The UK Prevent Strategy’s ‘fundamental British values’: a qualitative systematic review of perspectives from the education sector

Abstract

The education sector is a key point of implementation for the UK Prevent Strategy, particularly with the introduction of the Prevent duty, which makes the promotion of ‘fundamental British values’ mandatory for educational practitioners. This article aims to explain the views and experiences that those within the education sector have of fundamental British values. A systematic search of four bibliographic databases and existing systematic reviews was conducted, yielding 26 studies which were included in the synthesis. The findings of the meta-ethnography yielded five third-order constructs: (1) cultural imperialism; (2) bifurcated Britishness; (3) assimilation versus pluralism; (4) educator agency; and (5) depoliticising Prevent. These culminated in a line-of-argument synthesis, which suggests that the mandatory requirement to promote fundamental British values can have a restrictive effect on the pedagogical practice of educational practitioners. It also alludes to ethnic minority practitioners as being more affected than their White counterparts. This review revealed evidence that is overwhelmingly England-centric. Research on the implementation of fundamental British values in the Scottish and Welsh educational contexts could be a valuable addition.