Everyday school history: An intermediate analytical category to understand the practices of teaching History in primary school

Abstract

When referring to instruction in History classes, we often think of rote teaching of important dates, battles and characters, or of the dictation, copying and passive memorization of texts. One source for these assertions has been the history syllabi or materials for grade schools. The purpose of this research is to study and understand the actual teaching of history as a historically situated cultural practice from an ethnographic perspective. To this purpose, History classes given by three fifth grade public primary teachers in Mexico City were observed. Analysis was based on the classes in which they taught the topic of “The Mexican Revolution”. Data was collected through direct observation, fieldnotes, the audio recording of the classes and the personal communication that was established with the teachers. The theoretical-conceptual tools used for data analysis were the three dimensions of reading suggested by Chartier (2005): text analysis; the forms and devices of presentation of texts, and the diverse cultural practices of their use; as well as the three planes proposed by Rockwell (2000) for the study of school cultures: Longue durée, relative continuity and co-construction. The results show that in the approaches of the teachers observed there is evidence of diverse pedagogical practices and knowledge from both past and present sources that they combine to respond to the children’s participation and to actual working conditions including the available time. Thus they configure cultural tools and heterogeneous teaching practices which account for the tension and distance that exists between the instructional model of ‘school history’ assumed or proposed in many official documents and the practice of teaching everyday school history.