Improving representation within Scotland's secondary curriculum
There is currently a cultural deficit in the equitable representation of British colonial history
within the Scottish national curriculum. As a result, the Buchanan Institute’s Education Policy Team has called for a decolonial lens to be applied to the compulsory History curriculum in Scottish secondary education.
Published
2021
Education
Authors
Caleb Warren-Smith
Martha Loach
William Hardie
Christopher Milligan
Executive Summary
There is currently a cultural deficit in the equitable representation of British colonial history
within the Scottish national curriculum. According to Impact of Omission’s survey, 86.2% of
respondents learnt about the Tudors, whilst 7.6% of those surveyed said they learned about the
British colonisation of Africa.1 There have been localised efforts to rectify this, including the
SNP North Lanarkshire Councillor Danish Ashraf’s motion which gained support at national
party level. Moreover, the independent school, Fettes College, has made efforts to decolonise its
curriculum.
Although promising, these developments are insufficient as they rely on the efforts of individuals
and specific schools, as opposed to operating on a national basis. Indeed, the response of the UK
Government to a petition entitled “Teach Britain's colonial past as part of the UK's compulsory
curriculum”, which gathered 266,455 signatures, stated “topics within statutory themes are
chosen by schools and teachers.”
Thus, The Buchanan Institute’s Education Policy Team calls for a decolonial lens to be applied
to the compulsory History curriculum in Scottish secondary education. Our research will focus
on the first three years of secondary education following the national history curriculum and will
assess measures taken in both the public and private sectors. Whilst this study focuses almost
exclusively on the adaptation of school curriculums in the Edinburgh area, as the seat of Scottish
power, it is pertinent to frame these measures within a national context. History must appreciate
the contributions and sacrifices that Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups have
made, and continue to make, to Britain. We call for the equitable refocusing of British history
from the perspective of imperialism to the lens of a global interlocutor.
The policies recommended in this report encompass curricula and pastoral reform.
Curricula: we propose that the decolonisation of Scottish history curricula is made
compulsory across KS3 (S1-S3) in both public and private sectors of education, and that
it adequately considers and critiques Britain’s imperial history and elevates marginalised
voices throughout history.
Pastoral: we advocate for comprehensive teacher training that promotes responsible,
respectful and thorough teaching. We also stress the utilisation of diverse historical
sources and materials that elevate the views of BAME people.