The acquisition of historical competences in Spain: perceptions of primary and secondary education teachers

Abstract

This chapter offers an in-depth examination of educators' perceptions of the acquisition of historical competencies in primary and secondary education. Firstly, it highlights the history and development of key competences taking into account some of the different theoretical and epistemological positions adopted when addressing these core elements in education. Next, and with the objective of clarifying the initial conceptual frameworks, the definition of historical competence is presented, taking note of the - relatively recent - paradigm shift on which the teaching of history is being based. In this sense, the objectives of this study are explicitly defined, which allows a clearer idea of the focus of this research. Thirdly, the design and procedure of this study are described in detail, as well as the instruments, sampling and data collection and analysis. Subsequently, the main conclusions that help to achieve the objectives set are presented, and all this is done in an orderly sequence that makes use of tables and illustrative figures as well as text. In the final part of this work, the main conclusions of the study are examined, interpreting them in the light of what has been identified in the specialised literature on competence-based teaching approaches. Finally, the limitations of this study are presented along with some basic guidelines, so that they can serve as real catalysts for further progress in this field of knowledge