Shifts in the teaching of history have occurred. However this is to be expected from a society of such drastic change. Society creates what it needs. The teaching of History is ultimately defined by society.
Between the 1940's and the 1960's the focus was on knowing and respecting the History of White Men.  By the 1960's there was a shift to the focus on inquiry and structure,. There was also a much larger focus on the contributions of minorities. In the late 1980's the focus was on acquiring history skills that would help in job skills.
The purpose high school history has shifted also. In the 1940's was citizenship training for Canadian Democracy and capitalism. In fact, keeping of the status quo was the exact purpose.
The purpose in the late 1960's was also citizenship training but also includes fitting personal student needs and studying the past for its own sake. The late eighties the purpose is to develop in the students critical thinking skills for understanding the contemporary world.
History was very European, with a focus on Britain. In Canadian History a Eurocentric   view dominated, as the history of Canada did not include minorities even though some of those present minorities existed in Canada millenniums before the first Europeans came. After Hall- Dennis History shifted to Canadian History, and began to become fragmented. Minorities and women's history became a much larger component. British history by this time had become passe. After OS:IS History courses be they American, Canadian or World Civilization represented minorities and more of a pluralistic history as shown above. History now was included in Contemporary studies, and thus not seen as its own subjects.
The number of history courses has changed also. Up to 1968 there was a requirement of four compulsory courses. After the introduction of Hall- Dennis a minimum of two courses in history had to be met. By the late 1980's only one history class was needed by students to obtain a high school degree.
The evaluation of history students was done by provincial exams of factual content up to the early 1970's. In the early 1970's there was a shift to local school exams and these exams tested the student's points of view. By the late 1980's there existed and exists national testing and benchmarks.
   As can be expected there are always calls from members of our society to go back. On page 20 of Professionally Speaking (March 1998) there is an article entitled New Curriculum Promises Rigour But Not History. The article focuses on the lack of ability of student's knowledge about the basic facts of history. The article states that only 35% per cent of high school graduates could correctly name 1867 as the date for confederation. The article calls for more mandatory history classes to remedy the situation. Thus the fight for what history should be taught and how much history should be taught continues.

Thus we conclude as we began- wondering when the winds of change will again affect the teaching of history.

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