Promoting Race Equality: a Whole School Approach

Glasgow

Monday 29th November 2010

Aims

• To emphasise the need for a whole school approach to race equality.

• To encourage reflection on current teaching approaches

• To provide starting points to begin embedding equality in the curriculum

Why do we need to think about this with young children?

Studies by Jeffcoate (1979) show that White nursery children learn not to express negative attitudes in front of adults. They pick up unspoken messages that there are times when they are expected to express what they feel and others when they should not.

Give all children the opportunity to discuss similarities and differences between people: skin colours, hair textures, eye, lip and nose shapes, temperaments and abilities, about cultural differences and about how positive self-identity and self-esteem develops.

HOW CAN WE PREPARE CHILDREN TO KNOW ABOUT AND RESPECT DIFFERENCES?

• Discuss the things we all share - our common humanity, our concern for others, our need to be loved, our need to eat and sleep and play and have a home and clothes - all of which can be different.

• By not giving a negative message by trying to silence children or not answering their questions properly or saying the subject isn’t something to be talked about.

• By knowing what action to take with the child, the victim and the onlookers.

• By working with families to raise issues at home as well as in early years settings.

StoriesPersona Dolls Photographs

What can we use to discuss these issues with young children?

Embedding Equality

ACTIVITY

Teacher: “Today we are going to learn about our ancestors, the Anglo Saxons”

Muslim Pupil “Are the Anglo Saxons Muslim Miss?”

Teacher: We have a day devoted to African culture.

What is African culture? African Music? What is the Equivalent European Music? There are vast cultural, geographical, political and economic differences within and between countries.

Teacher: We have curtains featuring Golliwogs in the Nursery as they are really sweet.

Undertake a Diversity Walk through the school.

Promoting the positive?

What about challenging the negative?

Be aware how current affairs are impacting on the young people.

Have you ever got near them? They must really stink!According to the statistics, they only take a bath once a fortnight. They can’t make money, they have no jobs at home, so they come over here to mess up our economy and take our jobs. And why is there so much unemployment in their own country? Because they’re a lazy lot, who don’t want to work. Well let them be warned, they won’t be allowed to live on social security here.The Sydney Star 1981

Many refugees are arriving in this country, and in the majority of cases are being turned back...once it was known that Britain offered sanctuary to all who cared to come, the floodgates would be opened and we should be inundated by thousands seeking a home...our own professions are already overcrowded and have been further strained by arrivals in the last few years from Central Europe.Daily Mail 1938

Challenging stereotypes• Developing critical thinking.• Myth busting- sharing the facts!• Humanise the ‘dehumanised’• Develop empathy• Ask yourself...” What message am I giving the young people in

my class?”

Head teacher

Pupils

Class Teachers

Senior Management

Parents and Carers

Classroom Assistants

Governors

Lunchtime Supervisors

Who needs to be involved?