{"id":8477,"date":"2023-11-23T11:57:58","date_gmt":"2023-11-23T11:57:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/?p=8477"},"modified":"2023-11-23T14:14:49","modified_gmt":"2023-11-23T14:14:49","slug":"school-activism-and-action-competence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/2023\/11\/23\/school-activism-and-action-competence\/","title":{"rendered":"School Activism and Action Competence"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I see that the Ministry of Eco Education is hosting an online panel discussion exploring Activism in Schools on Monday December 4th<\/sup>.\u00a0 The event is \"to enable young people, academics and educators to discuss the role of activism in education\" exploring: What do we mean by activism?\u00a0 What examples have you seen of activism working well in schools?\u00a0 Where, for you, is the line?\u00a0 How can we encourage and facilitate more activism in schools? \u00a0These questions suggest a bias towards activism which is fair enough. \u00a0You can sign up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If I were a school \/ academy trust Chair of governors, I\u2019d want a clear policy on student and staff <\/em>activism, caught as the governing body would be between student \/ staff interest and passions, the legal framework erected by parliament, and local sensibilities. \u00a0I\u2019ve no idea how many such policies exist; my pretty-uninformed guess would be few rather than many. \u00a0I've asked the NGA.<\/div>\n
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The DfE thinks it's pretty clear<\/a> in what it says about such matters although it's couched in terms of political impartiality and \"activism\" is not mentioned. \u00a0There is also more of a focus on what might be overtly taught rather than what might be experienced and thus learned; ie, on the formal rather than the informal curriculum. \u00a0Whether this is intentional is a moot point. \u00a0DfE says:<\/div>\n
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\"Teaching about political issues, the different views people have, and the ways pupils can engage in our democratic society is an essential part of a broad and balanced curriculum. \u00a0It is an important way in which schools support pupils to become active citizens who can form their own views, whilst having an understanding and respect for legitimate differences of opinion. ...<\/div>\n
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Schools should also continue to reinforce important shared principles that underpin our society, whether that be upholding democratic rights or more generally promoting respect and tolerance. Understanding where views and opinions go further than this and where the legal duties on political impartiality may be relevant, is an important part of doing this effectively.\"<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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Statutory requirements on political impartiality cover all schools. \u00a0These legal duties mean schools:<\/p>\n