Friday 18 12 2020
A leading academic at University of the West of Scotland (UWS) has been honoured as one of TES Scotland’s top 10 people of 2020.
The recognition for Khadija Mohammed was revealed in the education sector publication’s latest issue, which celebrates “the shining lights that have burned bright and long, representing the very best of an embattled Scottish education sector”.
Commenting on the news, Khadija, who is a senior lecturer in the School of Education and Social Sciences at UWS, said: “I’m delighted to receive this recognition. We have managed to work with key education stakeholders and hold some critical and often uncomfortable conversations about race and racism in our educational institutions.
“It’s now time for critical action and we need to work even more closely together in order to make our educational settings racially inclusive spaces.
Khadija Mohammed, Senior Lecturer in the School of Education and Social Sciences
The honour comes after Khadija was interviewed by TES in February for a podcast in which she discussed her experiences of racism in education, and highlighted her pioneering work to address the issues in the sector.
TES’s key audiences are primary and secondary school teachers across the UK and this week’s edition of the digital and print publication explores the issue of racism in education in Scotland and the work of prominent BAME teachers, including Khadija.
“Mohammed has said it is only through honest conversations about race that we come to understand and address the issues. Scottish education owes [Khadija] a debt of gratitude for opening up that dialogue.”
In her insightful podcast, Khadija spoke frankly about her own experiences of racism as both a pupil and a teacher and revealed that, through her ground-breaking research, she has found that teachers are often “too scared” to talk about racism and reluctant to be portrayed as “playing the race card”, to avoid jeopardising their chances of promotion.
To be crowned as one of TES Scotland’s top 10 people of 2020 is a truly outstanding achievement, which is absolutely testament to the tireless work of Khadija to improve the lives of so many in the education sector. I am personally inspired by her work and her drive to make a real difference – something that is fundamentally embedded in the values of UWS as an institution. Congratulations to Khadija for this wonderful, well-deserved honour.
Professor Craig Mahoney, Principal & Vice-Chancellor of UWS
Read the article highlighting Khadija as one of the top 10 people of 2020 here and listen to Khadija’s TES podcast here.