The old empire and the new curriculum: the representation of British imperial history in educational materials for Dutch upper-level learners of English
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2025-01-15
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en
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Due to the proposed curriculum changes in the Netherlands which places importance on cultural awareness regarding the subject of English. This research focusses on the content and narratological analysis of educational materials from the three largest publishers of educational materials for Dutch upper-level learners of English language teaching. In so doing, it aims to answer the question: To what extent and in what way do New Interface, Of Course, and Stepping Stones represent Britain’s imperial past in educational materials for Dutch upper-level learners of havo 4-5 and vwo 4-5-6? It has done so by establishing and applying codes such as but not limited to: colonization, decolonization, empire, multiperspectivity. This research has shown that in all twenty texts and clips, British imperial history is presented through single voiced coherent accounts. Sources added to these texts are only ornamental or supportive and don’t provide conflicting narratives. Only two texts engaged with multiple perspectives and only seven texts showed experiences of non-western historical subjects. Educational materials should add sources which provide different narratives as to better prepare for the proposed new Dutch curriculum.
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