An exploration into the nature and extent of diversity within history classrooms in Kent

Abstract

Ever since the 1970s, politicised debates have raged over the teaching of history, dubbed the ‘history wars’. These debates continue to impact primary and secondary teachers' choices of history curriculum foci to this day. This research aimed to discover history teachers' understanding of how to develop diversity within their history curricula and to discuss the possible pitfalls of their decision making. We set out to answer the following questions: (1) How do history teachers and subject leads understand the concept of diversification within the history curriculum? (2) How are schools approaching the diversification of their history curriculum? We carried out this project collaboratively with 10 history teachers and subject leads from four primary and three secondary schools in Kent, South-East England. As a result, we have developed a model of ‘school diversification’ and make several recommendations to support the development and teaching of increasingly diverse history lessons, within the confines of the current National Curriculum. This project adds to the literature by privileging the voice of teachers within classrooms and including collaboration between teachers of all phases within history education in English schools to support the development of diversity within their practice.