ERIC Number: EJ1251445
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 26
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2327-3585
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
"Hard" Facts or "Soft" Opinion? History Teachers' Reasoning about Historical Objectivity
Boadu, Gideon
Journal of International Social Studies, v10 n1 p177-202 2020
Objectivity is a contested issue in history and history education. This study explores history teachers' conceptions about historical objectivity and whether or not their reasoning resonates with their classroom practices. Data was collected through in-depth interviews and lesson observations from 15 public senior high schools in the Central Region of Ghana. Data was thematically analyzed, with three themes forming the main lines of argument in this study. Findings show that participants recognize historical evidence as important to accessing the past reality and regard the interpretive intervention of historians as useful in the reconstruction of the past. Classroom practices reveal minimal attention to the problematization of historical knowledge, as most participants taught history as grand narratives. The study recommends a postmodernist re-orientation of the Ghanaian history curriculum and a continuing professional development of history teachers.
Descriptors: History Instruction, Teacher Attitudes, Historical Interpretation, Evidence, Classroom Techniques, High School Teachers, Foreign Countries, Geographic Regions, Institutional Characteristics, Historians, Professional Development, Curriculum Development
International Assembly of the National Council for the Social Studies. 8555 16th Street Suite 500, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Tel: 765-496-3029; Fax: 765-496-2210; Web site: http://www.iajiss.org/index.php/iajiss/index
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Ghana
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A