Recent theories of historical consciousness focus on the role narration plays in contemporary people's attempts to give meaning to the past and orient their practical life as citizens. This article examines the need for probing students' historical ideas and for developing narrative competence as a way to engage them critically in contested…

It was a quest that began over three decades ago when the author began teaching at the Owen Sound Collegiate and Vocational Institute (OSCVI) in 1984. The school had a long, storied history dating back to 1856 when it first opened its doors to students from Owen Sound and the surrounding area. As a teacher of a survey course in Canadian history…

In sharp contrast to the musings of a senior student, the mandatory history texts follow a narrow provincial orientation. The recently introduced Quebec high school history program offers adolescents a slanted narrative devoid of larger interconnected contexts as hailed; for example, by Oakeshott (2004), MacMillan (2009), and/or Canadine (2013).…

This paper explores an arts-based practitioner action research study that explores the artworks made by students from a Grade 11 History of Canada course in response to teaching and learning about the First World War. The practitioner considers the art-things (Bennett, 2015) of his students and the associated thing-power (Bennett, 2004)…

Purpose: This article presents a case study exploring how future teachers combine scientific knowledge and practical knowledge during a history didactics course and practicum field experience in history teaching in Quebec high schools. Design: Through a thematic analysis of the written assignments submitted during the practicum and conceptual maps…

This paper describes the results of two research projects, which were focused upon female students' historical understanding of feminism. In both cases the researchers found that the student participants harbored ambivalent or negative attitudes towards feminism and saw little connection between the present and feminist struggles in the past.…

This article examines the dynamic between educational leadership in terms of school administration and social studies education pedagogy. The article examines the tension between the mandate for school principals in an age of increased school accountability, and the essence and delivery of social studies pedagogy. The data compiled examine the…

What stories of the past do young Canadians tell? What impact does identity have on their ideas and ways of thinking historically? What role does schooling play in transmitting a national narrative? In this paper, we address these questions in a large-scale national study of young French Canadians' understanding of the collective past. Drawing on…

Guided by critical discourse analysis, this study analyzes how ancient civilizations are constructed in high school history textbooks used in Quebec, Canada. The findings suggest that the narrative generally ignores 2-way intercultural exchanges. The narrative is also Eurocentric, silencing sub-Saharan Africa's contributions and nonmaterial…

This article presents the results of a study that analyses students' historical narratives of the nation in relation to historical consciousness and how their sense of self-identification with groups affects their narrative structure and orientation. This study was conducted with French Canadian students registered in two high schools (n = 58) and…

In the 1980s, in Quebec history textbooks, authors presented history through linear, monocausal designs and attributed most social, political or economic changes favourable to democracy to unstable external causes or to stable external causes. They seldom attributed the evolution of democracy to "unstable internal causes". These…

To prepare students for participation in a pluralistic, democratic society, history curriculum should help them develop mature ideas about why multiple accounts of the same events exist. But how can we know if we are successful? In this article, we describe work on the design, validation, and piloting of a paper-and-pencil instrument called the…

This survey of 370 recent high school graduates reveals that history and citizenship courses in Quebec focus on cultural and religious viewpoints, favour a transmission approach to learning, and fail to connect the political process to students' concerns and interests. Without a clear conception of citizenship as a reference point, this curriculum…

Teaching about the Holocaust is mandatory in many societies. This prescription is justified by authorities with many reasons: educating pupils for a better understanding of human rights, peace, war, genocide, critical thinking, historical thinking, racism, etc. The Holocaust can carry a very strong moral and emotional charge. But why do teachers…

During a time of post-war sensitivity to Canadian nationalism and patriotism, public feeling was aroused in 1920 New Brunswick regarding a world history textbook with a new chapter about the First World War. The American author made no reference to Canada's war efforts. The subsequent public discussion focused on issues of patriotism, citizenship,…