Scielo RSS http://www.scielo.org.za/rss.php?pid=2223-038620160001&lang=en vol. num. 15 lang. en http://www.scielo.org.za/img/en/fbpelogp.gif http://www.scielo.org.za http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-03862016000100001&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-03862016000100002&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en The contribution of the British Colonies in supporting Britain in its quest to promote English and British culture amongst Afrikaner children during and in the aftermath of the Anglo Boer War is examined in this article. A cursory background to the circumstances that shortly preceded the Anglo Boer War is provided to present the context of the study. Next, the role of the press in shaping opinions on and attitudes towards the key role players in the war is offered. This aspect is included since it points to how the opinions of British colony teachers who were recruited to teach Afrikaner children in South Africa had been shaped. This section is followed by an overview of concentration camp schools and an outline of the prevailing conditions of schooling at that time. Hereafter the experiences of teachers who had been recruited from each of three British Colonies - New Zealand, Canada and Australia - are presented. These experiences give the reader insight into how teaching occurred, what it comprised and how it was received by Afrikaner children who survived the concentration camps. This article aims to add to the body of knowledge on schooling during the time of the Anglo Boer War and the role that the British played in the provisioning of education. The article also outlines the attempts of the British to Anglicise Afrikaner youth. The research evidences that the explicit role of these teachers was to inculcate the English language and customs in Afrikaner children during and after the Anglo Boer War. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-03862016000100003&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en This study investigates the responses of undergraduate history students, who are also student teachers, to the use of the autobiography or biography of an apartheid resister in their third year academic history course. The motivation for using auto/ biography in the history course has been to get away from a lifeless narrative of apartheid legislation and, for students, somewhat anonymous political movements. It has also become apparent that for some students, their school exposure to apartheid history was dulled by narrow focus and repetition. The study examines the reasons for student choices of their human subject, and how their understanding of apartheid resistance and their feelings about it are affected by engaging with life stories. It also investigates the extent to which the historical thinking and historical sense of these students both shapes and is influenced by their engagement with auto/ biography as a form of history. It notes significant levels of interest and empathy generated by the study of apartheid resistance through the life stories, as well as notable levels of commitment and enthusiasm in doing the related tasks. There is some evidence of an ability to critique auto/biography as history - as representation; but largely there is an acceptance of the life story of the 'hero of the struggle' they studied as truthful. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-03862016000100004&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en This study investigates the responses of undergraduate history students, who are also student teachers, to the use of the autobiography or biography of an apartheid resister in their third year academic history course. The motivation for using auto/ biography in the history course has been to get away from a lifeless narrative of apartheid legislation and, for students, somewhat anonymous political movements. It has also become apparent that for some students, their school exposure to apartheid history was dulled by narrow focus and repetition. The study examines the reasons for student choices of their human subject, and how their understanding of apartheid resistance and their feelings about it are affected by engaging with life stories. It also investigates the extent to which the historical thinking and historical sense of these students both shapes and is influenced by their engagement with auto/ biography as a form of history. It notes significant levels of interest and empathy generated by the study of apartheid resistance through the life stories, as well as notable levels of commitment and enthusiasm in doing the related tasks. There is some evidence of an ability to critique auto/biography as history - as representation; but largely there is an acceptance of the life story of the 'hero of the struggle' they studied as truthful. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-03862016000100005&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en This article makes a case for the production and dissemination of inclusive histories in public dialogue and public spaces of history consumption, including classrooms, lecture halls, monuments and textbooks. Inclusive histories are plural and multi-perspectival, meaning that interactions, overlapping phenomena and entanglements between various collectives at both the state and sub-state levels are emphasised. The discussion contends for a national historical narrative that encourages social accord rather than social fracturing without projecting a mythical reconciliatory motif onto the past. It also cautions against the pursuit of sanitised versions of the past and reflects on how discourses of victimhood and indigeneity put at risk the prospects for inclusive futures in pluralistic societies. The article argues that publically consumed commemorations and interpretations of the South African past should reflect the multiplicity of histories and peoples that inhabit the national space. It also suggests that re-telling South Africa's collective past in innovative rather than destructive ways, and in a manner that embraces the inclusive ethos of its constitutional democracy, will assist in producing a more inclusive historical narrative. The arguments in this article are intended to challenge and motivate those engaged in narrating history - amateur historians, history teachers, history learners, heritage practitioners, and textbook publishers - to represent the past in ways that promote plurality and multi-perspectivity in the present and for the future. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-03862016000100006&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en While recognising the contested nature ofHistory as a school subject, this article explores the political context and practical implications of making History compulsory until Grade 12. After twenty one years of democracy, South African society lacks social cohesion, a sense of nationhood and is experiencing occurrences of xenophobia. To address these concerns, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) established the History Ministerial Task Team (HMTT) to oversee the implementation of compulsory History in the Further Education and Training (FET) phase. The terms of reference of the task team include: the strengthening of History content; a review of the content in the General Education and Training (GET) band; its implication for teacher education, professional development and textbooks. The campaign to make History compulsory was promoted by the South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) and intensified after the outbreak of xenophobic attacks in 2008. To maintain the academic and professional status of History teaching, this article attempts to answer the question: what is the purpose of History as a school subject? To respond to this question, Barton and Levstiks model: "the purposes of History teaching", is employed as a framework to evaluate the proposal. By conducting a review of the post-apartheid History curriculum with special reference to complex phenomena such as nation-building and xenophobia, this article argues for attention to be given to the improvement of teachers' pedagogical practice and historical knowledge rather than policy reform which may be destabilising a large segment of the school system. The anticipated HMTT report is alerted against gratuitous political interference and to some practical implications of its work for educational practice. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-03862016000100007&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en This article is intended to help both learners and teachers get to grip with the source material used in examination and tests by providing a systematic way in which to analyse them for such factors as usefulness, reliability and validity. The various factors inherent in source analysis are arranged into a table, called the source matrix. To help learners and teachers further two examples are given of how the matrix could be used to analyse the source material provided. While such detailed analysis will never be required in tests and examination, it should nevertheless prevent the sort of meaningless answers which currently appear in many tests and examinations. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-03862016000100008&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en This article explains a creative way in which lessons from history may in future be presented to a new generation. This will be made possible by utilising new technology and ingenuity to make history educational and entertaining at the same time. Outside the classroom the SADFA Project also intends to create jobs for communities throughout South Africa. Military veterans with a passion to preserve the past and pass on a legacy to future generations will be invited to mentor the programme, together with historians and history enthusiasts. The aim is to present South Africa's joint history in a new and exciting way to contribute to the knowledge of future generations about how this country came about. Different cultures should gain respect for each other's history in the process.