Re-imagining a decolonised, anti-racist curriculum within initial teacher education in a Welsh university

Abstract

Changes to the Welsh curriculum are becoming apparent. The Williams Report culminated in recommendations for schools and initial teacher education (ITE) on the inclusion and teaching of Black Asian and Minority Ethnic histories in Wales. The subsequent Welsh Government ITE action plan was designed to ensure the pro-active recruitment of trainee teachers from Black and racially minoritised backgrounds in Wales. As a result of this legislation, a team of ITE lecturers in a school of education in a Welsh university formed a research triad and larger research collective, the idea being that we needed to decolonise our own pedagogy and curriculum delivery and re-imagine ITE within an anti-racist paradigm. It was key to reflect on our ITE provision, ensuring that our curriculum delivery reflected the ambition of the new Curriculum for Wales,* which encourages practitioners to think differently on what they teach, how they teach and what they want young people to learn. Using a patchwork methodology—which included ‘deep thinking and deep listening’—we examined our current ITE delivery and work that has been done thus far and looked at the gains and areas for development. It became clear that staff within our ‘ITE research collective’ were becoming more knowledgeable and confident in working within a racial dynamic, and consequently felt more able to impart knowledge when engaging with other ITE colleagues and students. This paper charts our ongoing journey and makes recommendations gained from our experiences.