Numerous schools throughout England are revising their curricula to acknowledge the accomplishments of minority ethnic individuals and redress the damaging effects of colonialism. This shift is the result of a widespread demand from young people for greater inclusivity in their syllabi. While no government-led changes to the national curriculum have been initiated, community groups have launched programmes to help schools make improvements. For example, more than 660 schools in England have adopted a diversified, anti-racist curriculum created by educators and council staff in Hackney, London. Dubbed the "Diverse Curriculum – the Black Contribution," this initiative provides five to fourteen-year-old learners with nine weeks of classes covering topics such as British identity, the Windrush generation, activism, and diversity in the arts and sciences.
Orlene Badu of Hackney Education, who spearheaded the project, observed that calls for change grew louder during the pandemic lockdown when students studied from home, and parents realised how homogenous school curricula were. During a survey, Badu discovered that numerous pupils felt uneasy because history lessons that discussed the black community mostly centred on narratives of oppression and helplessness. Badu explained that “A curriculum that acknowledges you creates a greater sense of belonging and dedication that, ideally, leads to better educational outcomes and personal experiences.”
Concurrently, The Black Curriculum, an educational group, has teamed up with the Mayor of London, Camden Council in North London, and a Manchester MP in three undertakings designed to make the curricula of more than 1,000 schools more diversified. Natalie Russell, the head of delivery and development at The Black Curriculum, pointed out that many teachers are uncertain about providing a diversified curriculum because they were never educated on black history. Russell explained how young people lamented that they learnt about the slave trade in an insensitive way. Often, instructors did not understand why classifying someone as a slave was objectionable. Russell suggested that teachers need to be adequately trained to comprehend how it impacts young people and why it is crucial to diversify the narratives and not solely present a single story of slavery.
Catherine McKinnell, the chair of parliament’s petitions committee, who hosted hearings on black history and cultural diversity in the UK’s national curriculum, noted that one of the petition signatories’ clear messages was that teaching black history should be mandatory. It should not be relegated to being merely a choice as it creates the impression that it is less important than other aspects of our history. Two University students, Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson and Nell Bevan, gave evidence to MPs. They conducted a survey of 56,000 present and past pupils and teachers, revealing significant gaps in the British history syllabus. While more than 86% of respondents stated they learnt about the Tudors, and 72% about the Battle of Hastings and the Great Fire of London, just under 37% learnt about the transatlantic slave trade, under 10% about the role of slavery in the British industrial revolution, and less than 8% about the British colonisation of Africa.
In contrast to England, last week, the devolved Welsh government mandated that learning about the contributions of black, Asian and minority ethnic communities be made obligatory in a new curriculum set to debut in 2022. The Scottish government has similarly pledged to review its curriculum in response to the Black Lives Matter protests last summer. John Swinney, the Deputy First Minister and cabinet secretary for education and skills, commented that "The challenge was put to us: ‘Do you think you’re doing enough in the Scottish curriculum to address the nation’s relationship with slavery? I felt it was important that we confronted that and addressed it."
Claire Alexander, a sociology professor at the University of Manchester, noted that although the United Kingdom has been trying to bring diversity to its curricula for over fifty years, recognition of the current need for change is unprecedented. Alexander pointed out that taking a different approach to the study of history can engage all young people, regardless of their background, and provide them with a sense of shared belonging and mutual understanding. In partnership with The Black Curriculum, Afzal Khan, the Manchester Gorton MP, recently launched a diversified curriculum charter for schools in his constituency.
Khan, with Pakistani roots, expressed his hope that all schools within Greater Manchester will adopt the charter. He stated that the current curriculum is no longer adequate, stating that it no longer accurately reflects the diversity of British society today. He cited how important contributions from the Indian subcontinent and Muslim inventions in science and art were often ignored in history lessons.
Sam Offord, headteacher at Birchfields primary in Manchester, a school with a majority of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds, shared that the school has been diversifying the curriculum to align with the new Ofsted framework. She urged other schools to follow suit and sign up to the charter. Offord also shared how the school has tried to address diversity in the past but realized that they were not doing enough.
Thinking Black is a student organization that was founded in 2017 at the University of Oxford seeking to facilitate critical black thought among young people. Hope Oloye, the organization’s founder believes that it’s important to incorporate the thoughts and contributions of black people into the curriculum. She expressed that it’s essential to see oneself represented in the curriculum to develop an attachment and passion for it. For the upcoming year, Thinking Black plans on introducing programs to teach year 8 students black art history, creative writing, and public speaking skills.
Michael Lawson-Falomo, a 16-year-old student from London, has been a part of Thinking Black’s program since September. Michael shared how the program gave him a greater insight into what blackness really means, especially in the UK with such an ethnocentric curriculum. He stated that the program taught him issues surrounding healthcare inequality and how climate change affects black people, two things that are not commonly taught in mainstream education.
A spokeswoman from the Department for Education shared that the current knowledge-rich curriculum in schools allows pupils the opportunity to study significant figures from black and ethnic minority backgrounds. The curriculum also highlights the contributions made by these communities to the nation and helps students understand the shared history with countries from all around the world.
