The Future of Learning and Teaching in Social History: The Research Approach and Employability

This paper analyses the key issues that need to be addressed in seeking to enhance the appeal of social history to undergraduates. Consideration is given to content selection; enhancing cognitive skills; learning and teaching approaches; and assessment techniques. Additionally, in relation to each of these matters, the notion of progression is examined, which in this context is concerned with how the study of social history can be made more challenging for students as they proceed through their programmes of study. The argument is made that, for social history to prosper at undergraduate level, careful account will have to be taken of students' needs, especially in terms of their employability, and meaningful ways found of reflecting these needs both in the way the curriculum is designed and in the learning and teaching approaches that are adopted.