Teaching the Truth: Decolonising Education
By Marie Kristensen
What does it mean?
“Decolonising is a way of thinking that interrogates how colonisation shapes the way we think, our education system and the curriculum. The legacy and ongoing impact of the ideas that shaped colonisation and the actions of the British empire contributes to contemporary racial inequalities.”
Decolonisation is related to work teachers are familiar with, of promoting representation of different ethnic groups and celebrating diversity. Decolonisation goes a step further:
When we talk about decolonisation we acknowledge that there is something currently missing in the way we teach, and how we think about our teaching. Rather than rewriting history, it is about acknowledging what has been left out and addressing the consequences of these omissions.
Campaigns for decolonising education have been building over years particularly promoted by Black and minority ethnic teachers, academics and anti-racist campaigners. Below are a few places to start, and things to think about as we take the first steps towards decolonising education.
Decolonisation is about what we teach:
We should actively be teaching the history of Black people in Britain (which is longer than many realise), as well as teaching truthfully and critically about the actions of the British Empire and its legacy - both in terms of interconnectedness and inequality.
For example, in teaching the history of slavery, much has been said by about White British abolitionists and they are deservedly a point of pride. However, very little is often said about uprisings in The Carribean and other forms of dissent from enslaved people that played a vital role in accelerating abolition. The same is true for the history of the Black British Civil Rights Movement.
Outside of the history subject, we should be thinking about representation in teaching materials and of updating the curriculum to include Black and other non-white authors and characters.
We should make sure that central characters in the books and films we present, are not solely White with token Black supportive characters. Black writers and stories also should not be confined to a week or even month-long theme.
In teaching English, this will also mean “asking the crucial questions about the relationship between the location and identity of the writer, what they write and how they write about it.”
But this is not just a Secondary curriculum issue; Younger children are aware of and affected by issues of race and there are some excellent resources available for primary students too.
The Government recently rejected a proposal to review the English National Curriculum in order to include more BAME History - a decision which Lib. Dem. education spokesperson and former teacher Layla Moran, described as demonstrating “their reluctance to follow their platitudes with any meaningful action”.
It is also about how we teach.
Decolonisation also calls on us to reflect on our own practise; both in terms of the content of our teaching but also of our own attitudes and (implicit) biases.
Black Caribbean students are more likely to be excluded than their white and Asian peers. As we know, exclusions are often the first step for a young person onto a path of further societal exclusion and disadvantage. While there are national efforts to limit exclusion rates generally, teachers must investigate, individually and together, if our attitudes are more lenient towards White students and if Black students are being disproportionately disciplined based on teacher misconceptions.
On the other end of the spectrum, we also need to address our perception of achievement. Black students are statistically more likely to get inaccurately predicted grades; indicating that their teachers do not have as clear an understanding of their abilities as they do of other students.
The predicted grades of Black students are also most likely to be predicted lower than their exam achievements compared to any other group. This recently became very relevant with the announcement of cancellation of exams.
Who we teach with and the development of the teaching profession
Data from the DfE shows that in the UK 91% of the teacher workforce is white. The dynamics this creates is something especially white teachers must think about, regardless of the composition of our classrooms.
It is not only police, but other public servants such as teachers, social workers etc, who have a responsibility to make sure they serve people equally, and don’t inadvertently perpetuate inequalities and injustice.
Evidence from the US shows that having just 1 black teacher at some point during primary school age, raises the chances of achievement and continued engagement in education for Black students significantly. In other words, a diverse teaching profession is not a ‘nice to have’, it’s a crucial component of closing the attainment gap.
As we go on this journey, many - sometimes difficult - conversations may have to be had. In this process, it is important for white educators to remember that it is not the responsibility of your Black educator friends to teach you about these emotionally complicated matters. It is a part of our own commitment to teaching the truth, and an opportunity to keep learning!
Interesting online spaces to follow are: @AntiRacistEd, NEU Black Educators, @NEUBlackWorkers, @NExclusions, Free Black University, @consenteduk, www.theblackcurriculum.com, @CurriculumBlack
Image: National Cancer Institute via Unsplash