BSc Education / Course details

The course unit will introduce the following content areas in relation to the UK and internationally within the education context:

• The concepts of race, racism, ethnicity and identity
• Education policies in relation to race and ethnicity
• Colonialism and its impact on education
• Grassroots anti-racist activism and education
• Black supplementary schools and mainstream education in the UK
• Decolonisation of the curriculum

The course will also utilise case studies from the UK and other countries.

This unit aims to develop BSc Education students’ critical understanding of key theoretical and practical issues relating to race, racism and ethnicity within the educational context in the UK and internationally. The unit will draw on ongoing research in the field of racism, colonialism and the de-colonisation of education by members of the MIE.  Students will be encouraged to critically reflect upon their own educational experiences.

Knowledge and understanding

• Identify key issues in relation to the field including race, racism, race equality, ethnicity, identity, culture and education.
• Critically explain competing theoretical approaches towards understanding the relationship between race, ethnicity and education. 
• Critically evaluate key historical, social, economic and political events which shaped the existing race equality policies and practices within and outside of the education context in the UK and internationally.

Intellectual skills

• Apply theoretical and practical insight critically to educational contexts.
• Identify and critique relevant educational policies and practices within the emerging understandings of race, racism and ethnicity.
• Critically reflect on their own personal educational experiences.

Practical skills

• Investigate educational policies in relation to race and ethnicity in the UK and internationally.
• Write critically.

Transferable skills and personal qualities

• Practice collaborative working and presentation skills.
• Develop research and evaluation skills to address complex problems in education.
• Engage with anti-racist, multicultural focussed education materials.

The course will be delivered through a combination of teaching strategies including lectures and seminars, group discussions, online teaching and learning materials, discussion board and student presentations. All teaching and learning activities will be inclusive and will consider the needs of participants with disabilities, international students and those from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Online via Blackboard within 15 working days after the final submission deadline

Bhambra, G.K., Gebrial, D. and Nisanc¿olu, K., 2018. Decolonising the university. London: Pluto Press.

Hill Collins, P., 2009. Another kind of public education¿: race, schools, the media, and democratic possibilities . Boston: Beacon Press.

Davis, A., 2019. Women, Race and Class. London: Penguin Books

Freire, P., 1996. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. London: Penguin Books. 

Gillborn, D., 2006. Critical race theory and education: Racism and anti-racism in educational theory and praxis. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education. 27, pp. 11–32.

Gilroy, P., 1987. ‘There Ain’t No Black in the Union Jack’: The cultural politics of race and nation. London: Hutchinson.

Hall, S., 1997. Representation, cultural representations and signifying practices. London: Open University Press.

hooks, b., 1994. Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom. London: Routledge

Jivraj, S. and Simpson, L., 2015. Ethnic Identity and Inequalities in Britain: The Dynamics of Diversity. Bristol: Policy Press.

Richardson, B., 2007. Tell it like it is: How our schools fail Black children. London: Bookmarks and Trentham Books.

Said, E., 2003. Orientalism. London: Penguin.

Sian, K.P., 2019. Navigating Institutional Racism in British Universities. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave MacMillan

Sivanandan, A., 1990. Communities of Resistance: Writings on Black Struggles for Socialism. London: Verso.

Wrigley, T., 2006. Another school is possible. London: Bookmarks Publications & Trentham Books.