Transcript KSU2: Knowledge and understanding of events, people and

KSU2: Knowledge and understanding of events, people and
changes in the past
2) Pupils should be taught:
a) to describe and analyse the relationships between the characteristic
features of the periods and societies studied including the experiences
and range of ideas, beliefs and attitudes of men, women and children in
the past
b) about the social, cultural, religious and ethnic diversity of the
societies studied, both in Britain and the wider world
c) to analyse and explain the reasons for, and results of, the historical
events, situations and changes in the periods studied
d) to identify trends, both within and across different periods, and
links between local, British, European and world history
e) to consider the significance of the main events, people and changes
studied.
Imagination and Learning
• If we want to make concrete content accessible to children we
need to build in binary concepts
• To be engaging to children these abstract binary concepts need
to be affective
• We expand understanding by seeking mediation between binary
concepts
• Children are more readily engaged by extremes of experience,
the more distant the better
• Children are engaged by knowledge that embodies transcendent
human qualities with which they can associate
• Provision should be made so pupils can exhaust some part of a
topic area in exhaustive detail
Kieran Egan The Educated Mind
KSU3: Historical interpretation
Pupils should be taught:
a) how and why historical events, people,
situations and changes have been interpreted in
different ways
b) to evaluate interpretations.
Ofsted 2004
There is little evidence that schools are giving
sufficient time to understanding interpretations of
history: schools and inspectors need to distinguish
between this specific and important aspect of
study and the more general use of the word such
as in the ‘interpretation of source’.
Interpretation: What do we mean?
Historical interpretations are the products of
conscious reflections on past events, and distanced
from them in time. As a recent textbook bluntly
puts it, ‘an interpretation of history is simply
someone’s version of history’ (Dawson). History
is constantly re-interpreted, but of equal interest is
the way in which history has been interpreted in
the past, and amongst different cultures.
Scott Harrison, HMI
What is and is not an interpretation of history
• Light / non-existent
interpretation focus
• Pupils construct their own
interpretations (eg.
Cromwell – hero or
villain?
• Pupils use contemporary
sources
• Pupils identify errors and
inaccuracies in
Blackadder
• Strong interpretation
focus
• Pupils compare, contrast,
discuss how/why their
own interpretations differ
• Pupils consider how the
availability of sources has
shaped an interpretation
• Pupils consider why the
makers of Blackadder
chose to include
inaccuracies
Why are there different interpretations of
history?
1. Methodological considerations
 Absence / deficiencies in the evidence
 Selection of available evidence made
 Discovery of new evidence
 Different, or new, techniques. Eg.
Quantification, marine archaeology, aerial
photography
2. Considerations to do with purpose
Three types of historical interpretation (Scott
Harrison):
• History that seeks to offer a credible record or
explanation of the past based upon evidence
• Purposeful distortion of the historical record,
propaganda for political sectarian ends
• History fast and loose, where entertainment takes
precedence over evidence
Considerations to do with audience and
purpose 1 (McAleavy)
Types of
interpretation
Examples
Academic
Books, journals
Educational
Fictional
Purpose
To explain, justify the
present. Eg. late
Victorian interest in
fall of Roman Empire
Textbooks, museums,
To simplify
reconstructions, TV
documentaries, artists’
interpretations
Novels, films, plays
To entertain
Considerations to do with audience and
purpose 2 (McAleavy)
Popular Theme parks,
nostalgic
depictions in
advertising,
cartoons, folk
wisdom about
the past
Personal Diaries, oral
accounts
To sell something, either the past
or a product; to create a myth (eg.
evolution of the Arthurian legend
or Robin Hood)
Political Memoirs,
speeches
To put across a point of view;
different ideologies / perspectives
To record for self or posterity;
personal bias, conscious or
unconscious
What should pupils be able to do with interpretation
3a?
 Know that, with exceptions, historians seek to establish the
truth about people, events, and changes
 Understand the reasons why historians come to different
conclusions
 Gain knowledge and understanding of the periods and
people they have studied, but also realise that there are
other interpretations
 See how some histories have been used for purposes such
as propaganda
What should pupils be able to do with interpretation
3a?
 Know that much of what they read or view about the past
is fiction. It does not observe the evidential rules of history
 Know that some fiction is of value because the context is
authentic
 Know that many representations of the past are worthless
as history, and the motives of those who created it are to do
with entertainment, profit or propaganda
What should pupils be able to do with interpretation
3b?
 Know how to identify the internal evidence from the
interpretation they are considering
 Be able to make inferences from the comparison of
different interpretations
 Understand how the interpretation is affected by the
context in which it was created
 Make judgements on the effectiveness of a history written
as propaganda
 Make an informed judgement about the interpretation
which, depending on the type in question, might include
objectivity, completeness, accuracy, or the extent of these
things
Level descriptions on interpretation
• L4: Pupils show some understanding that aspects of the past have
been represented and interpreted in different ways
• L5: They know that some events, people and changes have been
interpreted in different ways and suggest possible reasons for this
• L6: Pupils describe, and begin to analyse, why there are different
historical interpretations of events, people and changes
• L7: They explain how and why different historical interpretations
have been produced
• L8: They analyse and explain different interpretations and are
beginning to evaluate them
• Exceptional performance: They make balanced judgements based
on their understanding of the historical context about the value of
different interpretations of historical events and developments