Promoting historical thinking for pre-service social studies teachers: A case study from Thailand

Authors

  • Kittisak Laksana Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Faculty of Education, Ramkhamhaeng University

Abstract

The present study analyzes the development of historical thinking among undergraduate students engaged in the cause and effect instruction model, and majoring in social studies at an open-admission university in Bangkok, Thailand. The study participants included 30 undergraduate students enrolled in the course entitled “Current Events for Social Studies Teachers”. The research instruments included: Four lesson plans built on the cause and effect instruction model which lasted for 16 hours; and a historical thinking assessment form. Repeated measures ANOVA was employed to analyze the data. The study results reveal that both overall and for each criterion (i.e. historical significance; continuity and change; cause and consequence; and progress and decline) of historical thinking ability progressively improved at the four measurement periods, at a statistical significance level of .05.

Author Biography

Kittisak Laksana, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Faculty of Education, Ramkhamhaeng University

Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Faculty of Education, Ramkhamhaeng University Huamark, Bangkapi, Bangkok, 10240 Current Positions - Assistant Professor of Education, Ramkhamhaeng University (2017-present) - Academic Committee, The Association of Social Studies of Thailand (2015-present) - Director of Graduate Studies, Faculty of Education, Ramkhamhaeng University (2019-present)

References

Brown, G., & Woodcock, J. (2009). Relevant, rigorous and revisited: Using local history to make meaning of historical significance. Teaching History, 134, 4-11. Retrieved from https://www.history.org.uk/secondary/resource/2310

Cercadillo, L. (2006). ‘Maybe they haven’t decided yet what is right:’ English and Spanish perspectives on teaching historical significance. Teaching History, 125, 6-9. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/43260148

Chambers, C. (2006). Teaching causal reasoning, in M. Hunt (ed.), A practical guide to teaching history in the secondary school, pp. 49–59. London: Routledge Falmer.

Counsell, C. (2004). Looking through a Josephine-Butler-shaped window: Focusing pupils’ thinking on historical significance. Teaching History, 114, 30-36. Retrieved from https://www.history.org.uk/secondary/resource/1257

Duthie, J. (2012). A handbook for history teachers. Lamham, MD: University Press of America.

Gardner, H. (2006). Five minds for the future. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Gunter, M., Estes, T., & Mintz, S. (2007). Instruction: A model approach. 5th ed. Boston, MA: Pearson.

Haydn, T., Stephen, A., Arthur, J., & Hunt, M. (2015). Learning to teach history in the secondary school: A companion to school experience. 4th ed. New York, NY: Routledge.

Kitson, A., Husbands, C., & Steward, S. (2011). Teaching and learning history 11-18: Understanding the past. Berkshire: Open University Press.

Laksana, K. (2016). Historical thinking development: Thinking about historical significance. Journal of Liberal Arts, Ubon Ratchathani University, 12(2), 136-158. Retrieved from https://so03.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/jla_ubu/article/view/87301

Lévesque, S. (2009). Thinking historically: Educating students for the twenty-first century. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Lévesque, S. (2011). What it means to think historically, in New possibilities for the past: Shaping history education in Canada, pp.115-138. Vancouver, BC: The University of British Columbia Press.

Mandell, N., & Malone, B. (2007). Thinking like a historian: Rethinking history instruction. Madison, WI: Wisconsin Historical Society.

Martinko, M. (2017). Examining children's historical thinking in hands-on history spaces. (Master’s Thesis). Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1773/39765

Neumann, D. (2012). Training teachers to think historically: Applying recent research to professional development. The History Teacher, 45(3), 383-403. Retrieved from http://www.societyforhistoryeducation.org/pdfs/M12_Neumann.pdf

Ozmen, C. (2015). Social studies teacher candidates’ views on historical thinking skills. Educational Research and Reviews, 10(14), 2031-2042. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.5897/ERR2015.2294

Phillips, R. (2002). Historical significance – The forgotten ‘key element’?. Teaching History, 106, 14-19. Retrieved from https://www.history.org.uk/secondary/resource/35

Pongsripian, W. (2009). Eras in Thai historical documents. 2nd ed. Bangkok: Department of Education.

Seixas, P. (2006). Teacher notes: Benchmarks of historical thinking a framework for assessment in Canada. Vancouver, BC: Centre for the Study of Historical Consciousness.

Seixas, P., & Morton, T. (2013). The big six: Historical thinking concepts. Toronto: Nelson Education.

Seixas, P., & Peck, C. (2004). Teaching historical thinking, in Challenges and prospects for Canadian social studies, pp.109-117. Vancouver, BC: Pacific Educational.

Stipp, S., Gibson, L., Denos, M., Case, R., & Miles, J. (2017). Teaching historical thinking. Vancouver, BC: The Critical Thinking Consortium.

Taba, H. (1967). Teacher's handbook for elementary social studies. Palo Alto, CA: Addison-Wesley.

VanSledright, B. (2004). What does it mean to think historically… and how do you teach it?. Social Education, 68(3), 230-233. Retrieved from https://www.socialstudies.org/publications/socialeducation/april2004/what-does-it-mean-to-think-historically-and-how-do-you-teach-it

Vivancos, A., & Ferrer, L. (2017). What is historically significant? Historical thinking through the narratives of college students. Educação e Pesquisa, 26, 1-16. Retrieved from https://dx.doi.org/10.1590/s1678-4634201709168641

Wanser, T. (2013). Professional development of history content and skills: Measuring effects on teachers and students (Doctoral Dissertation). Retrieved from http://works.bepress.com/teresa_wanser/1/

Downloads

Published

2020-09-07

Issue

Vol. 12 No. 2 (2020): International Journal of Curriculum and Instruction

Section

Articles

License

Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written consent of the Publisher. The Editors reserve the right to edit or otherwise alter all contributions, but authors will receive proofs for approval before publication.

Copyrights for articles published in International Journal of Curriculum and Instruction are retained by the authors, with first publication rights granted to the journal. The journal/publisher is not responsible for subsequent uses of the work. It is the author's responsibility to bring an infringement action if so desired by the author.