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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 SHELDONINSTITUTE OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH
6 MAY 2010
History in Schools – a century of debate, 1900-
2010
The Aims of the Project
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 News3
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The teacher and pupil survey4
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The Growing Archive
Courtesy of Mrs Kathryn Ingham
A pupil’s work from the 1960s
1900 TO THE 1960S
Themes and Early Conclusions
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7Norman, born 1923, attended central school in London 22/04/23
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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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13Ken, born 1923, attended grammar school in London 22/04/23
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Irene, born 1923, attended senior elementary school in Southend 22/04/23
22/04/23Bill, 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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1960S TO THE PRESENT DAY
Themes and Early Conclusions
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The Schools Council History Project
What is History? - introductory investigationsHistory 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 1840-1890Modern World Study – Communist China; Arab-
Israeli Conflict; The Irish Question
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Schools’ History Broadcasting21
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The National Curriculum for History 1990
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 1450-1550 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 1066-
1500; ‘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
The National Curriculum for History 2010
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?
‘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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