In my view: Doing local history

Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.

Editorial comment: ‘Doing Local History' permeates John Fines' oeuvre on the teaching of history - it is both warp and weft. In introducing a Local History case study John outlined the nature and purposes of Local History. The second extract illuminates how Local History is all around us and immediately accessible to children, parents and staff, while his third piece shows how Local History can draw upon an infinite number of topics. The final thought-provoking paragraph raises the role of Local History in educating for citizenship through giving an historical, contextualised sense of community and social cohesion that makes education an immediate, real and living experience.