Saga - 2001, Blaðsíða 170

168
MARGRÉT GESTSDÓTTIR
Summary
Early in 1997 the Ministry of Culture and Education set up a preliminary
committee to revise the syllabus for Icelandic primary and secondary
schools. Historians had two representatives, one of whom was the chair.
There was close cooperation between the committee and the History
Teachers' Association of Iceland (HTAI), which had been revived especi-
ally for this project, and now took an active part in the proceedings.
Three matriculation (university-entrance examination) programmes are
planned for the secondary schools: social sciences, languages and natural
sciences. These are to be more specialised than earlier programmes; the
programme core is to decrease, but the area of specialisation within the
three programmes and the students' options are to be emphasised
instead.
At first our representatives were optimistic about the role of history in
the new syllabus. The Ministry had given the preliminary committee a
list of fourteen objectives where Icelandic, history and cultural heritage
were emphasised, and had requested the committee to give priority to
these subjects in the syllabus of both the primary and secondary schools.
Supported by the HTAI, the committee made a proposal of integrating
Icelandic and world history for the first time in the core courses. When the
final syllabus was published in 1999, classes in history had been drasti-
cally cut; for example, there was no history at all in the area of specialisa-
tion of the natural sciences and languages programmes. In other words,
the emphasis on specialization was such that history was no longer con-
sidered a part of common knowledge, but had been turned into a field of
special interest for those who are going to study social sciences. History
classes in primary schools have also been cut; at this level history is to
compete with other social studies for space on the timetables. In addition,
textbooks are in short supply.
Because of this fundamental change in history teaching, a completely
new curriculum had to be written for both school levels. Sufficient time
has not been provided for this task and the product inevitably suffers. For
a while, the media focused on the new status of history teaching in sec-
ondary schools, but the Minister, and the representatives of the Ministry,
have been unwilling to discuss the new status of history in the 1999 syl-
labus. As this is in sharp contrast with the agenda that the Ministry ini-
tially proposed and the preliminary committee followed, it seems that
professional principles have not been observed; furthermore, this funda-
mental change may be sheer blunder without any thought of the conse-
quences. Now, teachers at each and every school have to fight for the
cause of history, but the number of hours that are free for history vary
from one school to another. History is now in the „free-market zone" and
time will show its market value.