Reflecting on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among South Asian communities in the UK: A learning curve to decolonising the secondary school curriculum

Frontiers in Education

Education

Anqi Hu¹  Md Zahidul Islam Pranjol¹  Tracy Nissan² 

[1] Department of Biochemistry and Biomedicine, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom;Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden;

关键词: vaccine hesitancy;    racism;    discrimination;    decolonisation;    secondary school curriculum;   

DOI  :  10.3389/feduc.2023.979544

 received in 2022-06-27, accepted in 2023-01-26,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

COVID-19 has brought to light the systemic racism faced by ethnic minorities in the UK. During the pandemic, we saw an increase in anti-Asian hate crimes and a lack of support from the government given to both patients and healthcare workers from minority backgrounds on the front lines. This lack of support potentially contributed to the increased susceptibility of ethnic minorities to COVID-19 and also their hesitancy toward the vaccine, particularly the south Asian communities. In this paper we discuss potential reasons for COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among south Asian groups. Additionally, we propose that introducing a decolonised curriculum in secondary school may enhance cultural awareness with historical context among the white British populations, allowing for more inclusion for south Asian communities. By exploring ways to decolonise specific subjects in the secondary curriculum, this paper aims to set out a guideline for teachers and education professionals on expanding secondary school pupils’ knowledge of racial issues and equality, to start the process of educating a new generation appropriately. We propose that decolonising the secondary school curriculum is a potential long-term solution to eradicating racism and discrimination.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 Hu, Nissan and Pranjol.