The good citizen: Revisiting moral motivations for introducing historical consciousness in history education drawing on the writings of Gadamer

Abstract

Historical consciousness is regarded as an important means to stimulate moral citizens through history education. This article conceptually examines the moral dimension associated with historical consciousness by revisiting the paradigm wars between natural science based on positivism and human and social sciences during the 1960s–1990s as expressed through the voice of Gadamer. More specifically, the article explores: (1) the moral arguments that Gadamer put forward for introducing historical consciousness and (2) the epistemological and ontological building blocks for approaching morality in history education that his arguments brought to the fore. In general, moral consciousness in relation to historical consciousness draws attention to: (a) people’s life conditions, (b) that moral reasoning and practice are influenced by feelings and reason, (c) that reflections on past events can help to interpret our ways of being towards others in the present and future, (d) that a plurality of people, thoughts and history are important to acknowledge and (e) that every person is part of creating history and responsible for weaving the past/present/future web in ways that acknowledge others.

Model Pembelajaran Value Clarification Technique (VCT) dalam Meningkatkan Kesadaran Sejarah Peserta Didik

“…Kesadaran sejarah sangat penting untuk dimiliki peserta didik. Hal tersebut diperkuat oleh pernyataan (Edling et al, 2020), bahwa kesadaran sejarah dianggap sebagai sarana penting untuk merangsang moral warga melalui pendidikan sejarah. Dalam hal ini, pendidik sejarah berperan penting untuk memperluas kesadaran sejarah peserta didik dengan merancang pengalaman belajarnya (Reich, 2017).…”

Mapping moral consciousness in research on historical consciousness and education - a summative content analysis of 512 research articles published between 1980 and 2020

“…What this insight brings to the fore are the tensions in the field of historical consciousness between various traditions. This can be seen in the difficulties of taking into account the awareness that Gadamer and others raised, namely that the hermeneutic problem is everyone's problem (see for instance, Gadamer, 1975/Gadamer, 2006Edling et al, 2020a). It is not a question about wanting or not wanting to enhance knowledge, being relativist, or being objective.…”

“…It is not about arguing that there is no need for cognitive analytical tools, but that learning is a much more complicated process than an image of progression entails (cf. Grever & Adriaansen, 2019, p. 823;Edling et al, 2020a). Like historical consciousness, the field of moral consciousness is constituted by different traditions.…”

“…What Gadamer showed, amongst other things, was that there is a dialectical relationship between entities like time spans, body, and mind; that language and individual's meaning-making are the sole mediators for consciousness; the unescapable presence of human uniqueness (plurality), prejudice, values, and risk; and that moral issues depend upon (a will for open) communication (and listening) in the realm of the public and day-today practice. Accordingly, the very epistemological framework that accompanies Gadamer's philosophy is infused with a moral consciousness drawing on the human condition (Edling et al, 2020a). Education in relation to moral issues can thus be grasped as a complicated conversation where (moral) judgements take form, relocate, and alter during the continued process of deepening knowledge (Pinar, 2012, pp.…”

Time and the embodied other in education: A dimension of teachers’ everyday judgements of student learning

“…Consequently, in contrast to the linear view, where time is pictured as something that is independent of human action, the relationalist view emphasises that there would be no time without humans, since time take shape in a system of relations that requires human meaning-making (cf. Benovsky 2010;Edling et. al.…”