Good
Practice in building Equality and Diversity into Subject areas:
Works exploring personal social
identity
Encourage
learners to highlight multicultural influences in the history of art, and
display examples of work by artists who have experienced various physical
disabilities or mental health issues, or who work explores such themes.
Draw
attention to artists who work explores various aspects of personal or social
identity, including race, ethnicity and sexuality.
Ask learners
to look at the work of Alison Lapper and explore her experience of being an
artist with at disability. They should focus on ability and how society
discriminates because of the way you look.
Illustrating the importance of
equality
“Discrimination,
harassment and bullying are not tolerated in any form”. Work with other
curriculum teams to develop numerous displays, posters, focus groups and events
that illustrate how fundamental equality of opportunity is to the curriculum.
Ask learners
to develop anti-racism posters for the classroom walls.
Invite
learners to research the nine protected characteristics and develop projects in
art to showcase contributions, abilities and experiences of groups and
individuals. One project could tell the
story of the Holocaust through pictures, for example.
Ways to
encourage learners to express their own identity through art include:
•
self-portraits
•
reference
to excellence in a range of different cultural traditions
•
exploration
of cross-cultural borrowings and influences
•
visiting
artist-painters, photographers, potters, sculptors, printmakers drawn from a
range of diverse backgrounds
•
using
art to explore social and political issues.
Art based on the culture or history of a country
Encourage
learners to research a country of their choice and get them to produce an
imaginative image or object that symbolises part of the culture or history of
that country, for example a learner assigned to Egypt may produce an object or
collage using different colours, styles and textures of paper such as
wallpaper, sandpaper and notebook paper to symbolise the history of papyrus.
Marketing messages in different
cultures
Ask learners
to compare how marketing messages are communicated in different cultures, for
example how would they compose a different marketing message for advertising in
the UK and/or Uganda (where there is a mainly Muslim population)?
Building relationships with customers
Ask learners
to explore different approaches to building relationships with
customers/segments which are predominately of a different culture, age, sex and
so on.
Hot topics for discussion and debate
Hot topics
for discussion and debate could also include:
•
entrepreneurs
from around the world
•
key
principles in different settings
•
successful
business as a route out of poverty
•
highlighting
successful female business women
•
gender
inequality in business
•
disabled
business champions
•
analysing
diversity in advertising
•
partnerships/mentoring
schemes with businesses to widen participation/access
•
globalisation
•
fair
trading
Home Economics
World foods celebration
Hold a world
foods celebration that is created and run by your catering and hospitality learners. Tasks that they will need to cover include:
•
cooking
and preparing different foods from around the world
•
preparing
table decorations
•
serving
duties
•
making
presentations and collages about world foods
Your
learners could also adopt traditional clothes and outfits to promote their
country and food.
If you do
not want to hold a large-scale event, small events such as learners offering
tasters in the canteen over lunch time would still be effective.
Common foods in British culture
As a shorter
activity, you could investigate common foods found in British culture and ask
learners to research the origins of the food.
This will get your learners to consider the fact that many items of food
they consider to be ‘British’ are actually from different parts of the world.
Catering for different dietary
requirements
Hold a
cookery session including menu planning to meet different dietary
requirements. Ask learners to consider
dietary requirements, whether religious, medical, cultural or lifestyle.
Ask learners
to look at different dishes from around the world and ask them to consider the
differences when sitting down and eating.
Respecting
festival traditions, such as Ramadan, could also be explored.
Plan trips
to a variety of restaurants and ask learners to consider different cultures and
diets.
Occupational segregation
Ask learners
to consider the number of women compared to the number of men and the number of
people from minority ethnic groups (which are over-represented) working in the
sector. Ask them to consider the types
of jobs done by different groups and the
availability of jobs for people with disabilities
Producing accessible menus
Ask learners
to consider producing assessable menus.
Get them to consider different fonts, layouts and colours for those with
specific disabilities and the use of visual images to aid those with literacy
issues or for whom English is an additional language.
Unhealthy diets associated with
certain groups
Ask learners
to look at why certain groups might have unhealthy diets and the links to
poverty and homelessness. Issues to
consider include poor teeth in children and older people on low incomes.
Define and research activities
Ask learners
to focus on equality and diversity as they define and research:
•
campaigns
in local communities to raise the profile of design and technology careers and
attract diverse learners into the associated professions
•
technology
in a global context
•
diverse
inventors
•
technology
and the media
•
the
use of internet to forge local, national, global links with others
•
traditional/alternative
technologies
•
signs
and symbols from around the world
•
toys
from around the world
English
Research and explore activities
Promote
equality and diversity by allowing your learners opportunities to explore:
•
the
work of writers from around the world for comparative purposes, drawing out key
themes, values and concerns which human being have in common
•
the
work of authors from a range of backgrounds, including lesbian and gay writers
•
bias
of literature
•
the
issue of language and power
•
oral
traditions
•
writing
in learners’ home languages
•
texts
in vernacular/dialect
•
their
own identity by writing about it
•
images/representations
of religion, disability, age, ethnicity and different sexual orientations used
in the media
Poetry or creative writing covering
the issues of discrimination
Ask learners
to produce a short piece of poetry or creative writing covering the issues of
discrimination, for example:
•
a
story about a learner suffering discrimination
•
a
piece of poetry about racism
•
a
script for a play about bullying
Geography
Life expectancy in different
countries
Ask learners
to research life expectancy rates for different countries and investigate why
there are such differences. The purpose
of this activity is to get learners to consider inequality and how left
expectancy rates are so different from each other in a world that we all share.
This
activity often surprises learners when they realise that, on average, being
born in some countries means you are likely to live to just over 30 years
old. Encourage learners to consider
factors such as malnutrition, living in sub-standard accommodation and not
having access to medical treatments.
Ask them to
compare their lives to the lives of other young people who live in areas where
life expectancy is considered so low.
How would they cope and what would they miss if they lived in a similar
environment.
Research and explore activities
Ask learners
to research and explore:
•
‘the
street where I live’
•
the
historical context of how developing and developing and developed world emerged
•
media
images of third world countries
•
class
structures in different contexts
•
globalisation
•
wealthy
communities in the southern hemisphere
•
the
importance of local experts addressing issues of hunger and malnutrition
compared to an over-emphasis on Western efforts to address these issues
•
differences
and commonalities in humankind’s relationship with the physical environment
•
migration
and settlement as recurring themes of human experience
Health and Social Care
Identifying bias and negative
stereotypes
Ask learners
to construct a checklist of what bias and stereotypes look like in relation to
the nine protected characteristics.
Ask learners
to review learning materials to see if they contain any bias or negative
stereotypes using their checklist to remind them of the sort of things to look
for.
Log experiences of working with
people from diverse groups
Ask learners
to keep a learning log of their experience of working with children/people from
diverse backgrounds and to use this to develop their practice in order to meet
the diverse needs of children and other groups they work with.
Create case studies to explore
equality issues
Create case
student about working with people with different protected characteristics in
health and social care settings, for example working with the same-sex parents
of a young child.
Resolving dilemmas
Ask learners
to consider the case of foster carers who are prevented from continuing to
foster because they refuse to allow any discussion of same-sex relationships
due to their faith.
Discussion
topics can include:
•
how
to remain objective
•
the
hierarchy of protected characteristics, for example whether faith is less
important than sexual orientation
•
the
implications for people who are of faith working in the health and social care
sector
Factors contributing to inequality
Ask learners
to explore the links between socio-economics, housing and health outcomes and
the protected characteristics.
Gender stereotyping in health and
social care
Ask learners
to consider the differences between the roles of men and women in the health
and social care sector in the past and how to show changes in gender stereotyping
in job roles and how far there is still to go.
Dietary requirements
Facilitate a
discussion about the various foods from different cultures and include dietary
requirements prompted by medical conditions, faith and lifestyle choices. Ask them to consider the need for specialised
cutlery and equipment for individuals with disabilities.
Health and safety audit for users of
accessibility equipment
Ask learners
to use equipment often used by people with disabilities and conduct a health
and safety audit of an area to see how safe it is for people using this type of
equipment.
History
Schindler’s list
Tell
learners about Oskar Schindler and his famous list.
Split
learners into groups and give each group a piece of flipchart paper with the
numbers 1-50listed on it. Ask each group
to create their own Schindler’s list where they have to choose 50 people who
they will save. This can be anyone:
famous people, teaching staff, friends and family. Stress that the people they choose have to
reflect the society in which we live, work and play. Each time a group member wants to make a
suggestion, the whole (or majority) of their team must agree to it before it
can be added to the list. Remind
learners that they will have to justify their selection later.
Take
feedback from the groups. As well as
challenging learners about the reasons why they have chosen a particular person
and the value the person brings to individuals, society and the world, explore
the equality issues within the learners’ choices. For example, discuss:
•
How
many disabled people are on the list?
•
Why
do you think the number of people on the list with a disability is low/high?
•
Why
do we believe people with certain characteristics are more or less deserving of
being on this list?
This
exercise can be completed with all protected characteristics including race,
gender and religion.
This is a
very powerful activity and is also very effective as a full class
activity. It is probably better for
older learners due to the emotions the activity could stir.
The activity
can also be run over weeks, rather than completed in one session. For example, you could list 100 name spaces
on several pieces of flipchart paper and display them on the wall. Then, at the start and end of each session,
ask learners if they have any contributions of who they would like to
save. When a learner makes a suggestion,
discussions must take place around why they feel he or she is worthy enough to
be added to the list.
Put yourself in their shoes
Using the
Internet, we offer our learners an interactive means to venture outside the borders of their
own experience to try on an alternative cultural identity.
Ask learners
to use the internet, memoirs and novels to explore issues of discrimination,
harassment as if they were a significant individual such as:
•
Martin
Luther King
•
Mary
Seacole
•
Albert
Einstein
•
Helen
Keller
•
Nelson
Mandela
•
Maria
Runyan
Research and explore activities:
•
the
local heritage, neighbourhood and community to support all learners’ sense of
personal identity and personal history
•
multiple
perspectives within topics ensuring the inclusion of often overlooked voices
•
oral
history – stories from members of the local community describing their family
histories and experiences
•
the
history of women’s rights, gay rights, the rights of people with disabilities
and so on
•
local
people’s resistance to forms of oppression, for example by comparing civil
rights movements around the world
•
social
media and social movements
•
colonisation
and its effects
•
the
contributions of ancient civilizations from around the world
•
American
history and the Black Power movement of the 1960s beginning with Rosa Parks
ICT
Producing accessible electronic
presentations
Talk to
learners about producing accessible PowerPoint presentations and ask them to
create a presentation that adheres to accessibility and readability best
practice.
See Module 5: Top tips for creating accessible
learning materials and environments
for tips on creating accessible PowerPoint presentation and improving the
readability of the materials your produce.
MATHS
Statistics relating to protected
characteristics
Ask learners
to research statistics about each protected characteristic. The statistics about protected
characteristics can relate to representation, under-representation,
achievements, historical dates, presence in society, experience and so on.
Split learners
into groups and encourage them to use their findings to create a quiz with
answer sheets.
When they
have developed the resources, use the finished resources as part of the session
or as a quiz activity exploring statistics at the beginning of a subsequent
session.
Famous mathematicians
Ask learners
to research various famous mathematicians and inventors with a range of
protected characteristics.
This
activity helps learners to identify with these role models and value their
experience and contributions.
Research and discuss activities
Research and
discussion activities could include:
•
using
maths to problem solve issues relevant to learners
•
using
maths to analyse social, economic and political affairs
•
the
maths used by indigenous and other contemporary cultures throughout the world
•
acknowledging
and highlighting female contributions to the profession
•
those
prompted by visits from practitioners (accountants, bankers, insurers) from
groups under-represented in the profession
MEDIA
Content appropriate to different
groups
Ask learners
to consider carefully the needs of different sections of the learning community
when planning the content of a college magazine.
Whilst
dealing with key concepts such as brand image and target audience, challenge
learners to consider how different sections of the population (covering the
protected characteristics) might respond to their product ideas.
This enables
learners to explore design ideas and using type and images to appeal to
potential readers of different ages, with varied cultural backgrounds or with
disabilities. It also helps them to
explore gaps in the market where there is potential to attract new business
customers and readers.
Producing content for a diversity
magazine
Ask learners
to interview their parents/carers about their lives as children, the stories
they remember, favourite poems, and family recipes. The results of these interviews will inform
you about the rich diversity within the classroom.
Ask learners
to make the information from the interviews into newspaper articles and produce
them in the form of a diversity magazine.
Extracts from the magazine could be used for Black History month.
You could
also do this activity around learner experiences in relation to the protected
characteristics.
Modern Foreign Languages
Research and discuss activities
Ask learners
to research and discuss:
•
bilingualism
and multilingualism in different contexts, including among learners
•
diasporic
language communities
•
colonialism
•
language
and identity
•
raising
the profile of formal and informal community languages
MUSIC
Research and discussion
When looking
at music and society, explore issues such as:
•
sexuality,
black issues, equal rights, older people and so on
•
using
music to explore/express aspects of personal identity and social problems and
issues
•
musicians
and music drawn from a range of backgrounds and traditions
•
musical
styles, including opportunities for practical work in a range of different
styles
•
artists
who do not ‘fit the stereotypes’, for example Black opera singers, disabled
artists and so on
•
the
history of genres such as Rock ‘n’ Roll, Reggae, Blues, Calypso, Classical and
Hip Hop
•
globalisation
through music (fusion of musical styles/influences)
•
stereotypes
and music
Performing Arts
Dramatised research findings on
equality issues
Ask learners
to examine issues such as immigration, race and culture affect different areas
of society and how these issues have changed (or not) since the 1950s. Encourage learners to producing a piece of
contemporary theatre to show the results of their investigation.
An examines different relationships
Ask learners
to work on a piece that examines the different relationships between a diverse
range of people including those with disabilities, older people and a domestic
abuse situation.
Inclusive choreography
When
choreographing, talk through every move in details so that learners with who
are blind or visually impaired can learn at the same pace as everyone else.
Auditory learners also benefit from this approach and it makes the experience
inclusive.
Produce an
inclusive script
White your
own scripts for learners to perform.
Tailor the script to the specific group, providing opportunities for all
learners to participate in the production.
A play could explore different ideas around issues such as gender
identity, gay marriage and racism.
Challenging gender stereotyping in
option choice
Ask learners
to create a play about choosing GCSE options which encourages learners to
challenge stereotypes and choose options that genuinely interest them rather
than fulfilling gender expectations.
Invite learners from Years 8 and 9 to view the performance.
Research and discussion
Explore
issues such as:
•
drama
as a tool to explore your own identity and thoughts
•
drama
as a tool to explore your own identity and thoughts
•
drama
as social commentary through the ages
PSYCHOLOGY
Research mental illness and BME
groups
Research
suggests that people from BME (black and minority ethnic) groups are more
likely to experience mental illness. Ask
learners to consider this link and the issues that are most commonly reported
by BME groups as contributing factors to mental health illnesses.
Explore
these factors and ask learners to record what they think individuals, society
and the government can do to help this.
Research and discussion
Hot topics
for research and discussion include:
•
learners’
multiple identities and life experiences
•
the
shared cultural values of a range of groups, whilst recognising diversity among
individuals
•
considering
theories and research from a range of perspectives including the views of those
from disabled, LGBT and BME backgrounds
•
learners’
own cultural values
•
the
stereotypes and perceptions of others based on media portrayals and assumptions
•
cross-cultural
communication
•
the
links between poverty and mental health
•
psychology
and historical theories of racial inferiority
•
bias,
for example many psychological theories are based on the student of American
college learners, how transferable are they?
Religious Education
Religions wall chart
Ask learners
to create a wall display to raise awareness of the different religions and
their particular beliefs by giving each learner a large piece of paper and
allocate them a religion to work on.
Advise them that they must include:
•
the
name of the religion
•
its
beliefs
•
its
god(s) of worship
•
customs
and practices
•
prayer
and worship information
Research and discuss
Hot topics
for research and discussion include:
•
common
elements, concerns and values in different religious traditions
•
cultural,
national and ethnic diversity within each religious
•
indigenous
religions
•
religion
and politics
•
religious
diasporas
•
stereotypes
and religion
•
religious
oppression
Science
Research and discussion activities
Research and
discussion activities could include:
•
the
lack of a scientific basis for the concept of ‘race’
•
the
contributions to science from around the world
•
female
scientists
•
disease
and patterns in populations around the world
•
visits
from people working in the profession from groups under-represented in STEM
careers.
Valuing difference in the periodic
table
Split
learners into groups and allocate them sections of the periodic table. Ask learners to prepare a debate about why
their section and individual elements of the periodic table are better than
anyone else’s/ For example, learners
with the element gold (Au) could argue that they have one of the most important
elements because their material makes beautiful pieces of jewellery; learners
with oxygen (O) in their section could argue that their element allows humans
and other life to survive.
Get some
healthy competition going and, at the end, tell your learners that although
some may believe their section is better than anyone else’s, when all the
sections are merged together it creates an impressive and powerful scientific
masterpiece, and when the elements work together to form compounds they become
greater still. Make the links between
valuing the contribution of people with individual and diverse characteristics
to society.
The diversity behind the discover of
the elements
Ask learners
to research the history behind the names of the chemical elements, opening up a
discussion of the global perspective of scientific discovery in contrast to the
assumed view of scientific knowledge as being a Western domain. Draw attention to the contributions of Eastern, Black and female and scientists from
other often under-represented groups.
Sociology
Social inequalities experienced by
particular groups
Ask learners
to investigate the social inequalities experienced by particular groups of
people in the UK. You could allow
learners to choose their own group or allocate certain groups with shared
characteristics yourself.
Research and discussion activities
Research and
discussion activities could include:
•
exploring
social inequality in a range of contexts
•
examining
social norms from a range of cultural, historical contexts
•
the
role of religion in a range of contexts
•
attitudes
to health and well being in a range of contexts
Sport
Use current sports news stories to
prompt discussion
Use current
news stories to prompt discussion on topics such as racism, disability, age and
gender. Encourage learners to explore
the impact of these stories on sport, communities, individuals and policy
makers and to look at how discriminatory behaviour can be prevented.
Focussing on ability
Focused on a
different protected characteristic each week and ask learners to identify a
diverse range of people who are involved in sport but who are from sections of
this group usually under-represented in the sport. Encourage learners to comment on the impact
these people have made on the sport and on society.
Research and discussion activities
Research and
discussion activities could include:
•
a
comparative study of the role of sport across different communities/societies
•
examining
and challenging stereotypes – which groups are associated with certain sports, why/how
has this evolved?
•
Politics
and sport
•
Gender
and racial inequality in sport in a historical and modern-day context
•
Gay
and lesbian athletes
•
Disabled
athletes
•
Ageism
in sport
Any
Quizzes and questionnaires as
icebreakers
Use quizzes
and questionnaires covering issues such as race, disability, gender, religion
or belief as icebreakers. This is an
excellent way to encourage learners to get to know each other and at the same
time encourages greater cultural understanding and tolerance of learners’
personal circumstances and lifestyles.
They show learners that everyone is valued, whatever their background,
and that everyone can contribute and learn from each other.
In
vocational subject areas these quizzes, case studies and worksheets can focus
on issues around customer care, how to behave respectfully when working
alongside people from different cultures or with customs and so on.
Organise a ‘faith walk’
Organise a
‘faith walk’ for learners where they visit local areas of worship and meet
faith leaders from Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Christian faiths. Introduce them to the place of worship and
provide opportunities for questions afterwards.
Afterwards,
incorporate the live experience into discussion or other activities as appropriate
for your subject.
Make a fabric doll
Design and make
a fabric doll exercise. Ask learners to
consider equality issues such as how and where the fabric might have been made
(swear shops, child labour), design features (ethnicity, disability) and what
designs are currently available in shops and how this influences and socialises
young children.
Using small groups to encourage
participation by EAL learners
Learners for
whom English is an additional language (EAL) may be reluctant to raise their
hands to participate in whole class discussions due to a fear of responding in
front of the whole class and being laughed at because they are still developing
their English skills. This issue also
applied to some of our traveller community learners.
Use small
groups and paired work to do collaborative research and projects so that EAL
speakers and others who need it can practise speaking in English in a smaller
group.
For more
information and to download samples of
these
resources, visit the EDUK website at www.equalityanddiversity.co.uk
