Multiculturalism and the Impacts on Education Policy in England

1. Multiculturalism and the Impacts on Education Policy in England Dr. Richard Race Debating Multiculturalism Discussion Series – Dialogue Society. Oxford Centre for Christianity and Culture, Regent’s Park College, Oxford University. 24th April 2013 E Mail: r.race@roehampton.ac.uk

2. Contexts • Research which addressed multiculturalism but focused on integration (Eade et al, 2008; Race, 2011; Race and Lander, forthcoming). • Is Multiculturalism Dead? – Trevor Phillips (2005), post 7/7. • English and European Politics – Merkel; Cameron; Clegg (November 2010-March 2011) – return to integration; [failure of] “state multiculturalism”; importance of recognising cultural diversity (Race, 2011). • The Multiculturalism Backlash (Vertovec and Wessendorf, 2010) is a European, political movement away from multiculturalism towards integration, visible in Germany and England. • English Riots – 1981, Tottenham 1985 and August 2011. David Starkey – “if all the people of this country … are to enter fully into our national story … they must do so on terms of reciprocity” (Daily Telegraph, 20/08/11) • Defending and Debating Multiculturalism (Mahamdallie, 2011; Rattansi, 2011; Garner and Kavak, 2012; Cantle, 2012; Wright et al, 2012; Modood, 2013).

3. Multiculturalism • At this stage, let us reassert the Canadian state position of a multiculturalism that promotes equal rights and discourages discrimination, agree with Banks and Banks that multiculturalism cannot be thought as a single concept which is socially on its own, and also agree with Parekh and his claim that multiculturalism is both plural and fluid which recognises that cultural diversity is constantly changing. Race, 2011: 5

4. Integration • A conditional two way relationship between the state on the one hand and the individual and community on the other. The state will influence and shape the policy-making process and will therefore influence how individuals and communities are shaped and therefore socially and culturally exist. Race, 2011

5. The history of integration and multicultural education policy in England Integration Multiculturalism Rampton Report (DES: 1981) Swann Report (DES: 1985) Citizenship Curriculum (QCDA, 2010); Education Act (DfE, 2011). • Education of Immigrants (DES: 1965; 1971) • Plowden Report (DES: 1967) • Citizenship Curriculum (QDA, 1998; QCDA, 2010) • Every Child Matters (HO: 2003; DfES, 2004) • Ajegbo Report (DfES, 2007) • Academy Schools (Gunter, 2011; Adonis, 2012)

6. Reflections on Multiculturalism and Education (1) Multicultural education … needs to depend on: • Method – how practice allows students to talk, think and reflect; • Depth – practice needs to avoid the tokenistic. Stereotyping needs to be avoided at all costs; • Reach – practice needs to be international rather than national. Race, 2011: 96

7. Reflections on Multiculturalism and Education (2) … the importance of awareness training and CPD for [all] practitioners in education. An inclusive, multicultural, anti-racist programme of lifelong learning has to continue to raise social and cultural issues that concern e.g. racism and discrimination. The citizenship curriculum [underlines] the possibilities of a pluralistic, human rights based curriculum which can raise awareness [and understandings] of multiculturalism within education Race, 2011: 113

8. Reflections on Multiculturalism and Education (3) • [The subject of Citizenship] … many pre-2002 teachers are ‘unsure’ of citizenship because they have not been taught how to teach the subject … with the non-statutory nature of citizenship education in primary schools, the number of citizenship teachers who would have had the training of CPD would have been minimal. More teachers and specialists in citizenship were required. As the [Ajegbo] report acknowledges, coverage, meaning how the subject was taught and by whom, lacks not only conceptual depth but both teachers and students need to be engaged with relevant subject material. Race, 2011: 102

9. Multicultural Present • The continuing strength of multicultural education does tend to reside outside of England in the United States but the issue of diverse and citizenship based education systems tend to provide opportunities for culturally diverse education. The Ajegbo Report (DfES, 2007) underlined the need to make the national curriculum … more diverse and, as a consequence, allow issues … on difference, bullying and racism to be researched and debated in classrooms [and lecture theatres]. Race, 2011: 114

10. Integration Integration is achieved when neighbourhoods, families and individuals come together on issues which matter to them, and so we are committed to rebalancing activity from centrally-led to locally-led action and from the public to the voluntary and private sectors … Integration benefits us all, and extremism and intolerance undermine this as they promote fear and division. An integrated society may be better equipped to reject extremism and marginalise extremists. Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG), 2012: 2

11. Multiculturalism and the Impacts on Education Policy in England • Multiculturalism – Integration. • Education Policy and Practice – what now? • CPD – Staff Diversity and Awareness Training (Race and Lander, forthcoming). • Multiculturalism – very important to rethink and apply today to what is going on socially, culturally and educationally. But, it is one of many concepts that need to be examined to increase our understandings of society, cultures and education (May and Sleeter, 2010; Modood, 2011; 2013; Race, 2011; Race 2012; Wright et al, 2012; Cantle, 2012).

12. Selected Bibliography • Adonis, A. (2012) Education, Education, Education. Reforming England’s Schools, Biteback Publishing, London. • Cantle, T. (2012) Interculturalism, Houndsmills, Palgrave Macmillan. • May, S., Sleeter, C.E. (Ed.) (2010) Critical Multiculturalism: theory and praxis, Routledge, New York. • Modood, T. (2nd Ed.) (2013) Multiculturalism, Polity Press, Cambridge. • Race, R. (2011) Multiculturalism and Education, Continuum, London. • Race, R., Lander, V. (Eds.) (forthcoming) Advancing Race and Ethnicity in Education, Houndsmills, Palgrave Macmillan. • Wright, H., Singh, M., Race, R. (Eds.) (2012) Precarious International Multicultural Education. Hegemony, Dissent and Rising Alternatives, Sense Publishers, Rotterdam.