Empathy: the concept that dare not speak
its name?
Why is empathy a
contentious aspect of school history?
Because several commentators questioned its
validity, and argued that it was a form of "dumbing down"; vague and
sentimental imaginative writing instead of command of "the facts" and rigorous
historical analysis. Although it was incorporated into the criteria for the
GCSE exam in the late 1980s, the assault on it was so high profile in the
national press, that there was a tendency in subsequent documentation to
actually avoid the word "empathy", (hence Peter Clements' article in Teaching
History No. 85, 1996: pp. 6-8, 'Historical Empathy- R.I.P.?')
(Below) Audrey
Hepburn explains empathy
Although the word empathy is not mentioned
explicitly in the most recent curriculum specification for history, the
National Curriculum does say that:
'pupils should be taught to describe and
analyse the relationships between the characteristic features of the periods
and societies studied including the experiences and range of ideas, beliefs and
attitudes of men, women and children in the past.' (KSU 2a), and 'to analyse
and explain the reasons for, and results of, the historical events, situations
and changes in the periods studied.' (KSU 2c)
Limits on word length meant that it was not
possible to include a developed section on the empathy debate in the book, so
this section is just to provide a bit more detail on empathy, as it does seem
to be an area that interests some PGCE students, judging by the number of
assignments on the topic.