Abstract/Summary

The background influences and socialisation of twenty-one White-British and predominantly female trainee-teachers specialising in Key Stage 2 history (trainee teachers) are examined via a semi-structured questionnaire and semi-structured interviews, to understand how they come to their perceptions on the story of Britain’s migrant past and how that frames their practice for teaching and learning via the aims and contents of the Key Stage 2 history curriculum. Short personal narratives and transcribed conversation concerning experiences of migration to the British Isles from an Afro-Caribbean immigrant (my mother) and her British born child (myself) were presented as artefacts to three trainee-teachers for their analysis and evaluation of them as part of a focus group discussion. It was for them to consider the impact of the artefacts on their thinking about the story of migration to the British Isles over the ages for their future professional practice in planning, teaching and learning via the Key Stage 2 curriculum aims and contents. Overall findings from the study indicate that the socialisation of trainee-teachers from multi-ethnic British background influences lead them to discuss their awareness of multiculturalism and cultural diversity within the story of Britain’s migrant past, as opposed to their peers of mono-ethnic White-British background influences and socialisation who produced dominant White-British majoritarian thinking in their considerations. When the idea of viewing the story of Britain’s migrant past via culturally diverse minority-ethnic group accounts are presented (via the artefacts) and planted into the minds of trainee-teachers from mono-ethnic White-British backgrounds and socialisation, they become very much open to the possibilities of using them in their future Key Stage 2 classroom practice. The Key Stage 2 optional unit of study: ‘an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066 (DfE, 2013a, p.4) is considered by the majority of trainee-teachers as being their least important focus on teaching and learning. This study makes the case the story of Britain’s migrant past concerning cross-cultural and cross-ethnic encounters over the ages can provide trainee-teachers with a clear opportunity to connect that with the optional unit of study. This study emphasises the need for Initial Teacher Education to assist with developing the subject knowledge of trainee-teachers concerning a culturally diverse representation of Britain’s migrant past over the ages.