequality (59%), it appears progress is lagging in the context of race and ethnicity, which has ramifications for the Black community and students with Afro hair. Further, only 8% of respondents thought school uniform policies had a high or very high potential to discriminate against students in regards to their race or ethnic background.
This chasm reflects a growing disparity between the law and school policies and practices. Previous research found that Afro hair penalisation based on school policies has increased from 27% to 46% in just one generation.