Tag: Sarah Whitehouse

Education, curriculum reform and the canary in the mine

Author Education and Childhood Research Group | Posted on

By Dr Sarah Whitehouse, Programme Leader for the International Doctorate in Education, and Senior Lecturer : Education and Humanities

I was reflecting on a keynote lecture delivered by Caroline Daly at the UCET (Universities’ Council for the Education of Teachers) conference in November 2025. In her address, Daly offered a powerful metaphor for the current education system, suggesting that education is often treated like “a canary down a mine.” Too frequently, when outcomes are uneven or disappointing, attention is directed towards pupils or teachers – the canary – rather than towards the wider education system that shapes what is possible. This framing invites a necessary shift away from individual blame and towards systemic critique.

This observation resonates strongly in the context of the recent Curriculum Review led by Becky Francis, which raises fundamental questions about curriculum content, curriculum making and equity. The review marks a notable shift in emphasis and sits in contrast to developments in the other three nations of the United Kingdom. As someone who has taught in Wales, and who has experienced the rapid pace of policy change within its education system, I am particularly interested in how curriculum reform – whether radical or incremental – creates both opportunities and challenges for teachers.

The Welsh context offers an important case study. The rapid introduction of the Curriculum for Wales has afforded teachers significantly greater freedom to design locally responsive, bespoke curricula. In principle, this represents a progressive move away from prescriptive content towards professional trust, creativity and innovation. Teachers are positioned as curriculum makers rather than curriculum deliverers, with greater scope to respond to local contexts and pupil needs.

However, recent research by Estyn and the Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research, Data and Methods (WISERD) suggests that this increased autonomy is not without risk. Their findings indicate that the new curriculum may be exacerbating existing inequalities, particularly in relation to attainment and access to disciplinary knowledge in some subjects. While some schools and teachers are thriving within this flexible framework, others are struggling to ensure coherence, progression and equity.

A key tension emerges here. Many teachers in Wales have not historically been prepared – through initial teacher education or ongoing professional development – to act as curriculum designers. Innovation requires time, subject expertise and sustained support, yet these resources are unevenly distributed across schools. At the same time, schools continue to be held accountable through inspection and assessment systems that have not fully adapted to the scale and ambition of curriculum reform.

This raises critical questions for curriculum change more broadly. Freedom and flexibility alone do not guarantee equity. Without systemic investment in teacher education, subject knowledge and collaborative curriculum development, innovation risks deepening rather than narrowing inequalities. Daly’s metaphor reminds us that if the canary is struggling, the problem may not lie with the canary at all—but with the conditions of the mine.

Belonging matters: The experiences of minoritised pre-service teachers in teacher education

Author Education and Childhood Research Group | Posted on

by Dr Karan Vickers-Hulse and Dr Sarah Whitehouse

The importance of a diverse teaching workforce has been widely acknowledged, yet representation and inclusion remain serious challenges within teacher education in England. Recent research by Dr Karan Vickers-Hulse (Associate Director: Education) and Dr Sarah Whitehouse (Programme Leader for the International Doctorate in Education and Senior Lecturer: Education and Humanities) explored the lived experiences of pre-service teachers from minoritised groups, specifically those minoritised by race, sexuality, disability, neurodiversity, and gender identity, as they navigated university teacher training and school placements.

The study involved a series of focus groups with seven pre-service teachers over a nine-month period.  What emerged were powerful personal accounts revealing how identity, belonging, and representation shape teachers’ professional journeys long before they qualify. Many participants described being the ‘only one’ in their placement schools -the only Black teacher, the only openly LGBTQ+ educator, or the only neurodivergent staff member. This often resulted in a sense of otherness, heightened scrutiny, and pressure to represent their entire community. One participant spoke of feeling ‘stared at’ as they walked down school corridors, while another shared uncertainty about how much of their LGBTQ+ identity to reveal for fear of ‘pushing an agenda’.

The research highlights how pre-service teachers from minoritised groups often experience a disconnect between their personal identity and the dominant professional culture of schools. Social activities built around drinking, assumptions about clothing, and the invisibility of minoritised narratives within curricula all contribute to feelings of exclusion. Crucially, these experiences aren’t isolated. They’re shaped by wider societal power structures and norms which remain embedded in teacher education. The study also showed that attempts at inclusivity, like supportive email signatures or diversity banners, can feel tokenistic if not backed by meaningful change in practice and culture.

Using a model of ‘critical incidents’, the study examined how pre-service teachers respond when faced with moments of exclusion or identity conflict. Some accepted these experiences as ‘just the way it is’, while others quietly challenged the norms or actively pushed back against discrimination. The model helps visualise how people shift between acceptance and challenge depending on context, safety, and professional vulnerability. Our findings call for teacher education providers to move beyond recruitment targets and take responsibility for creating genuinely inclusive environments. Representation alone is not enough – it must be accompanied by policies, practices, and cultures that value and support minoritised pre-service teachers throughout their training.  To truly build an inclusive teaching profession, we must listen to and act upon the voices of those historically marginalised within it.

It is not the responsibility of minoritised individuals to ‘fix’ exclusion – change requires collective effort. Teacher educators, schools, mentors, and policymakers must acknowledge discomfort, surface inequalities, and work together to build communities of practice where every teacher feels safe, seen, and valued. As one participant reminded us, it’s not about a ‘tick-box’ exercise. It’s about recognising that who stands at the front of the classroom matters – for the teachers themselves, and for the diverse pupils watching them.

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Successful launch of the ‘Tolerance’ children’s exhibition at Bristol Cathedral

Author Education and Childhood Research Group | Posted on

By Dr Jane Carter and Dr Sarah Whitehouse

Thursday 16 January 2025 saw the successful launch of a children’s exhibition at Bristol Cathedral, funded by a Higher Education Impact Fund (HEIF) bid and also the Early Childhood Research Group (ECRG), who funded the event’s refreshments, with a focus on the understanding of the value of tolerance and how this could be applied to a significant Bristol event, the toppling of the Colston statue.

We began the project with the European organisation, Children’s Identity and Citizenship Education (CiCe) network. CiCe had secured funding from the European Union to focus on citizenship education with a focus on the stated European values. We led the working group researching the value of tolerance from differing perspectives and applying the value to a range of sensitive and often controversial historical issues in each country of the working group. We worked with colleagues from Belgium, Romania, Greece, Estonia and Scotland to create a book for teachers to support the teaching of tolerance. The project was aligned and promoted by the Childhood, Children and Young People and Equity in Education strands of the ECRG.

Tolerance is a British Value (DfE, 2012) and also a European Value (European Commission, 2024). However, it is an underdeveloped aspect of the curriculum, in part because it is a contested, complex and so problematic area for teachers to navigate. Research by Whitehouse (2024) and Kitson and McCully (2016) has highlighted that many teachers actively avoid the teaching of controversial issues in relation to tolerance. Pettigine, Whitehouse and Carter (2024) brought together a set of distinctive perspectives on the issue – philosophical, theoretical and pedagogical. This approach enabled the development of a unique scheme of work that supports teachers to negotiate this area.

With HEIF funding, we recruited five Bristol schools to trial the lessons and to collaborate on developing the activities to match the specific contexts of each school. Whitehouse’s (2024) work on teaching controversial issues also informed the development of the project. Activities included: exploring a definition of tolerance as well as looking at definitions created by UNESCO, diamond nine discussions, drama, photo elicitation activities as well as teacher subject knowledge support to ensure children’s debates were supported by teachers planned interjections. Children were encouraged to analyse sources and consider viewpoints on the creation of the Colston statue, the work of Colston and the toppling of the statue. This work resulted in the children discussing and debating different perspectives and the impact of the Bristol Slave Trade and its legacy. Children produced writing, drawings, card sorts and discussion pieces, all of which were displayed at the cathedral.

The launch event included a talk by Jen Reid, a leading member of Bristol’s anti-racist movement, who engaged children in reflecting on their learning and on the legacy of the slave trade and current anti-racism approaches. Robert Short performed a number of spirituals that reflected the resistance of slaves.

Jen Reid, activist, with children from Ashton Gate Primary at the launch of the ‘Tolerance’ exhibition at Bristol Cathedral

Teachers and children said how inspiring the work had been and also have maturely children had managed to debate the issues, respectfully listening to the differing viewpoints expressed. The collaboration with the Cathedral has been a foundation of the launch event, with schools now coming to the Cathedral for workshops with the Cathedral Education Officer, Rebekah Guy.

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