published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

The purpose of this study is to discover how courses in world history and United States history are taught in Southern California secondary schools. At this stage of the research the study of the history course instruction will be generally defined as an exploratory and investigative inquiry involving the interviews of the history faculty, analysis of their course offerings and syllabi content, and the overall teachers' course content preparation and knowledge.

This study emerged from a desire to put to an end the crisis mentality surrounding the status of History as a subject in the secondary school. There appears to be consensus amongst didactitions and practitioners of the subject that the present malaise from which History teaching suffers derives from a number of complex sources. The study, however, takes as its point of departure the problem of the content orientated (product) syllabus which over-emphasises the acquisition of factual information and neglects the conceptual understanding (process) of the subject. Experience is providing the futility of teaching only content (information) to the modern adolescent. Therefore in order to resolve the problem the study focuses, inter alia, on concepts, structures and syllabuses. It is concluded that all subjects are based on conceptual structures which, in turn, have a direct bearing on the authentic education of pupils in general and conceptualization in particular. It is suggested, therefore, that historical content (product) can only have formative value if it is harnessed to facilitate conceptualization (process). Towards this end a History syllabus which embraces both the product and process approaches is advocated for implementation. In essence this means that the content of History is organised around concepts, that is, relevant concepts are chosen as themes around which the syllabus content is structured. Such an approach, it is believed, would not only help to develop universally valid generalizations but also facilitate the conceptualization process necessary for obtaining historical insight. A model, with examples, is presented as a suggestion for implementation in the classroom. Altenative proposals are also mentioned. If historical conceptualization is to be effevively realised in the classroom, then it becomes necessary to obtain a perspective on the learning-psychological processes involved in conceptualization. In this regard, specific theoris are highlighted to guide the History teacher in the classroom. Ti is finally hoped that the new approach suggested would assist teachers, at least to some extent, to resolve the problem of conceptualization in History teaching and thereby help to store the subject to its original position of respect in the school curriculum / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D.Ed. (Didactics)

published_or_final_version / Curriculum Studies / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Education, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Education. / This research is an attempt to reveal aspects of History teaching concealed in conventional or popular beliefs about the Black Matriculation pass/fail statistics. The classroom practices of two History teachers are described. One comes from an "achieving" Soweto secondary school. The school is popularly contrived as an "achieving" school because it is known in the community for producing better than average DET Matriculation results. The classroom practices of another teacher. from an "underachieving" school. are also described. This school is known in the community for producing lower than average DET results over a number of years. These classroom practices are illuminated against the backdrop of the high pass/low failure rate during the eighties, with particular reference to the year 1989. This is the year in which the DET matriculation pass/failure rate was the worst in the decade of the eighties. (Abbreviation abstract) / Andrew Chakane 2019

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Formal curricula, official curriculum documents and recommended resources, are revised periodically and have the opportunity to reflect feminist scholarship available at the time of writing. This feminist project analyzes the treatment of women's history in British Columbia's Social Studies 8-10 Integrated Resource Package 1997, the Social Studies 11 Integrated Resouces Package 1997, and the History 12 Integrated Resource Package 1997, all of which are due to be implemented in September, 1999. Informed by feminist historiography and pedagogy, the above curricula are analyzed using the following thematic organizers: degree of representation; segregation versus integration; experience, diversity and voice; and the construction and deconstruction of gender knowledge. A sampling of recommended learning resources found in the above Integrated Resource Packages are also examined for their treatment of women's history. The outcome of the research suggests that while limited gains have been made in the degree to which women are addressed in the new curricula, the manner of representation largely reflects her-story approaches that have been considered problematic by most feminist historians since the mid-1970s. Recommendations for future revisions are also included.

Teachers are considered by most policymakers and school change experts to be the centerpiece of educational change. Therefore, it is not surprising that many current educational reform efforts in South Africa are directed at teachers and their involvement in educational reform is seen as critical. Reforms must address the core processes of teaching and learning if they are to markedly change what happens in schools. Yet teachers respond to educational reforms in a variety of ways: some teachers push or sustain reform efforts, whereas others resist or actively subvert them. The question of addressing curriculum change in our schools has recently become a matter of contention. Teachers are finding it difficult to adjust to the changing educational policies that seek to coerce teachers into addressing curriculum change in their classrooms. In response to the changes in educational policy in the new dispensation, the teaching of history, a subject that had already experienced numerous transformations in the past, was once again faced with the challenges of a renewed curriculum framework. This study aims to capture the complexities and contradictions that are associated with a transforming educational system. More specifically it interogates the question of how history teachers see themselves within this transformation process and the impact that it has on their identities to curriculum change. Identity formation theories were used as a lens to understand the various forces that influence the identities of teachers. A number of theories were examined in order to unfold identity development from various approaches to allow for a more holistic understanding of a teacher's life career. The main question that guided this investigation was how history teachers construct their identities within the context of curriculum change. In attempting to unpack the messiness of the curriculum transformation process and at the same time to capture how history teachers are negotiating their roles and identities in post -apartheid South Africa, this research study employed a qualitative method of data collection based on a life history research tradition. The richness of information that was obtained from lengthy, open-ended interviews with six history teachers from the Kwasanti circuit, provided a sound platform on which to respond to the critical questions of the study. The data was collated to develop narrative stories with the intention of understanding teacher thinking and experiences within a broad social and historical context. The wealth of information provided by the interviews enabled the researcher to examine how these teachers were constructing their identities within the context of curriculum change. An analysis of the findings indicated that the conceptions that history teachers have about the changing curriculum are influenced by their past experiences. The study revealed that some of the major forces of influence that shaped the teachers' understanding of the changing curriculum were pragmatic and educational. Teachers come with many realities into the profession often reconstructing and creating their context based on past experiences and perceptions. Evidence from the data reveals that the plethora of policy initiatives seeking educational transformation in South Africa are to a large degree not congruent with existing teachers' beliefs . Teachers have to redefine and renegotiate their roles and identities, which is problematic because they come embedded with experiences gleaned during the apartheid era. The study concludes with a synthesis of the findings and it makes recommendations for addressing the present needs of history teachers in South Africa. The reconceptualisation of education through new policy initiatives has to refocus and look more closely at teachers' understanding of their day-to-day realities in the work environment. Teachers need to 'own' the process of change, and reform efforts need to be grounded in an understanding of teachers' professional lives and development. Teachers must see themselves as experts in the dynamics of change. To become experts in the dynamics of change, teachers must become skilled change agents. / Theses (Ph.D.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2005.

This study emerged from a desire to put to an end the crisis mentality surrounding the status of History as a subject in the secondary school. There appears to be consensus amongst didactitions and practitioners of the subject that the present malaise from which History teaching suffers derives from a number of complex sources. The study, however, takes as its point of departure the problem of the content orientated (product) syllabus which over-emphasises the acquisition of factual information and neglects the conceptual understanding (process) of the subject. Experience is providing the futility of teaching only content (information) to the modern adolescent. Therefore in order to resolve the problem the study focuses, inter alia, on concepts, structures and syllabuses. It is concluded that all subjects are based on conceptual structures which, in turn, have a direct bearing on the authentic education of pupils in general and conceptualization in particular. It is suggested, therefore, that historical content (product) can only have formative value if it is harnessed to facilitate conceptualization (process). Towards this end a History syllabus which embraces both the product and process approaches is advocated for implementation. In essence this means that the content of History is organised around concepts, that is, relevant concepts are chosen as themes around which the syllabus content is structured. Such an approach, it is believed, would not only help to develop universally valid generalizations but also facilitate the conceptualization process necessary for obtaining historical insight. A model, with examples, is presented as a suggestion for implementation in the classroom. Altenative proposals are also mentioned. If historical conceptualization is to be effevively realised in the classroom, then it becomes necessary to obtain a perspective on the learning-psychological processes involved in conceptualization. In this regard, specific theoris are highlighted to guide the History teacher in the classroom. Ti is finally hoped that the new approach suggested would assist teachers, at least to some extent, to resolve the problem of conceptualization in History teaching and thereby help to store the subject to its original position of respect in the school curriculum / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D.Ed. (Didactics)

The objective of this study was to evaluate the implementation of the new History curriculum at Grade 10 level of Further Education and Training band in the Qumbu district of the Eastern Cape Province. The focus of the study was on evaluating: (a) the extent to which the new History curriculum was implemented as intended; (b) concerns harboured by History educators in relation to the new History curriculum; and the (c) degree of support undertaken by principals in the implementation of the new History curriculum. A review of literature related to the implementation, evaluation and support in curriculum implementation was done. It was the basis for establishing a theoretical framework. The approach used in the study was the survey method. Data was gathered by means of a Stages of Concern (SoC) questionnaire and principal intervention questionnaire. The sample was made up of 15 educators from 15 high schools. The findings indicate that History educators have intense concerns about the new History curriculum. Also, the data shows that principals provide support during the implementation of the new History curriculum. However, the data indicates an occurrence of a disjuncture. It seems that there is no correlation between the intensity of educator concerns and the degree of support undertaken by the principals. It is acknowledged that due to the limitations of this study, further studies on curriculum implementation should be done. It should encapsulate the use of an interview schedule and observation method of data gathering. It is recommended that principals should be trained by the Eastern Cape Department of Education by using stages of concern as the diagnostic tool of evaluating the degree of curriculum implementation. Principals should undertake to provide relevant and effective support to educators during curriculum implementation. Support should be provided according to the findings of the study.