History in British Education (first conference)
On 14 – 15 February 2005, the Institute of Historical Research organised a conference on History in British Education in collaboration with the Historical Association and the Royal Historical Society, sponsored by the Linbury Trust. The conference brought together teachers, educational policymakers, filmmakers and television producers, university lecturers, librarians, archivists, museum educationalists and students of all ages. Speakers and delegates discussed the way in which history is currently taught in schools, the way in which it might be taught in the future, and what should be done both to safeguard its place in the national curriculum and to develop its presence in British education from primary school onwards.
The conference proved highly successful and it was felt that its proceedings should be made more widely accessible, not only because of the quality of their content but also because they serve as a gateway to many resources for history and educational policy cited by the delegates. The conference proceedings available here were either transcribed and edited from audio recordings, or were written versions prepared by speakers. Publication of the papers has been made possible through the support of the University of London's Vice-Chancellor’s Fund.
Plenary lectures
Plenary lectures given over the course of the conference
- What history should we be teaching
in Britain the 21st century?
David Starkey
Chair: Professor David Bates - Talking about history in British education
Sean Lang (Anglia Polytechnic University/Historical Association 14-19 Curriculum Project) - A politician's view
Michael Wills (MP for North Swindon) - The Tomlinson Recommendations: implications
for 14–19 history
David Eastwood (University of East Anglia)
Session one
Identity, progression and dialogue (1)
- Tradition, innovation and renewal in secondary school history teaching:
what has been achieved in 15 years of the National Curriculum for History
Key Stage 3?
Christine Counsell (University of Cambridge) - From the other end of the island: a Scottish take on history education
in Britain
Richard Dargie (University of Edinburgh) - History teaching in Higher Education;
breaking down the barriers to progression and dialogue
David Nicholls (Manchester Metropolitan University) and Alan Booth (University of Nottingham)
Session two
Identity, progression and dialogue (2)
- History in primary schools
Hilary Cooper (St Martin's College, Lancaster) - University history teaching: disciplinary
distinctiveness, design and dialogue
Charles Anderson and Kate Day (University of Edinburgh) - Piloting a new approach to post-14
history in England, Northern Ireland and Wales
Jerome Freeman and Jane Weake (Qualifications and Curriculum Authority)
Session three
The media, heritage and museums in British education
- TV history – history on TV?
Michael Wood - Bringing history to life: the role
of heritage in education
Tracy Borman (English Heritage) - The universal museum
Gareth Binns (The British Museum) - Touching the past: reading artefacts
and the search for meaning
Paul Salmons (Imperial War Museum Holocaust Project) - Television archaeology: education or
entertainment?
Don Henson (Council for British Archaeology) - Learning by going – and doing?
Grant Bage and Siobhan Edwards (The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts)
Session four
History, citizenship and social inclusion
- History and citizenship in the primary
school
Hilary Claire (London Metropolitan University - Reaching out from the archive: minority
history and academic method
Madge Dresser (University of the West of England) - Social inclusion at the National Archives
Rachel Hasted (The National Archives) - 'In this curriculum, I don't exist'
Marika Sherwood (Black and Asian Studies Association)
