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BALH Awards 2008
,The 2008 Awards for local history were presented on 7 June by BALH President Professor David Hey.
BALH AWARDS 2008
for personal achievement
• Ivy Butcher, Kings Bromley, Staffordshire: founder member of Kings Bromley Historians, responsible for collecting and recording material for the parish; advising and supporting neighbouring groups.
• Joan Dils, Berkshire: for a lifetime of work devoted to local history in Berkshire through her own research and writing; tutor and mentor to individuals and groups.
• Gwyneth Fookes, Surrey: for promoting local history in North East Surrey through the Bourne Society, East Surrey Museum and other organisations.
• Jeremy Gibson, Oxfordshire: for more than 50 years commitment to local and family history as editor and author; founder member of Banbury Historical Society; generous with his knowledge and encouragement to others.
• Kenneth Powls, East Riding of Yorkshire: for bringing the past alive to the communities of Howdenshire through a lifetime of research, recollection, and writing.
• Andrew Underwood, Ampthill, Bedfordshire: for promoting, writing, collecting and cataloguing the history of Ampthill; providing inspiration and guidance to successive generations of local historians.
for a society newsletter
• The Ilkeston & District Local History Society
for research and publication
• Nigel Richardson, Uppinghams 1875 ..1877 typhoid outbreak: a reassessment of the social context, Rutland Record no.26 (2006)
• Penelope Upton, Thomas Fisher and the depopulation of Nether Itchington in the sixteenth century, Warwickshire History vol.13 no.4 (Winter 2006/2007)
• Merial Evans, Halifax houses between the wars, 1919 ..1939, Transactions of the Halifax Antiquarian Society new ser. vol.14 (2006)
• Betty Longbottom, Bradfords municipal baths and wash-houses, The Bradford Antiquary third ser. no.10 (2006)
• Barbara Allison, How large was your village in the seventeenth century, Oxfordshire Local History vol.8 no.1 (Summer 2006)
BALH response to consultation document from DIUS
,Informal Adult Learning - Shaping the Way Ahead
Since its inception 25 years ago the principal aim of the British Association for Local History has been to forward the study by individuals and groups of the history of the communities in which they live. Its membership, which embraces a very wide range of interests, includes those involved both formally and informally in the teaching and learning of local history. The Association is grateful to have the opportunity to respond to Informal Adult Learning - Shaping the Way Ahead.
While the Association welcomes the attempt to co-ordinate informal adult learning, it has a number of concerns which the document does not tackle explicitly or, in a few instances, address at all. This response focuses largely on these issues.
1. Local history is immensely popular amongst a wide number of people and groups. It has proved an important catalyst for engaging many in a process of continuous learning and of attracting many back into education. A wide range of unaccredited local history courses over many years has contributed to improving basic skills such as literacy, numeracy and ICT and played a huge role in community pride and cohesion. These courses have engaged a wide cross-section of the population including the more hard-to-reach groups. People have used the courses as a ladder to further learning and qualifications, progressing from non-accredited courses to degree level and to postgraduate work. Self-help groups are not able to make such courses universally available in the way that Further and Higher Education authorities have previously done, they have not the same capacity to reach non-traditional learners, and do not provide any progression in learning. The British Association for Local History would welcome guarantees that this ladder of opportunity will continue to exist, and that all its rungs will remain in place so that it can continue to provide these benefits to individuals, groups and the nation as a whole.
2. To be successful local history requires a good blend of ‘formal’ and ‘informal’ approaches. While the ‘informal’ approach offers enormous opportunities for effective self-learning it needs to be supported by good teaching. The reliance on volunteers in promoting local history is recognised and welcomed but volunteers cannot operate without the necessary training themselves. Local history, whilst motivating and enjoyable, requires a range of skills and competencies. These include high levels of literacy, an understanding of sources as evidence, a grasp of the significance of information and the ability to place it in its wider context, the capacity to communicate effectively and often a knowledge of languages.
These requirements represent some of the most important attributes of a skilled and adaptable workforce. It is unlikely that they can be developed without teachers themselves skilled in these areas. The British Association for Local History thus seeks reassurance that these formal elements will not be compromised and that the recent trends such as the loss of funding for formal classes will be reversed and that serious consideration will be given to ensuring the provision and sustaining of a pool of well-qualified and skilled teachers of local history. With such a heavy emphasis on the role of volunteers the Association believes that it is vital that there is a structure for training volunteers who might become effective teachers and leaders of local history activities in the future.
3. The consultation paper does not seem to recognise that some of the avenues previously available to ensure the health of local history are now closing. Unlike the past where there were career opportunities, there are now few and those with an interest and deep understanding such as academics are currently too pressurised with teaching and research to undertake local history teaching in higher education. Those trained to teach in schools and further education colleges now have few opportunities to develop their competence in this area either through their initial training or through later continuous professional development. Excellent volunteer teachers can be found amongst retired academics but this is a diminishing resource. The British Association for Local History would very much hope plans could be put in place to produce a pool of skilled practitioners able to lead and develop those who are enhancing their learning through informal means.
4. The British Association for Local History fully acknowledges the importance of training the workforce in skills necessary to cope with current employment needs. Equally, though, there is a need to recognise the changing nature of work and to develop a broader range of skills and understanding required to deal with changing work patterns such as new types of jobs, people changing jobs many times, and coming in and out of work. In short, the key is adaptability and a breadth of skill. The Association does not feel that the document recognises the need for this breadth or the way that learning in areas such as local history helps create it.
5. The Association supports the effective co-ordination of informal learning opportunities but would welcome more specific guidance on how this works in practice. The track record of ‘co-ordinating organisations’ such as the Learning and Skills Council and the Regional Development Agencies has not been particularly effective with regard to local history. At the grass roots level these bodies sometimes appear too remote. Whilst the Association welcomes attempts to improve co-ordination at the local level, careful thought needs to be given to the composition, organisation and communication systems involved in such co-ordination. It would hope to see clear, effective lines of communication so that the needs and aspirations of the whole community with regard to local history are understood, properly audited and addressed. The internet can play a role but all those and most especially the harder to reach groups involved in the study of local history do not always have easy access to the internet.
6. Linked to this is the importance of listening and heeding the views of learners, both formal and informal. The Association hopes that what results will not be an inflexible, one size fits all system but one that offers variety, reflects the local context and provides the ladder of opportunity. Issues of diversity, geographical isolation, transport difficulties and finance need to be considered and not ignored. These issues and especially the effective use of volunteers, incentives such as tax benefits, access to funds and training need to be addressed. The Association would expect that formal and informal learning would be underpinned by research and discussion regarding needs, and not be simply imposed.
The British Association for Local History appreciates the additional time allowed for this consultation and would hope to be able to contribute to further developments in this area. In common with any responsible organisation it recognises fully the need to challenge systems and justify existing systems and expenditure. Equally, though, it believes that ‘value for money’ does not automatically mean the cheapest or most utilitarian. It is concerned to maximise both for individuals and society the benefits of informal and formal learning and believes that what is needed are structures and systems that broaden rather than restrict participation, that are of the highest possible quality and that are embedded and sustained.
28 May 2008
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