Abstract
Making History Teachers, a briefing from the University of Manchester’s Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE) and the Runnymede Trust, centres the importance of teacher training and Initial Teaching Education (ITE) in developing a more diverse and inclusive curriculum and pedagogic practice.
Recent years have seen increasing calls to make schools across the UK more inclusive for students from minority ethnic backgrounds. Disproportionate school exclusions, low levels of Black and minority ethnic teachers, particularly at senior levels, and tensions regarding policing in schools are all at the forefront of these discussions. Calls to expand the curriculum, particularly the History curriculum, have been core to national debate for decades, and particularly since 2020, with teachers and students expressing dissatisfaction with what is currently being taught in British classrooms.
While this debate has mainly focused on the ‘what’ of the history curriculum, there has been less discussion of the ‘how’, particularly how a more inclusive curriculum can be delivered in the classroom, and by whom. While barriers for teachers in delivering more inclusive history curricula have long been recognised, there has been little focus on the crucial role of teacher educators and teacher training in this trajectory toward a more inclusive education system which works for all.
Making History Teachers shows how Initial Teacher Education (ITE) provision is increasingly fragmented and marketised, and that there are a number of constraints in the teacher education space, including lack of time, ‘tick-box’ approaches to diversity work, gaps in trainers’ subject knowledge, and lack of Black and minority ethnic representation among teacher educators/trainee teachers.
In schools, significant constraints were identified including limited time for innovation, lack of training and guidance in teaching ‘difficult’ or ‘sensitive’ subjects, and the need for accredited, high-quality continuous professional development for all teachers.
Recent years have seen increasing calls to make schools across the UK more inclusive for students from minority ethnic backgrounds. Disproportionate school exclusions, low levels of Black and minority ethnic teachers, particularly at senior levels, and tensions regarding policing in schools are all at the forefront of these discussions. Calls to expand the curriculum, particularly the History curriculum, have been core to national debate for decades, and particularly since 2020, with teachers and students expressing dissatisfaction with what is currently being taught in British classrooms.
While this debate has mainly focused on the ‘what’ of the history curriculum, there has been less discussion of the ‘how’, particularly how a more inclusive curriculum can be delivered in the classroom, and by whom. While barriers for teachers in delivering more inclusive history curricula have long been recognised, there has been little focus on the crucial role of teacher educators and teacher training in this trajectory toward a more inclusive education system which works for all.
Making History Teachers shows how Initial Teacher Education (ITE) provision is increasingly fragmented and marketised, and that there are a number of constraints in the teacher education space, including lack of time, ‘tick-box’ approaches to diversity work, gaps in trainers’ subject knowledge, and lack of Black and minority ethnic representation among teacher educators/trainee teachers.
In schools, significant constraints were identified including limited time for innovation, lack of training and guidance in teaching ‘difficult’ or ‘sensitive’ subjects, and the need for accredited, high-quality continuous professional development for all teachers.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Runnymede Trust and Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE) |
| Commissioning body | ESRC Economic and Social Research Council |
| Number of pages | 21 |
| Publication status | Published - 25 May 2023 |
