This webinar explores relationships between books and belonging across primary and secondary phases of education. In 2021, Penguin Books UK and equality think tank The Runnymede Trust established Lit in Colour to find new ways to give schools the support and tools for introducing more books by people of colour into the classroom and the curriculum. They commissioned research to prompt debate and inform practice in education, finding that few young people encountered books by writers of colour. The research identified associated causes, including limited teaching resources, teacher time, and teachers’ varying confidence for talking about race in the classroom.
This webinar presents discussion of the Lit in Colour report by members of its research team, and perspectives on books and belonging explored through examples of reading experiences in primary schools and secondary schools in rural areas.
Since the 2020 Lit in Colour report, the initiative has contributed many resources for teachers which are increasingly adopted in schools. The webinar offers a timely opportunity to reflect on the experience of using these resources and their impact since publication. We will consider other spaces for addressing representation and belonging in English and education, and look ahead by identifying possible steps towards a more inclusive version of the subject.