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\n[www.quasar.ualberta.ca/css](www.quasar.ualberta.ca/css)  \nSpecial Issue: Social Studies Research and Teaching in Elementary Schools  \nHistorical Thinking in the Elementary Years: A Review of Current Research  \nAmy von Heyking  \nUniversity of Alberta  \nReturn to Articles  \nAbstract  \nTwo important developments have occurred in the field of history education that have had important implications for elementary school teachers. First, our understanding of history as a discipline reflects a new understanding about the nature and purpose of history teaching. Second, we have a better understanding of the cognitive capacities of elementary school children, which means that new programs require even very young children in our schools to engage in historical thinking tasks. Peter Seixas (1996) identified six specific elements in the structure of the discipline of history that provide a coherent and thorough framework for an analysis of historical thinking. These elements will provide a framework for a review of current research into children's  \nhistorical thinking and for suggested activities that would appropriately  \naddress these elements in elementary school history classrooms.  \nHistory has long held a privileged place within the social studies. It has been seen as essential in the creation of a national identity, the school subject uniquely responsible for the creation of a common collective memory. For many years, however, the specific thinking skills associated with history instruction were those associated with making sense of time and chronology. Given elementary children's cognitive limitations in dealing with the mathematical concepts of time and chronological sequence, it was not surprising that little formal history instruction was required in Canada's elementary schools.  \nMoreover, history's integration into the social studies meant that it was generally treated as a source of data for solving current problems. Rather than being recognized as a unique form of inquiry, this approach meant that history was used in the service of a social science decision making or problem solving approach. There are at least two assumptions about the nature of history as a discipline embodied in this approach that have considerable pedagogical implications. First, it implies that history is about important public issues, current political, economic and social trends, rather than about everyday life or a family's past. These issues or problems usually require an understanding of very abstract concepts such as government and  \ntrade, concepts beyond the cognitive capabilities of most elementary children and certainly outside their experience. This was sufficient reason for delaying formal history instruction until after elementary school. The second implication of this approach is that the study of history can actually reveal facts that may be used to solve current problems. It assumes that we in essence \"mine\" the past to discover indisputable facts that offer clear and obvious lessons. That the \"facts\" might be disputable; that the events of long ago might be seen by different people in different ways; that there may indeed be any number of contradictory yet plausible accounts of the past; that history could be used to prove or justify any number of moral or policy positions simply was not acknowledged in this approach to history teaching within social studies.  \nTwo important developments occurred in the field of history education that challenged these assumptions. First, our understanding of history as a discipline has been enriched and essentially reshaped which means that new history programs reflect a very different understanding about the nature and purpose of history teaching. Second, we have a better understanding of the cognitive capacities of elementary school children, which means that new programs require even very young children in our schools to engage in historical ","cbCaigzhU6HWEIui","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaigzhU6HWEIui","pdf",399554,13,"English","# Abstract\n## Historical thinking in elementary years: a review of current research\n## The nature and purpose of history in elementary school","[{\"question\":\"What two developments in history education affect elementary teachers?\",\"answer\":\"The field now reframes history teaching based on the discipline’s nature and purpose, and it better accounts for elementary children’s cognitive capacities, requiring even young learners to do historical thinking tasks.\"},{\"question\":\"How does Peter Seixas’s framework support research review and classroom activities?\",\"answer\":\"Seixas (1996) identifies six elements in history’s discipline structure, which provide a coherent framework to review research on children’s historical thinking and to suggest age-appropriate activities.\"},{\"question\":\"Why was formal history instruction long delayed in elementary schools?\",\"answer\":\"Instruction was often limited because time and chronological concepts were viewed as difficult for young children, and history was commonly treated as a source of data for current problem solving rather than a unique inquiry.\"}]","Canadian Social Studies - Volume 39 Number 1 - Fall 2004 - Special Issue: Social Studies Research and Teaching in Elementary Schools | PDF",1792085596,33]