The Grenfell Curriculum: Centring the disaster-affected community to promote education for social justice Seminar

Time:

12:00 - 13:00

Date:

2024-10-15 00:00:00

Venue:

Online

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Seminar details

The Grenfell Tower fire, one of the most devastating disasters in modern British history, claimed 72 lives and raised critical questions about the intersections of human behaviour, technology, and social justice.

While human-made disasters like Grenfell have profound impacts on society, there has been insufficient attention to how such events can be addressed within educational settings. This project asks: What role can education play in building a society oriented towards disaster justice, especially concerning disasters resulting from human error and systemic failures? In this seminar, we explore the links between disasters and education for social justice and present findings from a community-based participatory research project with the Grenfell Tower community, including survivors, bereaved families, teachers and local residents. Through the story of Grenfell, our study demonstrates how educational researchers can work with disaster-affected people to reflect on what future generations should know and remember about human-made disasters.

Please find the link below for the recording of the seminar.

Speaker information

Dr Wonyong Park is an Associate Professor of Science Education at Southampton Education School, University of Southampton. He is interested in exploring the role of science and STEM education in advancing disaster justice and environmental justice. He has worked with disaster-affected communities in the UK, South Korea, and USA, on research projects funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, Research England, the National Science Foundation and the Grenfell Foundation. He is on the editorial boards of the Journal of Research in Science Teaching, Research in Science Education, and the Journal of Science Teacher Education.

Hanan Wahabi is a Grenfell Tower survivor and bereaved family member who lost five members of her family in the fire. As a primary school teacher and manager with over 20 years of experience, she is passionate about inclusive and equitable education for all learners. Hanan is a member of Grenfell United and a Community Representative on the Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission. Since 2024, she has been a core member of the Grenfell Curriculum project, which aims to promote social justice through knowledge and experience of the Grenfell community.