Abstract
A frequent complaint in Western society is that young people are ignorant of the history of their country of residence. Politicians as well as some prominent historians blame school history for not offering a convincing vision of the national past. Most history educators, however, are of a different opinion. Why the relationship between historical scholarship and school history is problematical is not clear. This research project seeks to analyze specific aspects of this relationship: the narration of the nation in history textbooks. The central question is to what extent developments in historical scholarship have influenced the national narrative in Dutch and English history textbooks for secondary education between 1920 and 2010. The project also investigates possible dynamic interactions between scholarship and school history. To discover whether developments have been the result of national circumstances, the project compares textbooks from the Netherlands and England. Both nations originate in early-modern times, are former colonial empires and have a culturally heterogeneous population. Dutch and English historians regularly participate in debates about history teaching. Since the 1980s, historical skills are part of Dutch and English history curricula. Differences include: the international position of both countries, the infrastructure of the history profession, the amount of national history in school curricula, curriculum organization and the markets of history textbooks for commercial publishers. The research period covers major developments since the 1920s. Hence, the context relates to at least four other influential factors: 1. The impact of global transformations on domestic issues and the public self-image of both countries (since the 1920s continuation of colonial framing of both nations; after 1945 de-colonization; in the 1960s a mellowing of nationalism in post-war Europe; since the 1990s re-nationalization); 2. National education policies and regulations; 3. The rise of educational studies; 4. The changing textbook market and emerging new media. The project seeks to elucidate the relationship between historical scholarship and school history. It will investigate continuities and discontinuities in presenting national history in Dutch/English textbooks, and will support Dutch teachers by enhancing their insights in the changing contents and standards of history textbooks.