Controversial history : a matter of multi-perspectivity and historical consciousness : does the history teacher training prepare for the super-diversity present in history classes?

Recently, societal and demographic changes challenge the European ‘common’ history narratives conveyed in super-diverse history classes. Pupils of different backgrounds bring in their ‘histories’ and ‘narratives’, which creates a challenge and an opportunity for the history teacher. Strengthening the historical consciousness of pupils can have a positive effect on individual pupils and on the class as a whole. It allows to relate the past and the present in a meaningful way, integrate ‘both’ histories, and write ‘history together’. History teachers need validated qualitative didactical tools to engage meaningfully with the changed societal demographic and with students’ different perspectives on history, for which our theoretical framework is the starting point. This study also considers the new learning outcomes framework for Flemish secondary education, which includes two compulsory key competences, namely citizenship and historical consciousness. History classes can be fruitful learning contexts wherein pupils integrate skills and attitudes needed for a mutual understanding of one’s history. By activating and engaging didactical methods we aim to strengthen the competences which allow history teachers to deal with controversial issues and practice multi-perspectivity while considering the historical narratives of pupils in the current super-diverse classroom setting. A qualitative evaluation is conducted to map the novice history teachers’ proficiency and the pupils’ experiences when discussing controversial issues during history lessons.

Jaar van publicatie:2022

Toegankelijkheid:Closed