“Actively anti-racist—not just in our minds, in our hearts”: Engaging with and implementing anti-racist professional development in educational psychology

Educational Psychology has a history of perpetuating bias and racial inequality, which influences how Educational Psychologists (EPs) practice at present. EPs work within institutionally racist systems that oppress certain groups of children, young people, and their families. Against this context, this study adopts a CR paradigm to foreground the socio-political and personal dimensions of anti-racist work. A mixed-methods design was used to explore, at a national level, the nature of anti-racist continuing professional development (CPD) in the EP profession. It aimed to address the types of anti-racist CPD engaged with at the service level, how EPs perceive its impact, and the barriers and facilitators to implementation. Forty-two qualified EPs working within local authorities in England completed an online questionnaire on the types of service-level anti-racist CPD they had engaged with. This was then followed up with seven individual semi-structured interviews that explored experiences of receiving anti-racist CPD and their application to practice. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively, while qualitative data were analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis. Findings revealed a variation in the types of anti-racist CPD offered at the service level. This variation was also noticeable in the frequency and topics covered within taught training. EPs’ experiences of implementing anti-racist practice generated five themes: CPD as a catalyst for critical awareness, stronger together, the EP role, factors influencing CPD implementation, and making change for all. These themes reflect the potential of CPD as a transformative tool and the complexity of implementing anti-racist practice. This study highlights the need for regular structured CPD within services to support active and sustained anti-racist practice. Implications for EP practice, service development, and future research are discussed, contributing to ongoing discussions about anti-racism, social justice, equity, and transformative systemic change within educational psychology