Rachel C. Boyle
Dean of School | Leeds Beckett University
Leeds, West Yorkshire, UNITED KINGDOM
Rachel C. Boyle is the Head of Interdisciplinary Studies in the Carnegie School of Education, Leeds Beckett University.
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Biography
Rachel C. Boyle is the Head of Interdisciplinary Studies in the Carnegie School of Education, Leeds Beckett University. She is a former Primary School teacher who spent many happy years teaching the children of Huyton, Liverpool before she made the move in higher education in 2010. After ten years working at Edge Hill in Lancashire, Rachel was delighted to join the team at the Carnegie School of Education in 2020.
Rachel’s passion and research focuses on race, racism ethnicity and education. She uses critical race theory as a theoretical framework to examine ‘race’ inequalities in society, specifically in education. The experiences she had growing up as a mixed race child in the 1980s have underpinned Rachel’s passion for and commitment to addressing racial inequality in education. She has worked with trainee teachers to examine the impact of race, racism and ethnicity on the educational experiences of children and young people. Rachel encourages her students to develop an understanding of the position of the ‘other’ and to use their voices to ensure that the teaching profession consistently evolves to meet the needs of the children it serves.
More recently Rachel has worked across the media to provide commentary on societal issues of racism including the death of George Floyd, the Black Lives Matter movement and racism within the UK.
Industry Expertise (1)
Education/Learning
Areas of Expertise (5)
Critical Race Theory
Inequality
Education
Ethnicity
Race
Links (4)
Languages (1)
- English
Media Appearances (3)
'We’re not a racist family,' says Prince William. But it's not that simple
The Guardian online
2021-03-13
Since Meghan and Harry’s interview last Sunday, questions have been raised about the royal family. More specifically, is the family racist? Many viewers were shocked when the Duchess of Sussex told Oprah Winfrey that their mixed-race child’s skin tone had been discussed by a family member, and that “concerns” were expressed by them.
Meghan accuses palace of ‘perpetuating falsehoods’
Barbados Today online
2021-03-04
But Rachel C. Boyle, head of interdisciplinary studies at Leeds Beckett University, said the Oprah interview was “absolutely the right thing to do at this point”. “I feel like Meghan has not been given the opportunity to defend herself or to respond to any of the claims that have previously been made about her in the media, in a space that allows her to express herself.”
This article is more than 2 years old Lecturer says she faced online abuse after Question Time clash with Laurence Fox
The Guardian online
2020-01-18
Rachel Boyle, a researcher on race and ethnicity at Edge Hill University in Lancashire, clashed with Fox during a TV discussion about the press’s treatment of the Duchess of Sussex.
Articles (3)
We are not ‘Mixed’, we are ‘All’: understanding the educational experiences of mixed ethnicity children to enhance learner agency
Education2022 From the moment a child is born, they create a self that it is influenced by their external world, this includes social and political factors. As the sense of self develops one cannot ignore the importance of interpersonal relatedness and social interactions. School experiences are therefore key. This paper addresses the experiences of mixed ethnicity children in primary school in the UK.
A Response to Taylor
Psychology of Education Review2021 Given the focus of this research, Rachel C. Boyle's ontological positioning is central to her response as she is a researcher from a mixed race (Black Caribbean and White British) background. Her view of racism has been shaped by personal, professional and academic experiences. Within this article the author, Louise Taylor addresses the position of race in the university experiences of Black students undertaking studies in health and social care related subjects
‘I love a curry’: student-teacher discourse around ‘race’ and ethnicity at a UK university
Journal of Education for Teaching2018 This paper presents aspects of a small scale study that considered student teachers’ language and discourse around race and ethnicity at a university in the northwest of England. The first part of the paper critiques current education-related policy, context and practice to situate the research and then draws upon aspects of critical race theory and whiteness theory as frames of reference.
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