Falkirk anti-racist education: method

Persona Dolls are large cloth dolls reflecting the diversity of society with different skin tones, clothes, characters and abilities. Staff can develop stories for the dolls so that each has its own unique personality, family background, likes and dislikes and life history.

Context

Nadim is a doll who was made by one of the parents within the nursery. Elaine developed an appropriate persona for the doll. The children were introduced to Nadim as a Scottish boy with relatives living in Pakistan.

Word file: Nadim's persona (880 KB)

The children were supported over four sessions to explore Nadim’s life and interests and make connections with their own experiences. As Nadim’s gran lives in Pakistan they were also able to develop their knowledge and understanding of the world by exploring another country. A lot of the children in this area have had no contact with children from ethnic minority backgrounds and so this enabled staff to challenge stereotypes and inappropriate language.

Session 1: Getting to know Nadim.
Focus on families – similarities and differences.

Session 2: Letter from Granny.
Discuss Pakistan and grandparents. Mind-map of Granny’s suitcase.
Word file: Granny's letter (26 KB)

Session 3: Addressing the issues.
Nadim was very upset because when he was at his other nursery a little boy said to him “You can’t play with me… you’re a Paki.”

Session 4: Nadim is happy again. He has made a new friend in nursery and his Granny has arrived.

Parental involvement

Parental involvement was a key element of this project. A parent’s group was established and developed with support from LTS. The idea of persona dolls was enhanced by working with parents to produce their own local unique versions of the dolls. Falkirk Council also produced a leaflet for parents on their use of Persona Dolls.

PDF file: Persona dolls leaflet (244 KB)