The draft of the reviewed national curriculum for England has finally been announced by the Department for Education.
If implemented, these changes will impact negatively on museum education and history teaching generally, especially affecting younger learners.
The emphasis of the new history syllabus is clear – a movement away from learning about people and how they used to live and towards the concept of “nation” with no attention paid to the wider world for Key Stages (KS) 1 and 2.
Most crucially for museum learning, historical interpretation has vanished. The new history curriculum no longer stresses to younger children the need to understand that the past is represented in different ways, or to look at and question a variety of sources.
More than any other subject, history can be used to teach children the skills of critical thinking and to question what they are told.
Secretary of state for education Michael Gove’s laments concerning the lack of “facts” in the current history curriculum suggest he does not recognise, or will not admit, how highly subjective history is.
The Florence Nightingale Museum is fortunate in that Nightingale – as an “individual who has contributed to our nation’s achievements” – remains on the revised curriculum. However, most museums are not arranged around the subject of a single traditionally iconic figure.
As many activities in museums are devoted to teaching children how we used to live as an introduction to social history and specifically designed to link into the national curriculum, this proposed change will damage museums already under huge pressure from government cuts, especially smaller museums.
Local history museums, rural life museums and indeed any museum that focuses on social history will see a drop in family audiences as well as schools visits. Evaluation tells us how important positive role models are for children, and yet the draft shows that the few individuals being taught are nearly all male, white and royal.
Nightingale is only one of three women mentioned in the entire KS1 and KS2 review, and primary-school children will learn about no non-white people at all.
Museum educators know that what inspires children are accessible stories that they can relate back to things that are also important in their own lives. To combine this perceived relevance with contact with actual historic objects in a museum can inspire a lifelong interest in history.
To replace the current curriculum with a history concentrating entirely on “our great nation of Britain” was out of date in the 1950s.
The new history curriculum risks reversing careful research and growth of knowledge and resources in the museum sector that have broadened historical understanding and appreciation across the board.
Natasha McEnroe is the director of the Florence Nightingale Museum, London
If implemented, these changes will impact negatively on museum education and history teaching generally, especially affecting younger learners.
The emphasis of the new history syllabus is clear – a movement away from learning about people and how they used to live and towards the concept of “nation” with no attention paid to the wider world for Key Stages (KS) 1 and 2.
Most crucially for museum learning, historical interpretation has vanished. The new history curriculum no longer stresses to younger children the need to understand that the past is represented in different ways, or to look at and question a variety of sources.
More than any other subject, history can be used to teach children the skills of critical thinking and to question what they are told.
Secretary of state for education Michael Gove’s laments concerning the lack of “facts” in the current history curriculum suggest he does not recognise, or will not admit, how highly subjective history is.
The Florence Nightingale Museum is fortunate in that Nightingale – as an “individual who has contributed to our nation’s achievements” – remains on the revised curriculum. However, most museums are not arranged around the subject of a single traditionally iconic figure.
As many activities in museums are devoted to teaching children how we used to live as an introduction to social history and specifically designed to link into the national curriculum, this proposed change will damage museums already under huge pressure from government cuts, especially smaller museums.
Local history museums, rural life museums and indeed any museum that focuses on social history will see a drop in family audiences as well as schools visits. Evaluation tells us how important positive role models are for children, and yet the draft shows that the few individuals being taught are nearly all male, white and royal.
Nightingale is only one of three women mentioned in the entire KS1 and KS2 review, and primary-school children will learn about no non-white people at all.
Museum educators know that what inspires children are accessible stories that they can relate back to things that are also important in their own lives. To combine this perceived relevance with contact with actual historic objects in a museum can inspire a lifelong interest in history.
To replace the current curriculum with a history concentrating entirely on “our great nation of Britain” was out of date in the 1950s.
The new history curriculum risks reversing careful research and growth of knowledge and resources in the museum sector that have broadened historical understanding and appreciation across the board.
Natasha McEnroe is the director of the Florence Nightingale Museum, London
