Transcript History in Schools – a century of debate, 1900-2010 JENNY KEATING AND NICOLA SHELDON INSTITUTE OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH 6 MAY 2010

History in Schools – a century
of debate, 1900-2010
JENNY KEATING AND NICOLA SHELDON
INSTITUTE OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH
6 MAY 2010
The Aims of the Project
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 The Project is significant because there has been
no previous attempt to consider the development
of history teaching across the twentieth century in
the context of national and regional policy together
with the ‘lived experience’ of those in the
classroom. It is intended to publish the results of
the Project for a range of audiences, both academic
and ‘popular’, via printed and electronic means
and also to create resources for use within the
classroom
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History in the News
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The teacher and pupil survey
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The Growing Archive
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A pupil’s work
from the 1960s
Courtesy of Mrs Kathryn Ingham
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Themes and Early Conclusions
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1900 TO THE 1960 S
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Norman, born 1923, attended central
school in London
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The Approach to History,
by FC Happold (London
1928), p31.
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• Ken, born 1923, attended grammar school in London, left
at 16
• Irene, born 1923, attended senior elementary school in
Southend, left at 14
• Bill, born 1919, attended central commercial school in
London, left at 15
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Ken, born 1923, attended grammar
school in London
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Irene, born 1923, attended senior elementary school in Southend
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Bill, age 90, attended a central school in SE London
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Interviewer: Do you think the history you were taught at
school helped you to feel proud of being British in any
way?
Ken, born 1923: When I saw that question I smiled,
because that’s a question for a modern schoolboy. It has
got no relevance at all to a schoolboy in the 1930s. We
were proud; everyone was patriotic. We were aware of our
nationality. Today it’s different and that question is relevant,
but it wasn’t relevant in 1935. The thought never occurred
to us.
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Themes and Early Conclusions
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1960 S TO THE
PRESENT DAY
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The Schools Council History Project
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 What is History? - introductory investigations
 History Around Us – local history study
including site visits (coursework = 20%)
 Study in Development – a theme through a
long period of time (Medicine Through Time)
 Depth Study – Elizabethan England 1558-1603;
Britain 1815-1851; The American West 1840-1890
 Modern World Study – Communist China;
Arab-Israeli Conflict; The Irish Question
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Schools’ History Broadcasting
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The National Curriculum for History 1990
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 Key Stage 2 Ages 7-11
9 topics to include ‘Romans, Anglo-Saxons & Vikings’;
‘Tudor and Stuart times’; Victorian Britain or Britain since
1930; Ancient Greece; Exploration and encounters 14501550 plus optional units including local history and a
past non-European society (e.g. Ancient Egypt, Benin).
 Key Stage 3 Ages 11-14
◦ 4 ‘core’ topics – Roman Empire; Medieval Realms 10661500; ‘Crown, parliament and people 1500-1750;
‘Expansion, trade and industry: Britain 1750-1900
◦ Plus 4 optional units, e.g. the British Empire (depth
study), the French Revolution (turning point), India under
the Mughal Empire; Black peoples of the Americas (past
non-European society)
◦
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Text Books for the History NC
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The National Curriculum for History 2010
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 Key Stage 2 Ages 7-11 (from 2011 possibly?)
◦ ‘Historical and geographical and social understanding’
with no specific content ‘as well as British history, one of
the periods studied could be taken from European or
World history’
Key Stage 3 Ages 11-14 (2008 revision)
The development of political power from the Middle Ages
to the 20thC; histories of nations of the UK; migration
and settlement to, from and within the British Isles, the
British Empire and the slave trade, the two world wars
and the Holocaust, international co-operation
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What future for school history?
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 ‘We have mostly been on the defensive and
reacting to changes all the time. History is
quite good at adapting; it has had to …. In
many schools, history remains the most
popular optional subject, despite everything
that is thrown at it. It is resilient in that
sense.’
Tim Lomas, Senior Adviser for Lincolnshire LEA
(oral history interview 30.03.2009)
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