Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Which historical knowledge is worthwhile teaching? Over the last decades, this question has been answered differently by history scholars. In many Western countries, arguments to avoid Eurocentric and nationalistic curricula challenge the current selections of historical knowledge in the curriculum. Epistemology in history education also changed following the appreciation of historical thinking and reasoning. Yet most scholars agree that a certain basis of orientation knowledge is needed to achieve the key targets of the history curriculum. Consequently, it is difficult for curriculum developers to select knowledge for history teaching. The aim of this article is to scaffold curriculum developers’ content selection by proposing guiding questions. It aggregates and elaborates theories of knowledge in the field of history education. Young and Muller’s concept of powerful knowledge is applied to the subject of history teaching. Arguments for a structural differentiation of vertical and horizontal discourses are presented. Also, the functional aspect of history teaching is elaborated by relating three purposes of education to knowledge selection.
Source: Journal of Curriculum Studies
Authors: Wouter Smets, Geerte Savenije
Institutions: Erasmus University Rotterdam, University of Amsterdam
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4406803841