- History lessons are dominated by Germany and 20th-century
dictators because of the narrowing and "Hitlerisation" of the
secondary curriculum, Government advisers warned yesterday.
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- Pupils no longer receive a broad education in the subject
in the majority of schools because the Tudors and 20th-century history
are overwhelmingly chosen as exam options for 14- to 16-year- olds, according
to a critical report by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA).
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- They learn about Hitler in the first stage of secondary
school, then again if they choose to study the subject for GCSE and, if
they take the subject for A-level, for a third time in the sixth form.
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- The report said there was "widespread disquiet"
over the lack of breadth being offered to students in history, which remained
a popular option.
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- "The option choices made by schools and colleges
mean that the content of history lessons for 14- to 19-year-olds continues
to be dominated by the 16th-, 19th- and 20th-century topics, most notably
the Tudors and the 20th-century dictatorships," it said.
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- In 2003 there was a nine per cent rise to 58 per cent
in the proportion of candidates taking a modern world history specification
for GCSE and there was a similar narrowing at A-level.
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- Younger pupils, in the first three years of their secondary
education, were also learning about Hitler, while not being taught about
the British Empire in sufficient detail, said the advisers.
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- Schools were playing safe by opting for appealing topics
to ensure a large take-up of the subject at GCSE and A-level and concentrating
on familiar areas to build on what the pupils had learned between the ages
of 12 and 14, said the monitoring report on the curriculum in 2003/04.
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- "This narrowing of post-14 history has been roundly
criticised, particularly where some schools appear to revisit similar periods
of history."
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- The repetition of familiar topics had happened over recent
years as schools came under pressure to produce better and better exam
results.
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- Teachers tended to be most expert in Tudor and modern
history and the publishers reinforced the specialisation by producing plentiful
resources for these periods. Exam boards provided most options in those
areas with little change in the specifications over the years.
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- A spokesman for the QCA said the Tudor period was popular
because of "human interest figures such as Henry VIII and the importance
of the break with Rome, which is one of the most significant events in
British history".
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- The report also echoes the concern expressed by Ofsted
and leading historians over the lack of continuity, which means pupils
gain in-depth knowledge of specific topics but are unable to place them
in a timeline.
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- The findings were endorsed by the Historical Association,
which will publish its own survey next month showing how the subject has
contracted in schools.
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- Sean Lang, its honorary secretary, blamed the exam boards.
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- Edexcel, one of the three exam groups in England, offered
a popular A-level allowing students to answer on Germany between 1919-1935
for five of the six units that made up the qualification.
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- "This, perhaps, explains why they know more about
Hitler than they do about what happened after the war started, such as
the Holocaust," Mr Lang said.
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- He added: "The exam boards are the people with the
whip hand who prescribe what is in the syllabus and they have no difficulty
doing so in other areas.
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- "If the boards insisted on greater breadth then
the publishers would tear their hair out and the teachers would grumble
but they would get down to it in the end."
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- A spokesman for Edexcel said: "We do not prescribe
what period students should learn. The choice of period taught in schools
is made by history teachers and, anecdotally, they choose to teach modern
history because of the wealth of archive materials for them to draw on."
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- © Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2005.
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- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
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