Race, Difference, Equity & Equality & other issues in Education - EDU00093M
Module summary
This module is designed to introduce students to key aspects and perspectives related to race, equity, and equality in British and other educational contexts including some discussion of the intersectionality of class and gender issues. The course focuses on the ways in which difference, misrecognitions and a misunderstanding of equity versus equality can result in barriers to the promotion of social justice. This module will explore educational issues through the lenses of implicit bias and institutional discrimination to engage students in reflection and critical debates about social justice in education.
This module is of relevance to students with an interest in education, sociology and social justice.
Related modules
NO
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Semester 2 2025-26 |
Module aims
This module is designed to introduce students to key aspects and perspectives on race, racism, discrimination, implicit bias and misrecognitions, including how they can act as impediments to the promotion of equity, equality and social justice in education. This involves exploring general philosophical perspectives such as critical race theory, economic, social, cultural and faith capital (for example, whose capital has value within education and society?). It also involves discussions regarding the question of what constitutes – or should constitute – fairness in secondary and post compulsory education environments for people of colour and for society as a whole. Research from key critical race theory architects, contributors and advocates will be examined and used in critical debates about race, racism, mis-recognitions and discrimination to explore how the promotion of social justice in education is often distracted, demoted, ignored and denied in what some now perceive to be a ‘post-racial society’.
Module learning outcomes
Students will understand areas of and perspectives about critical race theory, fairness, equity and equality in education which will involve theoretical, philosophical, policy-related, curricular and pedagogical issues associated with relevant empirical research.
Students will be able to:
- Identify and problematise ways in which race, ‘difference’ and misrecognitions can influence educational access and fairness which can result in a compromised social justice system
- Analyse reports of research relating to issues at the intersections of race, class and gender in relation to discrimination and implicit bias in secondary and post compulsory education
- Challenge the practice of educational access and fairness as it relates to issues of race, equity, equality and social justice
- Reflect upon and plan on action to advance an equity and social justice as it relates to education and society in general
Academic and Graduate Skills
Students will be able to:
- Critically engage with key ideas related to race and difference
- Identify, analyse and problematise key issues emerging from debates around educational equality, fairness and justice in policy and research to enable students to examine ways key issues can compromise and / or promote social justice in education.
- Identify, analyse, create and communicate arguments in written and oral form
- Participate in group work
Module content
Overview of our course:
-
An introduction to fundamental theoretical concepts and ideas relevant to race, difference, equity and equality in education.
-
Contextualisation in relation to current and historical contexts, for example Black Lives Matter, Windrush and its legacy, the Prevent Agenda.
-
How key educational theorists and theories have influenced education (for example Durkheim, Marx and Bourdieu; Feminist theory; Critical Pedagogy).
-
How universities do or do not promote social justice, for example, widening participation, positive action and positive discrimination.
-
Examining intersections between gender, race and class; unpacking gender assumptions in classroom practice; engaging with ideas of habitus and performativity.
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 |
Special assessment rules
None
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 |
Module feedback
Students will receive written feedback on their summative assessments. The feedback is returned to students in line with university policy. Please check the Guide to Assessment, Standards, Marking and Feedback for more information.
Indicative reading
Indicative reading
Ahmed, S. (2012). On being included: Racism and diversity in institutional life. Duke University Press.
Clayton, M. (2012). On widening participation in higher education through positive discrimination. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 46(3), 414-431.
Bhopal, K. (2018). White privilege: The myth of a post-racial society. Policy Press.
Crenshaw, K. (2019). On intersectionality: Essential writings. The New Press. Lynn, M., & Dixson, A. D. (Eds.). (2013). Handbook of critical race theory in education. Routledge.
DuBois, W. B. (1965). The Souls of Black Folk. Greenwich, CT.
Gillborn, D., Demack, S., Rollock, N., & Warmington, P. (2017). Moving the goalposts: Education policy and 25 years of the Black/White achievement gap. British Educational Research Journal, 43(5), 848-874.
Hannah-Jones, N. (2021). The 1619 Project: A New American Origin Story. Random House.
Hooks, B. (2014). Teaching to transgress. Routledge.
Ingram, N. (2009). Working-class boys, educational success and the misrecognition of working-class culture. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 30(4), 421-434.
Kimura, M. (2014). Non-performativity of university and subjectification of students: The question of equality and diversity in UK universities. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 35(4), 523-540.
Mirza, H. S. (2015). Dangerous Muslim girls? Race, gender and Islamophobia in British schools. The Runnymede School Report: Race, Education and Inequality in Contemporary Britain, 40-43.
Puwar, N. (2004). Space invaders: Race, gender and bodies out of place. Berg.