Widening Horizons: Education and Diversity

The educational world stands at a troubled nexus. Awareness of the importance of the vibrant diversity of our society and educational institutions (schools, colleges and universities) is growing apace.

At the same time, however, the pressures of an increasingly dominant examinations system, the draconian monitoring of assessment outcomes and political inspection, set alongside unquestioned agendas related to ideas of the 'knowledge curriculum' are tending to lead many students' experiences of education to become increasingly controlled and narrowed. The immense value of engaging with a wealth of diverse knowledge and the creative experiences learning might offer are in many cases lost.

This panel event – hosted by the Global Lives Research Centre at Brunel University London in collaboration with Guru Nanak Sikh Academy, chaired by the renowned poet Daljit Nagra – offers the opportunity to pose questions to an expert panel comprising school leaders, education professionals and academics and to consider the ways in which we might create better and more imaginatively diverse spaces for learning.

Featuring:

• Chinedu Agwu is a Lecturer in Biosciences at Brunel and founder of BioSci Toolkit, A resource equipping black & minority ethnic students to pursue and progress in the bioscience field.
• Gareth Davies is Headteacher at Ruislip High School. Offering outstanding, inclusive education since it opened its doors to its first cohort of Year 7 students in September 2006.
• Dan Lyndon-Cohen is the Director of the Schools History Project and Lead Practitioner for Humanities at Park View School. He is author of many books on multicultural and migration histories for primary and secondary schools and has worked as a consultant for BBC, IWM, NPG and the National Trust.
• Daljit Nagra is Professor of Creative Writing at Brunel University, Chair of the Royal Society of Literature, Advisor Poetry By Heart, Daljit’s four poetry collections are all with Faber & Faber, and he presents Radio 4 Extra’s weekly Poetry Extra. He received an MBE in 2023.
• Lesley Nelson-Addy is an Education Manager at the Runnymede Trust. She was an English Teacher and Teacher Educator and is currently a DPhil candidate in Education.

Chaired by Prof Daljit Nagra, with introductions from:

• Professor Claire Turner, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Education at Brunel University London
• Mr Jaskamal Singh Sidhu, Executive Principal and CEO at Guru Nanak School

Learn more and register: Widening Horizons: Education and Diversity Tickets, Wed 17 Apr 2024 at 17:00 | Eventbrite

 Please join us at Guru Kanak Sikh Academy from 5pm for a 5.30pm start. The panel discussion and public forum will run until around 7pm, followed by light refreshments over further conversation.

The event will be held in cooperation with Lit in Colour (Penguin Random House).