M.Ed. / Present day society displays a noticeable concern with regard to public interest in history. The debate about the relevance of history is increasing. This concern is not unjustified if one closely examines the statistics of high school pupils taking history at matric level. Numerous reasons are given for the pupils' lack of interest in the subject and many academics, historians, teachers and other interest groups have come up with suggestions to counter this phenomenon regarding the lack of interest in history. The dissertation has as its aim the investigation of possible educative advantages in local history teaching and to prove how local history teaching, as an agent of broader history studies, can be used to boost and build pupil interest in history. Reference will be made to local history; what it is, how it fits into broader history and how it can be implemented at primary school level to counter some of the problems educators are experiencing regarding the lack of interest by pupils. Firstly, reference will be made to the educatiye principles underlying local history teaching and how these can be utilized by history teachers in an endeavour to enhance pupils' interest in the subject. Secondly, attention will be paid to the psychological development of pupils. One of the most important characteristics of any didactical situation is that the learning material should be designed in such a manner that it takes into account the intellectual development and abilities of pupils. This is an inherent feature of local history teaching and can be used by educators as a tool to counter the lack of interest that was refered to earlier. One of the reasons why pupils display a lack of interest in their history classes may be because of the traditional method of history teaching in which teachers tend to lapse into unilateral discussions. Local history, if taught correctly, involves active participation by pupils and it is through this active participation that pupils are exposed to the acquisition of historical skills. Pupils, through local history studies, can become critically aware, analytical, nonprejudicial and may strive to continiously seek the truth. Futhermore, the dissertation will argue that through the acquisition of such skills, pupils learn to find an objective, well-balanced and meaningful history and this in itself can lead to the cultivation and enhancement of interest in history, which is of vital importance to a subject that reflects a deteriorating interest-level. Lastly, the dissertation intends to prove that if the educative principles and cognitive values, encompassed in local history teaching are comprehensively explored at primary school level, this may help pupils acquire the necessary skills essential for futher studies in the subject and also vitally important for maintaining an interest level.

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2017-06-12T12:41:20Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Mariana Heck Silva.pdf: 793668 bytes, checksum: 2ed970d9d11db052fd16f2878416ef65 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-12T12:41:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Mariana Heck Silva.pdf: 793668 bytes, checksum: 2ed970d9d11db052fd16f2878416ef65 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-05-04 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq / The present work aims to reflect on what has been taught in the disciplines of History of Africa I and II in the undergraduate course in History at the State University of Santa Catarina, Brazil. The time cut of our study starts from 1998, when the discipline of History of Africa I was taught for the first time, until 2013, when federal law 10.639, which makes compulsory the teaching of this subject, has completed 10 years. Our analysis were made relating the teachers' choices as well as the perspectives built by the students from their places of enunciation. We consider that these places are surrounded by racial, gender, sexual orientation, social movements and academic formation issues that influence In the way people resignify and perceive the world around them. The purpose was to understand the ways taken by the teachers in the construction of the disciplines, passing theoretical, methodological and content choices. Besides, we aimed to analyse the perspectives created by the students from these choices. The sources of this research include institutional documents of the university, the undergraduate course of History and the disciplines of History of Africa I and II, as well as curricula, interviews and bibliographic productions of teachers and questionnaires applied to the students / O presente trabalho tem como objetivo refletir sobre o que vem sendo ensinado nas disciplinas de História da África I e II na graduação em História da Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina. O recorte temporal compreende entre o ano de 1998, quando a disciplina de História da África I foi ministrada pela primeira vez, até o ano de 2013, quando a lei federal nº 10.639, que torna obrigatório o ensino da temática, completou 10 anos. As análises foram feitas relacionando as escolhas dos docentes e os olhares construídos pelos discentes a partir de seus lugares de enunciação, pois considerou-se que esses estão envoltos por questões raciais, de sexo, gênero, vinculação a movimentos sociais e de formação acadêmica que influenciam na forma como ressignificam e percebem o mundo que os cerca. A finalidade foi compreender os caminhos trilhados pelos docentes na construção das disciplinas, perpassando escolhas teóricas, metodológicas e de conteúdo; e analisar os olhares que os discentes criaram a partir dessas. Foram utilizados como fontes os documentos institucionais da universidade, do curso de história e das disciplinas de História da África I e II; currículo, entrevistas e produções bibliográficas dos docentes; e questionários com os discentes envolvidos nas disciplinas

This dissertation examines the changing perceptions which black history educators and learners have held toward secondary school history education from 1948 to 2008. The province of Mpumalanga is focused upon, although the perceptions held about history education by black secondary school educators and learners within the wider historical context of South Africa is also examined. It is argued that while the history education offered to black learners in South Africa secondary schools during the apartheid era was unpopular largely due to its pro-government subject matter, post-apartheid secondary school education is in danger of becoming increasingly marginalized within the school curriculum as it cannot successfully compete with a modern, technological and materialistically orientated society. / History / M.A. (History)

This dissertation examines the changing perceptions which black history educators and learners have held toward secondary school history education from 1948 to 2008. The province of Mpumalanga is focused upon, although the perceptions held about history education by black secondary school educators and learners within the wider historical context of South Africa is also examined. It is argued that while the history education offered to black learners in South Africa secondary schools during the apartheid era was unpopular largely due to its pro-government subject matter, post-apartheid secondary school education is in danger of becoming increasingly marginalized within the school curriculum as it cannot successfully compete with a modern, technological and materialistically orientated society. / History / M.A. (History)

It is generally agreed that during the apartheid era secondary school History education was perceived as either an indispensible aid toward furthering the National Party’s social and political programme of separate development by some sections of the South African community or as an insidious form of indoctrination by other sections of the community. One of the contentions of this thesis is that this form of apology or indoctrination was less successful than is generally believed. The white English and Afrikaans-speaking sections of the community, although practising very different cultures shared many perceptions, including the perception that secondary school History education was less important than was the study of other subjects. The result was that at least since the 1960s, History was a subject in decline at most South African white secondary schools. History education enjoyed a mixed reception on the part of black secondary school educators during the apartheid era although the majority of black secondary school educators and learners, particularly after the 1976 Soweto Uprising, rejected the subject as a gross misrepresentation of historical record. The demise of History as a secondary school subject during the post-apartheid era is well documented. The case is made that this is due to factors such as poor teaching and the tendency by school administrations to marginalise the subject. My own 2008 and 2012 research indicates that while many South African adults display a negative attitude toward secondary school History education, secondary school learners have a far more positive outlook. The finding of this thesis is that the future for History education in South Africa is not as bleak as many imagine it appears to be. / History / D. Litt. et Phil. (History)

It is generally agreed that during the apartheid era secondary school History education was perceived as either an indispensible aid toward furthering the National Party’s social and political programme of separate development by some sections of the South African community or as an insidious form of indoctrination by other sections of the community. One of the contentions of this thesis is that this form of apology or indoctrination was less successful than is generally believed. The white English and Afrikaans-speaking sections of the community, although practising very different cultures shared many perceptions, including the perception that secondary school History education was less important than was the study of other subjects. The result was that at least since the 1960s, History was a subject in decline at most South African white secondary schools. History education enjoyed a mixed reception on the part of black secondary school educators during the apartheid era although the majority of black secondary school educators and learners, particularly after the 1976 Soweto Uprising, rejected the subject as a gross misrepresentation of historical record. The demise of History as a secondary school subject during the post-apartheid era is well documented. The case is made that this is due to factors such as poor teaching and the tendency by school administrations to marginalise the subject. My own 2008 and 2012 research indicates that while many South African adults display a negative attitude toward secondary school History education, secondary school learners have a far more positive outlook. The finding of this thesis is that the future for History education in South Africa is not as bleak as many imagine it appears to be. / History / D. Litt. et Phil. (History)