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Don't write off history, say teachers
Last updated at 12:37pm on 25.12.06
An Ofsted report found that many pupils wanted to drop British history and focus on world events
Historians have raised fears that A-level history will be "dumbed down" after teachers called for a new course with more film and TV for less academic teenagers.
An Ofsted report found that many pupils wanted to drop British history and focus on world events, which they said would be more useful for their future careers.
The Historical Association described the findings as "worrying", and urged teachers to use more imagination to make lessons interesting.
Ofsted inspectors questioned more than 70 teachers and 160 students for a new report on how history is taught in colleges in England.
Many teachers said they believed pupils were dropping the subject after the age of 14 because it is seen as too difficult.
"(Teachers) supported strongly the continuation and strengthening of an 'academic' syllabus option for the more able learners who, for instance, wished to study history at university," Ofsted said.
"In addition, the majority of them supported the idea of an alternative A-level history syllabus with a more flexible structure, both in approach and assessment.
"They agreed that such a syllabus might promote, for example, the use of television and film footage, as well as links with museums and the heritage industry."
Sean Lang, honorary secretary of the Historical Association, said a two-tier A-level would amount to "dumbing down".
"It shows a basic misunderstanding of the nature of the subject," he said.
Pupils studying history may spend more time reading than in other subjects, but that does not mean it is more intellectually demanding, he argued.
"If people are mistaking that and thinking it is somehow too intellectually difficult and it has to be watered down, we would not support that.
"The idea of a two-level syllabus at A-level is unhelpful.
"The lower one would always be devalued. It is rather insulting to suggest to students that they might have to have an easier version."
Ofsted's report said both pupils and teachers wanted a greater focus on world events, rather than a narrow emphasis on the history of Britain.
The survey found that teachers thought pupils benefited from a focus on international issues "without losing sight of Britain's position in history".
But many teachers also believed that the curriculum remained "too Eurocentric".
And pupils also wanted to study "diverse" topics "through British, European and world studies rather than an approach focused on the evolution of British institutions and society".
"They (pupils) argued for a wider understanding of European and world history to appreciate the evolution of global trends and change.
"They felt strongly that this would have a greater significance for their future careers and role as citizens."
Mr Lang said he could understand the desire for wider study of world events, but cautioned against marginalising the history of Britain.
"British history has a bad image because it is so highly taken up with political parties and Parliament - 20th century British history in particular.
"That is a problem," he said.
"We should never write off anything in history.
"It might be more of a challenge to grab a student's attention.
"But teachers just have to use a bit more imagination. It would be a bad move if British history were to be squeezed out of A-level entirely."
