LESS than 1 per cent of GCSE students in England study a book by a writer of colour, and only 7 per cent study a book by a woman, a new research has shown.
This is despite 34.4 per cent of school children identifying as black, Asian and minority ethnic.
The under-representation in the teaching of English Literature – which is mandatory for every young person in the UK up to the age of 16 – was revealed by research commissioned by Penguin and race equality think tank The Runnymede Trust.
Further findings show that 82 per cent of the young people surveyed nationwide said that they did not recall ever studying a book by a black, Asian or minority ethnic author. Moreover, 70 per cent agreed that diversity is part of British society and should be represented in the school curriculum.
Analysis of the data also revealed significant under-representation in the curriculum for books by a woman, with only 7 per cent of students in England answering an exam question on a book by a woman at GCSE, and of that just 0.1 per cent on Anita and Me – the only novel by a woman of colour.
Teachers said issues including a lack of time, resources and confidence in talking about race in the classroom as some of the main barriers to teaching a wider range of literature - meaning that focus remains on texts that have filled the syllabus for decades.
The findings are part of a campaign called Lit in Colour, a partnership between Penguin and The Runnymede Trust to help support schools to diversify the teaching of English literature.
