Page 132 - Balancing between the present and the past

Chapter 6
The aim of the present study is therefore twofold: (1) to develop a pedagogy for promoting students’ ability to perform historical contextualization and (2) to test this pedagogy for success in a pre- and post-test quasi-experimental design.
6.2 Theoretical framework
6.2.1 The concept of historical contextualization
Some studies define historical contextualization as a heuristic (in addition to sourcing and corroboration) to examine historical sources (e.g., Britt & Aglinskas, 2002; Rouet, Favart, Britt, & Perfetti, 1997; Wineburg, 1991). However, in history education, it is possible to contextualize historical agents’ actions, historical events, and historical sources (Havekes, Coppen, Luttenberg, & Van Boxtel, 2012). Therefore, in this study, we conceptualize historical contextualization as the ability to situate phenomena and the actions of people in the context of time, historical location, long-term developments, or particular events to give meaning to these phenomena and actions (Van Boxtel & Van Drie, 2012).
A key component for performing historical contextualization successfully is students’ understanding of the differences between the past and present (Seixas & Peck, 2004). Historical contextualization concerns:
A temporal sense of difference that includes deep understanding of the social, political, and cultural norms of the time period under investigation as well as knowledge of the events leading up to the historical situation and other relevant events that are occurring concurrently. (Endacott & Brooks, 2013, p. 43)
Historical contextualization is therefore a complex skill because it not only requires historical factual knowledge and a sense of chronology but also the ability to identify gaps in this knowledge, the ability to formulate questions, and the ability to question information or conclusions (Wineburg, 1998). For example, to explain why Julius Caesar could not have had breakfast in Rome and dinner in the Gallic region of France on the same day, students have to contextualize the ancient Roman period, including the knowledge that the transportation necessary for such a day trip was not available in those times (Lévesque, 2008).
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