Recognise and remove the unconscious bias in the curriculum
History, for most people, is a collection of stories from the past, constructed for them by the side with greater power and control. We continue to teach a view of Britain, past and present, as a small but mighty civilizing force promoting development, democracy and justice, and sharing our superior lifestyle, values and technologies across the globe. Where fault is acknowledged, it is minimised as an aberration or a stage on the way to something better. Negatives are out-weighed by the overall benefits of the advancement of the world resulting from British influence and ingenuity.
Yes, the curriculum still reflects an overwhelmingly White British experience of our history and literature. That needs to change.
Recognise the need to represent a wider and more diverse context of ‘truth’, ‘relevance’ and ‘value’ across the curriculum.
It is not just in the history curriculum that we find this bias. It is overwhelmingly present across the whole curriculum. Whose literature is worth exploring? Whose natural resources and development will be presented for analysis? Whose technical, artistic and musical heritages are worth attention? What do we recognize as beautiful and valuable? Whose words and experiences do we cite? And on, and on.
Human knowledge is cumulative and is created by people of all ‘races’ and ethnicities, classes, sexes, genders, sexual orientations, ages and abilities. Our curriculum must represent and draw from a wider pool of knowledge; one less constructed by power relations. This is not about deleting or subverting existing knowledge and histories. The process required is to place them in their truest context, acknowledging the influence or exploitation of imperialism and power. This includes considering alternative and marginalized views, and representing the interests, experiences and voices of all parties. Retaining ‘traditional’ curriculum perspectives will hold back our evolution as a diverse nation of free and equal people.
Give all pupils relevance, voice and choice
The curriculum should be relevant to and inspirational for all the diverse pupils in our learning environment. All pupils need to see the contributions and histories of people like themselves being explored and valued. This will certainly include learning about the waves of immigration and invasions that have made us such a diverse nation. Giving opportunities to regularly undertake work in pupils’ own areas of interest can enhance such opportunities.
We also need to listen. The voices and interests of all our pupils must have standing in our classrooms and decision-making processes, so that every pupil learns their own value and can build personal agency.
A safe environment
Pupils need to see for themselves that their school is not blind to the challenges that minorities face in our unequal society. Anti-racist schools are open to recognising and resolving any reports of prejudice, discrimination, structural inequality and bias, and they reject defensive responses that refuse to consider alternative perspectives. All pupils are taught the importance of ‘respect for all’ and how to recognize and challenge prejudice.
Conclusion
Anti-racism has its detractors, who are either offended at the inherent presumption that racism is present at all or who want to maintain the status quo. So, every individual school must decide how to provide an inclusive curriculum that will achieve race equity.
An anti-racist curriculum will represent diverse perspectives of all British peoples: rich and poor, White, Black and Brown. It requires a commitment to challenge the implicit assumptions in each subject. It needs to be informed by a wider range of voices, perspectives and experiences. It will thrive in a spirit of collaboration, aiming to create a better future for all our pupils and all our staff.
I hope you won’t hesitate.
