Browsing by Author "Aaltonen, Ronja"

This study looks at how 5th grade students identify and understand cause and effect in history. The study is a continuation of my bachelor thesis, in which I discussed the concept of historical thinking and presented arguments for and against whether it is worthwhile or possible to teach it to primary school students. Explaining historical events requires working with and understanding cause and effect relationships. In order to understand how certain circumstances, acts and actions led to others, we need to look at causality. In my research, I seek answers to the question of how children understand the causal relationships involved in the murder of Julius Caesar. It is a case study, with data consisting of a written task carried out by ten pupils in pairs and interviews with four pupils. The data was collected in a primary school in Helsinki in the spring of 2023. The method of analysis is theory- based content analysis. I formed my research analysis framework by using the assessment criteria of the 6th grade history subject, through which I examined my data. All the students who participated in the study were able to demonstrate some identification and understanding of causal relationships. However, my research suggests that this was still at a superficial level, with students mostly identifying and understanding individual causal relationships. The interviews showed that students understood causality. The study provides insights into what was challenging for students in terms of understanding causal relationships and how they identified causal relationships.