Stearns, Peter N. “Goals in History Teaching.” In International Review of History Education, Vol. 2: Learning and Reasoning in History, edited by J. F. Voss & M. Carretero, 281-93. Portland, OR: Woburn Press, 1998.
The main purpose of history is to study the change of history over time, with social change being a main tenet. History teachers should aim to provide students with an understanding of what has changed over time and what problems they may encounter when attempting to study it. There are issues besides human actions, such as continuity and causation, to consider when studying change over time. There are four difficulties in defining the goals of teaching history: lack of definition of the overall teaching goals; the subject is characteristically viewed as factual coverage; it is viewed mainly as offering the moral and value lessons in history; and the analytical complexities of the discipline. The author describes and discusses the advantages of focusing history teaching on change. He concludes with three areas that need to be enhanced in history teaching and history education research with a focus on change: work on the relationship of sequential exposures of change; need to use the types of exercises that facilitate students’ ability to grasp the analysis of historical change; and improvement in the development of educators’ ability to evaluate students skills in historical change analysis. The goal of history education should be to create collaborations aimed at furthering the learning process of students.
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