Primary Research - Results and Conclusions

In my last post on my primary research, I stated that I would present my results and come to conclusions after posting some responses I got to the questions asked.

In reality, this was harder than I expected it to be. Initially, I was going to individually count each response I got to the first three questions (on the texts they could recall teaching previously), however this proved to be difficult to keep track of and was very time consuming. I ended up having to come to a consensus of which texts appeared the most, being 'A Christmas Carol', 'Of Mice and Men' and 'Lord of the Flies', along with plays by Shakespeare, such as 'Macbeth' and 'Romeo and Juliet'.

With these results, and the comments that were made by teachers, (seen in the previous post), I am able to conclude that the curriculum includes a majority of authors that are white males, along with characters that are white males, having a lack of culture, where there are differing opinions by teachers (with some believing that there needed to be no change, and the majority wanting change to include more BAME characters). I believe that this reinforces my point as it shows how many people want change within the curriculum, with the additional point of the lack of time when teaching being raised.

April Reflection

This month, I completed what I had planned to do, through:
- Finishing research that needed to be completed (through a final TedTalk on YouTube that highlighted firsthand experience of travelling the world to find different cultures)
- Starting and completing my 5000 word dissertation, with help from my mentor
- Beginning my presentation to complete in May

In May, I need to:
- Present my EPQ and complete the evaluation

'Why cultural diversity matters' - Ted Talk

Notes
- 7,000 languages approx.
> as many as half of those languages will disappear as people don't learn cultural diversity -> loss
- 'when we're talking about cultural diversity were talking about thousands of different ways to see the world and our place in it'
- 'culture involves the rights of people [...] to determine the future of their cultures'
- 'we need to recognise that culture is not static. [...] It belongs to people'
- 'Increasingly, [...] small number of cultural groups are determining the shape and fabric of society. These groups are determining the systems of law, of education, of economies'.
> imbalance of power in society driving the loss of cultural diversity
- Schools: taught in English in the majority of other countries - imbalance of power
> the systems constrain kindergarten teachers
>> lessons are embedded in culture (increasingly in one culture - Western)
- power spread unevenly across our societies
- create system which celebrate cultural diversity, explore differences and embrace multiple ways of thinking