Teaching for ‘Historical Understanding’: What Knowledge(s) do Teachers Need to Teach History?

Recent curriculum reform in history in Australia promotes ‘historical understanding’ through discipline-based teaching practice. However, many middle school teachers are new to the scope of historical knowledge and skills required. This paper reports on a case study of five Queensland teachers in one secondary school who undertook a school-based trial of the Year 8 Australian Curriculum: History in 2012 - 2013. Drawing on notions of historical consciousness and frameworks for curriculum alignment, the case study indicates that the intent of the stated curriculum to develop concepts of ‘historical understanding’ is undermined by two factors – first, teachers\u27 inadequate knowledge of the scope of the curriculum and second, a patchy understanding of how key substantive and procedural historical concepts contribute to ‘historical understanding’. The research identified significant gaps in the disciplinary knowledge of history teachers and makes recommendations for pre-service and in-service history teacher education

Content vs process : reflections on pre-service primary teachers’ approach to integrated social education

The essential knowledge base of teaching centres on subject content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge and curricular knowledge. This paper investigates, from the perspective of teacher educators, what levels of subject content knowledge are needed by primary teachers in order to teach an integrated social education curriculum effectively. During their university studies, pre-service primary teachers need the opportunity to engage with the curriculum, the theory and practice of social education and develop viable classroom units. Drawing on the reflective practitioner model of teaching, this paper examines the views of five teacher educators involved in the teaching of an undergraduate university subject in integrated social education (SOSE) curriculum. Data gathered from teacher educators’ personal reflections and follow-up structured group discussion indicate that subject content knowledge, as revealed in SOSE units was often superficial, while understanding of concepts and skills was also sometimes limited. However, understanding of the inquiry learning process, which is fundamental to social education, was much stronger. This preliminary study adds to an on-going debate on where the focus of pre-service teacher education should be regarding essential knowledge for teachers

What do SOSE teachers know? The significance of subject content knowledge among middle school teachers and teachers’ professional identity

The middle years of schooling are an emerging area of interest to teachers, academics, teacher-educators and curriculum developers. It is argued that the middle school curriculum should be both integrated and discipline-based. In Queensland, the Studies of Society and Environment (SOSE) curriculum uses an outcomes approach which draws from a range of social science disciplines including history, geography, economics, politics, sociology, law, and ethics and studies, such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies, Asian studies, environmental education and civics and citizenship. As such, SOSE fits preferred models of curriculum in the middle school. However, given the wide scope of the Queensland SOSE curriculum, teachers’ knowledge of subject content knowledge is critical. One potential area for research is SOSE teachers’ conceptions of the significance of content knowledge in their teaching. As part of a wider phenomenographic study of conceptions of subject content knowledge among middle school SOSE teachers, this paper will examine the literature on subject content knowledge among social science teachers. It is argued that particularly among early-career teachers, confidence in subject content knowledge increases competence and innovation in the classroom, thus laying the foundation for teacher professionalism based on content as well as pedagogical and curricular knowledge

I am a geography and SOSE teacher : developing a subject identity in pre-service secondary social science teachers

Social science teachers in Australia face uncertain times ahead as they look forward to changing curricula and a new emphasis on the disciplines, particularly history. In Queensland social science curriculum is in transition until the new SOSE syllabus is published in 2010. While pre-service programmes must teach knowledge of curriculum and pedagogy, it is also important to develop notions of professional identity as part of the process of teacher education. Stronach, Corbin, McNamara, Stark & Warne (2002:117) point to teachers as professionals “mobilizing a complex of occasional identities in response to shifting contexts”. Pre-service teachers are yet to establish their sense of self as teachers and their subject identity but as Chris Day (2004: 153) asserts, teacher educators must prepare novice teachers to manage change, teach in different school contexts and focus on “clarity of identity and educational purposes”. Identification within a teaching area is arguably the first step in developing a teacher identity. Yet, although subject matter is acknowledged as an important context for teachers’ practice (Stodolsky and Grossman, 1995), there is little research on how teachers construct different identities in the context of the subject-matter they teach (Drake, Spillane & Huffered-Ackles, 2001). In student feedback on a compulsory final year social science curriculum studies unit, the majority of pre-service teachers nominated at least one social science discipline as their subject identity. However, only a small number listed the SOSE curriculum area, even though SOSE is part of their brief. Further ambivalence in subject identity was noted around generalist teaching roles which did not incorporate a subject identity. Follow up interviews after field studies will seek to identify and clarify pre-service social science teachers’ complex identities, including subject identity, in the context of recent teaching experience. Attention to social science teachers’ subject identity aims to enhance beginning teachers’ sense of educational purpose, professionalism and self-efficacy in uncertain times

Middle school social sciences : exploring teachers’ conceptions of essential knowledge

This study examines teachers’ conceptions of essential knowledge in the humanities and social sciences, commonly referred to as "social education", in the middle years of schooling. Social education has long been a highly contested area of the curriculum in Australia. In Queensland, social education comprises the integrated learning area of Studies of Society and Environment (SOSE). However, the new Australian Curriculum marks a return to discipline-based study of history and geography. This phenomenographic study addresses a perceived lack of understanding in the current research literature in Australia of the nature of middle school teachers’ professional knowledge for teaching the social sciences. Teachers are conceptualised in this study as curriculum makers in the classroom and, as such, their conceptions of essential knowledge are significant. Shulman’s (1986, 1987) theory of teachers’ knowledge forms the theoretical foundation of the study, which is contextualised in Federal and State education policies and the literature on the middle phase of schooling. Transcripts of interviews conducted with a group of thirty-one Queensland middle school teachers of SOSE were subjected to phenomenographic analysis, revealing seven qualitatively different categories of description. Essential aspects of knowledge for social education emerging from the study were: (1) discipline-based knowledge; (2) curriculum knowledge; (3) knowledge derived from teaching experience; (4) knowledge of middle years learners; (5) knowledge of integration; (6) knowledge of current affairs; and (7) knowledge invested in teacher identity. The three dimensions of variation that linked and differentiated the categories were: (1) content; (2) inquiry learning; and (3) teacher autonomy. These findings are presented as an outcome space where the categories are grouped as knowledge of the learning area, knowledge of contexts and knowledge of self as teacher. The results of the study suggest that social education teachers’ identity and knowledge of self are critical aspects of their knowledge as curriculum makers. The results illustrate that the professional and personal domains intersect, extending Shulman’s (1986, 1987) original theorisation of teachers’ knowledge into the personal arena. Further, middle years teachers’ conceptions of essential knowledge reveal a practice-based theorisation of knowledge for social education that fits the goals of middle schooling. The research concludes that attention to teacher identity in teacher education and in-service professional development has considerable potential to grow teachers’ knowledge in the social sciences and enhance their capacity for school-based curriculum leadership

Teacher identity: Some issues raised by the problematic nature of SOSE

SOSE teachers’ subject content knowledge and its influence on teachers’ professional identity is an issue raised by the complex nature of SOSE. The scope of an integrated humanities curriculum such as SOSE creates questions of subject expertise and pedagogical content knowledge for middle school teachers. For example, in Queensland, SOSE is taught in the middle school by specialist secondary teachers of history or geography and generalist teachers working in middle schools. The object of this paper is to review the literature on the teaching of SOSE and identify the influence of subject knowledge on SOSE teachers’ identity. Analysis of the literature reveals that SOSE teachers’ professionalism and identity may be based on flexible notions of professionalism rather than subject specialisation

Identifying obstacles and opportunities for inclusion in the school curriculum for children adopted from overseas: developmental and social constructionist perspectives

In Australia, teachers are expected to teach a diverse range of students, including children adopted from overseas who have experienced attachment disruption and complex trauma early in life. International research identifies the potential vulnerability of this minority group at school. However, teachers’ backgrounds, knowledge and experience, as well as curriculum policies and school practices, may influence how teachers respond to the diverse needs of these children. Drawing on examples from a qualitative study which used focus group interviews and a multi-case study of 10 adoptive families, this article applies developmental and social constructionist perspectives to analyse the potential impact some common curriculum units may have on these children’s experiences of school. This paper reports on the way in which various units in the Australian Curriculum may provide obstacles and opportunities for inclusion, with particular examples provided from the English and History Curriculum. Findings show there is a need for greater awareness, understanding and sensitivity in teaching approach, as well as flexibility in teachers’ professional agency and discretion in the selection of resources when responding to the educational needs of intercountry adoptees