ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the research data that emerged from a study carried out by teachers who piloted the Just Trade resource in 2016. The resource aimed to challenge stereotypical views about Africa amongst primary school children using trade as a lens through which to examine unequal global power structures. The aim of the study was to uncover the extent to which change occurred in children’s attitudes and thinking after participating in the module. The principle guiding the research was that of collaborative enquiry, with the teachers taking on the role of practitioner researchers working in partnership with a lecturer in a college of education. This chapter reveals that although an enhanced understanding of the diversity of the African continent was evident after the module, the researchers found that negative views persisted in particular in relation to children’s perceptions of images of Africa. The chapter concludes that while a trade justice module is valuable, it does not constitute the radical curricular shift that is required in order to address the deficit perceptions towards Africa held by children in Irish classrooms.
