Race and the geographies of educational spaces

Education is both embodied and affective. Those who work and study in educational institutions not only shape, and are shaped, by curriculum, pedagogy and assessment, but also the spaces and places they teach and learn in.

As is increasingly recognised in discourse about ‘geographies of education’, educational spaces matter to people’s experiences of education, to their identities and to who they become in their futures. Here, geography is significant in helping us to better understand education and educational spaces. For example, in considering the relationships between social and spatial reproduction in localities through educational opportunities, systems and outcomes. 

In contributing to these debates, the aim of this project is to examine Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) students affective and embodied experiences of race and racism as they move in, and between, different educational spaces. 

Walking is a social practice and a sensuous experience. In this project, we walk with PGCE students and conduct a walking interview and mapping exercise as we walk together around UCLs campus. This process is then repeated by students as they walk around their placement schools, reflecting on their experiences of, and perspectives on, education and educational spaces.

• Dr Lauren Hammond
• Dr Mark Hardman
• Dr Emma Jones
• Professor John Morgan 
• Alison Wiggins