ABSTRACT
Humanities was part of the school's core curriculum and every student from year two to five took the subject for three lessons each week. As with the English teachers there was considerable consensus amongst the Humanities teachers about 'subject paradigm' and 'subject pedagogy'. The Humanities teachers advocated a more 'traditional' approach to pedagogy. They emphasized whole class teaching, often followed by individual, quiet seat work, in which they strongly 'framed' curriculum content and controlled the pace of student work, 'formal' teacher-student relationships, and strong control over student interaction in the classroom. Multiculturalism was a central organizing principle in the selection of curriculum content in the department. The idea was to reflect the history and background of the students in the curriculum and to use different world cultures to illustrate key concepts and common themes. In this way the teachers hoped to enhance the self-esteem of their students and encourage a greater awareness and tolerance of different cultural forms.
