Envisaging the alternatives: from knowledge of the powerful to powerful knowledge in history classrooms

Puustinen, Mikko; Khawaja, Amna

doi:10.1080/00220272.2019.1703273

Cited by 14 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 45 publications

(73 reference statements)

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“…While understanding temporality in the same depth as in history education may not be the ultimate aim of social studies, an ability to understand and analyse competing ideological and political ideas that offer very different perspectives on the future certainly should be (Sandahl, 2015). Like the somewhat threatening narratives of the future of the welfare system or of working life in our data, every interpretation of the past affects our understanding of the present society, and the way in which we envisage alternatives for the future (Puustinen & Khawaja, 2020). Another important justification for the temporal view is the difference between the past and the present day, as articulated by historian Tosh (2008, 28): 'By giving us another vantage point, it enables us to look at our circumstances with sharper vision, alert to the possibility that they might have been different, and that they will probably turn out differently in the future'.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Lambert et al, 2015;Maude, 2016;Roberts, 2014) and history (e.g. Bertram, 2019;Puustinen & Khawaja, 2020), the idea of PK might also be fruitful for social studies. When it comes to social studies, however, Young´s delineating criteria for discipline-specialized knowledge and one or more networks of concepts are not as straightforward as they may be for some other school subjects.…”

Section: Introduction-social Studies In Finnish Basic Education and The Quest For Powerful Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

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Rethinking society and knowledge in Finnish social studies textbooks

Hansen

Puustinen

2021

Journal of Curriculum Studies

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This paper discusses the relationship between knowledge and society in social studies by analysing how society is presented in four Finnish social studies textbooks currently in use in comprehensive education. Besides its empirical contribution, the paper examines the possibilities of applying Michael Young's understanding of powerful knowledge in social studies by complementing it with two additional theoretical approaches to society. Firstly, by applying Basil Bernstein's concept of recontextualisation, it is possible to elaborate on the way in which social studies textbooks reproduce societal power relations. Secondly, by observing the society of social studies textbooks in the light of Niklas Luhmann´s social systems theory, it is possible to examine how social reproduction in social studies is related to temporal forms of knowledge in a functionally differentiated, multifaceted society. The findings indicate that due to the present-focused and institutional approach to society, the textbooks offer few tools for critical understanding and for changing society.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Introduction-social Studies In Finnish Basic Education and The Quest For Powerful Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

Rethinking society and knowledge in Finnish social studies textbooks

Hansen

Puustinen

2021

Journal of Curriculum Studies

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“…Knowledge is "undersocialized" and transmitted by the teacher, i.e. in teacher-centered teaching (Puustinen & Khawaja 2020) where there is limited student engagement. The aim of education is the reproduction of knowledge, often called rote learning.…”

Section: Current Debates In Geography Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geography's ability to enhance powerful thinking skills and knowledge

Virranmäki

2022

NGP

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Finnish upper secondary geography education has faced major changes within the last decade. In 2014, geography lost one of its compulsory courses in the distribution of lesson hours. Afterward, curriculum reforms were conducted in 2015 and 2019, and the geography test in the Finnish matriculation examination was digitalized in 2016. Similar major changes have occurred across the globe over the last 20 years as geography’s position in schools has weakened. Therefore, geography educationists have engaged in discussion regarding the kinds of knowledge and thinking skills that geography encourages young people to learn during their years in school. This thesis acknowledges that geography involves much more than teaching and learning simple facts about world’s topography, regions, and places, which is how geography is usually understood in popular views. The aim of this thesis is to widen our understanding of thinking skills and powerful knowledge in the context of geography education. Theoretically, the thesis brings together discussions of powerful geographical knowledge with thinking skills and knowledge dimensions from a revised version of Bloom’s taxonomy, and it suggests that these can be used as two “lenses” through which to examine geography. The main objective of the thesis is to examine geography’s potential to engage students in thinking skills and powerful geographical knowledge, using Finnish upper secondary geography education as an example. This thesis is based on three individual research articles, and thus the empirical part of the thesis consists of multiple research materials: in-service upper secondary teachers’ concept maps and in-depth interviews; the geography test questions from the paper-based and digital forms of the Finnish matriculation examination between fall 2013 and spring 2019; students’ answers to the paper-based and digital geography test questions between fall 2015 and spring 2017; and learning objectives in upper secondary geography curricula documents from the years 2003, 2015, and 2019, which are examined through the qualitative research methodology approach. Both inductive and deductive content analysis are used as methods of analysis. Additionally, quantification, descriptive statistics, and statistical analyses are used to comprehensively understand the researched phenomenon. In this compilation part of the thesis, the findings from the three original research articles are examined through the two “lenses” to reveal which geographical thinking skills and knowledge are emphasized. The findings suggest that the various thinking skills and knowledge dimensions, as well as powerful geographical knowledge types, are all present to some extent in Finnish geography’s learning objectives and test questions, students’ answers, and teachers’ conceptions. However, the majority of the learning objectives and test questions emphasize lower-order thinking skills, i.e. powerful geographical knowledge types 2 and 5. However, to some extent, teachers additionally emphasize higher-order thinking skills, i.e. powerful geographical knowledge types 1 and 4. The digitalization of the matriculation examination and the curriculum reforms slightly shifted the emphasis toward higher order thinking because the requirement to use analytical thinking skills—i.e. powerful geographical knowledge type 4—increased. Additionally, the findings suggest that students have difficulty answering questions that require them to use analytical (in digital tests only), evaluative, and creative thinking or procedural knowledge, i.e. powerful geographical knowledge types 4, 3, and 1. The findings indicate that geography has the potential to enhance students’ higher-order thinking skills and engage them in powerful geographical knowledge, but further development is needed. First, there is a need to reevaluate the optimal distribution between lower- and higher-order thinking skills in the geography curriculum’s learning objectives and the geography test questions in the Finnish matriculation examination. Additionally, there is a need to engage geography teachers and students in reflection on thinking skills and powerful geographical knowledge. Moreover, there is a need to consider the possibility of placing more emphasis on higher-order thinking skills, because this will enable the development of students’ powerful geographical knowledge in greater depth. In conclusion, this thesis provides one perspective on geography education and presents one framework for understanding thinking skills and powerful knowledge in geography. This framework can be used to plan the aims of geography education, or to choose teaching artifacts, methods, or assessments tasks. Moreover, it can be applied in order to “speak the same language” so as to develop geography education, and above all to develop students’ powerful geographical knowledge and thinking skills. Keywords revised Bloom’s taxonomy, powerful geographical knowledge, upper secondary education, geography education, geography curriculum, learning objectives, summative assessment, teachers’ conceptions, students’ performance, higher-order thinking skills

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“…2020. ) Historiallisen tiedon tulkinnallisuuden ymmärtäminen auttaa opiskelijoita purkamaan historian yhteiskunnallista ja poliittista käyttöä, jolla pyritään oikeuttamaan nykyhetkeä tai tulevaisuutta koskevia ratkaisuja (Puustinen & Khawaja 2020). Koulukontekstissa historiallinen ajattelu ei siten viittaa esimerkiksi syvälliseen tutkimusmenetelmien osaamiseen, jota korkeakouluopinnoissa vaaditaan.…”

Section: Sisällöistä Historialliseen Ajatteluununclassified

Sisältötiedon toistamista vai aineiston analyysia?

Puustinen

Paldanius²,

Luukka³

2020

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Tarkastelemme historian ylioppilaskokeen aineistopohjaisia tehtävänantoja, tehtävänantoihin liittyviä aineistoja sekä pisteysohjeita historian tekstitaitojen näkökulmasta. Tiedonalalähtöisen historiaopetuksen lähtökohtana pidetään historiallisen ajattelun harjaannuttamista, mikä edellyttää alkuperäislähteiden kanssa työskentelemistä: kykyä tulkita lähteitä ja niiden tekijöiden intentioita sekä arvioida lähteiden pohjalta tehtyjä tulkintoja. Ylioppilaskokeilla on merkittävä vaikutus opetukseen ja arviointiin. Jotta ylioppilaskokeen tehtävät ohjaisivat vahvistamaan historian tekstitaitoja ja edelleen historiallista ajattelua, tulisi tehtävien ohjata työskentelemään aineistojen kanssa. Tutkimuksen aineistona ovat historian ylioppilaskokeiden tehtävänannot vuosilta 2006–2019 ainereaalikokeen ajalta sekä Ylioppilastutkintolautakunnan laatimat hyvän vastauksen piirteet ja Historian ja yhteiskuntaopin opettajien liiton laatimat pisteohjeet. Tehtävänantojen luokittelun pohjana käytämme genreteoreettista historian oppiaineessa kirjoitettavien tekstilajien luokittelua sekä sisällönanalyysia. Tutkimuksen perusteella historian ylioppilaskoe ei ole parhaalla mahdollisella tavalla tukenut lukion opetussuunnitelmissa tai tutkijoiden puheenvuoroissa asetettuja tiedonalalähtöisen historianopetuksen tavoitteita. Aineistopohjaisia tehtävänantoja on varsin vähän. Useimmissa tehtävänannoissa edellytetään vain yhden aineiston hyödyntämistä ja vähäistä lähteen taustoittamista. Lähdekritiikin käsite näyttäytyy pisteytysohjeissa epäselvänä, eikä kuvaa keskeisiä lähteiden parissa työskentelemisen taitoja.

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Envisaging the alternatives: from knowledge of the powerful to powerful knowledge in history classrooms

Cited by 14 publications

References 45 publications

Rethinking society and knowledge in Finnish social studies textbooks

Rethinking society and knowledge in Finnish social studies textbooks

Geography's ability to enhance powerful thinking skills and knowledge

Sisältötiedon toistamista vai aineiston analyysia?

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