Secondary students on a tour of the National Museum of Australia photograph by Lannon Harley National Museum of Australia Why a national history curriculum needs a museum site study

by Louise Zarmati

Abstract With the Rudd government committed When Australian high school students were to producing a national history curriculum asked what they thought about learning by 2011, an opportunity now exists to include a mandatory site study. After the Australian history, a majority said they were implementation of its national curriculum bored by textbooks, notes, dates, teacher- in 1989 the United Kingdom government talk and repetition of content. What they introduced initiatives that successfully did enjoy was ‘doing history’, in particular, established partnerships between schools going on excursions. Teachers also said they and museums. This model is offered as an were keen to take students to museums example of how Australian students could and historic sites. In this paper I present be given opportunities to visit significant a number of reasons why students should museums and heritage sites and actively be given learning opportunities out of the experience the ‘practical stuff’ of Australian classroom that allow them to see, touch history, thus forging stronger links with and experience Australia’s historical and schools and promoting historical literacy in archaeological heritage. positive and creative learning environments.

reCollections: Journal of the National Museum of Australia vol. 4, no. 1, April 2009, 1–12 Towards a national history curriculum much. Teachers and students told Clark The final product of the Howard that while they thought it was important government’s attempt to develop a national to learn Australian history, not everyone history curriculum in 2006–07 was its agreed it should be a compulsory subject. Guide to the Teaching of Australian History In fact, many teachers were against in Years 9 and 10, which ‘aimed to provide making Australian history a compulsory, the rationale and objectives for the study examinable subject because, as one teacher of Australian history in Years 9 and 10 as a from Brisbane put it, ‘if you put the words separate subject in schools across Australia’.1 “compulsion” and “teenager” in the same Shortly after its election in November 2007 sentence, it’s a disaster, and you will get 4 the Rudd Labor government began afresh a backlash’. A student from New South by establishing a National Curriculum Wales, where history is a compulsory subject 5 Board whose directive is to deliver national in years 7 to 10, said, ‘I don’t think it curricula for English, mathematics, the should be compulsory because I’ve always sciences and history to be implemented in found from personal experience that if you January 2011. try and make things compulsory it’s the While politicians, state curriculum fastest way to make people not interested’.6 bodies, academics and teachers were arguing The general opinion was that if about the content of school history courses, Australian history has to be mandatory then Anna Clark, researcher in history education it should be taught extremely well. Clark at Monash University, was conducting a maintains that, ‘unless these classroom national survey of the attitudes of Australian perspectives play a real and distinct role in students and teachers to the teaching of developing a national history curriculum ... Australian history in schools.2 Clark’s it’s doubtful whether any effort to mandate research was completed in 2007 and provides the subject will be “doable”, “teachable” or the most up-to-date record of what teachers “sustainable”’.7 and students think about how Australian history should be taught and what students What adolescents do like about themselves think they should be learning. It learning Australian history provides a valuable evidential base to support Fortunately, the prognosis was not all bad. In the argument presented in this paper that response to Clark’s question, ‘How do you Australian students would benefit from the learn history best?’, most said they preferred inclusion of a site study in a national history discussing different interpretations of history curriculum. and some said they enjoyed it most when they were given the opportunity to do What adolescents don’t like about history themselves. A student from Tasmania learning Australian history said she would ‘like to have more hands on When Christine Halse conducted in 1997 sort of stuff ... if I’m watching something or a survey of the state of history teaching in actually doing something I find it easier to New South Wales secondary schools, one learn’.8 student commented, ‘We did Australian Most importantly, a number of students history in years 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. It was specifically mentioned that they liked going boring. I would rather watch paint dry’.3 on excursions, ‘because it motivates you Ten years later attitudes had not changed practically. It’s a different setting, different

2 Why a national history curriculum needs a museum site study Secondary students on an excursion to the National Museum of Australia photograph by Lannon Harley National Museum of Australia environment, and it’s also really good to have engaged in the physical act of doing history discussions’. Students in one rural public themselves, rather than sitting passively in a school in New South Wales9 ‘begged for classroom and having it taught to them. more history fieldwork’.10 Group after group described how Teaching historical literacy comparing different perspectives through In pedagogical terms, students indicated a mixture of class discussion, excursions that learning was most effective when and research projects made the subject teachers were imbuing them with the 11 more engaging. A Canberra student said, skills of historical literacy, an approach ‘Excursions always keep you interested now widely accepted in history education because it’s something different, something discourse.13 Historical literacy covers the new — you’re not in the classroom, you’re range of knowledge, understandings and out doing something else, so that helps you skills required by the student to grasp the learn as well’.12 nature of history, including using historical The general consensus among students reasoning, synthesis and interpretation to was that they responded well to learning explain the past. Historical literacy is an during excursions and were able to important part of life as a whole because remember the concepts and details of history is not merely about understanding history because they enjoyed the learning what happened in the past, but also about experience in a novel environment. They using that understanding to develop an were most interested when they were actively informed moral, political and social view

Louise Zarmati 3 of the world.14 While historical literacy view’ of various historical interpretations; represents the ideal learning outcomes to evaluate and criticise reasoning in history students should achieve as a result historiographical texts and debates; to of effective teaching, it is important to draw evaluate the use of historical evidence and a distinction between it and the methods the reliability of sources referred to in used to actively teach historical literacy to historiographical texts; to understand and students. critically evaluate historians’ use of causal attribution; and to engage in rational debate with different historical interpretations so as The process of historical inquiry to widen the scope of their own experiences Historical inquiry is a method employed of the past.15 by teachers to teach historical literacy. Developed concurrently in the United Kingdom and the United States during Real problems with virtual the mid-1980s, it has become the most experiences commonly used (but not exclusive) method Although a plethora of textbooks, teaching of teaching history in Australian high resources and the internet now provide schools. In this paradigm, students are no teachers with easy access to a variety of longer considered passive consumers of written sources on Australian history, history taught didactically by the teacher- authority. They are taught to work as access to authentic, tangible artefacts and historians: evaluating historical sources, cultural heritage sites may not be possible identifying contradictions and conflicts, and for a number of practical reasons discussed developing interpretations supported by below. In response, some museums have historical evidence. attempted to solve the problem by providing Fundamental to the process of historical loan services that deliver replica or authentic 16 inquiry method is the evaluation and artefacts to schools. Although students interrogation of sources: primary and can access virtual tours via the internet, secondary, written and archaeological. ultimately such activities are poor substitutes Students analyse primary sources such as for the real experience of being physically 17 eye-witness accounts, diaries, newspaper present at a museum or heritage site. reports; two-dimensional objects such as photos, postcards and paintings; and, Places and things: object lessons in less commonly, artefacts such as pottery, teaching history weapons, statues, coins and jewellery. Quite simply, the power of an out-of-the- Most importantly they are encouraged to classroom experience cannot be replicated critically evaluate secondary interpretations by virtual reality. Visiting is experiential of history. The emphasis is on interpreting and sensory: students are excited by being and evaluating the reliability of sources in in a place where a historic event took place, order to demonstrate that they can be biased, by being able to see or handle an artefact value-laden, ambiguous or incomplete. associated with a known historic event, In fact, historical inquiry method teaches person or groups. Artefact handling is a form students to: of active learning that engages students in recognize and criticise irrational historical ways that other teaching methods often fail interpretations; to reconstruct the ‘point of to do. Artefacts have a remarkable capacity

4 Why a national history curriculum needs a museum site study to motivate learning because they stimulate (such as digging and finding artefacts, using curiosity and questioning. They provide archaeological tools, and making clay models concrete experiences that aid the imagination of artefacts). After six years the children by providing creative stimulus and emotional tended not to remember the more typical connectedness. aspects of museum visiting, such as simply Because they are real rather than abstract, ‘seeing things’.22 artefacts aid the memory and cause physical A quantitative study of 24 third-grade sensations, experiences and emotions to class visits to the Guggenheim Museum remain longer in the mind than written or New York’s ‘Learning through art program’ orally transmitted information.18 A study found that three main factors contributed of the impact of odours on the memories to increased critical thinking skills and had of visitors to Jorvik Viking Centre in York a positive impact on students’ academic in England found that the repetition of performance: museum-educator guided odours significantly aided visitors’ recall of inquiry sessions on topics relating to the information in this innovative museum’s curriculum, hands-on ‘making’ activities reconstructions of a Viking village with and multiple visits.23 Museum staff carefully sights, sounds and smells.19 developed a set of measurement rubrics to test learning outcomes and tested student Why students enjoy learning in knowledge by interview: museums and heritage sites The study demonstrates that students who Clark’s finding that students enjoyed participated ... were able to better articulate learning during excursions is supported by their thoughts and express more sophisticated a number of studies that look at the impact responses to both a work of art and text than of museum visiting on children’s memory. students who did not participate ... More Although significant research has been importantly, students who participated ... done on the learning of primary school were able to apply skills learned in an art children in science and art museums, both in context to language arts context and become 24 Australia and overseas, to date no equivalent better readers. studies have been undertaken to measure This research shows that learning can be high school students’ learning in Australian both enjoyable and effective when students history museums.20 are given the opportunity to actively A longitudinal study conducted in New participate in practical activities out of the York by Judith Hudson and Robyn Fivush classroom. found that kindergarten children’s memories of an excursion to an archaeology museum were so profound that with appropriate cues, The quest for emotional such as targeted questions and photographs, connectedness they were able to recall details of the Research into ‘thanatourism’25 and ‘dark’ experience six years later in sixth grade.21 tourism26 has shown that travel to places The researchers concluded that the high of historical significance, especially level of accuracy of recall may have been those associated with death, is not a new due to the novelty of the event, and the phenomenon but has become increasingly more distinctive aspects of the event seemed popular over the last century. However, to persist longer in the children’s memory ‘war tourism’, visits to sites or destinations

Louise Zarmati 5 associated with war, probably constitutes ‘the The potential of a national history largest single category of tourist attractions curriculum for Australian museums 27 in the world’ and is often more a quest The educational potential of museums for national identity than an attempt to for Australian history was emphasised in confront the brutalities of war. the recent debate over a national history Bruce Scates’s study of what motivates curriculum. When Tony Taylor of Monash young Australians to visit the battlefields University conducted a national inquiry into of Gallipoli and the Western Front found history teaching he concluded that ‘there that ‘Wanderlust, a nostalgia for the past, is more room for active and productive the search for traditions in “a society collaboration between history teachers and without rituals” all help to “explain” professional historians, including museum 28 the “annual migration” to Gallipoli’. staff [and] heritage site staff’.33 At the 2006 Although Australia’s participation in warfare History Summit, historian Geoffrey Bolton constitutes much of what is studied in pointed out that the museums sector had 29 Australian school history syllabuses, few been actively lobbying summit members places where Australian soldiers fought to impress upon them the importance of and died in twentieth-century conflicts are schools having access to their historical 30 located on Australian soil: resources.34 One in every five Australians who went When Taylor briefed a Museums to [the First World] war was killed. Their Australia group in July 2007 about the bodies were buried (if they were buried at potential of a national history curriculum, all) on battlefields 20 000 kilometres from he emphasised that ‘institutions and Australia. In post war Australia, these places organisations responsible for conservation of mourning were desperately needed. Here and interpretation of historic sites and the production of war memorials became a collections recognise the value of material 31 ‘substitute’ for burying the dead. culture to the understanding of history, but access to these collections and sites is For this reason, simulacra such as the not integral to teaching and learning of Australian War Memorial in Canberra and Australian history as presently structured’. the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne He stressed that the museums sector should have become popular venues for school argue for a ‘national program of local excursions. Every year hundreds of school history/heritage’ to become part of any children even manage to make the long future national curriculum.35 pilgrimage to the Gallipoli and Western Front battlefields in order to be connected on a personal level with the Great War.32 Impact of the national history The enthusiasm with which such trips curriculum on museums in the United have been embraced by school parties Kingdom suggests that sensory, kinaesthetic contact A similar situation existed in the United with artefacts and historic sites during Kingdom just before the national curriculum excursions fosters powerful emotional was introduced in 1991, when history connectedness to historic places, people became a compulsory subject for students and events that can make learning history a aged 5 to 14.36 Museums and heritage sites positive experience and has a lasting impact providing direct links to national curriculum on the memory. topics were immediately flagged as venues

6 Why a national history curriculum needs a museum site study that could enable students to access tangible Positive outcomes of museum primary sources and were given further education policy incentives to develop relevant education The role museums can play in structured programs. education has now been formally recognised Even so, change was slow and patchy. In by the United Kingdom government. Those 1994, the Department for Culture, Media museums that have demonstrated their and Sport funded research on the ‘nature, relevance to specific national curriculum extent, importance and development of study units have witnessed a massive increase museum education’ and found that five in schools use. The British Museum reported years after the introduction of the national that only a few years after the introduction curriculum, only 37 per cent of museums of the national history curriculum three made some limited provision for education, times as many students were visiting than 51 per cent offered any educational services before the curriculum changes, and similar and only 25 per cent had an education trends were observed in local museums.41 policy.37 Overall, the provision of educational A 1997 survey indicated that, as a result of services was reliant on ‘arbitrary factors, the implementation of targeted policies, ‘a such as the nature of a museum’s governing higher proportion of museums now made 42 body, or even the personal preferences of provision for education’. In 1999, the individual staff’. The reason for this was Department of Education and Employment that unlike libraries, which were under local launched its ‘Museum and Gallery government jurisdiction, museums operated Education Programme’, initially funding 65 as a large, independent mixture with no projects nationally for museums working with schools. unified structure or rationale.38 Museums are now required to enhance Significant change only came once the the delivery of the national curriculum by government began to invest considerable providing new and varied ways of using amounts of time, effort and money into unique objects and interpretative materials developing a unified national framework that can bring classroom teaching to with the aim: ‘to establish the infrastructure life.43 Education programs in museums that is required at a national level to support 39 and galleries are now marketed to schools development of museum education’. showing their relationship to national Financial support was provided not only by curriculum attainments, not only for history various government bodies but also through but also for other mandated subjects, such corporate sponsorship and innovative as visual arts and science and technology.44 fundraising programs such as the Heritage Most significantly, a 2008 survey reported Lottery Fund, established by parliament in that school excursions also foster a lifelong 1994, which now uses money raised through interest in museum visiting and respect for the National Lottery to fund heritage heritage.45 projects, such as museums, historic places, The current situation in the United archaeology, and the natural environment. Kingdom fosters symbiotic partnerships The Heritage Lottery Fund has given between schools and museums: museums strategic support to the development of must embrace education as a core objective public learning through museums in ways in the development of their policies and, that previously had not been possible.40 likewise, schools must incorporate the

Louise Zarmati 7 needs and interests of students. However, only 43 per cent of student visitors to the National Museum of Australia in the 2007– 08 financial year were from high schools and 53 per cent of the total number came from New South Wales. Only 43 per cent of teachers chose the paid education program; the majority preferred to do a self-guided program.48 The reasons why most teachers chose not to pay the relatively low-cost fee of between $2.50 and $5.00 per student for the A group of New South Wales history extension students in guided education programs are not evident a learning session with the National Museum of Australia’s education manager, David Arnold and would be worth investigating. photograph by Louise Zarmati During the 2007–08 financial year the Australian War Memorial offered 21 unique educational role of museums in their staff-facilitated curriculum-linked programs policies, plans and mission statements. and one self-guided program, yet only 48 per cent of students participated in the 49 Problems of getting out of the former programs. These data indicate classroom that although the cost per student for staff-facilitated programs is minimal (about Although it is not mandatory, some state- $5.00), it is possible that the majority of produced curriculum documents in Australia teachers choose to guide their students in the encourage a visit to a museum and many museums in order to save money; the cost of teachers already do take their students on transport, accommodation and food alone excursions to museums as a part of their can make an excursion to Canberra quite course of study. In New South Wales a site expensive.50 Other factors may also play a 46 study must be integrated into the course of part, such as the relevance of programs to study of Australian history in years 9 and 10 state curricula and the quality of pedagogies because: employed in their delivery.51 site studies enable students to understand As both a former classroom history their historical environment and participate teacher and a museum educator I am a actively in historical inquiry ... They also strong advocate of a national curriculum that provide an enjoyable means to understand mandates a site study requiring out-of-school and actively engage in the past and help visits to museums and heritage sites of local, fashion a lifelong interest in history.47 state and national significance. However, my own experience in disadvantaged As a result, two museums in the national schools in western Sydney suggests that capital have become popular excursion the cost of travel makes it difficult, if not venues because their material meets the impossible, to take students out of school needs of state and territory curriculum on excursions. Timetabling, staffing and documents: the National Museum of occupational health and safety issues also act Australia and the Australian War Memorial. as impediments. This is supported by some Both produce a wide range of interactive teachers interviewed by Clark who said, ‘We programs that cater to the variety of learning would like to do more — just getting kids

8 Why a national history curriculum needs a museum site study out of school is always a complex thing, but and students demonstrates that they like it’s of great value’.52 A number of New South excursions to museums and heritage sites Wales teachers reported feeling so rushed because they foster an emotional attachment and pressured to cover the syllabus content to the past that makes learning enjoyable that they could not find the time to take and memorable. The experience of the students on excursions even though a site United Kingdom provides a valuable model study is mandatory in this state, and when for Australian history educators to consider. they did the visit was often cursory.53 In the The time is now ripe for government, light of this research, if a site study were museums and educational institutions to mandated in a national history curriculum work in partnership towards the common the federal government would need to goal of developing a national curriculum consider committing a substantial amount that promotes school visitation to museums of money to support initiatives that make it and heritage sites. This initiative would more economically and logistically viable for encourage practical, experiential learning, teachers to take students on excursions to teach historical literacy and promote an museums and heritage sites. understanding and interest in our national heritage. However, it would require not just Conclusion a commitment of will by the government The research presented in this article makes but also the investment of adequate funding. the case for the inclusion of a site study in the forthcoming national history curriculum. This paper has been independently peer- Recent evidence on the views of teachers reviewed.

Louise Zarmati 9 Notes for History in American Education, Collier My sincere thanks go to my supervisor Linda Young Macmillan Publishers, New York, London, for her comments and encouragement, Bradley 1989; Tony Taylor, ‘Trying to connect: Moving Wood for proof-reading, the two anonymous from bad history to historical literacy in Australian Cultural History, reviewers and the editors for their detailed critiques schools’, issue 22, and suggestions for improvement. 2003, 182–89 in which he formulates 11 basic attributes which constitute historical literacy. 1 See the federal government’s Guide to the 14 Tony Taylor & Carmel Young, Making History: Teaching of Australian History in Years 9 A Guide for the Teaching and Learning of History and 10, Department of Education, Science in Australian Schools, Curriculum Corporation, and Training, Canberra, 2007, www. Canberra, 2003, p. 28ff, http://hyperhistory. htansw.asn.au/home/nationalcurriculum/ org/index.php?option=displaypage&Itemid=220 GuidetoteachinghistoryDEST11Oct07.pdf, &op=page, accessed 28 May 2008. accessed 18 May 2008. 15 Pieter van Veuren, ‘Does it make sense to teach 2 Anna Clark’s research was funded by a post- history through thinking skills?’, http://chss. doctoral research grant and published as montclair.edu/inquiry/spr95/veuren.html, History’s Children: History Wars in the Classroom, accessed 30 May 2008. University of New South Wales Press, Sydney, 16 For example, Logan Council (Queensland) 2008. provides ‘History in a box’ kits and classroom 3 Christine Halse, The State of History in NSW, activity sheets. See http://www.logan.qld.gov.au/ History Teachers’ Association of New South LCC/logan/history/historyinabox.htm, accessed Wales, Sydney, 1997, p. 91. 5 January 2009. 4 Clark, History’s Children, p. 99. 17 The Australian Museum in Sydney, the National 5 New South Wales was the only state that did Museum of Australia in Canberra and the not agree to subsume history under Studies Migration Heritage Centre, New South Wales, of Societies and Environment (SOSE) in the provide virtual tours on their websites. However, 1999 Adelaide Declaration on national goals for most of the objects are texts and visuals and schooling, and subsequently developed a stand- only a few are three-dimensional artefacts. See alone, compulsory history curriculum that is www.amonline.net.au/virtual_tour/index.htm, tested by public examination at the end of year www.nma.gov.au/visit/virtual_tour/, www. 10. SOSE was officially disaggregated in the migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au/exhibitions/ secondary school curriculum at the Ministerial objectsthroughtime, accessed 2 January 2008. Council on Education, Employment, 18 Gail Durbin, Susan Morris & Sue Wilkinson, A Training and Youth Affairs (MYCEETYA) Teacher’s Guide to Learning from Objects, English meeting in Darwin in April 2007. Changes Heritage, Middlesex, 1990, pp. 4–5. to state curricula that result in history being 19 John P Aggleton & Louise Waskett, ‘The ability extricated from SOSE are now reliant upon the of odours to serve as state-dependent cues for forthcoming national syllabus produced by the real-world memories: Can Viking smells aid the National Curriculum Board. recall of Viking experiences?’, British Journal of 6 Clark, History’s Children, p. 101. Psychology, vol. 90, no. 1, 1999, 1–7. 7 ibid., p. 104. 20 See Janette Griffin, ‘Research on students and 8 ibid., p. 116. museums: Looking more closely at the students 9 This statement is particularly meaningful in school groups’, Science Education, vol. 88 no. because in New South Wales students are 1, July, 2004, 59–70. required to do a site study as part of their 21 Judith Hudson & Robyn Fivush, ‘As time goes mandatory study of history from years 7 to 10. by: Sixth graders remember a kindergarten 10 Clark, History’s Children, p. 116. experience’, Applied Cognitive Psychology, vol. 5, 11 ibid., p. 137. no. 4, 1991, 347–60. 12 ibid., p. 143. 22 ibid., p. 356. 13 Paul A Gagnon, Historical Literacy: The Case 23 Stephanie Downey, Jackie Delamatre & Johanna

10 Why a national history curriculum needs a museum site study Jones, ‘Measuring the impact of museum- History Summit: Transcript of Proceedings, 2006, school programs: Findings and implications for www.dest.gov.au/sectors/school_education/ practice, Journal of Museum Education, vol. 32, policy_initiatives_reviews/key_issues/ no. 2, summer 2007, 175–88. Australian_History/#The_Australian_History_ 24 ibid., p. 178. Summit, accessed 1 June 2008. 25 Peter Slade, ‘Gallipoli thanatourism: The 35 Tony Taylor, ‘Summary notes from the History meaning of Anzac’, Annals of Tourism Research, Summit briefing and actions agreed’, Museums vol. 30, no. 4, 2003, 779–94. Australia at Melbourne, State Library of 26 John Lennon & Malcolm Foley, Dark Tourism: Victoria, 2007. The Attraction of Death and Disaster, Thompson, 36 Ian Dawson, www.thinkinghistory.co.uk, London, 2004. personal communication, 6 March 2009. 27 Valene L Smith, ‘War and tourism: An 37 David Anderson, A Common Wealth: Museums American ethnography’, Annals of Tourism in the Learning Age: A Report to the Department Research, vol. 25, no. 1, 1998, 202–27. for Culture, Media and Sport, Norwich, (revised 28 Bruce Scates, The Ghosts of Gallipoli: Revisiting edition) 1999, p. 37. the Anzac Battlefields, Tenth Annual History 38 ibid., p. 44. Lecture for the History Council of New South 39 ibid., p. 116. Wales, delivered 16 September 2005, History 40 ibid., p. 127. The downside of this largesse is Council of New South Wales, Sydney, p. 20. that lottery funds can be used only for capital Here Scates quotes one of his respondents, works, not for operational costs. Still, they have ‘Kristie’. provided a valuable kick-start to many exciting 29 For example, see VCE History Units 1 and programs. 2 Twentieth Century History 1900–1945/ 41 Eilean Hooper-Greenhill, ‘Education at the Twentieth Century History 1945–2000, Unit 4 heart of museums’, Pathways to Partnerships: Australian History; Victorian Essential Learning Linking Collections with Educators, Curators, Standards (VELS) Stages 3 and 6 at: http://vels. Guides and the Community, Museum Education vcaa.vic.edu.au/assessment/ppoint/humanities/ Association of Australia, Melbourne, 1993, p. index.html; Stage 5 Australian History syllabus 5; John Reeve, ‘Making the history curriculum’, that requires students to study Australia’s in Gaynor Kavanagh (ed.), Making Histories in participation in the First World War, the Second Museums, Leicester University Press, London, World War and the Vietnam War. History: Year 1996, p. 231. 7–10 Syllabus, Board of Studies NSW, Sydney, 42 Anderson, A Common Wealth, p. 37. 2003, pp. 32–9. 43 The Learning Power of Museums — A Vision for 30 Although Darwin and Broome were subjected Museum Education, www.culture.gov.uk/images/ to Japanese bombings during the Second World publications/musuem_vision_report.pdf. War and war cemeteries commemorate the 44 Eilean Hooper-Greenhill, Museum and Gallery casualties, these sites are neither well-known Education, Leicester University Press, Leicester, nor visited in the same numbers as battlefields 1991, pp. 73–5. and war cemeteries, especially those of the First 45 Tina Corri, Heritage Learning newsletter, World War, located outside Australia. summer 2008, p. 3. Corri is head of education, 31 Scates, The Ghosts of Gallipoli, p. 9. English Heritage (UK). 32 ibid., p. 23. 46 A site study is defined in the New South Wales 33 Tony Taylor, The Future of the Past: Final Report syllabus as ‘an inquiry-based examination of an of the National Inquiry into School History, historically or culturally significant location. Monash University, Melbourne, 2000, p. 105, Site studies may include an investigation of www.dest.gov.au/sectors/school_education/ the school and its surroundings or a visit to an publications_resources/national_inquiry_into_ archaeological site, a museum, an Aboriginal school_history/the_future_of_the_past_final_ site (with permission), a specific building, a report.htm, accessed 28 May 2008. monument, a local area, an open-air museum’. 34 Australian Government Department of See History: Year 7–10 Syllabus, p. 15. Education Science and Training, The Australian 47 ibid., p. 15.

Louise Zarmati 11 48 National Museum of Australia, Annual than 150 kilometres from Canberra. See www. Report 2007–08, www.nma.gov.au/shared/ civicsandcitizenship.edu.au/cce/parliament__ libraries/attachments/annual_report/annual_ civics_education_rebate_(pacer),18103.html, report_2007_2008/, accessed 6 March 2009. accessed 2 January 2008. One reason is that there are funds for school 51 Both factors are the subjects of my current visits to Canberra for schools located over 1000 doctoral research. kilometres away, and they are aimed at year 5. 52 Clark, History’s Children, p. 116. 49 Australian War Memorial, Annual Report 2007– 53 ibid., p. 117. Another problem is that only a 08, www.awm.gov.au/corporate/annual_report/ few museums and heritage sites in New South ann_rep07-08.pdf, accessed 5 March 2009. Wales or the Australian Capital Territory fit 50 The cost of travel to Canberra has been reduced the content requirements of the New South by the federal government’s Parliament and Wales years 9 and 10 history syllabus, which Civics Education Rebate (PACER) program that focuses on twentieth-century history, specifically provides a travel subsidy to students in years Australia’s part in overseas conflicts such as 4–12 from across Australia to visit Parliament the two world wars. Some examples are the House, the War Memorial and Old Parliament Australian War Memorial and Old Parliament House as well as other institutions as part of House, Canberra; The Rocks (Green Bans); and their civics and citizenship education. The local heritage sites such as Scheyville National program encourages on-site learning about Park (migrant history and Vietnam) and the national democratic, historical and cultural Cowra Prisoner of War Camp (Second World institutions and benefits students living more War).

Citation guide Louise Zarmati, ‘Why a national history curriculum needs a museum site study’, reCollections: Journal of the National Museum of Australia, vol. 4, no. 1, 2009, 1–12.

Author Louise Zarmati has worked as a high school history teacher, archaeologist and museum educator. She co-authored Experience Archaeology (Cambridge University Press, 1998) and Archaeology (Heinemann, 2004) with Aedeen Cremin, and wrote Pompeii and Herculaneum (Heinemann, 2005) for the New South Wales Ancient History Core Study. In 2005 she was awarded a New South Wales Premier’s History Scholarship to research the work of Italian archaeologist Amedeo Maiuri. She is currently a lecturer in history education at Macquarie University and completing a doctorate at Deakin University on history pedagogy in Australian museums.

12 Why a national history curriculum needs a museum site study