Landmarks with questions – England's school history wars 1967-2010 and 2010-2013

Abstract

This is in two parts and provides a background to national curriculum developments mainly from 1967 to 2010 as well as a focus on debates since 2010. It seeks to make links between previous curriculum debates and the current ones in the areas of pedagogy, method and content. The earlier debates had features of many issues that would arise again in the 2010-2013 period, especially: quantitative versus qualitative approaches to education; the place of nation vis-a-vis the rest of the world; the relationship between a disciplinary approach and substantive contexts; the role of historians, government and professional associations; and the role of the media. Progress in planning for the 2013 draft history curriculum in England has been slow, but the nature of the speculation before, and of the reaction after the publication of the draft shows that there are some strongly held and deeply entrenched positions about what function a national history curriculum should fulfil. The debate has involved a Government Minister (Michael Gove) and a range of teachers and academics, and – particularly – historians: from the celebrity academics chosen by him to advise, to others whose response has been divided but public, involving letters and articles in the media. A major concern has been how to organise and rationalise for an English curriculum a national narrative for students 7-14 that encompasses not only a disciplinary approach but also both British and international contexts. Complaints from all groups however show disappointment that the Minister failed to secure his earlier interest in extending compulsory school by two years to the age of 16.