Breakthrough to political literacy: political education, antiracist teaching and the primary school

Abstract Although the Swann Committee's Report on the education of children from ethnic minority groups in Great Britain (1985) generally embraces a cultural pluralist rather than antiracist perspective on education, it nevertheless acknowledges that all schools (irrespective of phase, ethnic composition or location) should play a more active role in challenging manifestations of racism at both individual and institutional level. The Report advocates that such teaching should be incorporated within a wider, liberal‐democratic programme of political education. Our paper focuses on potential sources of resistance to this proposal in the primary sector and explores the implications for teacher education.