Differential perceptions of teachers and students about the teaching and learning of history at the upper secondary school level

Abstract

This study sought to examine students' and teachers' perceptions of history to determine the different conceptual paradigms that exist in students' thinking about history. The study employed a mixed-method research design aimed at triangulating quantitative and qualitative data obtained from questionnaires and focus group interviews. Four hundred and thirty-two participants were randomly drawn from selected secondary schools in Tobago and the east/west corridor of Trinidad. Findings of this research revealed a general weakness in student understanding of such concepts as historical evidence, causation, and historical explanation. This is largely because history concepts were taught only incidentally, if at all, at the upper secondary school level.