The Development of Historical Competencies in Secondary Education: A Study Based on the Analysis of Sources in Spanish and Italian History Textbooks

Abstract

This work presents the results of research whose main objective was to analyze the sources present in Geography and History textbooks used in Spain and Italy in secondary education, as well as how they were designed for use by the teaching staff of this subject. This research wascarried out for the benefit of teachers and for the improvement of the teaching-learning process.The sample was configured on the basis of a rigorous analysis of textbooks belonging to relevantpublishers in Spain and Italy, whose selection was made using a quantitative and descriptive research method based on the interpretative paradigm, with the help of an SPSS statistical program. As for the main results obtained, the data indicatedthat the tasks requested from students (based on the use or analysis of sources) are of a low cognitive level, which makes it difficult to learn critical and reflective historical thinking. Finally, it wasconcluded that for students to strengthen the development and acquisition of criticalthinking,the use of textbooks must be integrated with other,more active resources and more participatory teaching strategies, putting both competency-based teaching and its assessment in quarantine.