Teachers’ confidence with race and religion dialogue: a critical quantitative study of the supporting factors

The question of teacher confidence and comfort with talking about race and religion in global northern schools is inextricably linked to debates about a profession that is much less diverse than its student population. Substantial qualitative and conceptual research exists on teachers’ lack of comfort with race dialogue in professional contexts. Yet, there is scant quantitative research that critically analyses the importance of different factors shaping teachers’ self-efficacy and comfort in addressing race and religious equality, which can provide at-scale insights for teacher education. This paper’s analysis of a survey of 214 secondary teachers in England reveals that national policy and teacher political engagement predicts teachers’ comfort and confidence with such topics. But the analysis also raises concerns about a substantial minority of white teachers’ understandings about race/religious inequality. Overall, we argue for the importance of teacher education that critically (re-)connects teachers’ personal political literacies to their professional identities.