ABSTRACT
History has always been a medium for delivering essential skills at all stages of education. It is a subject which seeks to place children in a context of time and place, and thereby allow them to see what has gone before. Therefore the environment and society in which they now function can be given a clearer focus. It was the ancient philosopher Cicero who believed that to know nothing of what happened before you were born was to remain forever a child. Given that a key purpose of a child’s education and full-time schooling is to prepare them for life as an adult, and, presuming that this is more than a mere collection of assorted abilities to do different things, then history can be seen as a platform from which to understand aspects of spiritual, moral, social and cultural values, not only of the past but also of the present. As teachers of history we are not seeking, as such, to turn pupils into historians but rather to encourage the ability to select and interpret data from a range of historical sources and a variety of perspectives. Ultimately, adults choose and reflect on what is of value to themselves, their community and the world in which they live. This chapter considers how history may be used as a means to develop and foster that wider sense of values on which any society ultimately places its standards.
