Is history a school subject in crisis?

History educators around the world have expressed concerns about declining history enrollments in schools and universities over the past few decades.

In some countries, such as the United Kingdom and United States, some experts and commentators have even gone so far as to describe it as a subject “in crisis.”

History educators are concerned that if fewer young people study history, they will miss out on important knowledge that helps them understand the present. They’re also worried students will have fewer opportunities to develop critical-thinking and communication skills.

So what do senior history enrollments look like in Australian high schools? And is it cause for concern?

Our research, published in the Journal of Curriculum Studies, suggests educators shouldn’t jump to the “crisis” conclusion, at least for the time being.

A gradual downward trend

In our research, we tracked the number of students studying history at the Year 12 level across all states and territories from 2009 to 2024.

Our study focused on Year 12 enrollments in modern and ancient history, as these are the two main history subjects in the Australian Curriculum and across most states.

We found that history enrollments overall have not kept pace with the growth of Year 12 populations. This has led to a gradual decline in senior secondary history enrollments. This means fewer students are continuing to study history in Year 12 than before.

A potential “crisis”

This drop in popularity appears more significant when we look at the trend over a longer period. A 2003 report indicated that Year 12 participation in history in 1993 was around 21%, dropping to about 18% by 2001.

We estimate that by 2024, the proportion of Year 12 students overall enrolled in ancient or modern history was down to 14.7%.

It’s important to note that there are limitations to calculating the proportion of Year 12 students studying history over time.

For example, the data doesn’t indicate how many students are taking a Year 12 subject in Year 11. It also doesn’t include other history subjects that are offered only by particular states. Curriculum changes to senior secondary courses and state-based differences also influence comparability over decades.

However, if the national downward trend continues, we may see fewer than 10% of Year 12 students studying a history subject within a decade. Then there will be a crisis.

Different trends

Our study also found different trends in Year 12 history enrollments across states and territories and between modern and ancient history subjects.

For example, in Queensland, modern history enrollments have declined by only 1% since 2009. There has also been modest growth of 9.6% in New South Wales.

Yet in both states, the numbers in ancient history have dropped by almost a third. In contrast, in Victoria, where ancient history is a newer subject, enrollments have doubled since it was introduced in 2016.

In South Australia, which includes students in the Northern Territory, ancient history declined by 11%, while modern history dropped by 36%. Similarly, in Western Australia, modern history numbers have declined by almost half since 2009.

These differences highlight that the popularity of modern and ancient history is not comparable across states, and the reasons for these differences need further investigation.

What do the students say?

Our previous research shows history now competes with a wider range of school subjects, some of which students see as more relevant to career planning.

In 2024, we conducted an online survey of 290 students in Years 10, 11 and 12 across Australia about their attitudes toward the study of history in the senior years. The study used social media to assist in recruiting participants.

We found that 80% of Year 10 students considered future study and career plans important to their decision to discontinue history. About 63% of students who chose to study history saw little connection between the subject and future employability but still chose to study it. One student who did not choose to study history said they were “not interested because it doesn’t help my future career.”

Students still value history

But some students still believe history is important to learn.

Our 2024 research highlighted that the majority of students valued the lessons learned from history that can help humanity navigate life in the present and future.

Even students who discontinued history viewed it as relevant to their lives. As one student who didn’t study history in Years 11 and 12 noted, “Young people today should be aware of the mistakes and victories of the past to form a better future […] We discover role models from history and aspire to create a better society in the future.”

Other factors

Policy can also sometimes work to devalue history in the job market.

For example, the Job-Ready Graduates scheme significantly increased the cost of humanities degrees in 2020. This has resulted in debates about whether students should prioritize STEM over humanities pathways at university.

It has also sent a message to students that pursuing humanities is not economically rational.

How should educators respond to the downward trend?

The survival of history in senior high school years depends on changing perceptions of the subject. Our research suggests educators, school leaders and government education agencies need to bridge the gap between the value students place on learning about history and the relevance of the history curriculum to their lives beyond school.

This means developing curriculum and learning experiences that allow students to use their critical-thinking skills and knowledge of the past to understand the present world and navigate uncertain futures. Thinking about how history education can be more responsive to local and global developments as they unfold will be crucial to sustaining its relevance.

Who’s behind this story?

Swati Mestri

Swati Mestri holds a bachelor’s degree in Electronics Engineering and has worked as a content editor since 2019. She has experience editing research documents across technology, health care, and materials science, and has a particular interest in technology and space.

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Andrew Zinin

Master’s in physics with research experience. Long-time science news enthusiast. Plays key role in Science X’s editorial success.

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This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.