Dr Amanda Arbouin

In her role as Race and Social Justice Consultant at the social enterprise, RACE Consultancy, Amanda is dedicated to improving the individual and collective experience of learners in the global majority. Within a social justice agenda, she collaborates with universities, students and community organisations offering:

• Research to meet the needs of global majority learners, professionals and service users

• Academic support for postgraduate students, particularly those researching race

• Community engagement such as speaking at events and collaborative projects

• Education resources for decolonising the academy and black history month.

Dr Arbouin is currently collaborating with the Stephen Lawrence Research Centre (SLRC) and Skills for Care on a project that uses a storytelling approach to explore the barriers to leadership experienced by global majority workers in the adult social care sector.

Black British Graduates: Untold stories, draws upon sociological theories to examine the educational journeys and career outcomes of a group of British graduates of African Caribbean parentage. Amanda's book is the first to document the life chances of black graduates in the UK and makes a significant contribution to understanding race, class and gender in education and employment. It is a key text for courses in Education Studies, Sociology of Education and Teacher Training. It is also important reading for educators, policymakers and community activists, with a genuine commitment to social justice for black learners in schools and higher education.

Dr Arbouin recently published Racial Literacy: Teaching to Transform our Education System. The Executive Summary documents the impact of SLRC’s Teaching to Transform initiative, which provides a range of activities to help schools improve the racial literacy of their staff, students and wider community. The research is currently being adapting for publication as a book, offering practical advice to teachers, school leadership and policymakers.

Before joining Bishop Grosseteste University, Dr Arbouin had more than 20 years of experience teaching and researching in post-compulsory education. She was a Senior Lecturer in Education Studies at Nottingham Trent University and University of Derby, and taught Sociology of Education at University of Warwick. Prior to that, she spent several years teaching information technology and research software to adults from a range of academic and non-academic backgrounds in college and industry. In addition to this, she has undertaken project management, research and consultancy for organisations including Jamaica National Children’s Home and University of Nottingham.

Amanda completed her PhD in the Sociology Department at University of Warwick. Her doctoral research draws upon educational and sociological theories including critical race theory, black feminist theory, intersectionality and reproduction theory.

She has undertaken research for the University of Nottingham, for Telia (UK) Limited and for Richards and Associates. Her current research interests include:

• Social justice and racial literacy education and employment
• Sociology of Education and the structuring effects of race, social class and gender
• Social science research methodology including qualitative and quantitative approaches

Students wishing to carry out research towards an MPhil or PhD in Dr Arbouin’s area of interest are invited to make contact to explore opportunities.

Dr Arbouin is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a member of professional networks including Black British Academics and Black Writer's Guild and Women Space.

She describes herself as an antiracist scholar activist and divides her time between the UK and Jamaica. In the UK, she is a member of Bishop Grosseteste University’s Social Justice RKEU and collaborates with colleagues at Bishop Grosseteste and De Montfort University on a range of projects. In Jamaica, she is Chair of Discovery Bay CDC’s Environment Sub-Committee and enjoys yoga, swimming in the sea and music festivals..

Arbouin, A (2024). Exploring race and storytelling in adult social care. Leeds: Skills for Care Limited.

Arbouin, A and London-Miyo, C (2023). Racial Literacy: Teaching to Transform Our Education System - Executive Summary, Leicester: Stephen Lawrence Research Centre.

Arbouin, A, 2021. Book Review of Peter Kalu, 2006. Anansi the Spider and Tiger’s Stew. Wellingborough: Satchel. The Four Corners, 2 (2); 8.

Arbouin, A, 2018. Black British Graduates: Untold stories. London: UCL Institute of Education Press.

Arbouin, A, 2018. ‘How UK higher education institutions (HEIs) can positively impact minoritized learners’. UCL IOE Press, 2 November 2018. Online https://www.ucl-ioe-press.com/2018/11/02/uk-higher-education-institutions-heis-can-positively-impact-minoritized-learners/

Arbouin, A, 2018. ‘Serendipity and Stepping Stones: being Black and British in university’. UCL IOE Press, 18 May 2018. Online https://www.ucl-ioe-press.com/2018/05/18/serendipity-and-stepping-stones-being-black-and-british-in-university/

Arbouin, A (2023). Racial Literacy: Teaching to Transform our Education System - Executive Summary. Paper presented at SLRC’s Teaching to Transform Conference, De Montfort University, Leicester, October 2023.

Arbouin, A, 2020. Race and Education: Decolonising the education system. Paper presented at Let’s Talk About Race!, Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Network, Online Event, 17 June 2020.

Arbouin, A, 2018. Black British Graduates: Untold Stories. Keynote presented at International Colloquium on Black Men in Education, Dublin, Ireland, 24-26 October 2018.

Arbouin, A, 2017. Black British Male University Graduates. Paper presented at International Colloquium on Black Men in Education, Toronto, Canada, 3-6 October 2017.

Arbouin, A, 2017. Racism in Education. Paper presented at Women Against Racism, Nottingham Contemporary, 30 September 2017.

Arbouin, A, 2017. Black Women and Precariatisation: The educational trajectories of British African Caribbean graduates. Paper presented at The Precariatisation of Women’s Lives in the UK, Sheffield Hallam University, 30 June 2017.

Arbouin, A, 2016. Black Women in Education: The intersection of race, class and gender. Paper presented at Nottingham Community Voluntary Services, 19 November 2016.

Arbouin, A, 2016. Education. Paper presented at Reimagining the Disciplines: Black Scholars in Critical Dialogue, Birkbeck, University of London, 13 September 2016.

Arbouin, A, 2016. Learning to Achieve: An intersectional analysis of black higher education experiences. Paper presented at the Reframing Intersectionality in Critical Race Theory conference, Birmingham City University, 14-17 June 2016.

Arbouin, A, 2013. Intersectionality: Understanding the Experiences of British African Caribbean Women in Higher Education. Paper presented at the Troubling Gender: The Question of Multiple Identities Conference, University of Sheffield, May 2013.