History and Citizenship Education. Student Perceptions About History in two Educational Centers of Alcalá de Henares (2016-2017)

Abstract

Objectives. We set out to learn about the perceptions that second year high school students from two schools in Alcalá de Henares have about History. Additionally, the research aims at understanding the historiographic implications underlying the perceptions of the observed students regarding History. Methodology. Our qualitative research was based on an ethnographic design for the study of student perceptions, observing a total of 196 students. On the other hand, we used hermeneutic and historical study tools to study History curricula and textbooks used in both centers, both at a narrative level and at a theoretical-epistemological level. Results. After analyzing and categorizing students according to their behavior in class (ideal, average and laggards) and their perceptions (progressive, conservative, moderate, radical), we realized that there are three dimensions for the understanding of History: 1) epistemological; 2) logical-temporal; 3) narrative-historical. Conclusions. We found that the observed students, independently of their behavioral or perceptual typology, visualize history in an alien and distant way. Likewise, we understood a formative context on History contents limited by obsolete theoretical and deontological elements, which place it in the teaching of stories about the nation and Eurocentric contexts. We understood that all this has a limiting impact on the spectrum of citizenship education, since it prevents a heuristic relationship between the students and the historical content for the critical understanding of a complex present in constant crisis.