Teachers-as-pressed-flowers: Unpacking ‘inert benevolence’ towards pupils who require additional support or advocacy to thrive in schools

Abstract

The notion of inert benevolence has been written about in the context of primary school teachers working with languages beyond English (Cunningham and Little, 2022). However, the concept has a broader relevance for those working in education and this paper seeks to explore it more fully, through the use of the metaphor of a flower press in order to understand how the power of numerous factors bearing down on teachers leads to inert benevolence.