BBC Radio 4

As heated debate rages about what kind of history should be taught in schools today, David Cannadine has turned his attention to the teaching of history in Britain in the 20th century with a research project that includes the collection of archive and scores of interviews from teachers, pupils, senior educational policy makers and politicians who were involved with history teaching from the 30s onwards. It provides a window on Britain's changing national narrative, our relationship to the past and the impact of the media on history - as well as exploding a few myths about 'trendy' history teaching. It also contains exceptional (and unheard) personal testimonies.

This Archive On 4 throws up big questions: was history better taught chronologically? History teaching used to be UK (or at least Euro) -centric. Should it be? Should taught history take into consideration Britain's declining place in the world? Are the feuds of the past being handed down? What is the right history to be taught in multi-cultural schools?

The oral histories recorded as part of David Cannadine's "History in Education" research project will be available at the British Library from early 2012.

Institute of Historical Research History in Education project

The British Library