Global Dimension

How would you reflect life in Britain with just one image? It would be impossible. Anyone not familiar with Britain would get a very unbalanced view. The same difficulties arise when teaching about other cultures. Here is a handy list of do's and don’ts for teachers to refer to:

Displays
Do's

Include a poster with ‘welcome’ or ‘hello’ written in many different languages. Use multilingual signs around school wherever possible
Include examples of high achievement in other cultures, societies and traditions, not in ‘the west’ only. These are to be found in all areas of human endeavour
Draw similarities in the lives lead by people across the world. For example, show children engaging in sport and leisure pursuits with their families just as children do here
Display on a world map where relatives/friends live and places pupils have visited

Don'ts

Display images only of white, middle class, able-bodied and western people
Just use exotic images which stress the differences
Use a world map which distorts the area of countries in favour of the Northern hemisphere. Instead, use an equal area projection to reflect the real world (Peters or Eckert)

Curriculum
Do's

Present a balanced view of other people and places? Including opposites is one way of ensuring a more complete picture of, e g urban as well as rural, modern as well as traditional
If you want to focus on Africa during a multicultural week, select a particular region or a country in Africa rather than the whole continent
Move beyond stereotypical images of masks and drumming to explore the work of contemporary African artists and musicians, inventors and environmentalists
Highlight the practical, sustainable and environmentally friendly aspects of grass roots technology
Go beyond festivals and celebrate a wide range of key events. Do you make the most of Black History Month, Refugee Week, Fairtrade Fortnight?

Don'ts

Don’t use terms that reinforce stereotypes, e .g. ‘tribes’ ‘primitive’ ‘underdeveloped’ ‘uncivilised’
Generalise about people, country and continents. Do not use a single example to represent an entire continent, such as an African house; acknowledge that Africa is a continent of 55 diverse countries and many cultures?
Draw unfair comparisons – a claypot designed to keep water cool cannot be compared with western household china. Often differences in housing, food and transport are the result of what is appropriate for a particular situation and what is available locally