Women : the missing component in history teaching

Abstract

This dissertation aims to explore the position of women in the study of the past. This investigation begins with an analysis of the distinctive characteristics that make up history as a discipline. The historian deals with what is considered as historically significant and consequently, what should be included within public memory. This is a process which is marked by subjectivity. An examination of this above process serves as an insight into the reasons why traditionally, women have been excluded from history as a field of knowledge. In the past, what women did in their daily lives was taken for granted, as it was not considered worth recording and therefore it was considered to be non-historical. European culture also bestowed a negative aura around womanhood which also contributed to relegate women into a subordinate position. The first two chapters provide a background against which to analyze actual history teaching in today's Maltese state secondary school sector. The emphasis in teaching is primarily on political history where men's past experiences are given a universal dimension. It is literally our 'forefathers' who are celebrated throughout the textbooks and history teaching in general. A predominantly qualitative approach was used to explore the teachers' views about the issue. From the questionnaire distributed amongst teachers, the majority of teachers feel that women should be represented more through history teaching, since at present this is not being done. Finally, some suggestions are made, towards more gender-balanced history teaching, so that one could diminish if not totally eliminate the present practice of teaching the history of one half of the population to the detriment of the female half