The Hindu : Opinion / News Analysis : The future of history in schools

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 07, 2005

Opinion

Opinion - News Analysis

The future of history in schools

Kumkum Roy

The challenge is to evolve strategies for both selecting and discussing historical themes, taking into account a context in which learners are not seen as a monolithic, undifferentiated community.

WE HAVE witnessed an unprecedented debate on history teaching in schools during the last few years. This was triggered by the policies of the last government, which attempted to "revise" history in a variety of ways. One was the extraordinary strategy of deleting sections from existing textbooks. At the same time, a more comprehensive policy was outlined in the National Curriculum Framework 2000.

Now that discussions about a new curriculum framework are taking place, it is worth reminding ourselves of the thrust of the earlier document. While it is true that it lent itself to a communal agenda (as for instance, in the attempt to lessen the "burden" of history by touching on the centuries post-1000 AD very lightly indeed), there were several other agendas as well. There was an attempt to brush aside the realities of caste oppression, and a proclaimed effort to handle issues of gender according to the "best Indian traditions." More concretely, vocational education was recommended for women, and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Besides, Sanskrit was proclaimed the mother tongue of all Indians, and the so-called "Vedic mathematics" was accorded legitimacy. Briefly, the framework had an inherent brahmanical, patriarchal thrust.

The debate on a new framework affords us the possibility of broadening the scope of discussions around education in general and history teaching in schools in particular. It also provides an opportunity to address issues of pedagogy. It would be sad if we allow this to be reduced to a sterile, confrontationist debate about the pre-2000 textbooks versus the post-2000 textbooks. Instead, we can look ahead at the problems and potential of the present moment, and evolve a constructive agenda.

At a quotidian level, one problem history teachers acknowledge virtually at all levels of the teaching system is a lack of interest in the subject. In fact, history, along with maths, has the dubious distinction of being considered dull. Besides, both teachers and learners perceive history as "heavy" in terms of content. And yet, popular interest in the subject of history is overwhelming. It is evident that we need to both rethink the content of syllabi, as well as pedagogic strategies to ensure that we are able to convert the latent interest into an active, informed engagement.

Focus needed on regions

In terms of content, it is imperative that we deal with regions within the subcontinent in meaningful ways. Almost invariably, most history writing still tends to be Ganga valley centric. We need to contextualise developments in the Ganga valley from the perspectives of peoples in other regions. For instance, what did the establishment of the Mauryan empire mean to people on the frontiers, say in Tamil Nadu? It is also necessary to bring historical processes in other regions centre stage, to sensitise learners to the richness of the pasts of the subcontinent. Regional diversities can also coalesce with socio-cultural differences that need to be acknowledged. How do we present a history of caste that can seem relevant to learners in the Northeast, who have never been part of such social hierarchies?

At another level, given the rapidly changing global scenario, it is imperative that we devise creative strategies of conveying a sense of the major developments in world history, without overwhelming the learner with details. In other words, the challenge is to evolve strategies for both selecting and discussing historical themes, taking into account a context in which learners are not seen as a monolithic, undifferentiated community. More important, our objective should not be to convert them into such a community, but to address issues of difference in imaginative ways.

An attempt was made to handle some of these issues while developing history books for the middle school for the Delhi Government. These strategies evolved out of intense and fruitful discussions amongst subject experts and schoolteachers. A conscious effort was made to reduce the burden on the learner by selecting themes, and using illustrative examples for discussion instead of attempting to present a "complete" body of information. For instance, the development of urban centres in early India was presented in terms of a vivid account of Mathura, so that learners derived a sense of what life in such a city may have been like, instead of listing all the sites from which we have evidence of urbanisation. From preliminary surveys, it is evident that learners have appreciated many of these innovations, including the lively description of railways and the introduction of the radio, in the book for Class VIII.

Involving the learner

It is also possible to devise pedagogical strategies that can excite and involve the learner. Two strategies used in these books included introducing simple excerpts from sources, and explaining how historians use these. This was done through the insertion of texts and visuals, including illustrations of monuments, sculpture, coins, tools, burials, paintings, pots, photographs, etc. The attempt was to involve learners in the process of historical reconstruction, instead of treating them as passive receptacles of the wisdom enshrined in the text. It is likely that the development of teachers' manuals can enhance and enrich the potential of this pedagogical strategy. Secondly, several historical processes were explained in terms of the implications for children belonging to that particular age group. This allows learners to engage with these developments instead of regarding them as remote events that happened long ago.

Clearly, there are other possibilities, both in terms of defining the content of syllabi and of developing strategies of communication, which need to be evolved and tried. For instance, we need to meet the challenge of developing modes of evaluation that allow testing of the learner's skills of observation and analysis rather than rote learning, which is what gets tested in the present system. What is needed then is a collective engagement with these issues by teachers, practitioners of the discipline, parents of school going children, and young learners, to help evolve mechanisms to enable children to grapple with and understand diversities in terms of region, caste, community, and gender.

While the agenda may seem complicated, the subject of history as it has evolved over the last three decades has the potential of addressing many of these concerns. For instance, the questions and challenges posed by women's movements, Dalit movements, and environmental issues have shaped research in recent times. Histories of regions have also been enriched through detailed studies. It is evident that ways and means need to be devised to translate the insights of the discipline into easily accessible forms, to meet the demands of what are challenging and exciting times. It is a challenge that any syllabus reform in history has to take up.

(The writer teaches history at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.)

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Opinion