Falling student interest in Australian history at Melbourne University has prompted a review to recommend it scrap its Australian Studies programme for undergraduates.
The review by four international historians also called on the school of history to redesign its Australian curriculum to go beyond the "national narrative".
"It is the view of the panel that Australian history subjects need to be designed that will attract a broader range of students,'' it said.
"Subjects which connect this country to the region and the world are more likely to draw numbers of non-arts students than those centred on the national narrative.''
The review instead advocated subjects such as Australian environmental history, which it said connects Aboriginal, economic and cultural history, and historical geography.
Under the recommendations, the university's Australian Centre, which currently houses the Australian studies program, would be refocused on research and postgraduate teaching.
Melbourne University is to stop teaching Australian studies to undergraduates due to lack of interest.Excess staff would be relocated or offered voluntary redundancies. The review stressed there were already large numbers of Australian historians teaching at the university amid "limited'' demand from students.
The review of Melbourne's School of Historical and Philosophical Studies found that the share of student load for history in general within the arts faculty has fallen from almost 12 per cent in 2007 to less than 9 per cent last year.
The undergraduate full time load in history has fallen 18 per cent to 448 students, while numbers at the Australian Centre have dropped 24 per cent to 68.
The review said interest in Australian Studies was falling at other universities as students see as irrelevant and focus on vocational subjects. It said there was a similar lack of interest at secondary school.
The review criticised the school for not doing more to create attractive courses that appeal to non-arts students as part of the university's new Melbourne Model. Under the model students undertake broader studies beyond their chosen faculty before studying the professions at postgraduate level.
Head of school Trevor Burnard said the school was committed to teaching Australian history but that the challenge was to make it, and history in general, more interesting and relevant to students. "
There isn't as much demand for a certain type of Australian history as there used to be,'' he said.
Professor Burnard said the review's recommendations would be examined by a committee that will report back in November.
No comments:
Post a Comment