Diversifying the history curriculum in England: a slow (r)evolution

Citation

Burn K, Harris R & Smith J (2024) Diversifying the history curriculum in England: a slow (r)evolution. In: Moncrieffe M, Rost AO, Kustatscher M & Fakunle O (eds.) The BERA Guide to Decolonising the Curriculum.

Abstract
This chapter provides a context for other case-study chapters in this volume that explore in more depth steps taken to provide a decolonised perspective in the history curriculum. The chapter first provides a brief overview of developments in recent years towards diversifying the history curriculum. It then focuses more specifically on two surveys conducted by the Historical Association in 2019 and 2021, examining how history teachers have responded to more recent calls both to diversify and (from some) to decolonise the curriculum. As the surveys only provide self-reported data about any changes made (rather than allowing direct observation of teachers’ practice), it is not possible to determine whether a genuinely decolonised approach is being adopted. There are, nonetheless, clear indications that small but significant steps are being taken in many school contexts to diversify curriculum content, seeking to address both an overwhelming Anglo-centric bias and a narrow conception of what constitutes ‘British history’.