Disrupting colonial discourses in the Geography curriculum during the introduction of British Values policy in schools

The main purpose of this article is to expose and disrupt discourses dominating global development in an English school geography textbook chapter. The study was prompted by a teacher’s encounter with cultural difference in a geography lesson in South Korea. I investigate the issues raised through the lens of a new curriculum policy in English schools called ‘Promoting Fundamental British Values’ which forms part of England’s education-securitisation agenda, a topic of international attention. Following contextualisation across research fields and in recent curriculum and assessment policy reform, I bring together theoretical perspectives from curriculum studies and Continental philosophy that do not usually speak to each other, to construct a new analytical approach. I identify three key themes, each informed by colonial logic: ‘development’, ‘numerical indicators’ and ‘learning to divide the world’. The inquiry appears to expose a tension between the knowledge of the textbook chapter and the purported aims of the British Values curriculum policy, but further investigation reveals the two to be connected through common colonial values. The findings are relevant to teachers, publishers, textbook authors, policy makers and curriculum researchers. I recommend a refreshed curriculum agenda with the politics of knowledge and ethical global relations at its centre

Can there be an alternative to the centralized curriculum in England?

“The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, Improving Schools, 12 (1) 2009, © SAGE Publications Ltd, 2009: on SAGE Journals Online: http://online.sagepub.com/”Schools and teachers in England have found themselves coerced into a situation where high-stakes testing, scrutiny of `performance' and the generation of data for competitive league tables have dominated the educational experience of young people. There is a growing recognition from all quarters that this model is failing and that alternative — and more creative — approaches are needed. The article examines whether there is sufficient professional confidence and autonomy to challenge the current hegemonic position.Peer reviewe

Exploring professional knowledge-building through an inter-school visits programme

“The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, Improving Schools, 14 (1), 2011, © SAGE Publications Ltd, 2010: on SAGE Journals Online: http://online.sagepub.com/”This paper explores the learning arising from a pilot inter-school visits programme in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. Teachers from two schools undertook a series of visits with the aim of developing learning and teaching in their schools. The pilot sought to understand ways in which such a collaborative visits programme could be used to build professional knowledge across school boundaries. It suggests that such knowledge- building is the precursor to a change of practice. An investigation of the literature reveals potential issues in making tacit knowledge visible and in recording teachers’ learning so that it can contribute to a developing professional knowledge base. The paper discusses how these issues manifested themselves in practice and offers a framework for professional learning visits which underlines the continuous nature of professional learning, the need for reflection to decode what has been learned and the need for active and continuing participation by host and visitor in order to effect a change in practice. It concludes by considering the challenges of a full visits’ programme and how such a programme may be used to strengthen teachers’ capacity for innovation.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio