Pre-service Teachers’ Introduction by Alex Elliot, Andy Gilbee and Aidan Davies
As future teachers of Australian history, we would like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands of Australia on which sovereignty has never been ceded. It always was and always will be, Aboriginal land. We would like to further acknowledge the Boon Wurrung/Bunurong and Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation, on whose land we work, study, and reside. We pay our respect to their Elders past, present, and emerging and extend this respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today. First Nations people have a continual legacy of sharing history through storytelling. We are proud to continue this tradition.
In the study of History, we engage in the analysis of past knowledge articulated and interpreted from a multitude of sources, each with varying motivations. In creating Diverse Historical Narratives and Perspectives: A Collection of Learning and Teaching Activities 2023 Deakin pre-service teachers were tasked with creating activities for inclusion in a digital open book with a focus on diversifying narratives and perspectives. Until relatively recently, the study of History was shaped by white males who served as its primary authors. This resource aims to help History teachers to develop their students’ skills by analysing the multifaceted narratives and perspectives of history.
In pursuit of this goal, this open book additionally hopes to showcase the potential of OER-enabled pedagogies to create resources. Through the inclusion of activities that spotlight diverse historical narratives, we hope to illuminate the transformative capabilities of OERs. In doing so, we aspire to address the lingering gaps and biases within traditional curricula, empowering educators, students, and the broader community to challenge historical biases, rectify erasures, and include a diversity of knowledge in their understanding of history.
Teaching History, as we have come to appreciate, is a multifaceted challenge. The mission to integrate and acknowledge all voices within the historical narratives is often thought to be a complex and almost impossible undertaking. Within the History classroom an aspect of this decolonising process is creating a more inclusive and diverse representation of the past. In some cases, this entails uncovering primary resources that directly illustrate the experience of diverse historical perspectives. However, in many cases, it involves re-evaluating and re-interpreting current resources with a different view; focusing on different themes and exposing hidden intentions or motivations.
As future educators we value this ideal, wishing to integrate diverse perspectives into our teaching practices. Yet, the day to day practicalities of juggling multiple classes and navigating different curricula presents ongoing challenges. Including different perspectives within this framework is a worthy cause but in reality it means placing further pressures on teachers to do independent research, create new resources and plan lessons that diverge from longstanding school practice. This open book serves as a solution to this conundrum for current educators and the future educators who have authored it. Its pages are filled with activities that focus explicitly on incorporating diverse historical narratives within the sometimes narrow boundaries of the history curriculum. With these activities in hand, the task of incorporating diverse voices becomes a more accessible reality.
Alexandra Elliot, Andy Gilbee and Aidan Davies
Deakin University, October 2023
