History in Schools and the Problem of “The Nation”

Terry Haydn

doi:10.3390/educsci2040276

Abstract

The article examines the enduring popularity of a form of school history which is based predominantly on the idea that the transmission of a positive story about the national past will inculcate in young people a sense of loyalty to the state; a reassuring and positive sense of identity and belonging; and a sense of social solidarity with fellow citizens. England is one of the countries which has to at least some extent moved away from this model of school history; but the past few years have seen suggestions for a move back to a history curriculum which focuses predominantly on the transmission of ‘Our Island Story’; and which presents a positive rendering of that story. The history curriculum in England is currently under review; and public pronouncements by politicians; academic historians and newspaper editorials suggest strong pressures towards a restoration of what is often termed ‘traditional’ school history; which was prevalent in English schools before the advent of what has been termed ‘New history’ in the 1970s. The paper questions some of the arguments which have been put forward in order to justify a return to a history curriculum based on a positive and unproblematic narrative of the national story and suggests that such a course of action is based on some unexamined assumptions and a limited understanding of pedagogy and learning. The final section of the paper outlines several weaknesses and flaws in the arguments for reverting to a traditional (i.e. ‘nation-based’ and celebratory) form of school history; and some of the dangers inherent in such a project.

Highlights

The article examines the enduring popularity of a form of school history which is based predominantly on the idea that the transmission of a positive story about the national past will inculcate in young people a sense of loyalty to the state; a reassuring and positive sense of identity and belonging; and a sense of social solidarity with fellow citizens
The paper questions some of the arguments which have been put forward in order to justify a return to a history curriculum based on a positive and unproblematic narrative of the national story and suggests that such a course of action is based on some unexamined assumptions and a limited understanding of pedagogy and learning
Aldrich describes the history curriculum which pertained in England until the 1970s as ‘cast in a broadly self-congratulatory and heroic, high-political mould’ [4], and Gilbert [5] makes the point that the story or narrative that was told in history lessons in England was essentially positive, uncritical and unproblematic

Summary

School History and ‘The Nation’

This paper considers two questions related to the teaching of history in schools. First; to what extent should school history be based around the teaching of the story of the nation’s past? And second; to what extent should the teaching of the national past attempt to present a positive picture of the nation’s past, rather than a dispassionately objective and critical one?. A more recent survey of pupil attitudes to the subject suggested that a far higher proportion of pupils considered history as taught in the twenty-first century to be interesting and useful (see Tables 1 and 2) Another danger in reverting to the traditional model of school history that operated in most English schools until the 1970s is that the assumption that teaching a positive story of the national past will promote social cohesion is an illusory and untested one. There are many people who have been very successful in their study of history in schools, who have degree level qualifications in the subject, who understand perfectly well how to read the record of the past, and who have an assured grasp of the rules and conventions governing the use of evidence to ascertain the validity of truth claims, and who exercise the skills which they have acquired in distorting and manipulating the evidence for personal, financial or political ends. It seems to be that the teaching of history has to take place in a spirit which takes seriously the need to pursue truth on the basis of evidence, and at the same time accepts the need for give and take in that pursuit and that teaching in that spirit should encourage pupils to take a similar approach [72]

Conclusions

Findings

58. History at the End of the World