20th October 2020

Guest Blog: The Importance Of A Diverse Curriculum in Schools

We are pleased to bring you a blog written by one of our teachers on the subject of diversity in education in recognition of Black History Month, which is celebrated annually across the world in October.

The notion of diversity combines several subjects, essential identity qualities and elements that are part of global society patterns, Some of these identity characteristics are race, disability, gender, age, religion, belief and socio-economic background (Teasley et al., 2009). As multicultural societies become the norm, it’s critical that we work to impact the progress of government and education policies to fit a more diverse spectrum

How Can Diversity In Education Be Addressed?

In the school context, when the leadership team develops reflective practices towards the implementation of a diversified curriculum, there is room for innovation. Students can be encouraged to engage themselves in research as they strive to find solutions to certain problems. Students that are modelled to be leaders are likely to create solutions that are relevant to the needs of students.  The month of October is an exceptional period where the great debates about re-launching an ’Ethical Curriculum’ is expressed among (BAME) Black, Asian and Minority Community groups. The emerging need to demonstrate the powerful influence of a rich and inclusive curriculum led many schools’ leaders to be ’Ethnicity Allies‘ –  supporting and investing in innovative and creative ideas from the Black community. During the month of October, many of the schools in England celebrate Black History Month, through the organization of specific events, workshop, exploratory writing and reading activities.

What Are Some Of The Benefits Of Teaching Diversity?

There are significant benefits to planning and delivering a diverse and inclusive curriculum, from early years to post-graduate academic level, such as:

• Breaking barriers of lack of empathy, understanding and intolerance.

• Opening new opportunities for acceptance of multicultural differences and individuals’ identity characteristics.
• Promoting mature dialogues and spontaneous debate.

This guest blog was written by Dilma De Araujo, a SEN specialist and diversity champion based in London. We are always interested in hearing about your ideas for guest blogs for the Reading Corner, get in touch with our marketing team here if you have an idea for a blog you’d like to write!