Decolonising English

The challenge

English literature is a rich and vibrant subject that helps us make sense of the world. But what happens if some voices and stories aren’t being heard?

It is widely acknowledged that the English literature national curriculum does not yet reflect the diversity of the subject, its embeddedness in histories of empire, or its development in relation to literatures and cultures from across the world. Black and Global majority voices are often marginalised, and pupils often do not encounter texts that reflect the wide mix of cultures and identities found in their classrooms and communities.

Many teachers want to bring in more diverse voices and transform their approaches, but face real barriers in terms of limited time, a lack of training, and pressure to focus on exam content. Research during the Decolonising English project found that teachers are eager to build a representative curriculum, but frequently lacked confidence in discussing race, empire, and literary representation, and felt unsure about how to include more diverse voices in their curricula. They reported needing more resources, guidance, and subject specific knowledge to feel confident exploring themes linked to colonial history and teaching work by writers of colour. They wanted help developing learning materials and understanding how to talk about race and representation in both canonical and contemporary texts. They sought support in inspiring and empowering their teams to make meaningful changes to their practice.

Our Decolonising English project asks how universities and schools might work together to break down some of these barriers and build inclusive, anti-racist, and decolonial approaches to literature that benefit both teachers and pupils in the English classroom.

Our approach

To help address these issues, we developed a year-long CPD (Continuing Professional Development) programme that works in close partnership with teachers to deepen subject knowledge, understanding, and confidence in discussing race, empire and literary representation, in teaching work by writers of colour, and in embedding decolonial approaches in their curricula.

Since January 2025, we have been working with teachers from the Co-Op Academies Trust based in schools across West Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, and Staffordshire. Our approach brings together academic research, practical classroom experience, and sustained professional learning, through expert-led online and in-person workshops exploring topics such as:

• Race, empire, and nineteenth-century literature
• Race and migration in Shakespeare’s texts
• Nation, migration, and diasporic identities in South Asian and British Asian literature
• Migration, language, and oral storytelling in literature of the African diaspora: writing and resistance
• The politics of representation and diversity

Through these workshops, teachers build expertise in how to embed diverse voices and decolonizing approaches in their curricula, how to introduce new texts, and how to hold confident conversations about race, identity and representation. We also encourage teachers and students to read texts by writers of colour that are not directly focussed on race and identity. Throughout the programme, teachers revised sequences of learning, developed new classroom activities and units of work, and created CPD materials tailored to their schools and the wider trust.

Our follow-on Decolonising English Fellowship will provide a structured space for ongoing collaboration between academics and teachers who have completed the programme.

Our impact

The collaboration between academics and teachers on the Decolonising English project is transforming classrooms across partner schools. Feedback from participants shows meaningful and positive change:

• Teachers feel more confident: Every participant reported significantly increased confidence in discussing race and empire with their students and in teaching texts by writers of colour
• Curricula are becoming more inclusive: Teachers have introduced new texts, redesigned schemes of work, and embedded discussions of race, identity, and representation into their teaching of canonical texts
• Students are more engaged: Teachers described enthusiastic responses, more ‘lightbulb’ moments, deeper critical engagement with text and context, and greater confidence from learners across all abilities
• Leadership is growing: Many participants say they are ready (or are already taking steps) to lead decolonising work within their schools and across their Trust. Participants have led CPD in their schools and led workshops for 150 colleagues at a Trust-wide Inset day, significantly impacting practice and perspectives and energizing conversations across the Trust
• Community and Collaboration is empowering: Decolonising needs to be a community effort. All participants highlighted the value of collaboration between teachers and academics, of connecting with colleagues to share ideas, expertise, resources, and best practice