The values of Diversity, Equality and Inclusion are a core foundation of what makes HSDC such a special College to study at. In order to uphold these principles and empower its students, the College has begun working towards decolonising its curriculum.
Decolonising the curriculum is an important process that many educational institutions around the world have started working towards, and involves a real acknowledgement of the different ways in which racism and colonialism have shaped and continue to shape learning.
Izzy Wood is the Course Lead for Geography at Alton College, where she has been leading the way for the decolonisation of HSDC’s curriculum. Speaking about the importance of this work, Izzy said:
“There are always moments in every single subject to talk about racism. Teachers have an opportunity to seize these moments and ensure that the legacy of colonialism is acknowledged across all curriculum areas. We must decolonise our minds, our curriculum and our institutions in order to offer a fair and equitable education for all our students and build a just future.”
Decolonisation of the curriculum is one of the most effective ways in which students and staff can recognise and mitigate the damage that racism and colonialism has done to education.
This decolonisation has started to be rolled out across Alton, with over 40 members of staff attending a training session earlier in the spring term. Here, staff were able to identify their ‘starting points’ and set out how they plan to be actively anti-racist in the future, as well as participating in racial literacy tests.
Will Golby studied Geography at Alton, and praised Izzy’s decolonisation of the curriculum, saying:
“Geography at Alton College has had a huge impact in my life, allowing me to develop critical thinking skills and see the true value of decolonising education. This is a vital step to ensure that global issues are discussed and studied in a fair and just way.”
Not only does decolonisation make education fairer and enriching, but it also provides students with crucial skills that they can take with them into their post-College lives. Cael Goodburne studied Geography at Alton, and is currently undertaking a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Edinburgh. Speaking about the transferable skills of decolonisation, Cael said:
“The main difference between geography at Alton compared to geography elsewhere is that you learn beyond the curriculum and take a critical, constructive view of institutional structures (such as race and class) into your studies. This has proven to be useful already during my first term at Edinburgh, and has given me a head start!”
Geography students also recently went on a walking tour in London, exploring Brixton and Elephant and Castle. Walking down Railton Road, students were able to see where the 1981 Brixton Uprising occurred. This was a clash between the police and the black community, ignited in response to the Metropolitan Police’s discriminatory practices and racist use of stop-and-search.
By blending traditional classroom learning with field trips such as this, students were able to broaden their understanding of anti-racism and bring the concept of decolonisation to life.
To find out more about Geography at Alton, please visit: https://www.hsdc.ac.uk/courses/alton-campus/a-level/geography-a-level-alton/