LOCAL HISTORY COURSES FOR FUTURE KINDERGARTEN TUTORS: EXPERIENCES FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF THESSALY

Abstract

International research in history education has highlighted the need to develop classroom
teaching of history, by both encouraging students to explore the topics, as well as by training
the teachers in how best to foster such skills. It is therefore necessary to formulate a supportive
framework for teacher training that highlights the role of history at each age. This paper
focuses on an example of an elective history course design and its evaluation at the Department
of Early Childhood Education, University of Thessaly, Greece. More specifically, this paper
presents the results of a study of the scenarios developed by a sample of 58 students who
attended the local history course during the winter semester of the 2020-2021 academic year.
Content analysis of the final papers by the students, as well as the reflections of the
participants, revealed a gradual shift in their pedagogical and teaching perspectives, as a result
of their participation in this specially designed teaching programme. The research highlights
the need to include training programmes that focus on the disciplinary approach when
educating future teachers, in order that they may be better able to create new scaffolds of
knowledge and perspectives in the understanding of their students through scenario design.
Early pre-school intervention is crucial in instilling the groundwork of historical thinking and
understanding, leading to significant benefits in the later school and post-school history
education of young children