About this series

Decolonising the secondary history curriculum: developing ideas and resources that can transform students’ knowledge and historical thinking

What will you get out of this series?

• Confidence to challenge conventional longstanding narratives of English history
• A common understanding of what we mean when we talk about de-colonising the curriculum
• Ideas about the core knowledge of historical narratives that people need for navigating life in the 21st century, including: globalised economies and cultures; race and identities; religion and ideas; power and protest
• Six Enquiries that can help frame a curriculum that explores fundamental aspects of the history of Britain and the world, and reveal best practices that can be applied to any area of the curriculum

Why should my school want me to do this?

Making school history relevant as well as rigorous is our priority and school leaders will want their history department to be at the cutting edge of work that is developing the subject in innovative ways. It is recognised that diversity in history should not be simply slotted into a traditional curriculum, but strongly embedded throughout a school’s framework with clarity of purpose; understanding the ideas of decolonising the curriculum will help you to do that.

Who is this CPD for?

This CPD is open to all secondary history teachers and teacher educators. Teachers should be secure in their classroom pedagogy and confident in handling the foundations of curriculum planning.

Course leaders

Abdul Mohamud and Robin Whitburn (Justice to History) have been developing historical enquiries on diverse histories for ten years and have spoken on their work around the world, from the USA to South Africa and at many HA events. In 2019 they led the HA’s Teacher Fellowship programme on Britain and Transatlantic Slavery, and have published textbooks on migration, empire, and Black British history. They have been framing their ideas on decolonising the curriculum for over three years.

Programme

The webinars are now available below for you to purchase and watch at your convenience until the closing date of 31 August 2024. The final session will take place live with a recording made available thereafter.

Session 1: Introductory webinar (FREE for HA members)

This introductory webinar will explore what we mean by decolonising the curriculum and outline principles of approach and explore key concepts involved.

Session 2: Black British history

This 90-minute recorded webinar will cover three elements: an introductory discussion about the scope and opportunities for including Black stories in British history; Enquiry One: Black Radicals in the early 19th century; Enquiry Two: Black Wales: Tiger Bay in Cardiff 1890-1960.

Session 3: Histories of Islamic societies

This 90-minute recorded webinar will cover three elements: an introductory discussion about the scope and opportunities for exploring Islamic societies; Enquiry One: Science and Knowledge in Medieval Muslim societies; Enquiry Two: Modernity and Iran in the 20th century.

Session 4: Histories of the African continent

This 90-minute recorded webinar will cover three elements: an introductory discussion about the scope and opportunities for exploring African history; Enquiry One: Africa and the development of religion; Enquiry Two: Decolonisation, Ideology and Race in Africa: the struggles in Congo and Zimbabwe.

Session 5: New approaches to teaching Britain and transatlantic slavery

This 90-minute webinar will delve into the social, economic, and moral implications of this topic, providing teachers with tools to effectively teach this complex and sensitive history in their classrooms. 

How to book

Book multiple webinars

You can purchase the full series at a discounted rate here:

On-demand series: Decolonising the secondary history curriculum 

Number of webinars booked	HA Member ticket	Non-member ticket
1 webinar	£38	£63
5 webinars	£139	£303

Book a single webinar 

If you wish to book just one webinar, please purchase the recordings using the links below.

• Session 1: Introductory webinar
• Session 2: Black British history
• Session 3: Histories of Islamic societies
• Session 4: Histories of the African continent
• Session 5: New approaches to teaching Britain and transatlantic slavery 

Terms and conditions

All Historical Association webinars are subject to the HA CPD terms and conditions. For enquiries please contact events@history.org.uk.