Does teaching history strengthen national identity and generate social cohesion?
Events such as urban rioting and terrorist attacks as well as Europe’s increasing population diversity have intensified interest in the notions of citizenship and identity. This has led to public debate about the role which education in general, and school history in particular, can play in influencing conceptions of identity. In the United Kingdom the government believes that teaching history is important for strengthening the cohesion of the population and for enabling successful integration of migrant communities. This study, led by an international research team, aimed to reveal the ideas about history which young people bring as preconceptions to their learning. The survey was conducted in England and the Netherlands. In their questionnaire the researchers asked 442 students, aged between 14 and 18, whether history was important for them, which forms and periods of history they were most interested in, and how they defined their identity. The researchers established that most youn
