How do you define normal? Is it in your use of language? Your religious beliefs? How is it that we can be at the centre of our own universe, yet in orbit in others whilst interacting with entirely different epistemologies, lived experiences and perceived normals? In this episode, we will explore how universal truths are affected by subjectivity as we step into the pluriverse.

Britain’s education system, a system based on oppression and subjugation, has done little to nothing to positively impact upon the British Caribbean community. From the categorisation of Caribbean children as ‘educationally sub-normal’ to the cycle of exclusions, Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) and ultimately prison, the educational outcomes of British Caribbean children is the lowest of any ethnic group in Britain aside from Roma Gypsy children. The pedagogical practices currently being employed, epistemologically Eurocentric, do not reflect or represent the British Caribbean children in the classroom. An African-informed pedagogy can help African diasporic children access education in a more culturally informed and meaningful way. An appreciation of multiple epistemologies and centring other cultures can create an environment of criticality and growth.

PRUs are an alternative education provision for those who have been excluded from school or are unable to attend mainstream education. This pipeline metaphor is used to identify the process through which students are pushed out of schools into alternative education provisions and then, ultimately, for some, into prisons. Today we will discuss the factors that contribute to the PRU to prison pipeline in the context of the British Caribbean experience. These disciplinary actions put students at higher risk for negative life outcomes, including involvement in the criminal justice system.