Above: The PSHE Association Website

The new web site to support Who Do We Think We Are? has a landing page which begins by asking young people, ‘Have you ever asked yourself questions like... What makes me who I am? What is my identity? What makes me unique?'

These questions are not new or exclusively the domain of the citizenship curriculum, they are central to young people's personal development which is a central aim of education and in secondary schools now enshrined in the aims for the curriculum Successful Learners, Confident Individuals and Responsible Citizens. As such, these questions should underpin every subject and all learning both in and beyond the curriculum and school.

If personal development is a principle aim then it is also a principle outcome for education and in defining who we are, our identities and uniqueness.

PSHE Education: Personal Well-being, Economic Well-being and Financial capability make an important contribution to young people's understanding of the concept of identity. For Personal well-being learners should appreciate that in our communities there are similarities and differences between people of different race, religion, culture, ability or disability, gender, age or sexual orientation, and in Economic Well-being develop a sense of personal identity on respect of career progression. In so doing learners should develop skills that help them develop relationships, value differences, empathy, self-esteem and envisage a positive future for themselves.

To facilitate this for young people requires the highest order of teaching and learning, and both confidence and competence on the part of the teacher. If teachers have not thought through who they are, their own identity and the values that support this then there may well be difficulties in managing this effectively in the classroom.

It also requires teachers to use more informal and experiential teaching methods underpinned by clear ground rules. Teaching that enables learners to take responsibility for aspects of their lives both in and out of the classroom and school; work in groups which differ in size and purpose as well as on their own, in side and outside of the classroom; explain personal, social and emotional experiences through role play and reflect on the actions of those roles they and others are playing; use their imagination and creativity to develop personal ideas and insights and express these through appropriate disciplines and media, and reflect on the learning, their participation engagement in it, what they have learned, and how they have developed as individuals.

In short, we have to provide opportunities and quality experiences that will help young people to define their identity, and Who Do We Think We Are? has an important contribution to make to personal development.

Dr. John Lloyd
Policy Adviser
PSHE Association
Website: http://www.pshe-association.org.uk/

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.