Diploma in History

Upon successful completion of the course, the students will be able to

1. Provide students with an education that is in line with the objectives of teaching history in the school system.
2. Engage in high-quality teaching through extensive understanding of subject knowledge, pre-training, lesson planning, teaching and assessment.
3. Engage in field studies and practical programmes in history related subjects in a more effective manner.
4. Demonstrate ability to addresses fundamental questions about the nature of humanity, the society, in the context of the past, present and the future and demonstrate knowledge about the origins and development of people 

History is the study of humans from its inception to the present day. These activities are considered in the political, economic, social, religious, and cultural spheres, considering the ease of learning. The scholar Travellien describes history as a house of all subjects, as it examines how human culture and civilization have been built when all these fields are studied. Accordingly, by studying history, one can look at the past with the present eye and examine how the problems that have arisen in the past have been solved and through those experiences one can build the present and plan the future successfully. Therefore, the subject of history has an important place as a subject that studies the trajectory of civilized human society so far and spreads knowledge over a wide range.

After independence until the year 1972, GCE (O/L) History was taught as a separate subject. But for more than four decades since 1972, the teaching of history as a separate subject has been abandoned, and many school teachers in the island today are not history students. Since history has been made a compulsory subject in the school system from 2005 to Year 6 and Year 11, there is a need for the teachers who are engaged in the teaching of the subject to work on the subject knowledge and to have a better knowledge of the learning techniques. This Diploma in History course is designed to meet that need.

In considering the content of this diploma course, the subject units for the study of Sri Lankan history are divided into the Rajarata period in the history of Sri Lanka, the Kandyan state from the southwestern kingdom period of Sri Lankan civilization, 19th and 20th century Sri Lanka, and Asian, European and world history. The major forces of Asian history, Indian history, and European history, as well as the modern world of the 20th century, are divided into units, respectively. In addition, there is a course unit called Archeology for the study of history and another course unit for practical study of the techniques and teaching methods of studying history. In addition, it is mandatory to submit an independent research report at the end of the course. This Diploma course is conducted in Sinhala medium for a period of one year for two semesters and for 450 hours. The evaluation of this diploma is done through end of the semester final examinations and continuous evaluations.