Concern at fewer students studying history at university

Writing in Eureka Street, run by the Australian Jesuits, Dr Erica Cervini noted that there seems to be broad societal interest in history-related areas such as family histories, historical novels, programmes and podcasts. At universities, though, fewer history subjects are offered, and there have been steep declines in both student enrolments and academic staff numbers.

In 2017, historians Paul Sendziuk and Martin Crotty surveyed every history department in Australia and New Zealand to gather data on staff and student numbers. They repeated the survey in 2022-23 with academic Emily Winter and found that nearly 31 full-time equivalent history positions had disappeared between 2017 and 2023. The decline was worse in Australia.

Student enrolments tell an even more grim story, Dr Cervini wrote.

Since 2016, enrolments have dropped by almost 10 per cent in New Zealand and 23 per cent in Australia, with dramatic falls across undergraduate programmes and higher degrees by research.

“Student load in honours, postgraduate coursework and higher degrees by research collapsed between 2016 and 2022, and undergraduate student numbers significantly declined as well,” the researchers wrote in their report, A Discipline in Crisis?: University History Staffing in Australia and New Zealand, 2022.

The evidence, they suggest, is that the situation will get worse and will impact funding.

Dr Cervini suggested that research is needed to understand the reasons so many people are hungry for history, while so few want to study it.

The study of history can play a role in helping students navigate misinformation online, Dr Cervini said. She cited sources suggesting that historians might use less jargon and might engage more with the public.

A report last year by the Education Review Office found several positives about the changed history curriculum in New Zealand schools, but stated that better connections are needed between local histories and broader New Zealand history, and how that links to this country’s place in the world.

Education Minister Erica Stanford said the Government planned to bring some balance back to the curriculum.

FULL STORY

History matters so why don’t students think so (By Erica Cervini/Eureka Street)

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