As we move towards the beginning of April 2011 most of the UK's new A-Level Anthropology students will be finishing off their first year of study and will soon begin to prepare for AS examinations in May and June. It therefore seems like a good time to pause and reflect on the successes and challenges facing A-Level Anthropology in its first year as a subject being taught at secondary schools and colleges for Further Education in the UK.
The arrival of the A-Level in Anthropology is the result of much wrangling among social anthropologists in Britain about the potential implications of teaching anthropology in secondary schools, as David Mills points out in the first edition of Teaching Anthropology (see 'Have we ever taught anthropology? A hidden history of disciplinary pedagogy', available at www.teachinganthropology.org). Is it possible, concerned anthropologists have asked, to neatly reduce the essential elements of anthropological theory and practice (whatever these may be) into a textbook for use in the classroom? Are A-Level students capable of dealing with the complex issues at the heart of anthropological inquiry? And what is the impact of surrendering anthropology to the rigours and limitations of a rigid framework of written, summative assessment and examination? That A-Level Anthropology has made its debut in British secondary schools and sixth form colleges is indicative of the fact that tentative answers have been put forward for these questions: yes, it would seem possible to develop textbooks of general value to students, as has been the case in the United States for several decades; yes, it would seem that A-Level students are capable of taking on the intellectual challenges that anthropology presents; and yes, it is possible, to some extent, to measure their ability to do so through standardised testing, as is the case on most undergraduate courses in anthropology.
However, all of these questions become somewhat academic if we do not first consider the practical implications of putting forward Anthropology as a viable option at A-Level in schools - particularly given the current regime of austerity and cut-backs and the planned 'slimming' of the curriculum in the UK state secondary schools. We might begin by asking how many schools provide A-Level Anthropology and how many students have chosen to study Anthropology at A-Level this year. While it's difficult to pin down an exact number, the examination board AQA tells us that some 300 students were entered for A-Level Anthropology examinations in January 2011, and that these students came from approximately fifteen institutions. Given that the Office for National Statistics reported a total of 3.5million further education students in the UK between 2007/2008 (see Social Trends 40, pp. 32), relatively speaking this is quite a small number of participating students. Obviously it is likely that uptake is going to be small to begin with for a new A-Level subject, but we might ask what other factors are influencing this slow start for Anthropology in secondary schools. Are schools simply not willing to take a risk on a new, 'unproven' subject because money is in short supply and there are no guarantees about its success? Are students similarly cautious about investing their efforts in a subject that may not have currency either for future job prospects or for the increasingly perilous process of applying for a place in Higher Education? If this is the case, will the current climate of austerity hamper the chances of success for A-Level Anthropology even before it gets off the ground?
These issues lead us to some other questions that while based in simple economics also have broader implications for A-Level anthropology. We might ask, for example: given the financial constraints on schools, are there actually many teachers who are being hired to teach Anthropology, or is Anthropology mainly going to be taught by existing teachers of A-Level Psychology and Sociology? What are the implications of this, either positive or negative, for students' understanding of anthropology as a discipline? Sociology and Psychology are well-established options at A-Level - do schools see Anthropology as sufficiently different to make it a viable alternative option in the sixth form? As an anthropologist of education currently teaching A-Level Sociology, it is easy to see how the two subjects overlap in certain areas of content, but I can also see how the 'exotic' tropes of Anthropology might appeal more to students with an interest in a broader cross-cultural perspective of the world. It will be interesting to see whether or not Anthropology itself might in this sense become 'exoticised' in secondary schools, in order to contend with its competitors at A-Level.
With the AS exam period around the corner, and new options being sought and chosen by next year's prospective A-Level students, it remains to be seen how Anthropology will fare in its second year as an A-Level subject. For now, we might simply ask: will A-Level Anthropology survive another year? I certainly hope so, but the challenges are significant.
To have a look at the specification for AQA A-level Anthropology, click here
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