Elaine Keane

In this conceptual paper, we argue that teacher diversity ought to be recognised as an essential component of equitable and inclusive learning environments in schools. Despite growing agreement regarding the desirability of greater teacher diversity, teachers’ social and cultural backgrounds have been underaddressed in learning environments research and in equity-related policies. Dominant discourses focus on technical aspects of curriculum, pedagogy, and school policy, often reducing teachers to a neutral (or homogeneous) group of highly trained, yet interchangeable professionals. The lack of attention to who the teachers are, and to the complex identity dynamics shaping learning and teaching experiences, constrains discussions and initiatives, hindering progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 4 and its commitment to deliver ‘inclusive and equitable quality education for all’. By leveraging conceptualisations of equity and inclusion, various learning, sociological, and social psychological theories, and insights from teacher diversity research, we offer a multi-dimensional interdisciplinary conceptual framework that illustrates the multiple ways in which teachers from underrepresented groups, that is, from working class backgrounds, migrant and minority-ethnic groups, the LGBTQI + community, and those with disabilities, can contribute to the creation of more equitable and inclusive learning environments. Following our justification for the critical role of teacher diversity, we explore the persistent homogeneity within the teaching profession, identifying majority-oriented school cultures as a principal barrier to genuine equity and inclusion for educators and students. Through this conceptual exploration, we aim to foster a greater emphasis on, and deeper investigation into, teachers’ backgrounds and diversity in learning environments research, and in policies and guidelines related to educational equity and inclusion.

Grounded theory is the most cited qualitative methodology, and its popularity is continually increasing through researchers’ engagement with its constructivist school. In this short paper, I explore its core purpose, history, and development over time, including its ‘contested’ nature, and the constructivist school’s increasing emphasis on social justice-oriented research through its pragmatist roots. Next, I examine constructivist grounded theory’s process, examining its core features and how these translate into specific strategies, as well as constructivist ‘adaptations’. Here, I also consider examples from education and nursing social justice-oriented research that have employed constructivist grounded theory. Finally, I end by considering the promise of the methodology, first by outlining some key challenges in its use, and finally by emphasising the significant potential of the methodology for social justice research into the future.

This article is about the perspectives of student teachers from working class backgrounds in Ireland about social class. In the context of drives to diversify the teaching profession internationally, examining how those from under-represented groups understand their identities assumes great importance. Employing constructivist grounded theory, 31 interviews were conducted with 21 student teachers from working class backgrounds exploring their perspectives on social class. While participants were clear that class ‘existed’ and remained highly relevant in Irish society, they emphasised silence about class in Ireland, except through forms of euphemising. Despite describing themselves in classed terms, most were critical of class categorisations believing they involved looking down on someone or being looked down on, resulting in feelings of shame and unworthiness. The findings are discussed relative to previous scholarship regarding silences about social class in Irish policy and cultural sociological theories of (class) disidentification.

This article examines the perspectives of student teachers from working class backgrounds about not becoming middle class. Little attention has been paid to conceptualisations of social class in teaching. In the context of drives internationally to diversify teaching populations, research is needed about the experiences of student teachers from working class backgrounds in their upwardly mobile trajectories. This article draws on a constructivist grounded theory study about the social class identities of 21 student teachers from working class backgrounds as part of a wider teacher diversity project in Ireland. Distinguishing between class ‘mentality’ and materiality, participants emphasised that one could not change class completely, rejected the middle classness of a teacher’s social status and positioned working class ‘mentality’ as morally superior. Those from working class backgrounds do not simply relinquish aspects of their identity through upward social mobility, suggesting that habitus may not always be divided upon traversing class boundaries.