What is history education research? Why is it important? How can
we strengthen it? Katharine Burn / Arthur Chapman What is history
education research? What is research? a process of investigation
leading to new insights, effectively shared Characteristics of
research. What is history education research? Systematic and robust
enquiry into teaching and learning in history in schools, colleges,
universities and in wider society focused on: Curriculum /
Didactics (What are the aims of history education, what is taught
and how is it selected / conceptualised / organised?) Pedagogy (How
is history taught?) Progression (What do learners learn in history
and how is this measured, evaluated, understood; what do learners
do with what they learn?) Why is history education research
important? Representative? Rigorous? Relevant? Representative?
Rigorous? [W]e cannot treat reading and writing as empty skills,
independent of specific knowledge. The reading skills of a person
may vary greatly from task to task. The level of literacy exhibited
in each task depends on the relevant background information that
the person possesses. (1988: 8) Aristotles idea that each
discipline has its own distinctive and autonomous method has been
widely and inappropriately applied to the various disciplines of
textual interpretation. A lawyer usually interprets the law better
than a literary critic not because he applies special canons of
statutory construction but because he possesses a wider range of
immediately relevant knowledge. The accurate form of Aristotles
conception, as applied to hermeneutics, is that each interpretive
problem requires its own distinct context of relevant knowledge.
(Hirsch, 1966: vii) To develop competence in an area of inquiry,
students must (a) have a deep foundation of factual knowledge, (b)
understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual
framework, and (c) organize knowledge in ways that facilitate
retrieval and application. (Donovan, M.S. and Bransford, J.D, Eds.,
2005, p.1) Subject Disciplines Forms of Knowledge Bodies of
Knowledge Two high school students answered more of the
identification questions (What was Fort Tichonderona?, Who was
George Grenville?, What were the Townshend Acts?) than one of the
historians, and another historian got only one more answer than
most students. (Wineburg, 2001: 76) The differences in each groups
approach can be traced to sweeping beliefs about historical
inquiry, or what might be called an epistemology of the text. For
students reading history was not a process of puzzling about
authors intentions or situating texts in a social world but of
gathering information, with texts serving as bearers of information
(Wineburg, 2001: 76) The differences in each groups approach can be
traced to sweeping beliefs about historical inquiry, or what might
be called an epistemology of the text. For students reading history
was not a process of puzzling about authors intentions or situating
texts in a social world but of gathering information, with texts
serving as bearers of information (Wineburg, 2001: 76) How can we
strengthen history education research? The main activities of SIGs
revolve around: BERAs annual conference; Activities such as
workshops and seminars; Communication, discussion and networking
via/ the BERA Community website etc; Promotion and dissemination of
SIG-related research interests. The main activities of SIGs revolve
around: BERAs annual conference; Activities such as workshops and
seminars; Communication, discussion and networking via/ the BERA
Community website etc; Promotion and dissemination of SIG-related
research interests. The main activities of SIGs revolve around:
BERAs annual conference; Activities such as workshops and seminars;
Communication, discussion and networking via/ the BERA Community
website etc; Promotion and dissemination of SIG-related research
interests. SIGs receive an annual allocation from the Executive
Council for the development of relevant and appropriate activities
or resources throughout the year. This may be spent on any
legitimate activity during the present year. Financial and
administrative support Arts Based Educational Research Comparative
and International Education Creativity in Education Curriculum,
Assessment and Pedagogy Early Childhood Education and Care
Educational Effectiveness and Improvement Educational Research and
Educational Policy-making Higher Education Inclusive Education
Leadership and Management in Education Literacy and Language
Mathematics in Education Mentoring and Coaching Neuroscience and
Education New Technologies in Education Philosophy of Education
Physical Education and Sports Pedagogy Post-compulsory and Lifelong
Learning Practitioner Research Race, Ethnicity and Education
Religious and Moral Education Research Methodology in Education
Science Education Sexualities Social Justice Social Theory and
Education Socio-cultural and Cultural-historical Activity Theory
Teacher Education and Development Youth Studies and Informal
Education Arts Based Educational Research Mathematics in Education
Physical Education and Sports Pedagogy Religious and Moral
Education Science Education Identify a field of research interest
that complements the range of SIGs; An individual or group willing
to lead the development of the proposal and act as convenor/s; A
completed proposal (see Appendix) that sets out clear aims and
rationale that also considers issues of potential overlap with
other existing SIGs; Sufficient active support declared from BERA
membership 20 names, their organisations and BERA membership
numbers to be provided; Endorsement by BERA Executive Council The
following steps need to be undertaken to develop and constitute a
new SIG: Aims The History Education SIG aims: to strengthen and
extend collaborative links between history education research and
scholarly activity in schools, colleges and universities; to
develop, extend and enhance disciplinary research and discussion in
history education in the United Kingdom and internationally; to
raise the profile of history education research and practice and to
enhance the quality of public and policy debate about teaching and
learning in history. Complementing Existing SIGs? Many of the
interests of the proposed SIG complement the work of existing SIGs
our interest in curriculum, pedagogy and assessment, for example,
complements the work of the Curriculum, Assessment and Pedagogy
(CAP) SIG. The History Education SIG will enhance the existing
portfolio of SIGs within BERA focused on discipline and domain
specific teaching and learning. The History Education SIG intends
to form close links with a range of organisations and research
bodies in the UK and internationally, including, the Scottish
Association of Teachers of History (SATH), Scottish History Forum,
the Royal Society of Edinburgh History in Schools Working Group,
the Historical Association, the Royal Historical Society, the
History Teacher Education Network, the International Society for
History Didactics, the AERA History SIG, EUROCLIO, the History
Educators International Research Network, the Schools History
Project and the European Association for Research on Learning and
Instruction (EARLI) History SIG (currently in development). Next
steps? Deciding whether or not a History SIG is a good idea?
Agreeing a SIG proposal Recruiting 20 sponsors Submitting a
proposal
