At first I had difficulty understanding the different examples of assessments and the conclusions Bradbury drew from them, for example, value added. I found the text a little repetitive and although the questioning of policy which Bradbury recommends to critically analyse policy is effective I feel there could have been further actions suggested as it is too reliant upon the awareness and diversity of the group asking those questions.Upon further research I found that Bradbury is a white presenting, female identifying Professor of Sociology of Education (ucl.ac.uk, 2025). I did not see anything within the text of the importance of having a diverse group of policymakers who meet a range of intersections and cultivating a safe space to question and analyse policy.
I agreed with Sadiq’s critique of DEI training and how he feels that training is often built with assumptions and stereotypes, becoming the opposite of inclusive. This mirrors my own concerns around some of the material studied in this unit and my experience of DEI training at UAL. Bradbury also raises how these generalisations affect policy making decisions and are influenced by sociological theories that have become accepted realities in policy making. “ The question ‘How does this damage or disadvantage minoritised groups or individuals?’ is also needed, as a gain for one group does not relate simply to loss for another. We also need to ask ‘How does this disadvantage one group more than another? What is the purpose of this?’”Bradbury (2020). This inquiry by Bradbury links me to my own questions regarding the intersections of faith and gender in my previous blog post. However I don’t feel Bradbury gives clear guidance on how to move forward.
I could relate to Garrett’s analysis of how race impacts careers within higher education.I have witnessed the ideas of ‘politeness’ and conflict, competing for personal gain rather than a collective goal, etc play out with female ‘non-white’ colleagues and white male and female management and peers. I would also say that I have had similar experiences in relation to sexism and the gender expectations put upon me as a woman.
Upon further research I found that Garrett considers herself as ‘Chinese British’ and ‘mixed race’ and has experienced passing as a white person (R. Garrett, 2024). This could give her a unique experience of sometimes occupying spaces as a white person but also not fitting into those spaces, along with being part Chinese, but having that identity questioned also.
I appreciated Sadiq’s stance of localising diversity training and encouraging teams to share lived experiences and decentralising this training, to create more relevance and impact upon participants. “How do we create experiences that truly drive change?”
Sadiq declares “We must localise diversity training, we learn through stories and shared experiences” (TEDx Talks, 2023). I agree with his outlook and how we need to learn to reconnect and relate to one another, even if we have differing views and experiences. However I also have concerns around how people are chosen to share their stories and that not everyone wants to share their experiences and it is not the burden of those people to share. A frequent occurrence is the reliance upon minorities to educate the majority, without considering the emotional labour and the toll this takes upon the individual.
Screenshot of mixedracefaces project Instagram
References
Afua Hirsch. Brit(Ish) : On Race, Identity and Belonging. London, Vintage, 2018.
Bradbury, Alice. “A Critical Race Theory Framework for Education Policy Analysis: The Case of Bilingual Learners and Assessment Policy in England.” Race Ethnicity and Education, vol. 23, no. 2, 8 Apr. 2019, pp. 1–20, https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2019.1599338.
Garrett, Rhianna. “Racism Shapes Careers: Career Trajectories and Imagined Futures of Racialised Minority PhDs in UK Higher Education.” Globalisation, Societies and Education, 11 Feb. 2024, pp. 1–15, https://doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2024.2307886. Accessed 17 Mar. 2024.
R. Garrett. “Mixedracefaces.” Mixedracefaces , 28 May 2024, mixedracefaces.com/home/chinese-british. Accessed 5 July 2025.
TEDx Talks. “Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Learning How to Get It Right | Asif Sadiq | TEDxCroydon.” Youtube, 2 Mar. 2023, www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR4wz1b54hw. Accessed 10 June 2025.“University College London.” Ucl.ac.uk, 2025, profiles.ucl.ac.uk/48643-alice-bradbury. Accessed 11 June 2025.
I also struggled with staying engaged in the Bradbury text. I agree with your reflections of the need to having diverse voices there in order to write policies. You might want to read “On Being Included by Sara Amed. It talks about how diversity workers are tokenised and treated in universities. (It is available as an audio book on spotify, and even just the introduction makes a really strong case.)
Also agree with the thoughts around how diversity training becomes exclusionary. I have also seen so many managers go through UALs anti racism training only to turn around and use tokenistic language or silence a minority voice at work.
Thank you Fred for sharing the Sara Ahmed reading. I have referenced Ahmed in my intervention review and have found other writings of theirs which feel very relevant to my practice. I have had similar experiences with management unfortunately, as well as tokenistic use of pronouns whilst using transphobic language and stereotypes.
I also struggled with Bradbury’s text and chose to focus on other resources for my blog instead. But I really appreciate your background research on Bradbury and how you evaluated the value of the text. It reminded me of the Anti-Racist Action Plan, both feel more like thinking tools or ways to highlight existing issues, rather than offering concrete steps forward. I understand that it’s difficult to propose a universal action plan since every course needs a different approach.
I agree with your points about Sadiq’s critique of DEI training. Sometimes, even with good intentions, certain policies aimed at “balancing” inequality by offering advantages to minoritised groups, it can still unintentionally create new disadvantages for others.
I appreciated your reflection on the emotional labour involved in asking people to share personal experiences. Just like the video by Channel 4 (2020), where the kids were asked to engage in exercises that prompted them to share their personal background. It made me feel uncomfortable, it highlighted just how sensitive and exposing these activities can be.
It made me reflect on how we can design inclusive teaching spaces that welcome lived experiences without expecting personal disclosure, which is something I’ll definitely try to keep in mind in my own practice.
Thank you Herman, I agree that the text is highlighting issues, rather than presenting a theory of how to resolve them and how you relate this back to the anti-racist action plan. Yes the idea of not expecting personal disclosure is something I need to explore further as to how this would work in practice, and how I can create a comfortable space for students to ask brave questions.
Hi Charlie,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, this was an interesting read.
I agree with your comments on the Bradbury and Sadiq texts, with regard to the apparent lack of diversity within the policymakers and the in-built assumptions and stereotypes evident in DEI training at UAL.
As per your stance on Sadiq’s idea of sharing ‘localised’ EDI training to add, I was inspired by Herman’s blog post (Race), where he mirrored this idea and suggested that EDI policy training could be better framed and more effective if it was further guided and supported – according to specific arts or non-arts subjects e.g. practical or theoretical modes of study.
Do you have any thoughts as to how these methods/learnings might be further embedded in practical terms into your own teaching practice? e.g. your shared concerns about how comfortable people would be sharing their stories and experiences – acts as another reminder of the real need for the creation of safe spaces.
This is something I will be considering carefully as I plan my Drawing Diversity workshops for the Intervention and/or ARP.
Be good to discuss these ideas going forwards into unit 3.
Thanks again for raising these points, appreciated.
Thank you Kelly for your insightful comments. I agree that creating more specific training, relevant to subjects and the relevant topics that arise around EDI in these course would be a much better approach to training. I need to look further into readings around safe/brave spaces as this is not something I am familiar with in a classroom. I think you can help set an open, welcoming tone as a technician, but I would need further training/exploration of how to tackle challenging topics and interactions with students to build my confidence. Yes it would be great to discuss with you and I will share readings I find around this topic.