Education change is both a vast area and a small one. Macro change concerns the very nature of our schools, their funding and their set-up. Micro change concerns those small things that go on within a curriculum or inside the school. Much political attention focuses on the macro – it’s easier and everyone tends to have a view. But bear with me for a little as I try and explain why one of the less noticed micro changes – the complete overhaul of the GCSE history syllabus – is such a regrettable action of education vandalism. Of course, my concern stems from the fact that I am a history teacher and clearly believe that history should be a strong and coherent aspect of any healthy curriculum. Sometimes, though, these micro changes throw a much more illuminating light on the flux and turmoil within education than any of the macro items. I’ve written a piece for the TES on this very topic, so here it is; why we should be opposing the changes to the history GCSE.
