What remains of history? Historical epistemology and historical understanding in Scotland's Curriculum for Excellence

Abstract

This paper critically examines the framing of historical knowledge in the primary and 'broad general education' phases (ages 4-14) of Scotland's Curriculum for Excellence. The paper focuses on curriculum documentation, particularly the curriculum's aims and 'Experiences and Outcomes and evaluates these in light of recent research on children's historical understanding. It is argued that the decision to frame historical understanding as 'People, Past Events and Societies' within the context of a 'social studies' curriculum area has been motivated by a misunderstanding of history's unique disciplinary identity. It is argued that history curricula must take account of the unique ontological and epistemological challenges posed by investigating the past and that by failing to do this, 'Curriculum for Excellence' offers children in Scotland a problematic representation of what it means to study the past. The paper challenges the curriculum in both epistemic and pedagogical terms, before suggesting that a rigorous study of history as a discipline can make a valuable contribution to children's personal and social development.

The Scottish Context: Making History in an “Understated Nation”

“…As I have argued elsewhere (Smith 2016), these competencies are in reverse order of historical complexity. Level Four has nothing uniquely historical about it, while Level Two describes the day-today work of a researcher in a university history faculty.…”

“…The second was a supranational trend for education systems in the west to homogenise and coalesce around an instrumental business-friendly approach to education (Avis, et al 1996, Ozga and Lingard 2007, Priestley 2002. While Green (1997) has argued that the processes of globalisation inevitably diminished nationalism in the school curricula of advanced economies, Scotland stood apart from this: as an emerging nation, its nationalism fused with its globalism.Following Arnott and Ozga (2010;2016), it is suggested that these pressures created a form of civic nationalism consisting of an inward discourse which emphasises national 'flourishing' and an outward 1 The epithet 'understated nation' was first used by David McCrone in a 2005 paper in the British Journal of Sociology and is a reference to Jacques Leruez's famous description of Scotland as a 'stateless nation ' (1993). McCrone had previously used Leruez's phrase approvingly (McCrone, Understanding Scotland: The Sociology of a Stateless Nation 1992), before later deciding that the term was 'less than accurate'.…”

“…Following Arnott and Ozga (2010;2016), it is suggested that these pressures created a form of civic nationalism consisting of an inward discourse which emphasises national 'flourishing' and an outward 1 The epithet 'understated nation' was first used by David McCrone in a 2005 paper in the British Journal of Sociology and is a reference to Jacques Leruez's famous description of Scotland as a 'stateless nation ' (1993). McCrone had previously used Leruez's phrase approvingly (McCrone, Understanding Scotland: The Sociology of a Stateless Nation 1992), before later deciding that the term was 'less than accurate'.…”

Multiple Document Based Lessons dan Kekekalan Pengetahuan Sejarah

“…Selain itu, Lee dan Shemilt (2004), Neumann (2012), dan Smith (2016) telah menjelaskan pemahaman terhadap pengetahuan sejarah yang baik melalui pemerolehan maklumat, fakta dan konsep sejarah dari aspek masa, lokasi dan orang adalah bertujuan untuk membekalkan maklumat yang komprehensif terhadap sesuatu peristiwa yang telah berlaku dan menyediakan peluang kepada murid untuk membuat sesuatu generalisasi terhadap idea sejarah yang berkaitan dengan peristiwa sejarah yang telah berlaku. Tambahan pula, Howson dan Shelmilt (2011), Mallihai Tambyah (2017 dan Johansson (2014) dalam kajiannya pula telah menjelaskan penguasaan pengetahuan sejarah yang baik dapat menyediakan ruang pembelajaran yang kondusif kepada murid untuk membandingkan sesuatu identiti masyarakat dengan identiti masyarakat yang lain, mengenal pasti persamaan antara beberapa rentetan peristiwa sejarah yang telah berlaku, menyediakan sudut pandangan yang menyeluruh terhadap sesuatu peristiwa sejarah yang telah lepas dan menjana kesedaran terhadap sesuatu perubahan dan kesinambungan antara satu peristiwa dengan satu peristiwa sejarah yang lain.…”

“…Oleh itu, penyepaduan antara pengetahuan sejarah dengan elemen-elemen yang merentas kurikulum seperti bahasa, kelestarian alam sekitar, nilai-nilai murni, sains dan teknologi, patriotisme, kreativiti dan inovasi, keusahawanan dan teknologi maklumat dan komunikasi adalah disarankan dalam kurikulum Sejarah (PPK, 2003(PPK, , 2015. Saranan pihak PPK (2003PPK ( , 2015 tersebut adalah bertepatan dengan kajian Ashby (2011), Smith (2016) dan Young (2011) yang menjelaskan bahawa pemahaman kandungan sejarah yang tepat adalah berupaya untuk membentuk kemahiran dan keterampilan modal insan yang dihasratkan bagi menangani cabaran semasa dan masa hadapan dalam kalangan murid.…”