Community Cohesion: Issues,
Practice and Geography
Sir Keith Ajegbo
Why Community Cohesion Now (1)
7/7 and the fear of terrorism and extremism related
to religion
Trevor Phillips: ‘Sleepwalking to segregation’
Changing patterns of immigration-immigration as a
major political issue – fears around the BNP and
local council elections
Fears around teenage gang killings, teenage
pregnancy, binge drinking and community
relationship
Concerns about the achievement gap of pupils on
free school meals including white
underachievement.
Why Community Cohesion Now (2)
In 1965 75 million people lived outside
the home country, now 180 m
 600,000 Britons live in Spain, more in
other countries (200,000) in NZ; 3m with
second homes
 25m tourists to the UK, 70m from UK to
global destinations
 Globalisation in many forms: internet,
international students, brands etc

Community Cohesion and
Geography
Aspects of community cohesion:
Migration
Urbanisation
Globalisation
Tourism
Insularity

Review for the Secretary of State

How is ethnic, religious and cultural diversity
addressed in the school curriculum?
 Should British modern, social and cultural
history be the 4th pillar of citizenship?
Response: while schools should celebrate
difference they must also explore what brings
us together, what we share and how we create
communities.
What are schools for?

What are the wider responsibilities of school to
society?
Children’s Plan: Schools at the heart of their
community
Development of pupils as active and responsible
citizens
Creating more cohesive and resilient
communities
Schooling and the big themes of the
21st Century
What is the relationship between a school’s vision and
the big themes of eg: identity and cultural diversity,
community participation, globalisation. How does the
world impact on:
Every Child Matters, Personalised Learning, Citizenship
Education, Extended Schooling, Community
Cohesion?
Given the close relationship between geography and the
big themes what impact does the subject have on the
schools’ vision and ethos?

What are the implications of
community?

School community
 Community in which the school is located
 Religious community
 UK community
 European community
 Global community
Presumably within these interconnections lies a large
part of a relevant geography curriculum. Geography
helps to tease out the relationship between local
national and global identities and interrelationships.
The Big Themes

Religion and non religion
(The relationship between religion and diasporic
communities. The spread of fundamentalism.
Changing face of cities and social cohesion))
 Ethnicity and culture
(The relationship between migration and cultural identity.
The mixing of cultures. The relationship between race
and place ‘go back home’)
 Socio economic status
(White working class communities. Insularity)
How do geographers deal with controversial issues?
Aspects of Community Cohesion
Teaching, Learning and the Curriculum
 Equity and excellence
 Engagement and extended services

Concentrate on teaching, learning and the
curriculum
Teaching, Learning and the
Curriculum (1)
Perspectives of some BME students
‘They see Africa as poor, Asia as flooded and England as snobby
whites and poor blacks’
‘I’m black I live in London-that’s my home. My parents are from the
Caribbean but I’m really African. I’m a Christian, but I’m E7 -that’s
where I hang they’re my people. That’s who I am.’
‘
Within those quotes are political, socio economic, environmental,
place and identity issues all of which relate to geography.

Teaching, learning and the
curriculum (2)
Perspectives of some white students:
‘I do feel sometimes that there is no white history. There’s either
black history month or they do Muslims and Sikhs.’
‘You’re bored with it, you’re just British.’

A quote from a DEA discussion paper ‘Questioning Education@’
‘The Ipsos MORI research (1955 secondary students 2007) found
that 76% of black students and 66% of Asian students were
positive about different kinds of people living together whilst only
47% of white students were’
Challenges: leadership
The conclusion in our report was that issues of race and identity
are often not high on schools’ agendas. Need to be regardless of
location and intake.
 DEA report ‘Questioning Education’ on global learning
‘Leadership, as demonstrated by the head, senior managers and
governors sets the tone for everything in schools’
‘A culture is needed in which the leadership team demonstrates
global learning through their own practice but also enable
everyone to bring their own creativity to the vision.
‘Where the agenda is taken forward by one or two committed
teachers but not by the leadership team it tends not to be
embedded across the whole school.’

Challenges: teachers


36% of teachers felt well equipped to teach in multi cultural
schools following their Teacher Training. (TDA survey 2006)
Surely all geography teachers should feel equipped to teach in
multi cultural schools or about multi culturalism in white schools
Geography teachers need to be at the heart of the school’s policy
on dealing with controversial issue. Migration, race, religion,
cultural clashes, stereotyping are unavoidable in discussions of
place and space.
Challenges: the curriculum
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Geography inspires pupils to become global citizens
Geography inspires pupils to think about their place in
the world
Geographers have a strong sense of their own place
in the world as well as other people’s cultures and
traditions and how these interrelate
Geography has the capacity to lead on the whole
curriculum dimensions of: identity and cultural
diversity, community participation and the global
dimension and sustainable development.
Citizenship education and
geography
‘Geography in schools: changing practice’
With regard to citizenship, geography has a vital role to play, as
David Bell identified in his Roscoe lecture: …a partnership
between geography and citizenship…. will energise the former
and give substance to the latter. Why are there not more
geography departments which teach sustained and progressive
units of work with citizenship objectives, making a substantial
contribution to the citizenship agenda overall?...Citizenship can
be a breath of fresh air, making geography relevant, exciting and
most important of all, empowering pupils so that they know how
they can make a difference.

Identity and diversity: living together
in the UK

In our report we recommended a 4th strand for citizenship education.
 Rationale: Britain has committed itself to certain values- respect for the
law, democratic political structures, values of mutual tolerance, equal
rights. These should be subject to discussion and debate through looking
at aspects of modern Britain and its history.
The aspects of modern Britain and its history
 The UK as a multi national state. (Issues of place: Welshness,
Scottishness)
 Immigration, Commonwealth and the legacy of Empire (Historical
geography- the changing nature of us and them and of whiteness and
blackness)
 The European Union (How do Poles now see Britishness?)
 Extending the franchise (eg the legacy of slavery, universal suffrage,
equal opportunities legislation) ( relationship to urbanisation and
globalisation)
Curriculum support

QCA Cross curriculum dimensions
(revised 1st September)
Identity and Cultural Diversity
Case studies
Who Do We Think We Are?

The week in June attracted around 500
schools.
 Website: www.whodowethinkweare.org.uk
 Vast array of resources at sharp end of issues:
School and community
Relationships, belonging and faith
History and settlement
Britishness, national identity/values; 2012 Olympics
Organised by RGS, History Association, Citizenship Foundation
Materials on the website

London 2012: keystage 3 geography and citizenship
 Exploring archives
 Global dimensions
 Moving Here
 Young diasporas
Building up case studies: eg Enfield primary school to
compare the ethnic and religious composition of a year
5 class with Enfield as an area.
Schools Linking Network
www.schoolslinkingnetwork.org.uk
Started in Bradford following 2001
disturbances
1) Gateway: 100 schools registered
2) Waves: Wave1 3 pilot authorities, Wave
2 10 authorities, Wave 3 10 authorities
Sponsored by DCSF, money for authorities
involved + CPD for teachers

Equity and excellence/Engagement
and extended services

Equity and excellence: Very few schools
have identified opportunities within the
curriculum to promote the positive aspects of
gypsy culture.
 Engagement and extended services: At a
conference focussed on raising achievement
of Somali pupils 2 schools (Richard Atkins
Primary in Lambeth, Little Ilford Secondary in
Newham) indicated how they used extended
schooling to raise achievement and build
community cohesion.
The Humanities and Social
Sciences Diploma
Geography features strongly in the new
Humanities and Social Sciences diploma
for teaching in 2011.
 Consultation on the criteria for awarding
bodies starts next week with events
around the country.
 Tell us what you think at
www.humanitiesdiploma.co.uk
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