Written by Tara Elie
Tara Elie teacher, psychologist, lecturer and coach. Tara has diverse experience in education and Learning and Development spanning over decades. She is renowned for her engaging training delivery, both face-to-face and virtually. Her performance background, alongside her passion for supporting individuals and organisations to flourish and thrive, characterise her delivery style. Tara has completed research on Black Teacher Mattering which she is delivering in keynotes. She is passionate about teacher wellbeing and uses the theories of Positive Psychology to inform her work with all clients with a proven record of success. Tara stands for social justice and social change. She appreciates and celebrates the individual, their differing backgrounds, cultures, experiences, perceptions, and values.
In my study, I set out to understand how Black teachers in London experience mattering in their professional lives. Because there is limited UK-based research in this area, I chose a qualitative methodology. My focus was not on measuring experience, but on understanding meaning, interpretation, and lived reality.
I was drawn to qualitative research because it allows for depth and nuance when exploring complex social and psychological experiences (Hill et al., 1997).
It quickly became clear to me that Black teachers’ experiences are not uniform. They are shaped by intersecting factors such as race, gender, school context, and role. A quantitative approach would not capture this complexity, particularly in relation to more subtle or systemic experiences such as microaggressions or colourism (Holt, 1976).
Key Themes
From the analysis, three overarching themes emerged: Representation, Racism, and Reinforcement, supported by ten sub-themes. What stood out most strongly for me throughout the data was a persistent tension between visibility and value.
Many participants described being highly visible as Black teachers, yet not always feeling equally valued or recognised within their professional environments.
Representation
One of the strongest themes for me was representation. Participants often linked their sense of mattering to their visibility as Black teachers in schools and wider society. Many expressed pride in their role and recognised the importance of representation for Black students’ identity, confidence, and aspirations.
Several participants described themselves as role models. This was not framed as symbolic, but as deeply meaningful. They saw their presence as shaping what Black students believed was possible for them, and this gave their work a strong sense of purpose.
Authenticity also came through strongly. Participants described feeling most valued when they could bring their “whole self” to work — including aspects of culture, identity, and communication style. When they felt able to do this, their sense of belonging and mattering increased. When they felt they had to suppress parts of themselves, that sense often diminished.
Voice was another key element. I was particularly struck by how powerful it was when participants felt genuinely heard by leadership. For some, this was a turning point after long periods of feeling overlooked. Being listened to — and seeing that listening lead to action — was often described as affirming their professional worth.
Racism
Racism emerged as the most dominant and consistently experienced theme across all interviews. Participants described a wide spectrum of experiences, from subtle microaggressions to overt racism involving both colleagues and students.
A recurring issue was racialised stereotyping, particularly being labelled “aggressive” when expressing themselves assertively. Many participants described this as “tone policing”, where their professional communication was questioned or reframed in racialised terms. This had a clear impact on confidence and professional freedom.
Workload and expectation also featured strongly. Several participants felt they were expected to work harder than white colleagues to achieve the same recognition. Some linked this directly to inequities in pay, progression, and informal responsibility within schools.
Access to leadership was another key issue. Participants often felt that promotion pathways were less accessible to them, shaped by informal networks and organisational culture rather than transparent processes.
I was also struck by how often participants described being expected to take responsibility for managing behavioural issues involving Black students. This created tension between professional role expectations and racialised assumptions about identity and expertise.
Overall, racism was consistently described as undermining mattering by reducing fairness, recognition, and belonging.
Reinforcement
Alongside these challenges, participants also described powerful sources of reinforcement that strengthened their sense of mattering.
Recognition from colleagues and senior leaders was highly valued, especially when it was specific, sincere, and linked to professional contribution. In some cases, formal recognition such as pay progression was experienced as particularly meaningful, especially when explicitly connected to expertise and impact. However, what stood out most for me was the strength of student relationships.
Nearly every participant described deeply affirming experiences with pupils, including gratitude, affection, admiration, and long-term appreciation. These moments were often emotionally significant and acted as a powerful reminder of purpose.
Parents and carers also contributed to this sense of reinforcement, particularly when they actively expressed appreciation or sought out individual teachers because of their impact.
What I found particularly striking was how reinforcement and racism often coexisted. Participants could feel deeply valued in one context (for example, by students) while simultaneously feeling devalued in another (for example, by institutional structures). This created a complex and sometimes contradictory experience of mattering.
Overall, what emerged for me from this research is that mattering for Black teachers in London is not stable or uniform. It is something constantly shaped through the interaction of representation, racism, and reinforcement.
While representation and relationships can strongly enhance feelings of value and purpose, these are often disrupted by systemic and interpersonal racism that undermines fairness, recognition, and belonging.
Mattering, in this sense, is not simply about being present in schools. It is about whether Black teachers feel seen, heard, valued, and able to exist authentically within the profession they serve.