“Our Island Story”:
Refocusing the History
Curriculum in England
Dr Dean Smart
University of the West of England,
Bristol
The Schooling System in
England
Age
4-11
Phase
Primary
(KS1-2)
11-14 Secondary
(KS3)
14-16 Secondary
(KS4) GCSE
16-18
A levels
National Curriculum
Years
1-6
7-9
10-11
12-13
Curriculum Inheritance
Little Arthur’s History of England
http://www.amblesideonline.org/CM/la.html
Our Island Story
Henrietta Marshall 1905
Our Island Story.
Children’s history of Britain ,
from the time of the Romans
to the death of Queen
Victoria, became an instant
classic.
Repeatedly reprinted up until
its ‘final’ edition in 1953.
Reprinted by Civitas in 2005
http://www.civitas.org.uk/islandstory/sample.htm
New
• Curriculum for primary
• Curriculum for lower secondary
• Examinations for upper secondary:
16 year olds
18 year olds
• Models of schooling (Academies and ‘Free
Schools’)
• Teacher Standards
Narrative
or skills
and concepts?
Infant School
Bloom's Taxonomy (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)
Versions 1-4
Version 5
British History 1066 1485
the development of Church, state and society in
Medieval Britain 1066-1509
1485 - 1750
the development of Church, state and society in
Britain 1509-1745
1750 - 1900
ideas, political power, industry and empire: Britain,
1745-1901
1900 – Present
challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world
1901 to the present day
(Including a study of the
Holocaust)
A local study
(Including a study of the Holocaust)
A local study
British history from before 1066
A turning point in
European History
A unit about a nonat least one study of a significant society or
European society from its issue in world history and its interconnections
own perspective
with other world developments
National Curriculum
1990
1995
1999
2007
2014
version 1
2
3
4
5
Subject Strands (v3)
1 Chronology
2 Knowledge and Understanding of History
3 Interpretations of History
4 Historical Enquiry
5 Organisation and Communication
Key Concepts (v4)
1 Chronological Understanding
2 Cultural, Ethnic and Religious Diversity
3 Change and Continuity
4 Cause and Consequence
5 Significance
6 Interpretation
Key Processes (v4)
1 Historical Enquiry
2 Using Evidence
3. Communicating about the Past
UK population: Ethnic Origin
2011
African/Black British/ Caribbean
3%
Asian/Asian British
8%
Mixed/Multiple
2%
White*
86%
(48.2m)
(*of which: White British)
80.5%
(45.1m)
Other
1%
Larkin 1977
Grey et al (2000:63)
Grey et al (2000:63, detail)
‘talking heads’
.
Brooks et al (2003b:31, detail)
7/7 2005
multiethnic group discusses the Transatlantic Slave Trade:
Clare (2003a:80 and 81) Double page spread.
Exploration 1% Great Exhibition 1%
Empire 23%
Religion 1%
Class/Wealth 2%
Historical Skills 2%
Atom bomb/Japan 3%
International Cooperation 3%
Racism 3%
Politics and Democracy 3%
Trade 5%
Japan 6%
World Wars 6%
Transatlantic
Crusades 7%
Slavery 21% Holocaust 13%
Olaudah Equiano:
Smart (2004:35)