The teaching and learning of Britishness is once again on the educational agenda. Governmental proposals for schools to teach Britishness arrive on the doorsteps of educational establishments cyclically: In 2007, it was the Labour government calling for the teaching of Britishness in schools, and now in 2014, the current coalition government have re-invigorated these calls by insisting that this is not optional, but that schools must actively promote British values.
My research with two GCSE Art classes and their respective teachers, Ms Anderson and Mr Martin, pointed towards the urgent need to explore student identity by critically interrogating identity issues affecting young people. For their GCSE coursework, the students created self-portraits about their personal sense of British identity. When interviewed, the two teachers highlighted the emotional engagement of the students, for instance the cathartic and meaningful process of exploring identity for some of the students who openly revealed how they experienced local place, social class, race and ethnicity in their exploration of belonging to Britain. The teachers pointed out that the students were very excited to explore Britishness in relation to their personal perceptions, and to discuss notions of British identity with their peers, teachers, and even with their families at home. My research on the teaching and learning of Britishness with two art classes in a south London school highlighted the importance of teachers employing a critical pedagogical approach when exploring Britishness. Students, the teachers recognised, rarely have the opportunity to express aspects of their identity creatively and in a safe space. The two teachers who explored Britishness with their students found that this experience of identity exploration provided students with the perfect platform to express what they had learned about themselves and others, and embrace the chance to have their voices heard. The research showed how the teaching and learning of Britishness in the classroom setting can be approached through a critical pedagogical approach, as this style of educational philosophy and activity is the most appropriate in allowing students to project their ideas and voices. The Critical Pedagogy Reader edited by Antonia Darder et al highlights the importance of understanding how hegemonic social structures and institutions perpetuate positions of power and powerlessness, thereby advocating students and teachers to engage in theories and practices of education that will help rid society of inequalities and injustices.
Schools can be improved if student' stories and concerns are heard and their ideas implemented in the school policies and practices (Carlile, 2012). A key finding in my research was that the students were enthused about discussing their sense of local place and how their belonging to London impacted upon their sense of British identity. In this case, the school would do well to heed this matter of importance to students and their lives by providing more opportunities in the classroom and the curriculum to engage with issues of place, as well as the intricate connections with social class and ethnicity. The students' stories imparted concerns about white working class identity being caricaturised by wider society through representation of Bermondsey as a "chav" place, as well as about issues of race/racism that they encountered in their daily lives. Students were open and honest about how they experienced identity issues from their positioning as young Londoners. Their teachers had given them a wide berth, with guidelines about respectfulness towards peers, so that the students were able to have a safe space to express their stories and ideas on Britishness and hear their culturally different peers' voices at the same time.
Ms Anderson: And then in the background he had the territories of South East London marked out by colour and roads, and he knows exactly which territories belong to which geographical area… which was an eye-opener for me…but yeah…that seemed to be quite controversial in a way… because he was really saying something about himself…and where he stood within it all.
The teacher was able to learn something quite profound about her students' lives and the reality of their lived experiences as young Londoners in modern Britain. It was staggering what the students felt able to reveal once they understood this was genuinely about their experiences of Britain. Ms Anderson also highlighted how knife and gun crime was a popular topic with some of the students, perhaps because it was topical, but she was surprised that "an equal number almost of girls attempted a piece that had that sort of message within it…I suppose I was expecting that sort of issue to actually come up with young men…but it actually seems to resonate with girls too". Ms Anderson' observation is important in highlighting how students, of both genders, are keen to discuss the impact of living in a city where knives and guns are a feature of daily life.
Mr Martin: …you really look at them and you think… you know we have a different relationship to when we first started off because I was the scary Art teacher that basically… you know was determined to get them their marks… and they sort of felt "I know him… I've had him before… I might be able to get away with this and get away with that…… but we sort of know each other now slightly differently..
Ms Anderson: …we have experienced is that it isn't that difficult to manage and that actually allowing them to do a piece of work about it almost gives it a voice and softens it all, and hopefully builds an understanding between the students as well.
Careful and sensitive handling of the potentially controversial and sensitive elements to identity exploration was successful in this case. The teachers enjoyed exploring Britishness with their classes, and found that students gained new perspectives on Britishness by sharing perceptions with their peers. The uncovering of identity issues enabled students to recognise that their voices and views were respected and required. Further the students gained in confidence and independence, as they learned that this exploration of Britishness concentrated on their journey, and it was not an exercise in spoon-feeding them with what to include in their GCSE coursework.
Critical and engaged pedagogy is the way forward to encourage schools, and teachers, to explore notions of belonging and identity with their students. Exploring notions of belonging and identity with students must entail this idea of critical consciousness advocated by hooks (1991, 1994), who was heavily influenced by the writings of Freire (2000). Critical consciousness refers to the awareness we have about how we are products of a society that is prejudiced against many groups (hooks, 1994). Any exploration of Britishness must stay true to the spirit of engaged pedagogy, for "engaged pedagogy necessarily values student expression" (hooks, 1994:20). Students who explore their identity may encounter such critical consciousness as they become aware of how societal values and norms affect their sense of belonging. Education that is liberating is a core concern of Freire and hooks, and my research on identity highlights how exploring identity is significantly liberating for the students and teachers alike, once the initial cautions, about potentially sensitive and controversial topics being raised, have been overcome. An exploration of Britishness need not be a hegemonic act where teachers uncritically impose a dominant discourse of Britishness on their students; instead teachers can work on ways to give students a safe space to express their identity.
The government's promotion of British identity is often received warily by those working in education, as we suspect that whichever government is in power at the time has its own agenda at play. Some would challenge the government's focus on discourses of Britishness as blindsiding social inequalities that they should be tackling to make Britain better. It is easy for governments to place blame on scapegoated communities who are seen as not integrating or seen as disaffected, when in reality there are countless inequalities that urgently need addressing and resolving. It is important, therefore, to provide these scapegoated communities and other oppressed groups in society with a voice to express what matters to them as members of society. Critical pedagogy advocates the liberation of these oppressed communities through giving students and teachers a space to develop a critical consciousness and to critically interrogate the relationships between culture, economics, ideology and power (Darder et al., 2009). The impact of employing critical pedagogy in the classroom is powerful as it gives students a platform to present to the world what life is like for young people in London. Generally, when over-worked teachers are focused on getting students through the exams, they may not get to hear about what matters to their students, yet opportunities to explore identity issues gives students that important avenue to express their voice on issues they deem serious and significant. This research project made me ponder over whether we teachers know enough about our students, and whether we have scratched beyond superficial assumptions we may hold about our students due to their gender, ethnicity or religion. If students are given more opportunities to express their identity issues within the curriculum, this will have two worthwhile outcomes: firstly, it will give students an urgently needed voice, and secondly it will allow the student-teacher relationship to flourish.
CARLILE, A. 2012. 'Critical bureaucracy' in action: embedding student voice into school governance. Pedagogy, Culture and Society, 20, 393-412.
HOOKS, B. 1991. Yearning: race, gender, and cultural politics, London, Turnaround.
HOOKS, B. 1994. Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom, New York and London, Routledge.
MAYLOR, U. 2010. Notions of diversity, British identities and citizenship belonging. Race Ethnicity and Education, 13, 233-252.
Sadia Habib is a doctoral candidate currently researching British identity at Goldsmiths, University of London. Prior to this she taught English at Key Stages 3,4 and 5 in Manchester and London.