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Citation: 

Pendry, Anna, Chris Husbands, and Alison Kitson. “Understanding the Knowledge Bases of History Teaching: Subject, Pupils and Professional Practices.” In International Review of History Education, Vol.4: Understanding History: Recent Research in History Education, edited by R. Ashby, P. Gordon and P. Lee, 148-58. New York: Routledge Falmer, 2005.

Abstract/Summary: 

Much work has been completed on how students best learn history and how it is currently being taught. Yet little work has been completed on the professional achievements of history teachers. Most of the work that has been completed in this field focuses on the effectiveness of teachers’ behaviours on student learning. The authors take issue with these studies as they do little to help understand the knowledge that underpins teacher behaviour, and tend to ignore what is being taught. The main concern of the chapter is the professional achievements of history teachers in the United Kingdom. A myriad of studies completed in the United States are also discussed in the chapter. These are followed by the methods and approach of the authors’ study using grounded theory to analyze history teaching in eight comprehensive schools in England. The results of the study are then discussed focusing on teacher knowledge of school history, pupils, resources and activities. The authors, through their study, wished to contribute to the growing research concerns of what history teachers do in the classrooms and what informs and influences these decisions. The study was not meant to tell teachers how to do their job or to create best practice models. In conclusion, all teachers were affected by a myriad of factors, including the knowledge of their pupils and their historical goals. The authors wish to stress the importance of teachers’ knowledge and how their everyday practice in classrooms may be informed by highly integrated knowledge systems. In the end, teachers viewed their pupils as one of the greatest resources in the classrooms and major contributors to curriculum construction. 

Source/Credit: 
Erika Smith