Lord Adonis said history had to reflect the UK's diversity

In an article for the BBC News website, Lord Adonis said there was a fear of tackling controversial areas such as slavery or perceptions of Islam.

Teachers might be more comfortable with the "relative familiarity" of traditional subjects, he added.

Lord Adonis has asked the Historical Association for proposals on teaching "complex and emotive" subjects.

History taught people respect for values outside their personal experiences, the minister said in an article to mark Black History Month.

It needed to be "driven from the bottom up" - reflecting the personal histories and curiosities of "our diverse population".

Lord Adonis said the national curriculum encouraged teachers to choose content "likely to resonate in their multicultural classrooms" - but some found it difficult to do that.

"There are several reasons for this, from the relative familiarity of traditional subjects to the fear of misrepresenting certain topics clouded in controversy."

The government is alsoconsidering how to commemorate next year's bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade in the British empire.

Resources

The moves have been welcomed by the Northamptonshire Black History Association, which has worked with the University of Northamptonshire to devise resources for teachers.

The director of its Shaping the Future project, Nicky Taylor, said Lord Adonis's assessment was totally correct.

"One of the reasons teachers often said they didn't include black history in their teaching was they didn't have the resources," she said.

"So this tries to address that."

Part of the group's work has involved talking to trainee teachers at the university, to show them that black people could be included in their lessons - in many subjects.