Diversity, British Values, and Educating Black Children

• In Event: Black Males in Higher Education Spaces

Abstract

Drawing on interviews with teachers and focus group discussions with students in primary and secondary schools across England, this paper examines school and government conceptions of diversity and shared 'British' values, and the implications for educating Black students when they are not considered to be British and/or to share British values. Using social construction theory the paper challenges conceptions of British values being shared by teachers, and illustrates how the direction of education policy can be changed through undertaking small-scale research studies. In revisiting the findings highlighted in this study, the paper further questions on emphasis on British values in teacher training.

Author

• Uvanney Maylor, University of Bedfordshire