Anna Clark

What is it about Australian history? Students dismiss the subject for being boring while politicians and concerned parents fret over their lack of historical knowledge. The classroom has become the battleground of the 'history wars', yet no-one ever asks the children what they think about Australian history and what they like - or don't about learning it. Through interviews with around 250 Australian students from a wide variety of schools, Anna Clark asks how teachers and students teach and learn Australian history. This book is a lively and often surprising read that throws all kinds of challenges to students, teachers and indeed, politicians.

Introduction

History teaching
History's children
Putting the project into perspective

1. "The Edmund Barton Syndrome"
What sort of nation would forget the name of its first prime minister?
Connecting to federation
But what about Australia's second prime minister?

2. The Allure of Anzac
The 'Australian Mecca'
Simpson and his values
Taking the critique to the classroom

3. 1788 and all that
"Just a little bit of history repeating"
The curse of curriculum
"Indigenous history still matters"

4. A national curriculum
The Renaissance kids
Between compulsion and revulsion
How can we get a national curriculum right?

5. History in the classroom
What kids hate
The 'history teacher'
How do we teach it?

Conclusion
Further Reading
Index

Pub Date: 2008 ISBN: PAPER:    0-86840-863-8    978-0-86840-863-7 Price: Paper: $27.00s Subject Listing: Education, Australia Bibliographic information: 176 pp., 6 x 9 in. Distributed for: UNSW Press Territorial rights: North American rights only