Hands on: Supporting teachers to address race in English literature through developing a Black Dramatist and Drama ‘PlayBox’ using artefacts in the University of Bristol Theatre Collection
Submitted by:
Lorna Smith
Abstract:
"Bristol: a city divided?" (CDE, 2017) highlighted stark inequalities between the educational outcomes of Black and White students: Bristol ranked 345/348 of districts in England and Wales for educational equality. The Report identifies ‘the unrepresentativeness of the curriculum’ (p.3) as a key factor. This unrepresentative curriculum is particularly apparent in subject English: the national curriculum’s insistence that GCSE English Literature texts are by ‘British’ authors has manifested in a largely pale, stale, male offering at secondary level (11-16) (Smith, 2020). While some schools have revised their offer in response to #BlackLivesMatter, the lack of representation in Drama remains particularly acute (Smith, 2020).
Many English teachers wish to rebalance their curriculums, yet some do not know how, or lack the confidence to address issues of race and ethnicity for fear of inadvertently causing offence (Glowach et al, 2023; Salah, 2023). This multi-disciplinary project aims to begin to empower them, through exploring a play by a Black British playwright featuring Black and White characters, "A Bitter Herb" (Kwei-Armah, 1998), and Shakespeare’s "Othello".
Although some well-reviewed online resources are now available to promote a decolonised curriculum, these are arguably ‘at one remove’. Teachers in this project will instead have tactile contact with a ‘PlayBox’ of physical artefacts during CPD workshops, then use them in school. The research asks whether and how the immediacy of ‘hands-on’ approaches using props, photos, programmes, etc. from the Theatre Collection might develop English teachers’ confidence and racial literacy.
Data will be collected through questionnaires and focus groups during spring 2024. We hope ‘playing with the Playboxes’ stimulates discussion about race and identity, normalising and celebrating Black literature in the curriculum.
CDE (2017) Bristol: a city divided? Ethnic Minority disadvantage in Education and Employment. Runnymede Trust. https://hummedia.manchester.ac.uk/institutes/code/briefings/localethnicinequalities/CoDE-Briefing-Bristol.pdf [19.10.23]
Glowach, T et al (2023) Making spaces for collaborative action and learning: Reflections on teacher-led decolonising initiatives from a professional learning network in England. Curriculum Journal. 34:1 pp.100-117 https://doi.org/10.1002/curj.186
Saleh, A (2023) Black British Literature in the Secondary English Classroom. Changing English. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1358684X.2023.2253178 [19.10.23]
Smith, L (2020) Top Ten Texts: A survey of commonly-taught KS3 class readers. Teaching English. 23 pp.30-33