Fundamental British Values In Education

Schools must actively promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. The Teachers′ Standards make it clear that teachers themselves must do nothing to undermine these fundamental British Values. So how do schools and teachers provide educational experiences for primary aged children that explore and promote these values? This text provides trainees, teachers and schools with practice-based advice, informed by current practitioners, relating to the delivery of ‘British Values′. The content covers many topical themes and provides a unique insight into delivering ‘British Values’ in schools. It supports educational professionals to understand their duties around the PREVENT agenda and goes further to explore why this is important. It helps trainees and teachers to see how these ′values′ fit within the wider context of education and what we value as educators.

This timely book provides a critical analysis of the statutory requirements to promote Fundamental British Values in educational settings in the UK. It explores British values as they appear in contemporary policy and legislation as well as how Britishness as a concept has evolved in relation to education in the post-war period.

The government has decided that ‘British values’ are democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths. Since 2014, teachers have been required to promote them in schools to all pupils. What are the implications of this for teachers, pupils, and the rest of us? Discussing a broad mix of issues – citizenship, diversity, social class, ethnicity, religion, counter-extremism, affect, and community cohesion – this book discusses the political, social and cultural contexts. Drawing on observations of teaching, as well as teachers’ views, it analyses how teachers make sense of their mandatory promotion, and what ideas of citizenship and identity they offer to their pupils.

This text provides trainees, teachers and schools with practice-based advice, informed by current practitioners, relating to the delivery of British Values. It covers many topical themes and supports educational professionals to understand their duties around the PREVENT agenda and goes further to explore why this is important.

This book seeks to investigate how the pedagogic space of schools and classrooms has been defined by the UK government’s counter-terrorism ‘Prevent’ strategy, most notably through the requirement on teachers not to undermine ‘fundamental British values’ as part of the Teachers Professional Standards. The term ‘fundamental British values’ migrated from Prevent to the statutory framework that regulates teacher professionalism and has effectively securitized education practice. The Prevent strategy was conceived in response to the 7/7 bombings in London by so-called ‘home-grown’ Muslim terrorists. The need for teachers to promote British values is an attempt to forge a cohesive British identity among young citizens within a multiracial, multicultural and multilingual society. However, as the chapters in this book illustrate, the state project to harness education to engender belonging – or as some would argue, civic nationalism – whilst simultaneously undertaking surveillance of children and young people from the Muslim community for signs of radicalization, has led to the perception of a hierarchy of citizens or, conversely, ‘insider-outsider’ citizens. The imperative to promote, and not undermine, fundamental British values has, in some instances, transformed the safe space of the classroom where children and young people’s right to explore their perceptions of current affairs, citizenship and belonging has been curtailed for fear of surveillance by teachers who may interpret their utterances as either undermining British values or to be signs of radicalization. This book explores these dilemmas for teachers and the implications for their professionalism, and examines how racist nativism has pervaded society, educational policy and practice through the promotion of a Britishness perceived by many as a raced, classed and exclusionary discourse. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Education for Teaching.

The Prevent strategy, launched in 2007 seeks to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism both in the UK and overseas. It is the preventative strand of the government's counter-terrorism strategy, CONTEST. Over the past few years Prevent has not been fully effective and it needs to change. This review evaluates work to date and sets out how Prevent will be implemented in the future. Specifically Prevent will aim to: respond to the ideological challenge of terrorism and the threat we face from those who promote it; prevent people from being drawn into terrorism and ensure that they are given appropriate advice and support; and work with sectors and institutions where there are risks of radicalization which need to be addressed

This book engages with important debates about multicultural British identities at a time when schools are expected to promote Fundamental British Values. It provides valuable insight into the need to investigate fluid and evolving identities in the classroom. What are the implications of Britishness exploration on young people’s relationships with and within multicultural Britain? What are the complexities of teaching and learning Britishness? Emphasis on student voice, respectful and caring dialogue, and collaborative communication can lead to meaningful reflections. Teachers often require guidance though when teaching about multicultural Britain. The book argues that when students have safe spaces to share stories, schools can become critical sites of opportunity for reflection, resistance and hopeful futures. Foreword by Professor Vini Lander

The Government has decided that ‘British values’ are democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths. Since 2014, teachers have been required to promote them in schools to all pupils. What are the implications of this for teachers, pupils, and the rest of us? Discussing a broad mix of issues – citizenship, diversity, social class, ethnicity, religion, counter-extremism, affect, and community cohesion - this book discusses the political, social and cultural contexts. Drawing on observations of teaching, as well as teachers’ views, it analyses how teachers make sense of their mandatory promotion, and what ideas of citizenship and identity they offer to their pupils.