Thinking about the curriculum An international perspective

Background Based on material used in an Umalusi research project The Umalusi project aimed to benchmark the CAPS curriculum against overseas countries Instead I will be looking at the various philosophies underpinning school history teaching and how these play out in the selected countries.

What are these philosophies? I have identified three: Content-based – The curriculum planners and textbook writers serve up the pre-digested facts and opinions and the students learn them – Georgia Skills-based – my own rather cheeky definition of this – emphasis is on using history to teach mainly generic skills – in our minds it would be the methodology associated with outcomes-based education (OBE). Source-based or Enquiry-based – the emphasis falls on teaching the skills and ways of thinking specific to History. To varying degrees students are expected to demonstrate the skills employed by historians when mining source material in order to construct a historical narrative.

My bias Source or Enquiry-based history teaching. My reasons: The uniqueness of history as a discipline (Wineburg) The importance of creating information sceptics in a digital age – careful believers. The dangers of superficiality – if it’s Week 7 it must be the French Revolution.

Kenya

Kenyan Traditionalism – History and Government This appears to be very much an old-style content-based curriculum. This would fit with its stated objective to “promote a sense of nationalism, patriotism and national unity”. Consists of little more than a long list of topics with the number of lessons required to teach each one: For instance; Form 4 – the highest listed has the following topics: - World Wars (12) - International Relations (16) - Co-operation in Africa (16)

National Philosophies (12) Social, economic and political developments and challenges in Kenya since independence (20) Social, economic and political developments and challenges in Africa since independence (12) Local authorities in Kenya (12) Government revenue and expenditure (12) The electoral process and functions of governments in other parts of the world (16) The emphasis is overwhelmingly on Kenya, the East African region and Africa. Only in forms two and four is there anything to do with the wider world.

British Columbia

Touchy Feely BC Social Studies Grade 11 and History Grade 12 Emphasis will fall on the latter as the word “history’ is not mentioned once in the Social Studies curriculum. Focus in Grade 11 is exclusively on Canada and is thematic. For instance one would be doing a lot of history in describing Canada’s evolution as a politically autonomous nation.

British Columbia – History Grade 12 In contrast to Grade 11 Social Studies, Grade 12 History does not even mention Canada but is exclusively focussed on international history between 1919 and 1991. This would be very clearly recognised by our teachers as a strongly OBE curriculum which largely uses history as a means of teaching generic skills despite the following: The Study of History A1 – analyse primary and secondary sources (historical evidence) with reference to Reliability Bias and point of view Corroborating and conflicting evidence A2 – assess significant historical events in relation to social, political, economic, technological, cultural and geographic factors A3 – demonstrate historical empathy

However … the skills central to a source-based curriculum hardly get a look in if one refers to the very detailed methodological guide provided in the curriculum. Critical engagement with sources appears only three times: in an exercise on Zionism another on the Great Depression and a third on the Rape of Nanking and only the third really engages with sources on a critical level. Otherwise it’s a merry jig of jigsaw groups, role-plays etc. For instance under the topic D5 explain how World War II resulted in a realignment of world power we have:

Have students working in small groups assume the role of journalistic teams assigned to report on a given wartime conference. Assign a particular conference to each group (the same conference could be assigned to more than one group). Although there are several conferences that could be assigned, ensure that the following are included: - The Atlantic Conference - Tehran - Yalta - Potsdam Teams are to provide research and analysis on the conference and its significance. The results could be videotaped and viewed by the class.

Singapore

State-of-the-art Singapore From the examination format it can clearly be seen that Singapore is a source-based or enquiry-based approach. It is also characterised by a preference for depth over breadth, the opposite of British Columbia. H2 History has two papers for instance: Paper 1 Section A (25%) – One compulsory source-based study on The political effectiveness of the United Nations 1945 – 2000 for 25 marks. Section B (75%) – Three out of five essays on any two themes: - The Cold War and how it shaped the world - The development of the global economy - Conflict and co-operation

And … Paper 2 Section A (25%) – One compulsory source-based study on ASEAN 1967 – 1997 for 25 marks. Section B (75%) – Three out of five essays on any two themes: - How independence was achieved - Challenges to independent Southeast Asian states - Regional Conflicts and co-operation Essay question will be thematic, requiring candidates to support answers with examples drawn from at least three countries of the candidates’ choice. Essay questions may also require candidates to draw comparisons among countries.