I completed the internship surrounding the decolonisation of Russian and Soviet history, the aim of which has been to identify gaps in the A-level and GCSE history. These gaps would be areas where there’s a lack of teaching about underrepresented groups, that is to say, ensuring teaching does not only focus on Western Russia. The diversity of the Soviet Union is something that has interested me the whole time I’ve been learning Russian, and so I knew I would enjoy this internship greatly.
Upon starting, my first task was to assess a specific exam board’s curriculum and identify a gap that interested me. From this I decided to focus on the collective deportations surrounding World War II, in which whole ethnic groups were deported as punishment for some people collaborating with occupying forces. I felt this was a really important topic, as it led to the deaths and suffering of thousands of people, and had detrimental effects on the languages and preservation of these cultures.
After presenting the gaps we found from the curricula, my next task was to find resources surrounding my chosen topic. These resources would ideally be free and easy for classroom use. This was a challenge at times, as many resources were only available in Russian or Ukrainian; I can speak Russian, but in general only resources in English would be suitable for teaching. Nevertheless, I found a range of media including videos, podcasts, photos and official documents. It made me consider what would be engaging for a student to see in a classroom as well as what would facilitate the teaching of this topic. We had a meeting to present our list of resources, during which I was able to get feedback from the supervisors as well as see the other intern’s work. They both chose very different topics to mine but it still helped to see what sort of resources they had selected and how they had represented their topics.
My final task was to create a poster presenting the research I had found. One side included my full list of resources, whereas the other showed some of the resources, such as photos or quotes from witness accounts.
Completing this internship has been incredibly enjoyable and enriching. I have learnt more not just about Soviet history, but also how to find resources, and assess their usefulness as teaching materials. As someone who intends to become a teacher in the future, this experience has been invaluable.