History reveals the cyclical nature of anti-racism as it rises and falls from public consciousness assisted by ministerial speeches and reactive policies.  The current anti-immigrant rhetoric has created a climate of fear for racialised minorities.  The Far-Right race riots witnessed throughout England and Northern Ireland in the summer of 2024 exacerbated anxiety in minoritised communities.  The involvement of school-age youth among those convicted of violent acts exacerbated the sense of horror and disbelief, prompting critical reflections on the role of education in fostering tolerance and inclusivity.  One third of the pupil population in England are from Black, Asian and minority ethnic heritage groups, yet the teacher population remains stubbornly white as does school leadership and the national curriculum.     

The neoliberal post-racial turn and socio-political climate in Britain has seen the rise of racist nativism (Smith, 2024) and the development of culture wars.  Teacher Education and Training (ITE/T) policy in England has fallen victim to such forces.  It has been deracialised devoid of any reference to race, racism, anti-racism or indeed cultural diversity (Smith, 2021; Smith, 2023; Smith & Lander, 2023).   Set against the regulatory constraints of ITE/T’s de-facto curriculum, the Core Content Framework (CCF), we have to examine how ‘pockets of possibility’ (Joseph-Salisbury and Connelley 2021, p.1) can be explored and exploited to enhance pre-service teacher education to better prepare new teachers for the ethnic and cultural diversity in schools and to engage constructively to dismantle structural racism through the production of research-informed anti-racism work in ITE/T.

Global research literature reveals a clear need to embed specific, coherent and consistent anti-racist pedagogies in ITE/T (e.g. Lander, 2011; Matias et al, 2014); rather than a ‘one-off’ or stand-alone anti-racist workshops, which are ineffective in developing student teachers’ critical thinking, racial literacy and proactive responses to racism in education. It is known where anti-racism work exists, responsibility tends to rest with one or two ITE/T tutors who have the skills and confidence to deliver anti-racist pedagogies. Clearly, the lack of teacher educators’ knowledge and confidence is a barrier to anti-racist teaching in ITE/T as is a lack of time. There is not only a fierce urgent need now to educate and develop the trainers’ or teacher educators’ knowledge and confidence in relation to anti-racism in ITE/T, but recent events have also illustrated the urgent need to educate pre-service teachers about race and racism to counter the race hate which exploded onto the streets of our towns and cities.  More large-scale research evidence is required as is the political commitment to effect ITE/T curriculum change in England. 

The seminar panellists will reflect on the state of ITE/T in England and the on-going absent presence (Apple, 1999) of race in policy and practice.