Fashion in history education

Fashions come and go. In the 1980s, there was a fashion to wear a style of denim jeans that were very tight – so tight that I would have to lie back on the bed and pull the zipper up with a coat hanger. My niece, now 17, is enamoured with a similar style of jeans which are based on the same principle but have a different name which is more reflective of the culture in which she lives: “skinny jeans”. Trends come and go, fashions come and go in the vein of that nonsensical aphorism “same but different”.

A story which was reported upon in The Australian and The Age newspapers earlier this week reminded me of the fashions that come and go in education and the ways that teachers adapt to these trends. A review of the University of Melbourne’s history programs has recommended that the Australian Studies programs be scrapped because of the drastic decline of student interest in the programs offered. In one of the reports, the head of the School for Historical and Philosophy Studies, Professor Trevor Burnard, admitted that “There isn’t as much demand for a certain type of Australian history as there used to be” alluding to the review’s recommendations that courses with Australian history content should have a broader appeal by focusing on the history in the context of contemporary issues.

The observation of a declining interest in Australian history, especially the nation’s broad narrative, is not a new one. The public is well-versed in the common catch cry that is most reported by the press is that students find Australian History “boring” and that they have “done it to death by the end of year ten”. Yet what they seem to miss is the fact that, as Anna Clark’s research also shows, that students value the way in which history taught as well. In Victoria, there is some repetition of Australian History topics in the VELS which may support an argument that the topic is “done to (its) death”. However, good practice should mean that the topics are approached in an engaging and interesting manner which is appropriate also for the stage of learning for which it is prescribed. This is why history method trained teachers are needed to teach history.

The Australian Curriculum does include Australian History and it could be argued that its inclusion attempts to address the concerns for the way that it is presented to students. At the secondary year levels, Australian History is couched in terms of the way the nation was formed and the way that that nation building sits within a world history context. There are some very strong connections to the cross curriculum perspectives of Australia and Asia and the environment and sustainability, which ALL Australian Curriculum subjects will have to address. In some ways, it could be argued that the Australian Curriculum is trying to address some of those same issues which the review of the University of Melbourne courses fail to address.

Will this fashion change, though? Of course it will. A prep student starting in 2013 will graduate in Year 12 in 2025. During that time they will be well versed at placing Australian History within these bigger themes that relate to their lives but it could be argued that because as such they haven’t had time to go into depth into some topics that help explore the narrative in detail and develop the skills that are associated with that approach, they may find that when they enter university they may indeed find that the courses only repeat what they have learned at school. And then there will be a review into programs with suggestions saying that students want more Australian History content. By which time the school history may have changed its focus which means that there may be teachers teaching Australian History who have not had the opportunity to study it!

A much stronger dialogue between the states and territories which deliver curriculum in schools and the federal government which is responsible for the delivery of higher education, including undergraduate history courses and teacher training, is needed to ensure that the wheel is not always being reinvented.

This is not a reason for you, the good history teacher, to despair. Over the past 15 years, it has been reiterated time and again to me that teachers are very flexible and that despite protests, they can adapt to change and end up doing what they do best – that is teaching. I know that the good ones will pick up the trend but apply their professionalism to ensure that their students learn much and enjoy plenty about the past and what it can offer them in their lives. No doubt, we will see the ‘skinny jeans’ of today be the ‘denim skeleton enhancers’ of 2025.