What is Diversity?
Diversity is what makes us who we are. It’s a combination of our background, personality, beliefs and life experiences that make us all unique.
Diversity allows us to recognise, accept and respect others along many dimensions such as:
- Race
- Ethnicity
- Gender
- Sexual orientation
- Socio-economic status
- Age
- Physical abilities
- Religious beliefs
- Political beliefs
- Other ideologies
Celebrating these differences promotes inclusivity within our communities where we feel safe and accepted.
Short-term and long-term effects of discrimination:
- Confused
- Disorientated
- Numb
- Tired
- Disconnected from their thoughts and feelings
It is therefore important to have conversations to address issues of discrimination. For example, rude comments have many layers and history behind them and can have offensive connotations which young people may not understand. Having context about where these comments originated from or why others may make these remarks can give young people more perspective and also discuss appropriate ways of challenging discrimination.
Impact of discrimination on self-esteem
Children and young people from ethnically minoritised communities can experience varying degrees of physical and verbal racism and discrimination in their personal lives. This can commonly occur in school settings. Unsurprisingly, research suggests that experiencing racism can be very stressful and have a negative effect on overall health, self-esteem and can be a risk factor for other Mental Health needs like anxiety and depression. Therefore, people who have been exposed to racism increase their risk of experiencing mental health problems such as psychosis, depression and anxiety. For example, research by Bhugra et al (1996) and Kirkbride et al (2012) found that people from black communities are five times more likely to go on to develop psychosis compared to the white population. Kirkbride further found that South Asians and people from a mixed heritage living in England are twice as likely to develop psychosis. Clearly, the possibility of developing a mental health problem is disproportionately within ethnically minoitised communities and the disparities are contextually influential.
How do we build a bank of resilience and give young people tools to understand how they are feeling and be curious?
It’s about creating a culture and ethos where any form of hatred is unacceptable in the environment and giving both teachers and young people the confidence to challenge negative conversations by educating them on what cannot be tolerated and also make explicit what language is not allowed.
Empowering young people to speak up
Some young people may not want to speak up because they’re worried about being criticised.
4 qualities of empathy:
- Perspective taking – recognising other people’s perspective is their truth
- Staying out of judgement
- Recognising emotion in others
- Communicating that emotion
Young people may struggle to talk about their differences and as teachers and adults, we should do what we can to provide opportunities to have these difficult conversations. Some young people may feel insecure or uncertain about aspects of themselves and it’s our duty to educate them about accepting and being comfortable in their own skin. Diversity should be celebrated and embraced because this makes the world exciting and beautiful.
Some things that are important to consider:
Culture can play a large role in shaping how a young person makes sense of their wellbeing; the language used within certain cultures may differ from Eurocentric terminology used to describe mental health. Additionally, some cultures may not even have any language or terms that are used to discuss mental health. Teacher’s need to be sensitive different communities as poor mental health is rarely spoken about and negatively perceived. Inconsiderate and harmful comments can be made to people experiencing mental health issues. Due to this young people from these backgrounds may feel reluctant to share if they are having difficulties with their mental health, perhaps because of the negative beliefs held within their culture and fear of shame. Consequently, it can be harder to engage with young people who are experiencing these emotional barriers. To overcome this, teachers could proactively create a safe environment to discuss mental health positively using appropriate language to reduce barriers in engagement and feelings of shame. Encouraging young people to share their views on how their culture influences their thoughts around mental health and wellbeing, is very crucial in establishing a holistic understanding of their perspective.
How to approach conversations about diversity
- Show that you’re actively listening to the young person who is talking to you by paying attention and being non-judgemental.
- Avoid using phrases like “at least…”
- You don’t need to try and find positives to their situation to make them feel better, instead, acknowledge what they’re saying, “I don’t even know what to say, I’m just glad you told me”
A response may not always make something better, however what does make things better is connection.
As previously mentioned, racism and discrimination are persistent factors that can lead to emotional distress within people from non-white backgrounds. When working with young children, they may not understand the meaning of racism and discrimination or even know what it means to be a racist and act discriminatory. Teaching young people these terms may be helpful as a learning experience, however, teachers should diligently minimize the chances of pupils acting racist or discriminatory towards each other. A useful classroom exercise would be to help young people acknowledge that they are more than their physical attributes. For example, work with the young people and have them reflect on their identity- what does it mean to be me? Having a sense of self-identity and social identity can assist young people to explore their unique and shared characteristics and in turn, realize that identity goes beyond race. Extending the exercise would be to have the young people think about how their identities could have an influence on their mental health and wellbeing. What aspects of their identity could make their mental health better or worse; make this a collaborative process between teacher and pupils. For instance, having a strong interest in playing football may promote positive mental health for the young person, however, they may be a girl and there’s only a boy’s football team in the school which could have a negative impact on their mental health. This activity could help young people acknowledge how their experiences are similar and/or different to each other.
Teachers need to be aware of the current societal climate in which young people live. Young people from different culturally diverse communities can feel threatened and anxious about what occurs in the media and society; therefore, it could make young people feel “on edge” or exacerbate existing stresses or poor mental wellbeing. Being pre-prepared to counter and discuss these issues can help to reassure and promote a feeling of value in those young people, who may be carrying some of these worries internally or feel that they cannot speak about them.
Useful resources:
There is a podcast series on the Anna Fred website about anti-racism and mental health in schools: “Talking racism and mental health in schools” if you’re interested in exploring this topic further:
Recommended Reading:
- The Color of us – Karen Katz
- The Beekeeper of Aleppo – Christy Lefteri
- Sea Prayer- Khaled Hosseini
- Dear Martin – Nic Stone
- Girl, Woman, Other – Bernadine Evaristo
- The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window and Disappeared – Jonas Jonasson
