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Secondary school syllabus on history/politics

ska invita

ska invita

back on the other side
Was with friends who have an 11 year old and in his history class he's learning about the British Empire at the moment. They didn't have anything like that in my day! History was taught as a confusing mess with very little critical political content and no sense of historical process over time

Id be interested to hear from teachers and parents what the syllabus is like these days, mainly in history I guess, but wherever there is political content.
 
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Peter Painter said:
You can see the national curriculum for history here:
Click to expand...
 challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world 1901 to the present day
Peter Painter said:
www.gov.uk

National curriculum in England: history programmes of study

The statutory programmes of study and attainment targets for history for key stages 1 to 3.
www.gov.uk www.gov.uk

I guess that how it is followed and where emphasis is placed is down to individual schools and/or teachers.
Click to expand...
thanks...
looks like a linear British history and seemingly taught in chronological order:

STAGE 1 AND 2

 changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age
 the Roman Empire and its impact on Britain
Britain’s settlement by Anglo-Saxons and Scots
 the Viking and Anglo-Saxon struggle for the Kingdom of England to the time of Edward the Confessor
---------

 the achievements of the earliest civilizations – an overview of where and when the first civilizations appeared and a depth study of one of the following: Ancient Sumer; The Indus Valley; Ancient Egypt; The Shang Dynasty of Ancient China  Ancient Greece
– a study of Greek life and achievements and their influence on the western world
 a non-European society that provides contrasts with British history – one study chosen from: early Islamic civilization, including a study of Baghdad c. AD 900; Mayan civilization c. AD 900; Benin (West Africa) c. AD 900-1300.
---------

STAGE 3

 the development of Church, state and society in Medieval Britain 1066-1509
 the development of Church, state and society in Britain 1509-1745
 ideas, political power, industry and empire: Britain, 1745-1901
 challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world 1901 to the present day

---------
 a local history study
 the study of an aspect or theme in British history that consolidates and extends pupils’ chronological knowledge from before 1066
 at least one study of a significant society or issue in world history and its interconnections with other world developments [for example, Mughal India 1526-1857; China’s Qing dynasty 1644-1911; Changing Russian empires c.1800-1989; USA in the 20th Century].

---------

looks infinitely better to the history syllabus i was taught tbf
 
ska invita said:
 challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world 1901 to the present day

thanks...
looks like a linear British history and seemingly taught in chronological order:

STAGE 1 AND 2

 changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age
 the Roman Empire and its impact on Britain
Britain’s settlement by Anglo-Saxons and Scots
 the Viking and Anglo-Saxon struggle for the Kingdom of England to the time of Edward the Confessor
---------

 the achievements of the earliest civilizations – an overview of where and when the first civilizations appeared and a depth study of one of the following: Ancient Sumer; The Indus Valley; Ancient Egypt; The Shang Dynasty of Ancient China  Ancient Greece
– a study of Greek life and achievements and their influence on the western world
 a non-European society that provides contrasts with British history – one study chosen from: early Islamic civilization, including a study of Baghdad c. AD 900; Mayan civilization c. AD 900; Benin (West Africa) c. AD 900-1300.
---------

STAGE 3

 the development of Church, state and society in Medieval Britain 1066-1509
 the development of Church, state and society in Britain 1509-1745
 ideas, political power, industry and empire: Britain, 1745-1901
 challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world 1901 to the present day

---------
 a local history study
 the study of an aspect or theme in British history that consolidates and extends pupils’ chronological knowledge from before 1066
 at least one study of a significant society or issue in world history and its interconnections with other world developments [for example, Mughal India 1526-1857; China’s Qing dynasty 1644-1911; Changing Russian empires c.1800-1989; USA in the 20th Century].

---------

looks infinitely better to the history syllabus i was taught tbf
Click to expand...
what history syllabus were you taught?
 
I can't remember much from my school history apart from King Wotsit was followed by King Thingy, something about the stone age, the battle of Hastings and a book with lots of pictures called Tudors and Stuarts... oh, and something about Anglo-Saxons having to walk 9 paces carrying a red hot iron bar! That's it. Mind you, history classes were one of the few things I took any notice of, which all tells you how much I learned :(
 
Someone once told me the syllabus was deliberately changed (in late 70s? 80s?) away from a linear Kings n Queens n Dates way to this hotchpotch...was seen as progressive.
I can imagine why but I learned very little and am only now getting a timeline clear in my mind
 
philosophical said:
Good to see a smidgeon of world stuff there (imho nowhere near enough) but it looks like a bit too much flag shagging for my liking.
Click to expand...
Yes, its very British-centric and created under a Tory Cameron government.
i would be interest to know what parents/teachers make of it.
But I still think its a better springboard into historical understanding than I got
 
I recommend listening to random episodes on In Our Time from the wireless.
From there I have learned about great (foreign) people like Emilie du Chatelet and a lot more stuff.
Even recently I learned the big winners of the Battle of Trafalgar were Spanish central and South American states seeking independence.
 
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ska invita said:
heard it a few times when had a driving job - i find it an information dump - feel cleverer whilst listening to it but retain absolutely zero - too much too quickly
Click to expand...

I know what you mean by it being loads and loads. However I try to take from it more than the basic information, and often am taken aback by perspectives that go against the received information I previously had from school and elsewhere.
Nobody can be expected to remember all the information, but the programme is a good prompt and signpost to other things.
 
I listen to In Our Time at bed time, Melvyn Bragg's smooth tones generally get me straight off to sleep and if not then at least I'm listening to something interesting. :cool:
 
At school we did 'Economic history' for O Level, and were taught about the bloody 3 field system, Spinning Jenny and Jethro Tull's seed drill... fascinating stuff.. How to bore everyone to death..

'The Rest is History' is excellent general history podcast by Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook. obv. with all the usual caveats..
 
rubbershoes said:
Bizarrely my daughters are learning about the American push West in the 19th century.
Click to expand...

Most schools in England choose the AQA board which has this paper. There are four areas they cover for GCSE - period study, thematic study, British depth and world depth study.

I’m in NI so slightly different (no thematic study thank god) and benefit from having The Troubles as a paper option so students get really into that.

The problem with teaching history is that teachers usually just end up wanting to teach what they were taught and there’s tonnes of readily made resources and material for that stuff so it saves time and effort instead of having to build a whole scheme of work for the Aztec Empire, for instance, which is really cool but nobody has done anything on it.

There are efforts happening now to teach more BAME history and ‘decolonising the curriculum’ but I suspect progress will be slow.
 
A self evident point this but one of the challenges of teaching history is there’s just so much of it - and that there are many interesting periods, and there are competing rivals, for what must be limited space in the curriculum.

It can end up being pick one of each of these themes / curriculum satisfying topics and be a hotch potch as ska invita says. You always eat better from an a la carte menu than a buffet.

Hopefully students get a chance for a real feel for the subject, but it must be so dependent on the teacher and the topics chosen.

I loved history GCSE (China 1900-89, crime and punishment through time) but really dislikes 19th century British and European history at A level. I had similar experiences with English Lit.
 
Back in the mid 70s when I was at secondary school, the history we were taught was all over the place. We did a term on Ancient Egypt, followed by a term on the Great Fire of London. The Gunpowder Plot also got a look in. When I did my O level, we studied the victorian/edwardian era.

I love history now, but that's down to my own study. Apart from some victorian social history, it was dull and disjointed.
 
When I started school in the sixties history was ‘taught’ chronologically starting with the Stone Age and going up to the First World War. It was wholly based on Mediterranean and European history.
 
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