Historical Association Conference 2010 History in Education Project: Reviewing 100 years of history teaching in English state schools Jenny Keating and Nicola Sheldon Institute of Historical Research Senate House, London, WC1E 7HU

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 2 14/01/2015

History in the News 3 14/01/2015

The teacher and pupil survey 4 14/01/2015

5 The Growing Archive Courtesy of Mrs Kathryn Ingham A pupil’s work from the 1960s

1900 TO THE 1960 S Themes and Early Conclusions 6 14/01/2015

7 Norman, born 1923, attended central school in London 14/01/2015

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11 14/01/2015 The Approach to History, by FC Happold (London 1928), p31.

12 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 14/01/2015

13 Ken, born 1923, attended grammar school in London 14/01/2015

14 Irene, born 1923, attended senior elementary school in Southend 14/01/2015

Bill, age 90, attended a central school in SE London

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18 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 The thought never occurred to us. 14/01/2015

1960 S TO THE PRESENT DAY Themes and Early Conclusions 19 14/01/2015

The Schools Council History Project  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 ; Britain ; The American West  Modern World Study – Communist China; Arab-Israeli Conflict; The Irish Question 20 14/01/2015

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 plus optional units including local history and a past non-European society (e.g. Ancient Egypt, Benin).  Key Stage 3 Ages ◦ 4 ‘core’ topics – Roman Empire; Medieval Realms ; ‘Crown, parliament and people ; ‘Expansion, trade and industry: Britain ◦ 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) 21 14/01/2015

22 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 (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 23 14/01/2015

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 ) 24 14/01/2015