Project: Training while Black – a psychosocial exploration of Black TEPs

The project aims to explore the experiences of Black Trainee Educational Psychologists in England through a psychosocial lens. I am interested in intra-, interpsychic and systemic dynamics contributing to training experiences.

Project Focus

The landscape of educational psychology in England has been historically shaped by complex narratives of race, intelligence, and professional representation. While other psychology fields have explored racial and ethnic experiences, the specific landscape of educational psychology training remains relatively unexamined.

This research seeks to explore experiences of Black Trainee Educational Psychologists (TEPs) through a psychosocial lens, acknowledging that professional experiences are not merely individual psychological journeys but are fundamentally interconnected with broader societal, cultural, and systemic contexts.

This project aims to explore the nuanced, often unconscious interactions between personal experiences and wider social dynamics during professional training. The hope is to contribute to more equitable and inclusive training frameworks.

How you can participate

I am seeking Newly Qualified Educational Psychologists who:

• Racially identify as Black.
• Graduated in 2023, 2024 (or will be in the summer of 2025).
• Completed your training in England.
• Are willing to retrospectively reflect on your personal and professional training experiences.

If you would like to participate or know someone who would be interested, please see below for my contact details for further information and to request a consent form.

Please note that contacting the researcher will not automatically register you as a participant.

Involvement

Two, 1-hour Free-Associative Narrative Interviewing Method (FANIM) interviews with the researcher, which are participant-led conversations. These will be audio-recorded and transcribed for analysis using a psychosocial approach. Interviews are conducted onMicrosoft Teams.

Researcher

Karimah Borck-Fraser is a Trainee Child, Community and Educational Psychologist at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.

Please contact me (Karimah) or my research supervisor and Deputy Course Director for Research, Dr Lisa Bostock, for further information or if you have any concerns.

Ethical approval has been granted by the Tavistock and Portman Trust Research Ethics Committee (TREC) .

Research Question

What are the experiences of black trainee educational psychologists?

Deadline

Friday 30th May 2025

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