A blanket definition of "Britishness" taught in schools could lead tochildren from ethnic minority and White backgrounds feeling excluded, areview of citizenship education has found.
In addition, schools' references to diversity and ethnicity oftenconcentrate on ethnic minorities, neglecting White ethnicity, andschools tend to emphasise religion and culture while leaving out otheraspects of diversity, adds the review. As a result, White, working classchildren can end up with a negative view of their own identity, feelingtheir heritage is less important than those who are from ethnicallydiverse backgrounds.
The review, Diversity and Citizenship in the Curriculum, says teachersneed to consider exactly what is meant by diversity, and may need extratraining to teach the area effectively. Case studies show pupils feelthey learn about people from different cultures rather than differentpeople in Britain. There is also scope for history to be "retold" toshow the contribution of ethnic minority groups says the report."Further guidance is needed by those teaching in predominantly Whiteschools on delivering a diverse curriculum," it states.
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