We need long-term solutions for the profession to enable children and young people to continue to receive world-class education. This future must be shaped by the teaching profession. The Chartered College is Teaching will be supporting this conversation with the #FutureOfTeaching, bringing together teachers from across the world to drive the change we need to benefit children and young people.
Join Professor Paul Washington Miller (President, Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration and Management), Naheeda Maharasingam (Headteacher, Rathfern Primary School) and Professor Dame Alison Peacock (Chief Executive, Chartered College of Teaching) in this webinar where we will explore:
- Anti-racism
- De-colonising the curriculum
- Approaches to build greater diversity across the profession
Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions to the panelists towards the end of the webinar.
Diversifying and decolonising the curriculum: What do we mean? What is the role of schools?
Within the past decade, calls to “diversify” and “decolonise” the curriculum in Britain have grown increasingly louder. On the one hand, policy makers who both own and define the scope of a nation’s curriculum often respond by saying ‘there is enough flexibility’ in the curriculum for schools to make appropriate adaptations. On the other hand, schools often respond by saying, ‘there is only limited time available to cover an already packed and crowded curriculum’ and ‘it’s not feasible to add additional content’. One could be sympathetic to both sides of the argument, except neither side moves us any closer towards developing and delivering a curriculum that is inclusive in its broadest and truest sense, and that is reflective of the diversity within society. This apparent impasse and tension leave us with several questions. For example: What do we mean by a diverse curriculum? What do we mean by a decolonised curriculum? Whose responsibility is it to diversify and/or decolonise a curriculum? What tools and resources are needed to diversify and/or decolonise a curriculum? This session will consider a number of conceptual and pragmatic issues, as well as suggest ways schools can approach resolving some of the apparent tensions.
About the speakers:
Professor Paul Miller, PhD, is Professor of Educational Leadership & Social Justice and President of the Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration and Management. The first black professor of educational leadership in the UK, he has a significant body of research on the career progression of teachers and academics of BAME heritage in England. Professor Miller’s research examines gaps in institutional practice and leadership behaviour, and government’s lack of monitoring of institutional actions in tackling race discrimination in BAME staffing and progression
Naheeda Maharasingam is a Local Leader of Education (LLE), a Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching and Leader of Rathfern CCT Teacher Research Network. She is currently Headteacher at Rathfern Primary School, a diverse and dynamic inner London primary school. She is passionate about values which enrich her vision and permeate her school culture, with a focus on disrupting the trajectory for disadvantaged pupils.
