Trends and Changes in Training History Teachers in Academia, and Its Interface With the Israeli Education System

Abstract

This article aims to examine the difficulties, misgivings, and criticism that exist in academia and the field of education, regarding creating history curricula relevant and significant to twenty-first century society and individuals; how compulsory history curricula can be suited to the methodology and didactics of training students as history teachers, and suggest several solutions to the issues discussed.

The structure of knowledge approach in the discipline of history is problematic, and creates a complex challenge regarding preparing history students as teachers of the future. This is because this discipline represents, to a great extent, the wider fields of the humanities and social sciences which are very difficult to integrate into the school educational process.

Historical research and the education system have different goals. The historian strives to clarify “historical questions”, meaning issues from the past with the perspective of their having certain relevance to the future. In contrast, the education system seeks to shape the student’s worldview and provide him with significant tools for coping with the challenges of the twenty-first century, as part of the “toolbox” that the education system believes will serve as a basis for the student’s preparation to be a useful individual in society and for himself.

In light of the weight of history in teaching values, based on reliable facts gained from historical research, the main role that should be given to teaching the subject is to teach critical thinking. The ability to understand history in its framework of reference, meaning, understanding change and the environment, needs to be developed. Likewise, it is necessary to arouse and develop the judicious use of facts and drawing conclusions. Learning history can, and must, take place both experientially and logically. Presenting the “historical story” alongside the “cognitive-critical” approach must be the primary “pedagogy” when instilling students with teaching skills.

Achieving history curriculum goals is greatly dependent on the teaching and evaluation methods, and how well teachers succeed in bringing their students to be active and involved in the learning process. Therefore, a variety of teaching strategies must be employed, in the spirit of the constructionist approach. Training teaching students requires a variety of pedagogic methods and methodological approaches, and teaching literacy for strategies for interdisciplinary teaching methods, integrative learning, and use of digital technologies.