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.