This paper examines the impact of curriculum resources which were developed as part of a Heritage Lottery funded project entitled Shaping the Future. The project was developed by in order to promote the teaching of Black History a rural county which has a predominantly white population.  Although the focus of this paper is on the contribution of Black History resources to the history curriculum this is based on the premise that it contributes to diversity as means understanding of the past. This is premised on the belief that these provide the basis holistic understanding of the past, but also prepare children for a more diverse present than one which is based upon ethnocentric norms, which provided a basis for comparison with other contexts within Britain and Europe. The perception that multiculturalism was associated with multicultural schools and communities has been challenged in Britain since the 1980s, notably in the aftermath of the Macpherson Report (1999) in England which identified institutional racism as an issue within such contexts. The Race RelationsAct (2000) required that such issues should be addressed which has implications for all organisations, including schools. However, it is appreciated that the diversity within history teaching is contentious and this issue is explored and contested.

Shaping the Future consisted of five thematic packs related to local Black history, relating it within a national and global context, for children in Primary Schools at Key Stages 1 (5-7) and Key Stage 2(7-11) and Secondary Schools at Key Stage 3 (11-14). The project followed pilot study to assess local needs which identified the provision of resources to be a major issue.  Evaluating the impact of the project in Northamptonshire will consist of following research questions – How far has it been adopted?  How far has this been related to teacher perceptions of diversity? How far does it relate to their perceptions of other aspects of the history curriculum?  How far does this differ from the perceptions of teachers who did not adopt the project materials? What are the implications for curriculum development? The study therefore includes the perceptions of both primary and secondary teachers who used the materials and those who did not. At the core of the investigation is the need to appreciate how far such notions both Black History and diversity are embedded in the curriculum and the implications of this for future curriculum development.  

Shaping the Future involved contacting all schools in the county to provided them with one free pack and publicity for the remaining four packs. Given that Black History is more commonly associated with urban areas with large non-while populations and that the project was in a rural area it has unique qualities which can be compared against rather than with other contexts both nationally and elsewhere in Europe. For this reason it is regarded as a large case study.

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