Students from Kent Law School’s Decolonising the Curriculum Project (DtCP) have presented their Manifesto to the Speaker of the House of Commons, The Rt Hon John Bercow MP.<\/p>\n
The DtCP is a student-led research project to empower Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) students at Kent to ‘decolonise\u2019 their curriculum. It\u00a0is supported by Dr Suhraiya Jivraj,\u00a0Senior Lecturer at Kent Law School, Dave Thomas, Student Success Project Manager from Kent’s School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, and Sheree Palmer, the Law School’s Student Success Project Officer.<\/p>\n
DtCP students led focus groups to critically explore perceptions of the BAME attainment gap, to identify barriers to learning and to explore the broader student experience both in and beyond the classroom. Their research findings informed a\u00a0Manifesto <\/a>that\u00a0identified steps to enhance inclusivity, identity and academic performance at Kent. It was launched in March to an audience that included senior University leaders. The Project is generating increasing levels of interest and has triggered\u00a0a chain reaction of events<\/a>\u00a0across the University and the UK. After receiving an invitation to attend\u00a0a\u00a0summer party celebrating the Miranda Brawn Diversity Leadership Foundation at the House of Commons on Wednesday evening, members of the DtCP team took the opportunity to present a copy of their Manifesto to the party’s host, John Bercow. (Law students Lisa Shoko, Malek Thomas, Jasmyn Sergeant, Joy Olugboyega and Dave Thomas are pictured presenting the Manifesto to John Bercow).<\/p>\n Some of the initiatives that have sprung (and continue to spring) from the Project so far include: a\u00a0dedicated DtCP\u00a0website<\/a>\u00a0set up by students; a\u00a0podcast series, created by students, called\u00a0Stripping the White Walls;\u00a0<\/a>a\u00a0BARC workshop<\/a>\u00a0held at Kent in May; a\u00a0presentation of the Manifesto to Baroness Valerie Amos, Director of SOAS, at a joint SOAS\/UUK event in June on \u2018The BAME Attainment Gap’; the establishment of a Kaleidoscope Network at Kent for staff and students who support the principles of race equality; the establishment of a BAME Network for Staff of Colour at Kent; and the implementation of new training in cultural competency as part of Kent\u2019s PGCHE. Further events are planned, including a conference at Kent in Spring 2020 that will focus on \u201cwhiteness and empowering colleagues promoting BAME inclusion\u201d.<\/p>\n