History: what do pupils think?
Key issue addressed by the study

This study aimed to:
– reveal the ideas about history which young people
bring as preconceptions to their learning
– explore the links between views of history and social
cohesion among indigenous and non-indigenous
students in England and the Netherlands
Young people’s views of history



Young people saw history as important for
understanding their society
Pupils were interested in different periods of history from
those they could typically study at secondary school
Around 40% of young people from the UK agreed that
sharing a common history creates “mutual bonds”
The kinds of history pupils are
interested in

All the groups of pupils:
– recognised the importance of their country’s history
– believed history helped them understand the
society they lived in
– believed family history was important; more so by
pupils from BME backgrounds than pupils not from
BME backgrounds
Historical periods pupils were most
interested in

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All the students liked these
topics:
ancient history (most
popular)
post war era from 1945 to
the present
1900 to 1945
Pupils’ interest areas as compared with
the national curriculum
 Pupils’
preferences
were sometimes at
odds with the periods
most commonly taught
in their schools e.g.
– There was very little
teaching of post-war events
– Teaching of ancient history
tended to be limited to when
they were in primary school
Young people’s definition of identity
Depending on their
background pupils
tended to identify with
their country of
residence or by their
own or their parents’
country of origin or
religion
 Very few pupils from
either country regarded
their prime identity in
terms of either ‘world
citizen’ or ‘European’

Who were the children in the study?


442 pupils from metropolitan areas in the Netherlands
and England
The pupils were aged 14 -18 years and were of various
ethnic backgrounds
How was the information gathered?
Pupil questionnaire with questions about e.g.
identity, importance of history, historical periods
 Pupils’ answers were grouped according to
various criteria: the country of residence
(England or the Netherlands), ethnic
background, gender, age, level of education, etc

How can teachers use this evidence?

Young people, particularly from ethnic minority
backgrounds, rated family history as highly
important
– Could you include family history as part of school
history to make it more meaningful to them?

Pupils expressed greater interest in some
periods of history rather than others
– Would it be helpful to explore with your students the
less popular periods of history and possible
teaching/learning approaches?
How can school leaders use this
evidence?

Young people stated they liked ancient history
most. What do students in your school think?
– Could you survey your students to find out which
periods of history they are interested in?
– Having surveyed your students could you organise
professional development for your colleagues to
explore how they could incorporate students’
preferences into the curriculum?
Follow-up reading
Study reference:
Grever, M., Haydn, T. and Ribbens K. (2008)
Identity and School History: the Perspective of
Young People from the Netherlands and
England British Journal of Educational Studies,
Vol. 56, No. 1, March 2008, pp. 76-94
 You might like to read a more detailed summary,
accessible at:
http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/research/them
es/pupil_voice/studentsthink/

Feedback
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 What did you like?
 What didn’t you like?
Any feedback on this Research Bite
would be much appreciated. Please email
your feedback to:
[email protected]
