Knowing History in Schools: Powerful knowledge and the powers of knowledge

by Arthur Chapman (editor)

The‘knowledge turn’ in curriculum studies has drawn attention to the central rolethat knowledge of the disciplines plays in education, and to the need for newthinking about how we understand knowledge and knowledge-building.

KnowingHistory in Schools exploresthese issues in the context of teaching and learning history through a dialoguebetween the eminent sociologist of curriculum Michael Young, and leading figuresin history education research and practice from a range of traditions andcontexts. With a focus on Young’s ‘powerful knowledge’ theorisation of thecurriculum, and on his more recent articulations of the ‘powers’ of knowledge, thisdialogue explores the many complexities posed for history education by thechallenge of building children’s historical knowledge and understanding. Thebook builds towards a clarification of how we can best conceptualiseknowledge-building in history education. Crucially, it aims to help history education students, history teachers, teacher educators and history curriculum designers navigatethe challenges that knowledge-building processes pose for learning history inschools. Praise for Knowing History in Schools 'Raises the bar by addressing, with new insights, critical issues through the enlightening lens of powerful knowledge. There is much in this book that will interest scholars from across a wide range of subjects. It is a book that deserves a wide readership.'The Curriculum Journal, BERA

349 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 7, 2021

About the author

1873-1935

Reviews

[Andrew Stone]

A varied and informative set of essays, engaging with Michael Young's concept of 'powerful knowledge' to debates within History teaching. Arthur Chapman's introduction outlines the context of the debate well. Alison Kitson develops this further in relation to History teaching, and Catherine McCrory writes well on inferentialism. I got the most out of Joe Smith and Darius Jackson's contrasting of traditional and radical social realist approaches, and I found their preference for the latter very convincing. Nick Dennis also made important points about historical silences and decolonising the history classroom, for example in recovering the insights of the supplementary schools set up by Caribbean parents. And Young's final chapter picked up some of the threads weaved earlier productively.