Race

This activity, provided by the Association for Science Education (ASE), is of a bank of resource sheets designed to be very flexible for use with students at appropriate places in your curriculum.

Race builds upon a theme of variation in the context of race, skin colour, inherited diseases and human evolution. The resources promote respect for different ethnic identities and develop students' ability to reflect on issues and participate in discussion.

Part of the resources can be used to deliver Citizenship in the science classroom or during dedicated Citizenship lessons.

The bank of resource sheets are intended to complement other activities teachers use with their students when considering these topics, e.g. video, research (website addresses relevant to this resource are given on the CDROM) and role-plays, rather than to be used as a series of worksheets.

Approaches to discussing race issues with students are as varied as schools, students and teachers. There is no one right way to consider this issue, but there are some truths that cannot be avoided if any meaningful progress is to be made.

*Science education in the UK is eurocentric.
*This contributes to a message of inferiority amongst some students in multiethnic schools.
*Many teachers recognise this and want to have a positive impact on raising the achievement of multiethnic students.
*Many teachers feel ill-prepared to do this.