ABSTRACT
For the purposes of this chapter, the humanities are largely represented by the subjects history and geography. There is, of course, a much better definition of this curriculum area (English is covered separately in another chapter), but the intention of the authors is that the points made here apply broadly across the whole range of the humanities subjects. Like other primary subjects, the humanities benefit from opportunities to encourage children to become active and productive in their own progression. A recent project found that: ‘Young peoples’ creativity seems to flourish when their learning environment values diversity, encourages them to experiment and take risks, and offers trusted guidance, respect and support’ (Rawling and Westaway 2003: 9). This is not, however, to suggest that pupils are merely sent away to ‘teach themselves’, or that the processes involved in the business of creative teaching and learning are not rigorous and focused. The same piece of research concluded that: ‘young people are most creative when constraints are given – a time limit, a word limit, a limit on resources – than when an activity is completely open ended’ (ibid.: 9).
