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As one of few (current) educators in the Humanities disciplines that has written on these three
approaches and explained them in-depth and in a way that applies to the practicalities of
curriculum construction in schooling, especially in an Australian context, Gilbert (2003, 2004,
2005) has been drawn on in this section extensively. How the History curriculum in
Queensland schools, as analysed across the three eras selected, is situated within the
approaches outlined above forms part of the final reporting in Chapter 8: Research
Conclusion.
2.9 Conclusion
Although the five sections that comprise this literature review are quite disparate, they
combine to form a cohesive overview of the conceptual focus of this dissertation. They have
positioned this project within the relatively large field of educational research; clearly
articulating the various areas that influence this project. To recap, the sections include:
official knowledge as encapsulated by Apple (1993, 2000); defining textbooks, including
their use as a pedagogical device, especially to maintain ideological dominance; defining
hegemony, dominant discourses and resistant discourses relevant to this project;
constructions of national identity through school curriculum; and curriculum approaches in
Humanities disciplines.
The topics within these sections were framed by the overall purpose of the dissertation which,
as stated in Chapter 1 is to investigate: What understanding regarding the representation of
British heritages and Indigenous Australians in History curriculum in Queensland schools
can be drawn from an analysis of key syllabus documents and textbooks across select
historical periods between 1900-2000?
The literature discussed in this chapter, is drawn on in the analysis of data and the
conclusions made on textbook and curriculum research. This chapter has provided an
overview of the conceptual literature that has guided, informed and influenced this project
and the next chapter, Chapter 3: Methodology, Research Design and Conduct looks at
explaining the structure of the research within an explicit methodological frame.
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