About

This collaborative Black Cultural Archives (BCA), Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), and AQA supported PhD-by-Practice in Public History aims to explore and demonstrate how the experiences, stories and voices of Black British people can be integrated into the GCSE and A Level History curriculum; to research and develop new studies across the curriculum, drawing upon the strengths of BCA’s collection; and to examine how new research-driven resources for teachers and teacher training opportunities can be created to build confidence in teaching Black British History in schools and colleges.

There is a clear lack of engagement with history amongst Black students, with young Black people making up only 4% of students taking GCSE and A Level History according to the Royal Historical Society’s research on racial inequalities in teaching history. Teaching on key themes such as migration following the second world war and race relations are poorly integrated into History teaching and often focus on the experiences of racism faced by Black people in Britain and Black community responses to discrimination. New approaches to teaching history that prioritise the voices of Black people in Britain could offer the opportunity for students to capture authentic experiences of these communities and encourage subject uptake amongst Black students.

Outputs of this research project will include an education sector-facing report, making recommendations and proposing new model specifications, as well as c.40 educational resources (including podcasts, workbook exercises, workshops and new training materials for History teachers on integrating Black British Histories into the classroom) and a 40,000-word reflective and evaluative thesis.