Ethnic Disproportionality in Social, Emotional, and Mental Health Needs Identification in England: A Multilevel Study

• In Event: Poster Session 3
  In Poster Session: Division L Section 7 Poster Session

Abstract

This paper investigates ethnic disproportionality in the identification of Social, Emotional, and Mental Health (SEMH) needs, a type of Special Educational Need (SEN), among Secondary school pupils in England. Single- and multi-level logistic regression are used to assess disproportionate representation of ethnic minority groups and variation across schools and Local Authorities (LAs). Black Caribbean pupils are over-represented, while Asian and Black African groups are under-represented, even after controlling for other pupil factors. There is substantial variation between schools, but little between LAs; after accounting for clustering in schools, the over-representation of Black Caribbean pupils is much reduced, suggesting over-representation varies between schools. This is not explained by school socioeconomic or ethnic composition. Implications for policy, practice and research are discussed.

Authors

• Ariel Mariah Lindorff, University of Oxford

• Steve Strand, University of Oxford