RESEARCH QUESTION:
The thesis asks whether it is advisable to pursue the development of a pan-Canadian curriculum on the history of Canada.
 
METHODOLOGY:
The paper examines arguments in popular and academic history in favour of the development of national norms for the teaching of Canadian history in public school curricula. The study considers the political, pedagogical and cultural implications of the question and examines the historical context of the debate. The study includes an analysis of the possibilities and challenges of the development of a pan-Canadian history curriculum through an examination of the Western and Northern Canadian Protocol (WNCP) project for the creation of a common curriculum framework in social studies (1995 - 2002).
 
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS:
Through a consideration of the social and educational factors that influence curriculum development, and an analysis of the purposes and methods of teaching history, the thesis concludes that is inadvisable, for pedagogical reasons,  to pursue a pan-Canadian curriculum that defines national history content for all educational jurisdictions.    
 
DISCUSSION:
The thesis examines the long-standing debate in Canada about the meaning, role and purpose of teaching national history. Although educational jurisdictions can and have attained some agreement about pedagogical approaches to the teaching of history, there remains significant disagreement about a pan-Canadian history curriculum and its possibly political motivations. The paper observes that among Canadian provinces, territories and regions there is a widespread conviction that the "national historical narrative" is in fact not a single history but rather a multiplicity of collective memories with some elements in common.
 
IMPLICATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH:
There would be considerable value in a comparative study of changing educational practices in the teaching of history, such as the teaching of historical thinking or historical literacy, and the impact of these practices on learners.

RÉSUMÉ
Ce mémoire examine les arguments populaires et universitaires en faveur de la création de normes nationales pour les programmes d'études d'histoire au Canada. L'étude définit les dimensions politiques, pédagogiques et culturelles de la question en considérant le contexte historique du débat. Elle analyse les possibilités et les défis de l'uniformisation des programmes au moyen d'une étude de cas du projet de collaboration du Protocole de l'Ouest et du Nord canadiens pour la création d'un cadre commun en sciences humaines (1995--2002). En considérant les tendances pédagogiques et sociales qui influent sur le développement curriculaire au Canada, ainsi que certaines questions liées aux buts et aux méthodologies de la discipline de l'histoire, le mémoire prend position contre l'élaboration d'un programme national d'histoire dans les écoles canadiennes.