Browsing by Author "Partonen, Henna"

Objectives. The aim of this thesis is to examine how teaching methods and objectives for history education have changed according to the national curricula for the years 1994, 2004, and 2014. I will identify differences and developments in the goals of history education as well as how teachers are expected to work with the subject according to the curricula. I will also research whether teacher guides encourage teachers to implement the type of teaching described in the curricula. Research Questions: 1. What skills are emphasized in the goals of history education for grades 3-6 according to the national curricula for the years 1994, 2004, and 2014? 2. In what ways do the teaching methods in history education differ in the curricula for the years 1994, 2004, and 2014? 3. How does the development of the curricula's perspective on skill-based teaching and goals appear in the national curricula for history education in grades 3-6 between the years 1994, 2004, and 2014 in the selected teacher guides? Methods. The study was conducted as a qualitative content analysis with quantitative elements. The material consists of the national curricula for the years 1994, 2004, and 2014, as well as six teacher guides for history textbooks published between 1999 and 2017. Documents from the Finnish National Agency for Education regarding curriculum reforms were also utilized. Results and Conclusions. Development in the goals and methods of history education could be observed for grades 3-6 according to the national curricula for the years 1994, 2004, and 2014. The curriculum foundations have been specified to support pedagogical consistency in basic education. Although the number of goals has increased, there has not been much new content, rather previous goals have been elaborated and defined more precisely. Emphasis on source criticism and digital competence has increased in the curriculum foundations for basic education in 2014, reflecting societal development as a whole. Although textbooks and teacher guides don't have to follow the curriculum, the development of the curriculum is reflected in the teacher guides' perspective on skill-based teaching. It can be concluded that all the teacher guides included in the study followed to some extent the prevailing curriculum's perspective on skill-based teaching and goals.