Socially relevant curriculum

Cultural otherness, racism and religion

Abstract

Socially relevant curriculum and the importance of opening up spaces for negotiation and meaning making to occur are increasingly common ideas in my academic writing. This article reports on student teachers making meaning in an online discussion forum in the aftermath of the terrorist massacre at Christchurch mosques in Aotearoa New Zealand last year. Dominant discourses and critical questions are highlighted for teachers in early childhood and tertiary education settings about religion, racism and cultural otherness. The central argument is that these issues are highly pertinent to us all: they speak to the things that matter in all of our lives at this time, and in this space and place. Cultural otherness, anti-racism, spirituality and religion are fundamental to contemporary socially relevant curriculum. Courageous teachers committed to a more socially just world need to facilitate learning about these issues in ‘age-appropriate’ ways.