In 2018 history specialist Christine Counsell coined the phrase “hinterland knowledge”. But what does it mean? And how does it relate to your teaching practice?
According to Counsell, there are two types of knowledge in a curriculum: “core” and “hinterland”. Core knowledge is fact-based, whereas hinterland knowledge enriches the core, adding meaning and essential context.
“The core knowledge you want pupils to remember is supported by an equally important hinterland; the little examples, the stories, the little illustrations, the richness, the dwelling on this but not that, the times when you as a teacher go off piste with your passion,” Counsell explains in a blog post on the topic.
“Hinterland helps us distinguish between a vital property that makes curriculum work as narrative and merely ‘engaging activities’, which can distract and make pupils think about (and therefore remember) all the wrong things,” she adds.
The concept isn’t widely researched in education, but it is particularly popular with humanities teachers.
Hinterland knowledge: how teachers can use it
So what does this a focus on hinterland knowledge look like in the classroom?
Liam Milne, head of religious education at St Anthony’s Girls’ Catholic Academy in Sunderland, says hinterland knowledge has a vital role in his teaching. However, he warns that it needs careful thought, planning and sequencing, to avoid it becoming a distraction.
“In my key stage 3 and KS4 RE classes and in my A-level ethics and philosophy lessons, the hinterland is typified through driving emotive responses to narrative, through exploring historical events, through fiction and through reading scripture,” he explains.
When it comes to planning, then, Milne maps out the core of the curriculum, and then makes a list of materials, including full books of fiction, podcasts, biographies and branches of philosophy that supplement it. Students are invited to extend their study through exploring the hinterland laid out.
For example, in KS4 RE, the specification requires students to know what the Catholic Church teaches about forgiveness, with specific reference to Matthew’s Gospel: this is core knowledge that students need for their GCSE exams. Milne ends these lessons by sharing the tragic stories of Anthony Walker and Jimmy Mizen, who were both murdered when they were teenagers, and their families’ response to their murders.
These stories give the topic a sense of gravity and illustrate to students the impact that Church teachings can have on the lives of believers, he explains.
“Through using hinterland in this way, my students are able to apply and analyse core knowledge with reference to their own lives and to consider the weight of the key facts and teachings they have learned,” Milne says. “It is through this hinterland knowledge that my students are able to securely understand what forgiveness is and what it involves.”
At A level, Milne teaches psychological responses to religion and, specifically, Freud’s belief that religion is a neurosis. Here, hinterland knowledge plays a major part: he shares with students case studies of the patients Freud studied. These case studies are not listed on the exam specification, but Milne stresses that they allow students to gain an insight into how Freud arrived at his hypothesis.
Students are split into groups and are given a specific case study to investigate and present to the class. They are also given a framework for success to guide their presentations, but the conversations are organic, with this task designed to pique interest and to open students up to the possibility of engaging in this type of learning independently and more regularly.
Once the group have discussed their findings, Milne reveals Freud’s theory, and discusses it with the class, while making specific reference to the case studies they have already discussed.
“I find that this task is a vital hook to what can be a difficult part of their A-level course, with students now engrossed in Freud’s world and keen to learn more,” he says.
Activities around hinterland knowledge can use a range of materials, says Milne, and many teachers are probably applying the concept without even realising it.
When teaching KS3 students about the Christian concept of the Incarnation, for example, he shows them the famous artwork of Christ from St Catherine’s Monastery. This allows students to investigate the nature of Jesus and to consider the different expressions shown in the artwork, such as the contrasting holy and humble characteristics at either side of his face.
“Through exploring the hinterland in this way, my students are able to develop a more concrete and solid understanding of the concept they go on to study further in key stage 3 and beyond,” Milne says.
Hinterland knowledge, then, stems from all of those activities that go beyond the core curriculum and add enrichment to subject learning. And Milne is absolutely convinced of its worth.
“Hinterland breathes life into our curriculums, and saves the curriculum from being a mere collection of taught facts,” he says.
