‘A lonely place’
The experiences of minority ethnic teachers in Irish primary education
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21725745 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Colm Ó Riain (National University of Ireland, Maynooth), Thomas Delahunty (0000-0002-7365-8757, National University of Ireland, Maynooth, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-04-14 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | European Journal of Educational Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1474-9041 • E-ISSN: 2165-8714 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/14749041261434301 |
| OpenAlex | W7154213009 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 72 |
Diversifying the teaching profession has been recognised as a priority in Ireland and internationally. Despite an increasingly diverse primary school population, the Irish primary teaching profession is largely homogenous in nature. This research, informed by Critical Race Theory, explored the experiences of teachers from minority ethnic backgrounds in primary education. It examines how the institutional habitus of Irish primary schools can contribute to racial trauma and marginalisation for minority teachers. Findings reveal the value of teacher diversity in promoting culturally responsive practices and challenging racial injustice in their schools and broader society. Their advocacy takes place within school contexts that can devalue their knowledges and perspectives. This research offers a unique perspective into questions of discrimination within the Irish primary teaching profession, and points to further systemic and institutional barriers and practices that can contribute to the alienation of minority teachers and concludes with implications for current practices and policy
Alienation · Ethnic group · Habitus · Higher education · Injustice · Irish · Critical Race Theory in Education · Religious Education and Schools · Teacher Education and Leadership Studies
Mastering the Semi-Structured Interview and Beyond
Learning Whiteness
The Crises of Multiculturalism
Recruitment, employment, retention and the minority teacher shortage
Racism as Policy
Closing the Racial/Ethnic Gap Between Students of Color and Their Teachers
Semistructured interviewing in primary care research
The Power of Their Presence
Systematic methodological review
Thematic Analysis
Diversification of the teaching profession in Europe and beyond
Barriers to recognition for migrant teachers in Ireland
“Please Hire More Teachers of Color”
Critical Race Theory — Uncomfortable but Necessary Tool for Change Agents
Traveller students being and relating to an/‘other’
“ Intensely white”
Attitudes toward students from ethnic minority groups
White Lies
Chapter 4
Focus group methodology
Introduction
Disrupting Whitestream Measures of Quality Teaching
Herculean efforts are not enough
The unexamined Whiteness of teaching
The drive to diversify the teaching profession
I am here for a reason”
Teachers, please learn our names
The evolving role of critical race theory in educational scholarship
Under the cloak of professionalism
Minoritised teachers’ experiences of multiple, intersectional racisms in the school system in England
Hacking at our very roots’
How the Irish became CRT’d? ‘Greening’ Critical Race Theory, and the pitfalls of a normative Atlantic state view
Welcome to the celtic tiger? teacher responses to immigration and increasing ethnic diversity in Irish schools
Like where are those teachers?”
White-on-white research
Where are We? Critical Race Theory in Education 20 Years Later
Representative Bureaucracy, Ethnicity, and Public Schools
Diversifying the Teaching Force
I Stopped Sleeping”
Behind School Doors
Racial Diversity, Representative Bureaucracy, and Equity in Multiracial School Districts
From Racial Liberalism to Racial Literacy
The Color of Supremacy
Black Male Teachers as Role Models
Beyond a Black—White Dualism
Ireland and immigration
A nativist divide? Anti‐immigration attitudes and diffuse support for democracy in Western Europe
The convergence of late neoliberalism and post-pandemic scientific optimism in the configuration of scientistic learnification
A tradition in ceaseless motion
Critical Race Theory and Education
Thematic Analysis
Intersectionality, Critical Race Theory, and the Primacy of Racism
Critical Race Methodology
The evolution of anti-Traveller racism in Ireland
Civilising the Irish
The language of diversity
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |