Preparing to Teach a Slavery Past: History Teachers and Educators as Navigators of Historical Distance

• Stephan Klein ^[1]
  1. [1] Leiden University

     Leiden University

     Países Bajos

     
• Localización: Theory and research in social education, ISSN 0093-3104, Vol. 45, Nº 1, 2017, págs. 75-109
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Using an analytical framework based on the concept of historical distance, this article explores how Dutch history teachers and educators navigate between the past and the present when making curriculum decisions on the sensitive topic of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Slavery. Four history teachers and 2 museum educators were selected on the criteria of ethnicity, professional context, and student audience.

    They were interviewed twice, using open questions and a task-based design directed at 14–15-year-old students of various cultural backgrounds. Two conclusions are drawn:

    (1) the curriculum decisions of the selected participants can be interpreted as configurations of historical distance, which are the result of interactions between various types of knowledge, values, and beliefs. Some participants make a distinction between their own personal distancing and the curriculum decisions they take, while others do not or are unsure about deciding, and (2) curriculum decisions are difficult to predict. Some teachers and educators have a preference for certain distancing approaches but do not always follow it, depending on the historical sources they are dealing with. The conclusion discusses how research on history teaching can be facilitated by a deeper comprehension of the decisions teachers and educators make as navigators of historical distance.