Community Cohesion: Issues, Practice and Geography

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Community Cohesion Issues, Practice and Geography

• Sir Keith Ajegbo

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Why Community Cohesion Now (1)

• 7/7 and the fear of terrorism and extremism
  related to religion
• Trevor Phillips Sleepwalking to segregation
• Changing patterns of immigration-immigration as a
  major political issue fears around the BNP and
  local council elections
• Fears around teenage gang killings, teenage
  pregnancy, binge drinking and community
  relationship
• Concerns about the achievement gap of pupils on
  free school meals including white
  underachievement.

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Why Community Cohesion Now (2)

• In 1965 75 million people lived outside the home
  country, now 180 m
• 600,000 Britons live in Spain, more in other
  countries (200,000) in NZ 3m with second homes
• 25m tourists to the UK, 70m from UK to global
  destinations
• Globalisation in many forms internet,
  international students, brands etc

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Community Cohesion and Geography

• Aspects of community cohesion
• Migration
• Urbanisation
• Globalisation
• Tourism
• Insularity

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Review for the Secretary of State

• How is ethnic, religious and cultural diversity
  addressed in the school curriculum?
• Should British modern, social and cultural
  history be the 4th pillar of citizenship?
• Response while schools should celebrate
  difference they must also explore what brings us
  together, what we share and how we create
  communities.

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What are schools for?

• What are the wider responsibilities of school to
  society?
• Childrens Plan Schools at the heart of their
• community
• Development of pupils as active and responsible
  citizens
• Creating more cohesive and resilient communities

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Schooling and the big themes of the 21st Century

• What is the relationship between a schools
  vision and the big themes of eg identity and
  cultural diversity, community participation,
  globalisation. How does the world impact on
• Every Child Matters, Personalised Learning,
  Citizenship Education, Extended Schooling,
  Community Cohesion?
• Given the close relationship between geography
  and the big themes what impact does the subject
  have on the schools vision and ethos?

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What are the implications of community?

• School community
• Community in which the school is located
• Religious community
• UK community
• European community
• Global community
• Presumably within these interconnections lies a
  large part of a relevant geography curriculum.
  Geography helps to tease out the relationship
  between local national and global identities and
  interrelationships.

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The Big Themes

• Religion and non religion
• (The relationship between religion and diasporic
  communities. The spread of fundamentalism.
  Changing face of cities and social cohesion))
• Ethnicity and culture
• (The relationship between migration and cultural
  identity. The mixing of cultures. The
  relationship between race and place go back
  home)
• Socio economic status
• (White working class communities. Insularity)
• How do geographers deal with controversial issues?

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Aspects of Community Cohesion

• Teaching, Learning and the Curriculum
• Equity and excellence
• Engagement and extended services
• Concentrate on teaching, learning and the
  curriculum

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Teaching, Learning and the Curriculum (1)

• Perspectives of some BME students
• They see Africa as poor, Asia as flooded and
  England as snobby whites and poor blacks
• Im black I live in London-thats my home. My
  parents are from the Caribbean but Im really
  African. Im a Christian, but Im E7 -thats
  where I hang theyre my people. Thats who I am.
• Within those quotes are political, socio
  economic, environmental, place and identity
  issues all of which relate to geography.

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Teaching, learning and the curriculum (2)

• Perspectives of some white students
• I do feel sometimes that there is no white
  history. Theres either black history month or
  they do Muslims and Sikhs.
• Youre bored with it, youre just British.
• A quote from a DEA discussion paper Questioning
  Education_at_
• The Ipsos MORI research (1955 secondary students
  2007) found that 76 of black students and 66 of
  Asian students were positive about different
  kinds of people living together whilst only 47
  of white students were

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Challenges leadership

• The conclusion in our report was that issues of
  race and identity are often not high on schools
  agendas. Need to be regardless of location and
  intake.
• DEA report Questioning Education on global
  learning
• Leadership, as demonstrated by the head, senior
  managers and governors sets the tone for
  everything in schools
• A culture is needed in which the leadership team
  demonstrates global learning through their own
  practice but also enable everyone to bring their
  own creativity to the vision.
• Where the agenda is taken forward by one or two
  committed teachers but not by the leadership team
  it tends not to be embedded across the whole
  school.

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Challenges teachers

• 36 of teachers felt well equipped to teach in
  multi cultural schools following their Teacher
  Training. (TDA survey 2006) Surely all geography
  teachers should feel equipped to teach in multi
  cultural schools or about multi culturalism in
  white schools
• Geography teachers need to be at the heart of the
  schools policy on dealing with controversial
  issue. Migration, race, religion, cultural
  clashes, stereotyping are unavoidable in
  discussions of place and space.

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Challenges the curriculum

• Geography inspires pupils to become global
  citizens
• Geography inspires pupils to think about their
  place in the world
• Geographers have a strong sense of their own
  place in the world as well as other peoples
  cultures and traditions and how these interrelate
• Geography has the capacity to lead on the whole
  curriculum dimensions of identity and cultural
  diversity, community participation and the global
  dimension and sustainable development.

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Citizenship education and geography

• Geography in schools changing practice
• With regard to citizenship, geography has a vital
  role to play, as David Bell identified in his
  Roscoe lecture a partnership between geography
  and citizenship. will energise the former and
  give substance to the latter. Why are there not
  more geography departments which teach sustained
  and progressive units of work with citizenship
  objectives, making a substantial contribution to
  the citizenship agenda overall?...Citizenship can
  be a breath of fresh air, making geography
  relevant, exciting and most important of all,
  empowering pupils so that they know how they can
  make a difference.

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Identity and diversity living together in the UK

• In our report we recommended a 4th strand for
  citizenship education.
• Rationale Britain has committed itself to
  certain values- respect for the law, democratic
  political structures, values of mutual tolerance,
  equal rights. These should be subject to
  discussion and debate through looking at aspects
  of modern Britain and its history.
• The aspects of modern Britain and its history
• The UK as a multi national state. (Issues of
  place Welshness, Scottishness)
• Immigration, Commonwealth and the legacy of
  Empire (Historical geography- the changing nature
  of us and them and of whiteness and blackness)
• The European Union (How do Poles now see
  Britishness?)
• Extending the franchise (eg the legacy of
  slavery, universal suffrage, equal opportunities
  legislation) ( relationship to urbanisation and
  globalisation)

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Curriculum support

• QCA Cross curriculum dimensions (revised 1st
  September)
• Identity and Cultural Diversity
• Case studies

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Who Do We Think We Are?

• The week in June attracted around 500 schools.
• Website www.whodowethinkweare.org.uk
• Vast array of resources at sharp end of issues
• School and community
• Relationships, belonging and faith
• History and settlement
• Britishness, national identity/values 2012
  Olympics
• Organised by RGS, History Association,
  Citizenship Foundation

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Materials on the website

• London 2012 keystage 3 geography and citizenship
• Exploring archives
• Global dimensions
• Moving Here
• Young diasporas
• Building up case studies eg Enfield primary
  school to compare the ethnic and religious
  composition of a year 5 class with Enfield as an
  area.

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Schools Linking Network

• www.schoolslinkingnetwork.org.uk
• Started in Bradford following 2001 disturbances
• Gateway 100 schools registered
• Waves Wave1 3 pilot authorities, Wave 2 10
  authorities, Wave 3 10 authorities
• Sponsored by DCSF, money for authorities involved
  CPD for teachers

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Equity and excellence/Engagement and extended
services

• Equity and excellence Very few schools have
  identified opportunities within the curriculum to
  promote the positive aspects of gypsy culture.
• Engagement and extended services At a conference
  focussed on raising achievement of Somali pupils
  2 schools (Richard Atkins Primary in Lambeth,
  Little Ilford Secondary in Newham) indicated how
  they used extended schooling to raise achievement
  and build community cohesion.

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The Humanities and Social Sciences Diploma

• Geography features strongly in the new Humanities
  and Social Sciences diploma for teaching in 2011.
• Consultation on the criteria for awarding bodies
  starts next week with events around the country.
• Tell us what you think at www.humanitiesdiploma.co
  .uk