These days people are on the move

Above: Diversity and Citizenship Curriculum Review

Your opinion: Are questions about national identity, ‘Britishness’ & respect central to the school curriculum?

These days people are on the move. Whilst thousands of immigrants come to live and work in Britain, thousands of British citizens leave Britain to live and work elsewhere. Last year there were 33 million visits by overseas residents to Britain and 70 million visits by British residents abroad. In London schools there are over 300 different languages spoken. Planes and technology can make this large and complicated world seem quite small.

Some recent events have suggested unease with this churn of people and this jostling of cultures, religions, ethnicities and identities. When myself and colleagues were writing the report on ‘Diversity and Citizenship' in 2006 it was in the wake of the 7/7 bombings, of extreme right BNP councillors being elected in local elections and of immigration moving to the top of the list of voters' concerns. The view seemed to be shifting from Britain as a vibrant multicultural country to the head of the Commission for Racial equality arguing in a controversial speech in September 2005 that ‘Britain was sleepwalking to segregation' with the implication that there were concentrations of minority ethnic groups in particular areas suffering racism, exclusion and discrimination.

Our report argued that young people should be at the centre of this debate about ‘who we are, ‘why we live where we do' and ‘how we relate to each other'. We believe that, in a time of rapid change and some turbulence young people should debate, discuss and celebrate what people living in the UK share and have in common but also celebrate and respect differences and what we can learn from each other.

In the report we argue that the big questions, however controversial, around national identity, around Britishness, around religion, around allegiance and around respect are all central to the school curriculum. These are questions requiring a breadth of knowledge, a depth of critical thinking and the ability to weigh up arguments.

But the debate about ‘who do we think we are' isn't just about the big questions. In our report we argue that it starts in local communities looking at our families and our neighbours and our local environment. We hope that ‘Who do we think we are' week gives pupils the opportunity to look first at their local communities and to study the relationships, the triumphs and the tensions around them. These are as likely to be about intergenerational or economic differences as race or religion. We believe the journey begins at home and then moves outwards to the wider UK and global contexts.

Written by:
Sir Keith Ajegbo
Education Consultant
Website: http://publications.teachernet.gov.uk/eOrderingDownload/DfES_Diversity_&_Citizenship.pdf

DISCLAIMER
The views and opinions expressed in the article featured above are the writer's own and do not represent the views of either the Who Do We Think We Are (WDWTWA) consortium of partners (Royal Geographical Society with IBG, the Historical Association and Citizenship Consultant Paula Kitching) or the project's funding body, the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF).

If you would like to comment on the content of this article, please send a response via the WDWTWA Blog (Have your say) or email wdwtwa@rgs.org.