History: a subject ‘in crisis’ in the Australian senior secondary curriculum context?

Abstract

Abstract

One of the reasons History curriculum makes the headlines worldwide is because it is a subject seen to be imperilled by declining student enrolments. Concerns that it is a discipline in crisis in universities are echoed by calls to examine the uptake of History in secondary schools. This article investigates enrolment trends in the Australian senior secondary curriculum context. It documents enrolment trends across all states and territories by drawing on data from 2009 to 2024 for the Year 12 subjects of Modern History and Ancient History. The research contributes a much-needed empirical knowledge base that examines variations across contexts and identifies a gradual downward national trend in Year 12 students studying History. Grounded in a curriculum inquiry approach that draws on the sites of curriculum making framework it reflects on the implications of these trends and the efficacy of situating them within a crisis discourse. The article sets out three recommendations that may assist history education stakeholders and researchers respond. Overall, we argue that while there are parallels with international contexts, we are cautious about making claims that History is a subject in crisis in Australian schools, just yet.