Addressing the Exclusionary Nature of Eurocentric World History Instruction- A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

The exclusion of global knowledge in favor of a condensed western-centric history curriculum casts a shadow on the fact that America is the most globalized and culturally diverse nation in the world. This paper aims to analyze the standards-based world history curriculum as taught in high school among both regular and Advanced Placement classes for its deficiency in providing a comprehensive global history. The primary topic used in the qualitative content analysis and systematic literature review is Buddhism and its spread throughout China. Especially with the curriculum change from the College Board’s AP World History to AP World History: Modern, key developments in history are marginalized in favor of a direct look at history beginning in the 13th century (1200 CE onwards). Twenty-five world history instructor websites were analyzed to explore the extent of instruction on concepts related to Buddhism in East Asia. The literature review results support the hypothesis that the major world religion is sparsely covered in the greater picture of general world history. Included is a short paper covering information on the spread of Buddhism into China based on research findings from more in-depth college courses as well as simple internet browsing. This paper concludes with a recommendation that educational policies and curriculum standards address the growing diversity of the U.S. student population.