Dr Nicola Sheldon, Institute of Historical Research, University of London

Melbourne House Talks30 January 2011

What’s wrong with history today?

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Press coverage of the History National Curriculum 2009-10

Outline of this presentation Was there a ‘golden age’ when children learnt

all about ‘kings and queens’? Why did the national narrative disappear from

the school curriculum in the 1970s and 80s? Did the new National Curriculum of 1990

restore it? To what extent is there a ‘new style’ national

narrative in English schools? Should Mr Gove restore the national narrative?

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Control over the curriculum in English schools

No central or nationally-legislated curriculum

No prescribed text books ‘Advice’ given by Board of Education

dwindled after 1945 No central control over teacher training Examinations controlled by university bodies Majority of children never took leaving

examinations pre-1965.

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The traditional national narrative

R J Unstead (1915-88)

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Examples of the English national narrative in school work pre-1970s

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Courtesy of Muriel Longhurst 1947-50 and Ian Colwill 1960-67

Outline of a typical history course for secondary pupils pre-1970s

Age 11-12: Ancient World to Norman Conquest Age 12-13: British History 1066-1485 Age 13-14: British, European and World History

1485-17th,18th or 19th century…. Age 14-16:

British History 1815-1945 British/ European History 1789-1939 British Social and Economic History 1700-1945 Modern World History 1870-1945A New Look at History (1976) p.26

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A Survey of British History (1951)

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The history classroom: 1960s-70s

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Copyright London Metropolitan Archives

Copyright The National Archives

Marjorie Reeves 1905-2003 Native of Bratton (daughter of R.J. Reeves,

Bratton Iron Works Trowbridge High School for Girls – St Hugh’s

College, Oxford Doctorate on medieval mysticism 1931-8 St Gabriel’s Teacher Training College Tutor at St Anne’s College, Oxford until 1972 Edited and wrote Then and There series of

text books (195s-80s) Why History? (1980)

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Challenges to the position of history on the curriculum

Threats Comprehensive secondary schools by end of 1970s –

mixed ability classes and full ability range to cater for. New subjects crowded the curriculum. History seen as traditional and unpopular (surveys). Opportunities Post-war cohort of teachers + expanded training

colleges. 1964 Schools Council set up to fund curriculum

innovation. Response ‘Defensive innovation’ by history teachers:-

New curriculum, e.g. world history, social/local history A re-think of the rationale of the subject - ‘love,

freedom and new history’21/04/23 N.Sheldon

A history teacher remembers his youthful idealism … I got a job in Devon at Exmouth School, which

was the largest comprehensive in England at the time with 2,400 students. Great place … to learn. There were twelve NQTs (first appointment teachers) in the school the September I started. It was a time of huge excitement and we really thought that the world was going to change. It was 1969, the world was going to change, it was going to be a better place, there was going to be peace and love and better history and I expected and hoped to be part of that movement. (Interview: Chris Culpin, 22 September 2009)

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School work in ‘new’ history from the 1970s-80s

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Courtesy of Charlotte Crow, 1979-80

The alternative(s) to the national narrative 1970s-80sSchools Council History Project based

on the ‘needs of the teenager’ 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;or Britain 1815-1851; or The American West 1840-1890

Modern World Study – Communist China; or Arab-Israeli Conflict; or The Irish Question

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The birth of the National Curriculum 1988 proposed introduction of the National

Curriculum in 10 subjects; History the most controversial – PM wanted a

core of factual information based on British history - a chronological national narrative;

History Working Group responded by emphasising ‘historical enquiry’, ‘skills’ and economic, social and cultural aspects as well as political history.

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Brief summary of the first NCKS2 (age 7-11) core topics:

Ancient Civilisations: Greece (also often Egypt – a ‘non-European society’)

Romans, Vikings, Anglo-Saxons – ‘invaders and settlers’Life in Tudor and Stuart timesVictorian Britain or Britain since the 1930s

KS3 (age 11-14) core topics: ‘Medieval Realms’ - Britain 1066-1500 ‘The Making of the United Kingdom’ - Britain 1500-1750Britain 1750-1900Twentieth-century WorldA past non-European society (e.g. the Aztecs, Mughal

India, Black peoples of the Americas).21/04/23 N.Sheldon

The National Curriculum and the Welsh national narrative Cultural identity at the heart:- ‘the centre of gravity of Welsh history … has

lain in the social, economic and broad cultural experiences of the people of Wales’

‘the awareness of the Welsh as a separate people rests… on a belief in the particularity of their own past and traditions… the teaching of the history of Wales … is a crucial aspect in safeguarding that identity.’ (Final Report of the History Committee for Wales, June 1990, paras. 4.2, 4.5))

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What does Britishness mean? 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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The problem of identity in English school history 1970s- present day Old narrative out of date – end of Empire; Multi-ethnic Britain challenges any single

narrative; Devolution and the problem of English

national identity; Uncertainty about the national

characteristics England/Britain should promote;

Cultural change since the 1960s – scepticism the basis of the new history?

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The evolution of history in schools – the National Curriculum in 2010 The slave trade and the Holocaust the only

mandated topics in the National Curriculum (although most teachers still do a lot of British history)

(Be nice!) Tolerance and social cohesion the priority

Citizenship more prominent (history as a means of learning lessons for the present).

But…. No national narrative – so, have we lost our way or reached a new level of maturity in our study of history in schools?

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The Dutch canon and the re-birth of national narratives

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Mr Gove and the Curriculum Review 2011

Should History be part of the National Curriculum at all?

If so, what content should be prescribed for it?

If content is prescribed, how will it be tested?

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