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The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of an educational video game on high school students’ motivation, self-efficacy and knowledge. The game tells the story of Mariano Melgar, a Peruvian thinker, patriot and hero. The authors used a quasi-experimental design and conducted pre- and post-tests to estimate the effect of the video game. The sample consisted of 67 students from two schools in Lima. The students were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: playing a video game or watching a documentary. Results show that playing the video game was more effective in increasing students’ knowledge, whereas watching a documentary increased demotivation and decreased self-efficacy through vicarious experience. In view of this, it is important to explore further video games’ usefulness as educational materials.

Epistemic beliefs are gaining increasing importance in social science education in Czechia. Recent literature has demonstrated findings linking epistemic beliefs with various academic skills, including achievement and reading comprehension. The present study aims to explore the epistemic beliefs of adolescents specific to the domain of history. The study reviews research literature on ontological changes in students’ epistemic beliefs and their reasoning within the domain of history since the 1950s, with a particular focus on various models and measurement. The empirical part of the study investigates adapted self-report questionnaires on the epistemic beliefs of adolescents in Czech history classes in the upper grades of middle school. In the first step, the selected questionnaires were back-translated and refined by iterative sets of cognitive interviews. The finalised sets of items were administered in seventh-, eighth-, and ninth-grade classes (N = 303) in May and June 2021. The confirmatory factor analysis and follow-up correlational analysis demonstrated various degrees of support for the dimensions of the Epistemic and Ontological Cognition Questionnaire, for the dimension of Value of Integration Information, and for the dimension of Historical Methodology in Generating Historical Knowledge. Reading comprehension correlated positively with epistemic belief dimensions related to epistemic criteria of justification by multiple sources, the value of integration information, and historical methodology. Academic achievement in the form of the end-of-grade marks obtained in the subjects of history and Czech language did not show a consistent relationship with the epistemic beliefs. The potential practical and research uses of the self-report questionnaires that were investigated in regular classroom instructions are discussed. The presented study aimed to explore the domain of history that witnessed ontological changes in students’ reasoning since the 50’s (Committee on the Study of History, 1969), that gave rise to more systematic empirical studies on epistemology about history knowledge. In the 21st century, Maggioni and her colleagues (2004, 2009) constructed their self-reported questionnaire on epistemic stances on history knowledge. Ever since, following researchers further modified, advanced, and developed new measurement tools to identify student epistemic beliefs in history. Ontological theories (Kuhn et al., 2000) posited the epistemic development in college population, however, the new evidence demonstrated rudiments of epistemic reasoning in even younger population and presented its nonlinear growth (VanSledright & Reddy, 2014) contingent upon the characteristics of the learning domains (ill-structured x well-structured; Frederiksen, 1984). Since history can be viewed as an ill-structured domain, there is more room for learners to express and exchange their higher levels of epistemic beliefs compared to domains that belong among hard sciences (Barzilai & Weinstock, 2015; Kuhn & Weinstock, 2002). Therefore, history classrooms present an excellent opportunity for investigating epistemological stances of students in lower secondary education. The current study investigated the potential of epistemic beliefs measurement among the Czech history classrooms. The researchers selected assessment self-report questionnaires in the sample of students from western countries ranging from middle schools to college in the history domain (Greene et al., 2010; Stoel et al., 2017; Wiley et al., 2020). In the first step, the inspected measures were back-translated (Klassen et al., 2009) and refined by iterative sets of cognitive interviews 9/2020-5/2021 (Karabenick et al., 2007). The finalized sets of items were administered in the 7th, 8th, and 9th grade classrooms (N = 303) 5-6/2021. The confirmatory factor analysis and follow up correlational analysis demonstrated the support for the dimensions of Epistemic and Ontological Cognition Questionnaire (Greene et al, 2010), for the dimension on Value of Integration information (Wiley et al., 2020), and for the dimension focusing on Historical Methodology in generating historical knowledge (Stoel et al., 2017). The student reading comprehension was correlated to epistemic belief dimensions related to epistemic criteria of justification by multiple sources. The potential practical and research uses of the investigated self-report questionnaires in regular history classroom instructions were discussed.

Epistemic beliefs are gaining increasing importance in social science education in Czechia. Recent literature has demonstrated findings linking epistemic beliefs with various academic skills, including achievement and reading comprehension. The present study aims to explore the epistemic beliefs of adolescents specific to the domain of history. The study reviews research literature on ontological changes in students’ epistemic beliefs and their reasoning within the domain of history since the 1950s, with a particular focus on various models and measurement. The empirical part of the study investigates adapted self-report questionnaires on the epistemic beliefs of adolescents in Czech history classes in the upper grades of middle school. In the first step, the selected questionnaires were back-translated and refined by iterative sets of cognitive interviews. The finalised sets of items were administered in seventh-, eighth-, and ninth-grade classes (N = 303) in May and June 2021. The confirmatory factor analysis and follow-up correlational analysis demonstrated various degrees of support for the dimensions of the Epistemic and Ontological Cognition Questionnaire, for the dimension of Value of Integration Information, and for the dimension of Historical Methodology in Generating Historical Knowledge. Reading comprehension correlated positively with epistemic belief dimensions related to epistemic criteria of justification by multiple sources, the value of integration information, and historical methodology. Academic achievement in the form of the end-of-grade marks obtained in the subjects of history and Czech language did not show a consistent relationship with the epistemic beliefs. The potential practical and research uses of the self-report questionnaires that were investigated in regular classroom instructions are discussed. The presented study aimed to explore the domain of history that witnessed ontological changes in students’ reasoning since the 50’s (Committee on the Study of History, 1969), that gave rise to more systematic empirical studies on epistemology about history knowledge. In the 21st century, Maggioni and her colleagues (2004, 2009) constructed their self-reported questionnaire on epistemic stances on history knowledge. Ever since, following researchers further modified, advanced, and developed new measurement tools to identify student epistemic beliefs in history. Ontological theories (Kuhn et al., 2000) posited the epistemic development in college population, however, the new evidence demonstrated rudiments of epistemic reasoning in even younger population and presented its nonlinear growth (VanSledright & Reddy, 2014) contingent upon the characteristics of the learning domains (ill-structured x well-structured; Frederiksen, 1984). Since history can be viewed as an ill-structured domain, there is more room for learners to express and exchange their higher levels of epistemic beliefs compared to domains that belong among hard sciences (Barzilai & Weinstock, 2015; Kuhn & Weinstock, 2002). Therefore, history classrooms present an excellent opportunity for investigating epistemological stances of students in lower secondary education. The current study investigated the potential of epistemic beliefs measurement among the Czech history classrooms. The researchers selected assessment self-report questionnaires in the sample of students from western countries ranging from middle schools to college in the history domain (Greene et al., 2010; Stoel et al., 2017; Wiley et al., 2020). In the first step, the inspected measures were back-translated (Klassen et al., 2009) and refined by iterative sets of cognitive interviews 9/2020-5/2021 (Karabenick et al., 2007). The finalized sets of items were administered in the 7th, 8th, and 9th grade classrooms (N = 303) 5-6/2021. The confirmatory factor analysis and follow up correlational analysis demonstrated the support for the dimensions of Epistemic and Ontological Cognition Questionnaire (Greene et al, 2010), for the dimension on Value of Integration information (Wiley et al., 2020), and for the dimension focusing on Historical Methodology in generating historical knowledge (Stoel et al., 2017). The student reading comprehension was correlated to epistemic belief dimensions related to epistemic criteria of justification by multiple sources. The potential practical and research uses of the investigated self-report questionnaires in regular history classroom instructions were discussed.

This study investigates the difficulties pre-service history teachers face in understanding and implementing a history curriculum focused on historical reasoning. Based on the general hypothesis of beliefs exerting a direct influence on teachers’ actions, this phenomenographic study provides a qualitative analysis of the epistemic and learning/teaching conceptions on which pre-service teachers base their reflections and decisions when they have to produce a teaching plan for a specific situation, taking n = 72 pre-service teachers from the Master’s Degree in Teaching in Secondary Education at the University of Zaragoza (specialty Geography and History) as statistical sample. The outcome of the first phases of the analysis was a new theoretical reference framework that innovated by simultaneously analyzing epistemic and educational conceptions. On the one hand, the analysis results include a considerable number of pre-service teachers who use epistemic beliefs identifying history and the past when addressing the curriculum. On the other, none of them, not even those with advanced epistemic beliefs, think about the curriculum in terms of an inquiry-based approach to historical problems, and, therefore, they display a transmissive–reproductive conception of history instruction. Consequently, the main contribution is observation of a twofold threshold that pre-service teachers must cross to understand and accept an interpretive history curriculum: they must overcome the identification between past and history and instead immerse themselves in the necessarily interpretive nature of any history; and they must stop viewing learning as knowledge internalization and reproduction and, instead, embrace a conception of learning as inquiry and reasoning.

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) now form part of virtually all aspects of our daily lives, including education. However, teacher training in digital competence has been pushed into the background, especially in social sciences and in history instruction, in which digitalization and the use of ICTs is an opportunity for improvement and educational innovation. Consequently, proposals integrating the various types of knowledge into the training of history teachers are still rare and scarce. To solve this problem, this study presents a mixed quantitative and qualitative analysis using a pre- and posttest questionnaire with a sample of 235 students of the primary education degree at the Public University of Navarre who took part in an innovative didactic proposal that was implemented using the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) model based on digitized primary sources in three resources: PARES (Spanish Archive Portal), EUROPEANA, and BNE (National Library of Spain). The primary aim of this study was for preservice teachers to develop digital competence in teaching social sciences by integrating the technological, pedagogical and content knowledge types using the TPACK model. There were three specific objectives. The first was analyzing the digital knowledge of students following a primary education degree concerning the use of ICTs in history instruction. The second was implementing a didactic proposal in the teaching social sciences course based on the TPACK model by integrating ICTs and history instruction using Spanish and European digitized primary historical sources. Finally, the third was evaluating the impact of this didactic proposal on developing the knowledge types linked to the TPACK model, especially content knowledge (CK) and its technological content knowledge (TCK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) combinations.

El presente artículo ofrece una propuesta de intervención para la enseñanza de la Guerra Civil en el País Vasco a través del cómic para el alumnado de segundo de Bachillerato en el aula de historia. Se diseña una propuesta didáctica de mejora para la enseñanza de la Guerra Civil en el País Vasco para la asignatura de Historia de España. Se propone utilizar el cómic Asylum (2015) de Javier de Isusi como medio para ayudar al alumnado a construir las capacidades de identificar, contextualizar y corroborar. Artikulu honek, Euskal Herrian Batxilergoko bigarren mailako ikasleei historiako irakasgaian gerra Zibila komikiaren bitartez irakasteko esku-hartze proposamen bat eskaintzen du. Hobekuntzako proposamen didaktiko bat diseinatzen da, Euskal Herrian Espainiako Historiaren irakasgaiaren barruan Gerra Zibila irakasteko. Proposatzen da Javier de Isusiren Asylum (2015) komikia erabiltzea ikasleei identifikatu, testuinguruan jarri eta berresteko gaitasunak eraikitzen laguntzeko bitarteko gisa. This article offers an intervention proposal for teaching the Spanish Civil War in the Basque Country through comic books for students of history in second year Bachillerato. It presents a didactic proposal for teaching the Civil War in the Basque Country for students in Spanish History Class. This suggests using the historical comic book Asylum (2015) by Javier de Isusi as a means to help students build the capacities to identify, contextualize, and corroborate.

The aim of this paper is to offer an insight into innovative teaching approaches in History, based on the different theoretical perspectives that have been tackled over the last 15 years. In order to achieve this purpose, the paper includes a descriptive summary divided into four central themes (digital tools, new methodologies, transformation of teaching culture and evaluation of innovation), with particular emphasis on a series of concepts and empirical experiences. Among other things, the study reveals that students’ motivation is of the upmost importance not only in this study, but also in the education model which is currently being sought implement. When faced, however, with overoptimism and a lack of criticism of said model, there arises the need for a more rigorous discussion to compare innovative discourses and educational practices. -- El objetivo de este trabajo es ofrecer una panorámica a través de las diferentes perspectivas teóricas desde las que se ha venido abordando la cuestión de la innovación didáctica en la materia de Historia durante los últimos quince años. Para ello se elabora una síntesis descriptiva dividida en cuatro ejes temáticos (herramientas digitales, nuevas metodologías, transformación de la cultura docente y evaluación de la innovación), destacando una serie de conceptos y experiencias empíricas en cada uno de ellos. Entre otras cosas, tal procedimiento revela que la motivación del alumnado es el centro de interés tanto de este campo de investigación como del modelo educativo que hoy se está intentando implementar. Sin embargo, frente al exceso de optimismo y actitudes acríticas detectado respecto a este último, se defiende la necesidad de aumentar la rigurosidad a la hora de comparar discursos innovadores y prácticas educativas.

The conquest of America (1492-1550) is a deeply contested topic that still generates controversy due to the violence it entailed and the magnitude of its consequences. This study analyzes how different narratives about the Spanish Conquest of America present in history education resources used in Spain and Colombia represent the violence intrinsic to this event. Data was analyzed through narrative and discursive theory. Four main narratives were identified: a Narrative of Encounter, a Narrative of Modernity, a Narrative of Domination, and a Narrative of Devastation. Each one explains the Conquest and frames the violence in a different way. The authors argue that understanding how historical narratives represent violence is essential to foster peace building through history education. -- La conquista de América (1492-1550) es un tema profundamente polémico que aún genera controversias por la violencia que conllevó y por la magnitud de sus consecuencias. Este estudio analiza cómo diferentes narrativas sobre la Conquista de América presentes en materiales educativos de historia utilizados en España y en Colombia, representan la violencia intrínseca a este proceso histórico. A través de un análisis narrativo y discursivo se identificaron cuatro narrativas principales: una narrativa de encuentro, una narrativa de modernidad, una narrativa de dominación y una narrativa de devastación. Cada una explica la conquista y enmarca la violencia de manera diferente. Los autores plantean que comprender cómo las narrativas históricas representan la violencia es fundamental para promover la construcción de culturas de paz desde la enseñanza de la historia.

The concept of historical consciousness, associated to past and future conceptions in relation to the present, is useful as an analytical framework focusing on history students’ ideas. This paper has counted on the participating of 132 fourth-year compulsory secondary education students from four different cities in Spain, who have worked about the Spanish transition to democracy with a digital learning environment. Using a controversial issue linked with the continuity of patrimonial remains of the Francoist era, and by means of a qualitative analysis, this study centers its attention in characterizing students’ historical consciousness models. The results help identify key characteristics in their conceptions, including the influence of tradition and a concern for symbolization, corroborating that the genetic vision, related to contextualization, is less common than the traditional, exemplary and critical ones. -- El concepto de conciencia histórica, ligado con las concepciones del pasado y futuro en relación al presente, sirve como marco de análisis sobre las ideas del alumnado de Historia. La presente investigación ha contado con 132 estudiantes de cuarto curso de la ESO de cuatro ciudades españolas, con los que se ha trabajado en torno a la Transición española a través de un entorno digital de aprendizaje. Ante una problemática relacionada con la pervivencia de restos patrimoniales de la etapa franquista, y mediante un análisis cualitativo, el estudio centra su atención en caracterizar los modelos de conciencia histórica del alumnado. Los resultados identifican rasgos clave en sus concepciones, incluyendo la influencia de la tradición y una preocupación por la simbolización, corroborando además que la visión genealógica, ligada a la contextualización, es menos frecuente que las visiones tradicional, ejemplar y crítica.

The intention of this paper is to analyze the importance of curricular contextualization in the history teaching in Mexican junior high school. This implies the generation of educational experiences that support the development of historical thinking through the construction of significant and situated learnings that consider the characteristics of students and their environment. The discussion takes references derived from the social constructivist theory and criticizes the traditional teaching of history in this educational level. This teaching method has resulted in unimportant processes in the school and daily life of young people. The work seeks to provide reflection guidelines and points to guide the teaching practice and promote its commitment to the formation of future critical, informed and committed citizens to their society. -- El propósito de este trabajo es analizar la importancia de la contextualización curricular en la enseñanza de la historia en la escuela secundaria en México. Esto implica la generación de experiencias educativas que favorezcan el desarrollo del pensamiento histórico a partir de la construcción de aprendizajes significativos y situados que consideren las características de los estudiantes y su entorno. Se discute tomando referentes teóricos derivados del socioconstructivismo para criticar la forma en que tradicionalmente se ha enseñado la historia en este nivel educativo, lo que ha dado por resultado procesos poco relevantes en la vida escolar y cotidiana de las y los jóvenes. Al abordar este tema, se busca brindar pautas de reflexión y puntos para guiar el trabajo de los docentes y favorecer su compromiso hacia la formación de futuros ciudadanos críticos, informados y comprometidos con su sociedad.

This paper vindicates the role of Phoenician-Punic heritage as an important part of the European cultural legacy, since it embodies the link between our continent and the rest of Mediterranean countries. By means of historical analyses and practical examples related to teaching, environment and tourism, I intend to show its potential in the transmission of different experiences and democratic values such as diversity, innovation and environmental adaptation. -- Este trabajo reivindica el patrimonio fenicio-púnico como una parte esencial del legado cultural europeo, subrayando el vínculo indisoluble del sur de Europa con el resto de países de la cuenca mediterránea. Mediante la caracterización de los rasgos históricos de este pueblo y el análisis de una serie de ejemplos relacionados con la educación, el medioambiente y el turismo, se pretende ilustrar sobre el potencial del patrimonio fenicio-púnico para la promoción, tanto en el ámbito de la educación formal como no formal, de valores cívicos y ambientales.

The purpose of this research is to demonstrate the potential of object didactics as a tool to improve the teaching and learning of History. Once having selected any objectual primary source from the past, we proceeded to analyse it from different perspectives in order to determine the degree of knowledge that its analysis allows, regarding both the space and time to which the source is related. Additionally, the research seeks to know whether that object analysis enables students to draw general conclusions from particular premises, thereby promoting the inductive learning method. This paper aims to contribute to improving the quality of History teaching and learning in particular, as well as the teaching and learning of Social Sciences in general.

This article is focused on social uses of history. It recovers a pedagogical experience that adopted the challenge of educating children for facing life. In 1935, Olga Cossettini was named director of Carrasco School, an institution with an experimental character. Then, she developed an Associated Plan in which curricular content involved several context features. The decision was based on pedagogical elements, giving as a result a particular way of teaching and learning history from below.

The narrative format plays a central role in the field of history, both in the production of historical knowledge and its transmission and also when it comes to learning. One of the most common and dominant narratives are the so-called national narratives. These narratives, frequently based on myths and legends, aim to celebrate the nation and hinder a critical understanding of the past. This article seeks a better understanding of the role that these national narratives play in the production and consumption of historical knowledge through an analysis in different contexts: academic, school and at an informal ambit. Finally, some of the most recent empirical studies on the influence of these national narratives on students learning are discussed.

Teaching History Creatively es un libro orientado a los docentes cuya labor se desempeña principalmente durante los primeros años de la educación escolar, más concretamente los últimos años de Educación Infantil y toda la Educación Primaria, aunque también podría adaptarse a los niveles de enseñanza superiores. A través del mismo se pretende introducir a los do centes a la enseñanza de la historia de manera creativa a partir de la realización de investigaciones históricas aptas para el alumnado, de forma que se desarrolle su pensamiento histórico. Esto dotará a los alumnos de una serie de recursos esenciales para el adecuado aprendizaje de la historia, y permitiendo que éstos realicen su propia representación del pasado y analizar los hechos históricos desde un punto de vista crítico.

The teaching of history is bound to be controversial, since it is essentially moral and political education of young people in societies that are, and have always been, culturally diverse. This article advocates the usefulness of the latest philosophical scepticism (or, if you prefer, the “postmodern” relativism) to reconsider the tasks of the didactics of this discipline and to frame an ideal image of the history teacher capable of transmitting lessons that could be truly relevant for the advance of the democratic community and the education of its future citizens.

Jesús Domínguez Castillo, nacido en Arnedo (La Rioja) en 1952, representa desde hace varias décadas una figura destacable en el ámbito de la enseñanza de la Historia en nuestro país. Sus aportaciones a nivel docente e investigador y sus múltiples colaboraciones en proyectos de la más diversa índole, le han llevado a ser uno de los mayores expertos en cuanto al desarrollo y la evaluación de las competencias involucradas en el proceso de pensar históricamente.