2.2 Positionality: the influence of assumptions
Your worldviews are the basic ways you see and understand the world. They include your beliefs, values and attitudes, and are shaped by your upbringing, education, social interactions and the media you consume. All these factors are influenced by your positionality, that is, your unique identity and experiences.
When working with children and young people, your worldview directly affects how you interpret their behaviour, what you expect from them, and how you respond to their needs.
Activity 3 What’s your approach?
For each scenario below, choose the response that feels most natural to you:
Scenario A: You notice a 7-year-old child, Amir, is struggling to follow instructions during story time.
- a.I wonder if there’s a language barrier – maybe I should check if he needs extra support.
- b.All children need to learn to follow the same rules – I’ll remind him to pay attention.
- c.I should speak to his parents about his behaviour at home.
Scenario B: Your 10-year-old child comes home upset because other children at school said their packed lunch ‘smells weird’ and they don’t want to take traditional food anymore.
- a.I’ll talk to them about being proud of our culture and contact the school about celebrating food diversity.
- b.I’ll pack more ‘normal’ foods so they can fit in better with their classmates.
- c.I’ll tell them to ignore the comments but won’t take any further action.
Scenario C: You’re planning activities for Black History Month.
- a.I’ll integrate diverse historical perspectives throughout the year, not just in October.
- b.We should focus on what unites us rather than what makes us different.
- c.I’ll do a special assembly about famous Black historical figures.
Discussion
Your responses will reveal something about your worldview approach to diversity and inclusion.
You’ll now look at two different worldviews in practice.