How Can We Plan for Progression in Primary School History?
| Autor | Hilary Cooper |
| Cargo | Doctor of Philosophy in Young Children's Thinking in History (Institute of Education, University of London, England) |
| Páginas | 16-31 |
ABSTRACT
This paper addresses issues concerning planning for and assessing progression in children’s thinking in primary school history.
It argues that it is necessary to assess progression within the framework of constructivist learning theories, applied to the
processes of historical enquiry. First, it discusses early research into children’s ability to understand concepts of time, historical
sources and interpretations. Next, it describes the structure of the English National Curriculum, introduced in 1989, in which
pupils are required to apply the processes of historical enquiry to content, in increasingly complex ways. The problem of what
is meant by progression in history led to a large-scale research project attempting to identify patterns of development. It is
argued that this proved problematic, and the level descriptors for the English History Curriculum have subsequently been
removed. The article concludes that, at the moment, progression can be best planned for based on small-scale case studies,
which apply constructivist theories to historical enquiries. Finally, suggestions are given for how teachers can plan and evaluate
both their own practice and their pupils’ progress.
KEY WORDS
History, primary school, progression, enquiry.
* This paper i s based on a long-term s tudy of methods of id entifying prog ression in histor y in the UK and worldwid e. The small-scale c ase studies have
some communality in that the authors regularly present their research at the annual conferences of the History Educators’ International Research
Network h eld in cities as varie d as Curitiba, Ist anbul, Yaroslavl, New York and C apetown; selecte d papers are publis hed in The International Journal of
Historical Learning, Teaching and Research, published by t he Historical So ciety of Great Bri tain (www.his tory.org.uk; ww w.cumbria.ac.uk ).The author co-
organizes th e conferences and c o-edits the j ournal with Dr. Jon Nic hol.
v Doctor of Phi losophy in Young Ch ildren’s Think ing in Histor y (Institute of Educat ion, Univers ity of Londo n, England). Em eritus Profe ssor of His tory
and Pedagogy ( University of Cumbr ia, England). He r latest publications i nclude Writing H istory 7-11. London: Routledge, 2014 and Teaching History
Creatively. London: Routledge, 2013. E-mail: Hilary.Cooper@Cumbria.ac.uk
How Can We Plan for Progression in Primary
School History?*
Received date: May 02, 2014
Acceptance date: September 30, 2014
Modication date: October 09, 2014
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7440/res52.2015.02
Hilary Cooperv
¿Cómo podemos planificar la progresión en historia en Educación Primaria?
RESUMEN
Este trabajo aborda la planicación y evaluación de la progresión en el pensamiento de los niños en la enseñanza de la
historia en Educación Primaria. Es necesario partir de las teorías constructivistas del aprendizaje aplicadas a los procesos de
investigación histórica. En primer lugar se abordan las investigaciones sobre la capacidad de los niños para comprender los
conceptos de tiempo, el uso de fuentes históricas y la realización de interpretaciones. A continuación se describe la estructura
del Currículum inglés, introducido en 1989, en la que se requería que los alumnos aplicaran los procesos de investigación
histórica de una forma cada vez más compleja. El problema sobre el signicado de la progresión en historia llevó a un proyecto
de investigación a gran escala que trató de identicar patrones de desarrollo. En este trabajo se plantean las problemáticas
de los resultados de este proyecto, ya que posteriormente se han eliminado los descriptores de nivel para el Currículo Inglés
de Historia. Se llega a la conclusión de que, por el momento, la progresión se puede planear mejor con base en estudios de
caso a pequeña escala, donde se aplican las teorías constructivistas en las investigaciones históricas. Por último se ofrecen
sugerencias de cómo los profesores pueden planear y evaluar tanto su práctica como el progreso de los alumnos.
PALABRAS CLAVE
Historia, educación primaria, progresión, indagación.
Revista de Estudios Sociales No. 52 • rev.estud.soc. • Pp. 256.
ISSN 0123-885X • Bogotá, abril - junio de 2015 • Pp. 16-31.
16
The Processes of Historical Enquiry
Early Research into Children’s
Thinking in History
Tables 1 and 2 outline research into children’s
understanding of history between 1953 and 1996. This
offers little insight into progression, as it was piecemeal
and not linked to pedagogy. It also suggests the many
variables involved in thinking historically: language,
mathematics, social and cultural differences, different
rates of maturation, and teaching styles.
In the 1970s, the deadening, didactic teaching of
history in English primary schools was challenged by
two pamphlets: Educational Objectives for the Study of History
(Coltham and Fines 1971) and The New History, Theory into
Practice (Rogers 1979). Sheldon (2010) critically analyses
ways in which said pamphlets drew on generic hypotheses
about progression from the work of Elton (1967), Bruner
(1963 and 1966) and Bloom (1954), and gave rise to such
strategies as asking questions, working on sources,
understanding reasons for differing viewpoints and
interpretations. These pamphlets initiated the complex
task of analysing what is involved in learning history.
Schulman’s (1986) “discovery” of procedural knowledge
Como podemos planejar o progresso no ensino da história no primário
RESUMO
Esta pesquisa aborda o planejamento e avaliação do progresso no pensamento das crianças no ensino da história no primário
(ensino fundamental). Para isso, é necessário partir das teorias construtivistas da aprendizagem aplicadas aos processos de
pesquisa histórica. Primeiramente, abordam-se as pesquisas acerca da capacidade das crianças para compreender os conceitos
de tempo, o uso de fontes históricas e a realização de interpretações. Em seguida, descreve-se a estrutura do “Curriculum
inglês”, introduzido em 1989, na qual se requeria que os estudantes aplicassem os processos de pesquisa histórica de uma
forma cada vez mais complexa. O problema acerca do signicado da progressão em história levou a um projeto de pesquisa
de grande escala, tentando identicar patrões de desenvolvimento. Neste trabalho se apresentam as problemáticas dos
resultados desse projeto, devido a que posteriormente se eliminaram os descritores de nível para o “Curriculum inglês”
de história. Conclui-se que, no momento, a progressão pode se planejar melhor em base a estudos de caso em pequena
escala, nos quais se aplicam as teorias construtivistas nas pesquisas históricas. Finalmente, oferecem-se sugestões de como os
professores podem planejar e avaliar tanto sua prática como o progresso de seus estudantes.
PALAVRAS-CHAVE
História, ensino fundamental, progressão, indagação.
Why Is Learning History in Primary
School Important?
Maitland Stobart (1996) has said that
identity is a complex concept that covers
language, religion, shared memories,
a sense of identity, and sometimes of
historical grievance and injustice…
battles lost and won…songs and poetry. But there is the
problem of whose identity we are talking about and,
as Bruner (1966, 41) has said, it is not easy, however
multicultural your intentions, to help a ten-year-old
create a story that includes him in the world beyond
his family and neighbourhood, when he has been
transplanted from elsewhere. So, looking at history
in terms of identity can be problematic. I suggest that
the way around this is to take a constructivist approach
to history, to ensure that children are involved in the
processes of historical enquiry from the very beginning.
The key to the process of enquiry is dialogue. In
discussing sources or accounts of the past, children need
to learn to develop arguments, defend them, listen to the
views of others and perhaps change their own ideas as a
result. This process, as it becomes more complex with
maturation and increased knowledge, is fundamental to
social development, emotional development, cognitive
development, and participation in a democratic society.
17
Dossier
How Can We Plan for Progression in Primary School History?
Hilary Cooper
Para continuar leyendo
Solicita tu prueba
COPYRIGHT Universidad de los Andes (Colombia)
