High school students appreciate Indigenous and migrant stories, the ANZACs less so

By JUSTIN COOPER.

Student interest in Australian history has shifted with many now eagerly exploring local history through Indigenous, refugee and migrant stories, according to a recent study. Interest in traditional narratives including the First Fleet and ANZAC history have waned.

This research by Western Sydney University, found 60% of students aged between 12 and 18 were interested in the analysis of primary sources that address gaps and ambiguities within timelines –  with the Stolen Generations and refugee stories being of high interest.

The study’s authors, Dr Kay Caroll and Kate Littlejohn, explored the impacts of COVID-19 on historical consciousness. They discovered the social and peer isolation of students has evidently shifted engagement towards stories which have personal reflection and can be connected to student’s identity.

Dr Kay Carroll explained that high school students now prefer to empathise and understand figures victimised by historical framing. They appreciate being to “see their own perspectives as shaped by history”, Dr Carroll said.

“Students really engage more deeply when presented with meaningful historical challenges that allow them to use multiple sources and connect them to own sense of identity”.

“This means seeing history as a bit of an active process, an ongoing debate and interrogation. It is not undisputed facts and dates. There is contingency and contention,” Dr Carroll continued.

Decline in traditional narratives

Teachers have addressed these shifts by prioritising primary sources which “critique events from empathetic and informed standpoints”, Dr Caroll explained.

“In Australia our historical rhetoric has centred on mythologising Anzac and the ongoing denial of conflict, genocide, and dispossession. In this study, we see this is largely rejected by history teachers, and their students,” Dr Caroll said.

With 33 percent of students still connecting with traditional narratives, students with Indigenous or migrant backgrounds that engage in challenging these narratives have found “a powerful form of inclusion”, according to Dr Caroll.

The survey included 678 students and 39 primary and secondary teachers across Australia. Participants were also from a variety of schools including government, non-government, Catholic and college schools.

City Hub spoke with Sydney University lecturer and co-ordinator of HSIE Secondary Curriculum with Sydney School of Education and Social Work, Dr Claire Golledge, on the potential of utilising the study towards future curriculums and encouraging student learning.

Discussing current curriculums in Australia, Dr Golledge said they are currently “very clearly not adequate” in responding to the recent research. Dr Golledge stated that the politicised nature within curriculums are “emphasising a particular… narrative of Australian history.”

“This study is interesting because despite the limitations in the written curriculum in facilitating a diverse and contested view of history, it’s clear that specialist teachers of history are working with the existing curriculum to enrich it in ways that students are finding really powerful and engaging,” Dr Golledge explained.

Changes in society and classrooms

With the study noting the impact of COVID-19, student’s access to online spaces, while becoming more empathetic and politically aware, are additional factors pointed out by Dr Golledge.

Additionally, the overwhelming amount of information, which has become increasingly difficult to rely upon within a polarising contemporary society, has also impacted student’s choices in research perspectives.

“I think studying history is attractive to students in this context because it really does provide ways of thinking about the world which really help them navigate some of these challenges, and allows them to draw parallels to similar themes throughout history,” Dr Golledge continued.

Explaining that history should not be taught as a “static story”, Dr Golledge said students benefit from the perspective of history “as  a complex woven tapestry of different experiences and perspectives across time”. This enables critical thinking and genuine empathy.

Dr Golledge also pointed out the diversity withinAustralian classrooms, with First Nations, refugee and immigrant students having the opportunity “to have their histories represented and encountered in the classroom.”

In questioning changes to curriculums, Dr Golledge emphasised the need to trust specialist history teachers in making decisions on learning opportunities.

“What works in one community or part of Australia might not work in others,” she said.

However, the significance of addressing “the contextual knowledge of students” reveals an opportunity to progress and challenge current learning models.

“It’s a radical idea – to step away from a mandatory checklist of historical factual knowledge and instead trust in teachers to guide students, but it’s one that would have a big impact in the classroom,” said Dr Golledge.