The implementation gap: addressing race as compartmentalised practice in PGCE English courses

Abstract

In this article, Fernandes examines how Postgraduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) English courses in England address race. His nationwide survey of 44 course leaders revealed a central contradiction: a near-universal aspirational commitment is systematically undermined by compartmentalised, performative practice, an outcome produced by structural and policy failures rather than individual inadequacy. Course leaders identified this gap, articulating desire for mandated systemic reform. Fernandes conceptualises this as an implementation gap, a systemic mechanism that absorbs challenges to the status quo. He explores this gap through three themes: the compartmentalisation of race into isolated sessions; course leaders’ desires for mandated reform; and the structural barriers that perpetuate whiteness. Fernandes argues that this gap functions as a tool of whiteness, preserving the core curriculum and leaving new teachers ill-prepared to address race. He concludes that without an abolitionist reimagining of PGCE English courses, they will remain a mechanism of epistemic injustice.