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An evaluation of ninth grade history curriculum with respect to procedural concepts
Abstract
Knowing special methods of history as a discipline is an important tool to understand and evaluate the past. Next to focusing on study skills of the historian procedural concepts of history which have a great effect on historical thinking and understanding should be given as well. In this study outcomes/sample activities/explanations part of the 9th grade history curriculum has been analyzed according to procedural concepts of history as defined by Sexias (2006). The study has been conducted with document analysis method which is one of the qualitative research methodologies. Outcomes/sample activities/explanations part of the 9th grade history curriculum has been encoded by the researcher and a specialist in the area. As a result of the study is has been found that although concepts of historical significance, evidence, cause and consequence, change and continuity and historical perspective take place they have been emphasized quite less. Furthermore it has been specified that moral dimension of historical interpretations is given no place in the curriculum. Finally suggestions have been made in regard to emphasizing procedural concepts of the discipline of the history in the future updating of the history curriculum.
... For instance, it is difficult to define what is meant with "change" as the focal point of the students' analyses (Counsell, 2011, p.114). Problems experienced in the perception of change and continuity are often reinforced through teaching programs and in-class practices (Demircioğlu, 2005;Hayırsever, 2010;Kiriş Avaroğulları, 2014;Martin, 2013;Öztürk, 2011). There are many studies which demonstrate that the ability to perceive change and continuity is positioned in the curricula in a "vague and inadequate form (De Groot-Reuvekomp, Von Boxtel, Ros & Harnett, 2014;Martin, 2013;Sel & Sözer, 2020). ...
... Although there are various deficiencies in the curricula within the scope of the ability to perceive change and continuity, a similar situation is reflected in the social studies textbooks. It was observed that the content in social studies textbooks was not sufficient to get the students to gain the ability to perceive change and continuity (Hayırsever, 2010), that in the majority of the fictional content in social studies and history textbooks, the change in space and space-related change were neglected, causing various historical anachronism problems (Öztürk, 2011) and that although this skill was similarly emphasized in the history curriculum, there was no balanced and adequate distribution (Kiriş Avaroğulları, 2014). In the studies on educational practices, in addition to the problems faced in curricula, it was observed in many studies conducted in the literature that in comparison to change, perception of continuity was more difficult for students (Çelik, Karadeniz & Cabul, 2018;Marancı, 2017;Safran & Şimşek, 2006;Tay, 2007). ...
The purpose of this study is to develop the students’ skills of change and continuity through activities based on the objects in fourth-grade social studies. In alignment with the scope, an action research design was used in which the researcher is also the executor. A criterion sampling was used for recruitment which resulted in 17 fourth-grade students agreeing to participate in the study. Data collection tools included achievement test, open-ended questions, semi-structured interview forms, video recording and student journals. Wilcoxon signed ranks test, grading key and content analysis were used in the analysis of the data. The results of the study showed that there is a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test scores of students in object-based activities. Within the scope of change and continuity, it was seen that students can identify similarities and differences, make estimations on the perception of future time, discover the effects of sociocultural context along with change and continuity, provide chronological visual evidences, and put them in order. However, it was found that students can’t develop multiple causality relationships related to change, that they interpret causes in relation to change and continuity from a limited perspective, that they do not consider different disciplines when expressing the powerful effects of technology in change processes.
... p. 5). According to Kiriş-Avaroğulları (2014) the concept of historical significance is mentioned 10 times both explicitly and implicitly in history curriculum for the 9 th grade which is considered as the key curriculum for all history courses. Differing significant events from those are not can be difficult especially for nonprofessionals like students. ...
The purpose of this study is to determine how students in a south-western province of Turkey employ historical significance which is one of the second order concepts of historical thinking. 44 11th and 12th grade students participated in the study. They were asked to identify the most significant 10 persons in the history and provide their reasons for selecting each person. A total of 127 people are determined by students as significant. Each person identified by the students given a score according to a formula developed by the researchers. Thus 10 people with the highest score determined by the most significant person history. Analysis of these 10 people along with remaining of the list revealed that students are unable to employ professional standards to differ significant people from those who are not. Rather they are quite personal and subjective with regard to selections they made. Additionally it has been revealed that they choose people only from Turkish history, their selections characterized by people from relatively recent past, and paucity of female figures in list raised concerns regarding content, curriculum and instruction of history and social studies courses in Turkey.
This article explores historical reasoning, an important activity in history learning. Based upon an extensive review of empirical
literature on students’ thinking and reasoning about history, a theoretical framework of historical reasoning is proposed.
The framework consists of six components: asking historical questions, using sources, contextualization, argumentation, using
substantive concepts, and using meta-concepts. Each component is discussed and illustrated by examples from our own research.
The article concludes with suggestions on how to use the framework both in future research and in educational practice.
