Welsh Journals

A HISTORY COURSE FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN WALES by Prof. J. E. Lloyd, M.A., D.Litt. THE question of the teaching of history in secondary schools is beset by many prob- lems. The ground to be covered, the method of approach, the choice of text-books, the character of the examination test-these have but to be mentioned to indicate a wide field for discus- sion. In the present paper, however, I shall con- fine myself to one of these problems, viz., that of the syllabus. I shall outline what seems to me, under present conditions, the most suitable course for a four years' course in history in a secondary school in Wales and briefly discuss the various considerations which have influenced me in throw- ing the scheme into this precise shape. It may be well that I should introduce the mat- ter by some account of the way in which I have been led to take it up. It is only of late years that the value of history as a feature in the school cur- riculum has been fully recognised. Nineteenth cen- tury writers like Bain and Herbert Spencer were disposed to hold that it had no legitimate place in general education, and it is noteworthy that the Scottish Universities had no chair of history within living memory. Even after the admission of his- tory into the circle of studies, the important is ue still remained of the particular field which was to be worked over, what claim was to be staked out as the domain of the school teacher in the vast expanse of universal history, growing ever wider with the growth of historical and archaeo- logical knowledge. In England, the strong politi- cal bias of the XIXth century led to concentration upon the history of the English people, with the story of the growth of the constitution, and espec- ially of Parliament, as the predominant element. For this the way was made easy by the labours of Macaulay, Hallam, Freeman and Stubbs. Hence, the school curriculum, as indicated by the require- ments of universities and other examining bodies, covered the whole of English history to the bat Je of Waterloo. The Universities of Oxford and Durham still require, I believe, that this entire period shall be offered by candidates taking his- tory. When the matriculation examination of the University of Wales was first established in 1895, the authorities followed the prevalent custom. But the cry soon came from the teachers that the history of England from Julius Caesar to Welling- ton was too great an armful to be embraced in the course of a single school year and, though the advisers of the University were not convinced that the difficulty was in- superable, they agreed, in conference with repre- sentatives of the teachers in 1901, to divide the matriculation syllabus into two sections at the year 1485 and to allow these sections to be taken in alternate years. Another modific?tion, the value of which cannot be disputed, was the introduction of some amount of Welsh history, an arrange- ment made easy and natural by the fact that the political history of Wales can hardly at any point be dissociated from that of England. For a while, this adjustment gave satisfaction. But of late, and especially since the close of the war, entirely new difficulties have arisen. Three new factors have combined to complicate the situation. In the first place, teachers with a good knowledge of European history have begun to think that in the higher forms, at least, there should be some study of the main course of events outside our islands. Secondly, the events of the war, which is recognised as the fateful issue and climax of a long age of political development, have led to a desire for the study of the history of the nineteenth century. And thirdly, powerful cur- rents of opinion are making for the study of world history, the story, not of one political community, nor yet of one modern group of states, but of man -the tale that beg:ns with the nebula and ends with President Wilson. The result of these converging forces is that, in Welsh secondary schools, history is coming in- creasingly to mean knowledge of quite modern events, with no early or mediaeval background. This is apparent from figures which I can cite in connection with the examination for entrance scholarships at Bangor. Candidates who offer his- tory are allowed to choose one of three periods, viz., (a) 55 B.C. to A.D. 1485, (b) 1485 to 1756, (c) 1756 to 1901. The results of this option for the last four examinations are as follows :­ 1924 1925 1926 1927 Candidates taking period (a) 2 o 1 o (b) 18 8 5 9 >> (c) 9 12 10 12 Taken by themselves, these figures are not con- clusive as to the scope of the school course in history as a whole, for they might merely repre- sent the ground covered in the final year before entering the University. But I have other evi- dence that this is far from being the case and that, in a large number of instances, the modern period studied for the College examination was the only one pursued during the later years of school life. The consequence is that the College history classes are full of students who know nothing of English history before the accession of Henry VII., and there are even some whose knowledge extends no further back than the French Revolution. Now I am far from thinking that this ferment of new ideas is altogether to the detriment of his- tory. I recognise their value and their force and