An exploration of the role of ethnic identity in students’ construction of ‘British stories’

Abstract

Much of the research into history teaching and ethnicity concludes that the historical narratives that children from minority ethnic groups construct differ significantly from 'mainstream' or official national narratives and are often accompanied by a sense of disengagement or even alienation from the dominant history narratives taught in schools. Our research suggests that in England (or more specifically in London) the picture is more complicated than this. First, we did not find compelling evidence that students from black and minority ethnic backgrounds feel alienated or disengaged from the British history they are taught. Second, we found a surprising similarity across the narratives that different ethnic groups chose to tell us about British history, suggesting amongst other things some curriculum inertia in schools. Where differences did exist, we suggest that these can be explained as much by gender and broad cultural influences as by ethnicity. Third, whilst what students chose to include in their narratives was broadly similar across different ethnic groups, the reasons for including them did differ . Finally, and perhaps most positively, we conclude that students of all ethnic groups are keen to engage more critically with British narratives and would relish more opportunities to do so than current school curricula appear to encourage.

Whose story should we be telling? An exploration of student attitudes towards, and perceptions of, the British history curriculum

“…In discussing specific topics, students in Focus Group 2 agreed that they felt it would have been beneficial when learning about slavery to spend a significant amount of time considering the long-term cultural impact upon African Americans, rather than, as they felt was currently the case, focusing largely upon the economic impacts for Britain. Huber and Kitson (2020) found similar evidence that some students in their study were disengaged with a 'happy ending' story of equality, while Mohamud and Whitburn (2014) have also articulated the dangers of failing to provide a more inclusive narrative. The fact that at least one focus group participant criticised more 'traditional' schemes of learning via the 'Black Peoples of the Americas' unit in this school would seem to lend further credence for calls to update such schemes with the aim of making them more inclusive.…”

Narrations of (in)significant pasts in young people’s identity construction

“…History education can help young people understand global and societal issues better. It also offers the possibility for young people with a flexible spatial socialisation to find points of reference in history education and to understand their own backgrounds (Ahvenainen, 2016;Van Havere et al, 2017;Huber and Kitson, 2020;Peck, 2010). Understanding the nature of historical social narratives helps young people to think about the process of formation of narratives and to create their own narratives, instead of confining themselves to existing ones.…”

“…Coming back to Francis Fukuyama's (2018) words about the importance of identity politics in societies around the world, in the current political climate young people would benefit from a critical dialogue in classrooms about different historical social narratives. It would empower them to recognise and deconstruct historical social narratives about the national past (Van Havere et al, 2017;Huber and Kitson, 2020;Löfström, 2014;Rantala and Van den Berg, 2015), and to construct their own ones. This could develop students' narrative competence, which will be a much-needed skill in the future, and give them space to contemplate their own process of constructing their historical social narratives.…”

“…One of the challenges of history education is how knowledge of history is structured, which frameworks are used, and what kinds of narratives are built. This article contributes to this discussion (see, for Narrations of (in)significant pasts in young people's identity construction 4 example, Barton, 2012;Epstein, 2009;Huber and Kitson, 2020;Lévesque and Croteau, 2020;Peck, 2010) by displaying young people's views on historical narratives against their different backgrounds.…”

“…Their findings provide an important insight into how history and identity work in schools and other cultural settings. History education and identity are linked, but it is difficult to prove unambiguously whether history education in schools modifies the identity of young people or whether their identity plays a powerful role in shaping the way they interact with the past (Barton, 2012;Carretero et al, 2012;Epstein, 2009;Van Havere et al, 2017;Huber and Kitson, 2020;Kim, 2018;Lévesque and Croteau, 2020;Peck, 2010;Wasserman, 2018). This leaves open how history education should approach national narratives.…”