An open and honest reflection on our curriculum development linked to Welsh History.
“We have enjoyed this topic Sir; we didn’t know anything about it before we started.”
The honest reflections of a pupil are often very enlightening and provide an insight into how they view learning.
It is not news that a key part of the Humanities AOLE, in Curriculum for Wales, includes providing pupils with a diet of Welsh History. As a history graduate, I found this part of our school curriculum development particularly interesting. Like many adults in my generation, I thoroughly enjoyed the history education which I received in Wales but growing up in the late 1990s and 2000s, I experienced virtually no Welsh history at all. In fact, I experienced so little that when it came to supporting staff to develop our curriculum, I recognised that I knew virtually nothing and I venture that this is likely the case for a lot of current teachers. Before we even began to think about how we might build a cohesive curriculum which allowed pupils to develop knowledge sequentially, I had to spend a considerable amount of time developing my own knowledge of our history. (I have compiled a brief list of some of the resources I used at the end of this article). I knew nothing of Edward Longshanks and his battles with the Welsh, the stories of Owain Glyndwr or of the Welsh emigration to Patagonia without even mentioning the Chartists or Tryweryn. I should admit at this point that I did have a relatively strong grasp on some more modern topics, such as the Labour Party in Wales and the birth of the Senedd; but this knowledge was more of a reflection of the values of my mother, as opposed to any formal education which I ever received.
So why is it important that we include Welsh History?
History is about storytelling, developing empathy and compassion for different points of view. It is often about major powers exploiting minorities and much historical content allows us to understand and reflect upon current events. History also allows us to develop our shared identity, understanding why some values and beliefs are strong in Wales, even if the genesis of such event/tradition has long been forgotten. We should also concede that it has been a failure of many schools to excite children with our rich history and when we think about the ‘local’ in our curriculum, almost all significant events will have a connection to some part of Wales.
The only word of caution which I think should be offered, is that we should not teach Welsh History exclusively. I still believe that it is important for pupils to learn about the Battle of Hastings, The Tudors (it is reported that Elizabeth I learnt Welsh after all) as these stories are part of our shared history as well. We need to make space for our own narratives within this. During recent years, there has been an emergence of stories about people such as Eileen Beasley who campaigned vigorously for the rights of Welsh Speakers during the 1960s, and many have said that children should know about this and understand the sacrifice that campaigners like Eileen made. I have attended professional learning events where it has been said that her contribution to pupils’ lives is more important than that of Rosa Parks and as such we should not be teaching pupils about Parks. Personally, I disagree with this strongly and believe that we need to ensure that history is taught in context, providing pupils with a balanced understanding of the world. Ultimately, it is difficult to equate the horrendous treatment of millions of Americans throughout the twentieth century with the rights of Welsh Speakers, who whilst they did suffer, were not beaten and tortured.
Balance in our curriculum is always key and in Curriculum for Wales our teachers need to be aware of this. To this end a brief overview presented at the beginning of learning can help to place specific stories within a balanced whole.
What have we introduced?
After my preamble, I will summarise some of the topics which we have introduced and the way in which we have done this. We thought carefully about providing pupils with a chronology of significant events to develop an understanding of how life has changed in Wales. We have broken this into four ‘chunks’. Progression Step Two learn about the Celts, visiting a local Iron Age fort and discovering more about the stories of Budaca. Then, in progression step three we have outlined three core topics. Pupils in year four have discovered more about Wales during the middle ages, the laws and Hywel Dda right up until the defeat of Llywelyn the Last, who led a united Wales. Pupils in years five immersed themselves in the rebellion of Owain Glyndwr. They discovered why ordinary people supported Owain and how he gained the support of France. Pupils in years six, discovered significant events from the history of Modern Wales, learning about everything from Lloyd George to the establishment of the Senedd and the powers which reside there.
Each year these topics will develop in a slightly different way as pupil voice is a strong part of our curriculum development. That said, within these units staff are planning to develop a foundation of knowledge and understanding. It should also be noted that whilst these are exclusively Welsh history topics, we have also enhanced that Welsh element in other areas. For example, pupils learning about the Victorians have learnt about both Patagonia and mining disasters in the local area.
As part of our curriculum development, we have ensured that Welsh Literature is always a key part of the diet which pupils develop. Other than learning about Gelert, many pupils know little of the Mabinogion or other ancient tales. We have used events such as Camp Fire Myths and Legends to energise pupils’ enthusiasm around such literature.
What are our reflection on what we have introduced so far?
Put simply, pupils have loved it. During pupil learning reviews, it has become clear that pupils have been captured and enthused by the topics. They have engaged well with them all and can see how they relate to things in their own lives.
Professional development resources (teacher subject knowledge):
Huw Edwards – History of Wales Series (available on Amazon).
David Starkey’s – The Crow. An entire episode focuses on the conquests of Edward I.
Gwynfor Evans – Land of my Fathers
R.R. Davies – Owain Glyndwr: Prince of Wales
Elin Jones – History Grounded
Terry Deary - Wales
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