Anti-Bias in Education
The pioneers of Integrated Education in the 1980s and 1990s understood the importance of bringing people together. However, they also knew that it was necessary to find a way to ‘do’ Integrated Education.
To address this, and based on the work of educator Louise Derman-Sparks and her colleagues, they drafted the first version of an anti-bias approach for those working within Integrated schools in the late 1990s. Since then, NICIE has developed and promoted Anti-Bias in Education to support staff across Integrated schools.
Bias Busting for Beginners was published by NICIE in 2021, and is designed to introduce educators to the concept of Anti-Bias in Education.
Its purpose is:
- to introduce you to the ideas and thinking that sit behind the Anti-Bias in Education approach and entice you to explore how you might apply those ideas and thoughts in your life and work;
- to challenge us all to unearth injustices at both the personal and systemic levels
- and then, perhaps most importantly, become activists in the face of that injustice;
- to invite you to engage reflective practice tools in relation to bias in/on your life and in/on the lives of those around you;
- to enable you to start to think about how you can embed anti-bias approaches in your life and in your educational practice.
There is a digital and a paper version of this publication. Within the former, there are various hyperlinks directing the reader to online resources which contain further information and learning opportunities.
Additionally, a reflective journal has also been published to encourage practitioners to reflect actively on their learning and practice as they implement and engage with Anti-Bias in Education. Please get in touch with NICIE at admin@nicie.org.uk if you are interested in finding out more about this.
For a number of years, NICIE has been delivering intensive courses in Anti-Bias in Education, primarily for educators and educational stakeholders.
The goals of this course is to enable participants to:
- understand the principles and rationale of anti-bias theory and practice;
- reflect on the role of the educator and your role in challenging bias; and
- explore the practical implementation and embedding of Anti-Bias in Education with colleagues from other Integrated schools, sharing experiences, knowledge and practice.
These courses have taken various forms, including residentials and non-residentials, as well as digital and blended variations. We are always keen to develop the course further, and so we are open to your ideas and suggestions.
Dates and information are typically circulated with schools and via NICIE social media annually. Please get in touch at admin@nicie.org.uk if you wish to find out more about this, or read the sub-section on the NICIE Programme of Development.
We also deliver shorter introductory sessions on the subject to individual schools and external organisations, which you can find out more about here.
We are often asked how you can ‘do’ Anti-Bias practically in schools, in addition to attending the courses above and engaging with the Bias Busting for Beginners publication.
Whilst we know that those within their school communities are the best resource, we have endeavoured to build a bank of resources relevant to Anti-Bias in Education through the use of a Padlet page.
This is a working and collaborative bank filled designed to inspire teachers and school staff to engage with Anti-Bias intentionally.
Note that any resource should be reviewed by the educator and selected carefully prior to use in schools, and that all additions will be manually reviewed and approved before publication.
On our Facebook and Instagram pages, there are weekly #AntiBiasWednesday posts, through which we share materials, resources and learning opportunities to encourage those in Integrated schools to consider Anti-Bias in Education in different ways.
We also ask individuals to contribute examples of ways in which they are carrying out Anti-Bias in Education within their settings, so we can facilitate shared learning between schools.
Please get in touch with us at admin@nicie.org.uk if you wish to share examples of how you deliver Anti-Bias in Education in your school.
