More than a feeling: Tracing the progressive era origins of historical empathy in the social studies curriculum, 1890–1940s

Abstract

Understanding historical empathy is a bourgeoning subfield of social studies education research. Students demonstrate historical empathy by analyzing sources 1) to determine historical context, 2) identify perspectives of historical figures, and 3) make affective connections to historical content. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to examine primary sources from educational leaders and organizations during the Progressive Era in American public school education in order to trace the origins of historical empathy as an implicit goal in the social studies curriculum. Our guiding research question is “How does the work of Progressive Era organizations and educational leaders impact how Americans viewed historical empathy?” We purposefully selected documents from Progressive Era organizations and certain leaders whose work formed a strong foundation of social studies education history. We conclude with an examination of the importance of historical empathy today in order to demonstrate the importance of historical empathy as a curricular aim of social studies education.

Can’t Stop this Feeling: Tracing the Origins of Historical Empathy During the Cold War Era, 1950–1980

“…However, a gap persists in research on the origins of historical empathy in history and social science education. In prior research (Perrotta & Bohan, 2018), progressive era education documents and leaders were studied for evidence of curricula that fostered historical empathy. This current research continues this exploration by examining the historical context of the 1950s through the 1970s, as well as the leaders of the New Social Studies movement who contributed to the development of innovative curricula that promoted historical empathy.…”

“…We purposefully selected documents from leaders, legislation, and organizations from 1950 through 1980 in order to determine if evidence of the curricular aims of historical empathy existed within this time period. We selected four prominent NSS curricula, reviewed them, and searched for evidence of historical empathy according to the three pronged definition employed in the contemporary literature (Endacott & Brooks, 2013;Perrotta & Bohan, 2018). Given recent political events related to social justice and the pandemic, we believe that nurturing historical empathy is consequential and we sought historic antecedents.…”

“…World War II and the Beginning of the Cold War, 1940s-1950s At the turn of the twentieth century, education scholars and professional organizations such as the American Historical Association (AHA), the National Education Association (NEA), and the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) "became interested in relating the classroom to social realities … [and] organizing the social science curriculum around social problems" (Senesh, 1981, p. 64). With the works of these Progressive Era organizations, reforms to the history and social science curriculum were achieved by addressing matters concerning course organization, selection, and inclusion of topics such as immigration, civil rights, the Industrial Revolution, and economic recovery and collapse following World War I (Perrotta & Bohan, 2018).…”

“…Recent socio-economic and political issues concerning civil rights, social justice, and the the Covid-19 pandemic highlight the urgency of fostering historical empathy in the school curricula. Historical empathy is a critical element of history and social science education that involves student identification of diverse perspectives, analysis of the historical context of documents, and the making of affective connections to content (Davis, 2001;Endacott & Brooks, 2013;Perrotta & Bohan, 2018;Perrotta, 2018;Yilmaz, 2007). Brooks (2011) states that an aim of historical empathy is for students to "use historical knowledge to take action in the present" (p. 170).…”

Exploring the Interpretation of Cultural Values in Babad Banyumas Manuscript as a Means to Understanding Banyumas Society

“…The study of the local people's life values is expected to raise the people's awareness into having a sense of historical empathy, for that reason it is quite significant in developing the society (Perrotta & Bohan., 2017). We should at least provide people with insight into their local values so that they are aware of their social identity and as their collective understanding, so that they can contribute to the environment (Dichter., 2015).…”