Council of Europe: Council for Cultural Co-Operation
History was a constant theme throughout the conference, and not just in this
working group. This is hardly surprising, given the importance of the
subject, particularly in an international setting. History has immense
potential as a subject for school exchanges and links of all kinds;
however, it also carries dangers and the consequences of teaching it in a
mistaken or distorted form can be serious. It is therefore of the
highest importance to devote time and thought to the form and content of
links in the subject. This is underlined by the importance history has
been accorded by the Council of Europe, which has named history teaching
as one of the three priorities for its new project on secondary teaching
in Europe.
Controversy and Differences of Interpretation
At the start of the workshop participants were asked to list what they considered the ten most important events in the history of Europe. There was considerable variety in their lists; even when asked to refine these lists down to the three most important, topics selected ranged from the European revolutions of 1989 and their aftermath, through to the impact of the Roman Empire. Nor is this a surprising outcome, since this sort of difference of opinion is part and parcel of the nature of historical discipline: there is no single body of accepted facts or interpretations that is accepted universally as a sort of common currency. Different national traditions will view the same events in very different ways, and herein lies much of the value of international links involving history: it often comes as a great surprise to realise that one's own view is not universally shared. But history teachers need to be aware that this sort of discovery will not always be particularly welcome, and that parents, and sometimes governments, can be nervous about challenges to received versions, particularly of national history.
Practical Problems
Establishing links between schools within a history context will never be straightforward. At the most basic level, there is an immense variety in the structure of the history curriculum across Europe, so that, even if one takes two classes of the same level, in eqivalent schools, in two different European countries, there is still a very good chance that they will be studying very different historical periods and topics. Sometimes this will be the result - naturally and rightly - of giving due prominence to the history of their particular nation or region; thus one would not expect schools in Nicosia to give the same degree of attention to the history of Poland as schools in Warsaw. Sometimes, this will be the result of undertaking historical topics in a different order: although there is a common regard to a chronological approach across Europe, within this this there is considerable variety, so that even where schools do study largely similar topics, there is, in reality, relatively little chance that they will do them at the same time.
From this emerges an important question: should links and exchanges be integrated into the normal school curriculum, or should they be undertaken outside it, as an extra component? The group was not able to reach a consensus on this question, for each approach has its advantages and drawbacks. On the one hand, to integrate the link into the curriculum has the immense advantage of making it immediately and obviously relevant to the pupils' educational needs; it is easier to "sell" the link to headteachers, administrators or parents - or, indeed, to the pupils themselves. On the other hand, this approach can immediately hit the problem of different history curricula already referred to; equally, even though a topic is on the curriculum, it may not always be practical to devote the time to it that a link or an exchange demands.
Running a link outside the normal curriculum has various advantages: it broadens the curriculum beyond just what is on the examination syllabus; selecting a suitable topic for the link can be a valuable exercise in itself for the partner schools to undertake; and this gets round the problem of the differences in the varous school curricula. On the down side, however, it means finding extra time in the school day (not to mention extra money); since the link will neither carry its own form of accreditation, nor contribute directly to the pupils' examination courses, it risks lacking status and esteem in the eyes of head teachers, parents and - again - the increasingly pragmatic pupils themselves. The group heard how teachers in the Republic of Ireland benefit from a year within the school cycle, just after the lower cycle of examinations, which is deliberatley set aside to allow for this sort of extra-curricular work, but this remains the exception rather than the norm. In the end, the group was not able to reach a consensus on the best approach, and it is porbably simplest and fairest to draw teachers' attention to the two approaches, and to their accompanying pros and cons.
Links of Many Types
There is no one single form that history links and exchanges might take. The group considered a number of different types of project, including a number that are already up and running. Some of these are described in a new Council of Europe publication, "History Without Frontiers" (Strasbourg 1996) which was available in draft form at the conference. These include:
Much of the detailed description of these projects is contained in the report, but it is worth making a few points here. Local or site-based work has great potential for cross-curricular initiatives, sometimes from unexpected angles. Detailed investigation of - say - an eighteenth century house, can lead into work involving art, mathematics and even physics or engineering. Among projects based upon a geographical region, the long-standing Baltic Sea Project is particularly worthy of note, and has been the subject of a separate Council of Europe publication; a similar initiative is currently starting up in the Black Sea region. Curricular projects are perhaps more difficult to initiate, since by definition they require the support of government or examination organisations, though this can be obtained; we heard elsewhere in the conference how the European Studies Project has been able to produce its own certificated examinaiton through an English Examination Board. The production of satisfactory joint textbooks or resources is notoriously difficult; but there are particular possibilities if one takes a particular region as a focus, rather than necessarily attempting to cover the whole continent: there is, for example, a project working on a regional textbook on the history of the Balkans. The group indulged its leader by participating in a role play exercise, recreating a small part of the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, in order to get a sense of how such exercises can work, but also the difficulties that students can encounter, not least from the need for a relatively high level of both the spoken and the written language of the exercise. Finally, although the group did not consider the issue in detail because it was being looked at elsewhere in the conference, important mention needs to be nade of the possibilities offered by Information Technology for developing links in history. This was outlined to the conference by Dr Roger AUSTIN, and will feature in a separate report from the conference; however, it needs to be said that his project on Computer Conferencing in History offers one of the best chances yet for teachers to integrate an international dimension into their normal pattern of teaching, without the need either to undertake extra work or to spend large sums of money.
Some Issues and Problems
Apart from the practical question of whether or not to integrate links into the normal curriculum, we considered two particular issues:
Language and Resources
Any link has to be undertaken in at least one language, and this immediately creates a difficulty, since some students will be working in thir mother tongue while others will not. It can be tiring to work for long periods in another language, and sometimes textual material can demand a high degree of linguistic proficiency. The group considered some ways round this. Where difficult or complex concepts are essential to the theme of the exchange, it is important to make sure these are understood clearly from the start of the exercise, using language teachers if necessary. Sometimes it may be possible to make use of visual material, either in addition to, or instead of, written text. The end product of the exercise, for example, might be a piece of art work. However, teachers intending to use symbols or visual images need to be particularly aware that symbols do not all have universal meanngs, and in some cases the same symbol can have completely opposite meanings in different cultures. This needs to be approached with particular care if the exchange will involve contact with extra-European cultures.
History books, particularly school textbooks, carry a heavy load of cultural "baggage". There is no way round the fact that a French history book will present history from a recognisably French perspective, which will be different from the perspective in an Italian book, which will be different from that in a Portuguese or a Danish or an Austrian book - and so on. However, instead of seeing this as a stumbling block, we need to recognise that it carries considerable potential for valuable work. If schools were simpy to exchange textbooks, for example, pupils and teachers would immediately be presented not just with a language but with an interpretation and an outlook which is different - perhaps very different - from their own. In many ways this simple exercise can itself achieve a great part of the encounter which should be at the centre of any international link. An interesting case in point occurs in those schools which offer a "section bilingue", where some subjects, often including history, are taught in a different language. Obviously teachers need materials in the language, which is why, for example, British history textbooks sometimes find their way into oter European classrooms. But a British history textbook is not simply a history book in English; it offers a distinctly British outlook, which might or might not be acceptable elsewhere. In this way, pupils can learn very quickly to question the "received wisdom" or the "authority" of the textbook, and so to develop the critical approach to materials and interpretations that is central to the subject.
In this connection, an important point was made about the danger of treating Europe in a vacuum, ignoring the rest of the world. In particular, we need to be aware that classes right across Europe operate in a multicultural context; teachers need to consider how best to bring not just a different European view into their pupils' vision, but also a Caribbean, an Asian or an African outlook.
Sensitive and Controversial Issues
This is an issue that has been discussed before, but it remains an important but difficult issue for any history teacher, and especially for teachers wishing to establish international links. The group agreed that it is important to confront difficult issues, and that - perhaps contrary to common expectations - these are by no means confined to the events of recent history. However, it is not usually a good idea to plunge straight into them: there needs to be a time not just for participants to get to know each other socially but also for them to develop a certain level of mutual confidence and trust. Tackling sensitive issues head-on, therefore, can be particularly difficult in short exchanges, where time is limited.
There was considerable discussion about the potential attitude of governments to this sort of international exchange of ideas and interpretations of controversial and sensitive issues, and some anecdotal evidence was offered of governments being particuarly cautious about how particular issues might be discussed. The group felt, however, that it would be more common for international contacts to throw into doubt some generally accepted versions of the past, and teachers need to be aware that this will not necessarily be well received. In particular, this can be misunderstood, even resented, by parents or by the media. It is for this reason that the call issued at the start of the conference by Mr Maitland STOBART for teachers to display moral and civil courage needs to be underlined for all history teachers participating in international initiatives.
EUROCLIO
Most European countries have some form of association for history teachers. The precise nature of these associations varies from country to country: the French association combines teachers of history and geography; Italy has a series of regional associations; the United Kingdom association is not confined to teachers; in addition, the activities undertaken by these association varies in a similar fashion. However, these associations remain one of the most important channels for activities involving history teachers, and members of the network are well advised to get in touch with their own national associations in order to promote international initiatives. History Teacher Associations from across Europe have joined together in a pan-European Standing Conference of Associations, known as EUROCLIO, which is obviously an important point of contact for anyone considering establishing European initiatives in history. EUROCLIO can be contacted via its President:
Conclusion
History is an unusual subject in the school curriculum in that it is so often studied in a national context - does anyone study "Greek Chemistry" or "Latvian Mathematics"? This national element is extremely important, but it is not, and never has been, the full picture. Frequently, studying the past as the history of a particular modern state is to distort the past. Should the history of the Baltic states form part of the "history of Russia", as it did when they were part of the Soviet Union, or should they be considered as part of the "history of Germany", which would make sense for much of the mediaeval period, or should they be considered as a separate entity? Should the history of Dubrovnik feature as part of Italian history? Should the history of Ireland be included in a wider "history of the British Isles"? These questions raise sensitive and difficult modern political problems; nevertheless, they need to be addressed, because the political and social landscape of today does not reflect what happened in the past. It is very frequently the case that an international approach to history is not a luxury, or an exercise essentially of academic interest, but a more honest and a more accurate approach than the prevailing orthodoxy. In this way, international links and exchanges in history can be seen as serving not just the wider aims of the Council of Europe and its education programme, but also the central core demands of the historical discipline. In the end, an international approach is a service to the truth.