This study explores the way in which the Iranian Post-Revolutionary political and religious authorities subordinate the teaching of History to their political agenda by analyzing the political, ideological, and cultural discourses embedded in the secondary school history course book, The Contemporary History of Iran (Tārīkh-i Muʿāṣir-i Iran), which is a mandatory textbook in the Iranian education system. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2012-10-02 18:44:57.313

This document analysis examines how historical thinking is evaluated by the Ministry of Education history examination in Québec in 2015. High school students in Québec are required to pass this examination in order to receive their diploma. The Ministry examination claims to evaluate students’ historical knowledge and skills. Almost twenty years of Ministry of Education documents were analyzed using a historical methodology and two Ministry examinations were analyzed using a rubric derived from historical thinking criteria to answer the following questions: How has historical thinking influenced the history curriculum and the evaluation of history in the province of Québec? How is historical thinking reflected in the Québec Ministry examination? Analysis of the two examinations show that they are a limited tool for evaluating historical thinking and are instead focused on evaluating historical content knowledge. The current Ministry examination generally has some elements of four domains of historical thinking: evidence, cause and consequence, continuity and change and historical perspective. However, many of the questions only require students to answer at the recall level. Overall, there are few opportunities for students to demonstrate their advanced knowledge of historical thinking on the ministry examination.

The purpose of this basic independent project is to create a research summary of previous research made within the field of how historical perspectives included in regular history teaching affect the development of historical consciousness and historical thinking. The questions aimed to be answered in this text are: how can one work with different perspectives and historical thinking in history education?; how can different historical perspectives affect the learners’ historical consciousness and historical thinking?; and, what possibilities and/or dilemmas can occur when working with different perspectives in developing historical consciousness and historical thinking? To answer these questions extensive research has been made to find previous studies that deal with these issues, mainly through digital databases such as SwePub and ERIC, and also through the physical university library. The research resulted in ten research articles and dissertations, that deal with developing historical consciousness and historical thinking. The studies conducted in these texts conclude that working with various perspectives within the teaching of history is complex, and must be well thought out and be given time to be successful. However, if performed correctly, working with various historical perspectives can be influential in the development of historical consciousness and historical thinking.

Teachers in the 21st century are confronted with students who are mass consumers of visual texts via social apps on smart devices, media on television, and information in textbooks. Teaching students to analyze and question visual texts may help them construct meaning and critique what they see. Yet, very little is known about teachers’ pedagogical decisions when planning and teaching with visual texts. This study attempted to fill that gap. The purpose of this study was to explore how eighth grade history teachers utilize historical visual texts in their classrooms. Three eighth grade history teachers participated in this study. Data collection consisted of semi-structured interviews, teacher analyses of visual texts, video recorded lessons, and teacher reflections. Data obtained in this study addressed the following questions: How do teachers analyze a historical visual text for use in the classroom? What previous experiences do teachers utilize when planning to teach with a historical visual text? What do teachers’ reflections of a video recorded lesson reveal about the teachers’ instructional experiences with historical visual texts? What do video analyses of teachers utilizing historical visual texts reveal about teachers’ historical thinking and visual literacy pedagogical decisions? The results of this study indicated that the participants lack formal pedagogical content knowledge and prior experiences in teaching with historical visual texts. Yet, the participants reported that their lessons in this study were engaging and meaningful for students. Findings from this study suggest that historical visual texts can be effective in the teaching and learning of history.

Enligt kursplanen för historia i årskurs 7-9 ska eleven kunna uppvisa ett tiotal förmågor utöver det historiska innehållet för att uppnå den lägst godkända kunskapsnivån E. Forskning visar att elever har svårt att konstruera historisk kunskap, samt att ämnesinnehållet ofta är tunt beskrivet. Kandidatuppsatsen är en litteraturstudie med forskning och litteratur utifrån en historiedidaktisk kontext. Empirin är inventerad genom en hermeneutisk metod och har analyserats med historiskt tänkande teorins fokusering av tankebegrepp. Enligt historiskt-tänkande teorin är tankebegrepp redskap för att organisera och hantera det historiska tänkandet och framställandet. Exempel på ett begrepp som studien behandlar är orsak-konsekvens. Totalt studeras sex olika tankebegrepp. Studien syftar till att undersöka vilka undervisningsmetoder och strategier som kan användas i historieundervisningen utifrån historiskt tänkande teorins fokusering av tankebegrepp. Studiens resultat visar bland annat att undervisningsmetoder och strategier som skildrar innehållet ur flera perspektiv, ställer frågor som öppnar upp för analys istället för fakta, samt undervisar dem explicit i undervisningen är faktorer som skapar förutsättningar för att stärka elevers förmågor att framställa och organisera sina historiska kunskaper.

Deanne R. Murray at Utah State University conducted a qualitative case study aimed at examining the understanding and practice of historical thinking of three fifth-grade teachers. These three teachers had each been a participant for 3 years in a federally funded Teach American History (TAH) grant project aimed at increasing teachers' historical knowledge and classroom practices. This TAH project in Utah was particularly focused on teachers learning to use cultural tools in socially mediated settings with the ultimate goal of improving their students' performance in history. This study sought to understand the development of these three teachers' historical thinking through their participation in this TAH project and explore how this development influenced their teaching of history to their students. It was the aim of the researcher to probe the understanding of these three teachers regarding historical thinking after 3 years of professional development. If we are interested in strengthening the historical thinking competence of students in our schools, it makes sense to begin by gaining a better understanding of teachers' professional development experiences that are intended to foster historical thinking. This study required the collection of data from teacher interviews, teacher observations in the TAH setting, teacher lesson reflections, and teacher analysis of their students' work and understanding of historical thinking. Teacher participation in this study was voluntary and uncompensated and no outside funding was used during this study. The researcher, Deanne R. Murray, volunteered her time and resources for the study to fulfill the requirements of a Doctor of Philosophy in Education degree.

The work which follows arose from the examination of three fifth grade social studies textbooks widely adopted and accepted in the State of Texas. Within these history textbooks, seven historical events which occurred during the American Revolution were investigated to determine how primary sources are represented in each selected textbook to support a version of the historical event they accompany. The research question guiding this qualitative study was: How do fifth grade social studies textbooks present primary sources in an American Revolution unit of study. To answer this question, I analyzed the three fifth grade social studies textbooks’ American Revolution unit of study. Historical events common to the textbooks and included in the unit of study were Tax Laws, The Boston Massacre, The Boston Tea Party, Paul Revere’s Ride, Lexington and Concord, The Battle of Bunker Hill, and The Declaration of Independence. Within the textbooks’ American Revolution units of study, the following primary sources were found: quotes, written documents, photographs, cartoons, posters, maps, artifacts, paintings, and sculpture or statuary. The researcher discovered three findings related to the representation of primary sources in the fifth grade social studies textbooks. These include the conundrum of fact, monolithic representation, and verisimilitude. Suggestions for improving school history textbooks and opportunities for future research are included. / text

This qualitative interpretive research study of students participating in online discussion forums explores how the socio-constructivist nature of online discussion forums fosters the development of historical thinking. The study also focuses attention on the development of the historical understandings of students as they participant in online discussion forums in particular significance, empathy and agency. Set within the context of discussion forums and framed by socio-constructivism and historical thinking, the study uncovered what it means for students to “do history” and how students construct their own historical narratives as they interact with their peers online. Data collection included transcripts of online discussion forums, interviews with participants and the collection of other related artifacts. Findings suggest that the online discussion forums facilitate socio-constructivism in the classroom by providing students with extended opportunities to engage with their peers ideas and assumptions. Additionally, the findings also conclude that students understanding of significance, empathy and agency are related to their interactions with both the official and unofficial curriculums and the temporal and physical proximity of examples to students lived experiences. / text

Zu bewundern ist an diesem Buch der detailreiche Überblick, die synthetische Kraft der Nacherzählung einer wichtigen Episode deutscher Geistesgeschichte. Die Aufbruchstimmung während und nach der Napoleonischen Besatzung wird plastisch an einigen Protagonisten verdeutlicht, die in Philosophie, Theologie und Historie wirkmächtig gelehrt und geschrieben haben. Wer für Hegel, Schleiermacher und Niebuhr einen gemeinsamen zeitgenössischen Kontext sucht, kann keine bessere Auskunft erhalten als in dieser spannend erzählten Studie über das romantische Denken in Deutschland.

The present quasi-naturalistic study used socio-cultural theory (Wertsch, 1998), picture theory (Mitchell, 1994) and the use of historical agency as a second-order concept (Lee & Ashby, 2000; Seixas & Morton, 2013) as a way of examining the historical thinking of high school seniors as they investigated second-wave feminism. Existing literature reflects the ways in which students understand historical agency (Barton, 1997; Winter, 2001; Peck, Poyntz, & Seixas, 2011), but has yet to examine its use as a conceptual tool to dissect controversial issues in history, such as feminism. The main research question was: in what ways do high school seniors employ historical agency as an analytical lens in examining second wave feminism? Supporting research questions included: (1) In what ways do high school seniors make sense of historical agency as a tool for taking informed action? (2) How do high school seniors use historical context to evaluate individual, collective or institutional choices and their consequences? (3) How do high school seniors define gender and feminism in the context of examining the struggle for women’s political, social and/or economic equality? Data included students’ responses to a questionnaire, notes and audio-recording transcripts from a historical thinking exercise that used historic photographs, and audio-recordings and transcripts of semi-structured interviews. Results indicated that participants understand the complexities surrounding historical agency including an actor’s choice and their challenges. Participants were also able to use historical agency as a conceptual tool to investigate gender, controversial issues, and change over time. Still, participants struggled with historical context and causation and relied heavily upon a narrative of progress. Further consideration of students’ use of historical agency might offer new insight into supporting a more inclusive history curriculum that highlights historical agency and women’s history in more authentic ways.