Summary:
This research paper explores the cultivation of critical thinking as a key issue in the teaching of history in secondary school. The definition of the concept of critical thinking, the way of development and the analysis of students' critical thinking is based on the contemporary theoretical approaches of History Teaching, developed on the basis of Pedagogical Theory and Cognitive Psychology. Critical thinking can be cultivated through processes of understanding and investigation of historical knowledge. For example, through the use, study and interpretation of historical sources.
The aim of this paper is to examine the curriculum and the school school Handbooks of the first grade History with regard to the cultivation of critical thinking in students. The research focuses on the level of development of critical thinking through the investigation of the content of the official documents of the curriculum and the School Handbooks of History of the first grade. The School Handbooks include the Student's Book and the Teacher's Guide for the History course of the first grade. More specifically, through the method of content analysis, it is investigated whether and to what extent there are provisions for the cultivation of critical thinking in the above textbooks. Through the study and decoding of the qualitative data from the content analysis, conclusions will be drawn about the character, function and approaches of Greek historical education in terms of the cultivation of critical historical thinking in students. For this purpose, the objectives, methodology, content and evaluation set by the curriculum of the first grade history course for the cognitive content of the corresponding Student's Book are explored. In this context, it was examined whether the School Handbooks can meet the requirements of the New History aimed at developing students' historical and critical thinking.
The main concern of the research lies in the curriculum of the history course, which have a direct relevance to the content of the Student's Book and which teachers rely on for teaching the course. From the data obtained in the research part of the paper, answers to the research questions posed are provided, and further exploration of the broader significance of the answers is possible. A synthesis of the research data with relevant findings is provided at the end of the paper. After processing the material, it was observed that there is little correspondence between the curriculum and the textbooks in achieving objectives, as the curriculum targets more on the emotional and psychomotor domain, as opposed to the textbooks which set cognitive objectives. However, there is a strong correspondence between the learning contents of the curriculum and the textbooks. We also observe a mismatch in the application of teaching methods and assessment techniques between the. The active teaching methods proposed in the curriculum cannot be implemented in teaching practice through the Student Handbook. The Student's Book focuses on the traditional historiographical paradigm, which makes it difficult for students to cultivate critical thinking. Assessment in the Textbooks and curriculum is based on traditional forms of assessment, while the curriculum promotes an active learning process. In general, the findings of the research show that the first-grade history textbooks do not adequately support in practice the intentions and objectives of the curriculum on the cultivation of critical thinking. The Student Handbook prevents the cultivation of critical and investigative skills and historical knowledge is placed in inflexible margins. At the same time, the Student Handbooks move away from the New History paradigm and the goal of cultivating critical thinkers through the process of learning.
Keywords:
Curriculum, School Handbooks, Student Handbook, history teaching, secondary education, critical thinking
