What is analysis of historical significance?

Historical significance first appeared in England’s National Curriculum for history in 1995. It entered the assessment framework (Level Descriptions) in 2008. In 2014, it became part of the History NC ‘Aims’. One thing never changes, however: it is hard.

But history teachers have written a great deal about historical significance – rationales for teaching it, its relationship with other types of historical analysis and ways of getting pupils to explore it in practice. Here is a quick guide to starting points in Teaching History...