Abstract
This paper presents and discusses the rationale behind the curriculum covering ancient Greek history, a topic that is taught twice during the course of Greek compulsory education (covering 6–15 year olds). The undertaking to develop a new history curriculum set the framework for a reconsideration of themes and approaches to the teaching of antiquity, based on changes to the scope, aims, teaching topics, methodological approaches and assessments introduced. The approved new history curriculum attempts to elevate the status of prehistory relative to other historical periods, so as to strike a balance between local, national and global history, highlighting the common origin and evolution of modern humans. It introduces archaeology, material culture and museums as structural tools for research into and understanding of antiquity by students. It also focuses on social and cultural history, and reassesses dominant historiographical views of the ancient world. Additionally, a methodological framework that encourages students to create their own accounts and interpretations of the ancient past is recommended, by proposing activities that support historical enquiry and the development of key historical concepts.
Highlights
On 17 June 2018, the governments of Greece and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia reached an agreement over the name, identity, history and symbols of the northernmost – and in a sense, for the Greeks, nameless – country, striving to solve a problem created and fed by the competing nationalism in both countries during the early 1990s (Danforth, 1995)
Emphasis on the important social and cultural changes that have taken place over the centuries and, to a lesser extent, on the examination of specific persons or events, enables students to explore the past using research tools based on scientific approaches, and their understanding of the concepts of change and continuity over time. This helps them to overcome stereotypical perceptions that are expressed in collective memory, to deal with conflicting views, to perceive – through appropriate teaching strategies – the multiple dimensions of a historical phenomenon and, above all, to recognize the moral aspect of the actions of the past for their lives in the present. Both the aims and the activities recommended to teachers facilitate the building of evidence-based interpretations by students, examining a variety of historical sources and teaching materials (primary and secondary sources, material culture, images, timelines, maps, films, documentaries, websites, worksheets) and participating in tasks that employ empathy, enquiry, historical reasoning, role play, debates, drama, digital applications and created material, for appreciating issues of significance, agency, causality, multiperspectivity and morality dealing with the ancient past
The new Greek history curriculum for compulsory education is closely linked to the scientific training of teachers in the context of the new results of historical and educational research
Summary
On 17 June 2018, the governments of Greece and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia reached an agreement over the name, identity, history and symbols of the northernmost – and in a sense, for the Greeks, nameless – country, striving to solve a problem created and fed by the competing nationalism in both countries during the early 1990s (Danforth, 1995). Emphasis on the important social and cultural changes that have taken place over the centuries and, to a lesser extent, on the examination of specific persons or events, enables students to explore the past using research tools based on scientific approaches, and their understanding of the concepts of change and continuity over time This helps them to overcome stereotypical perceptions that are expressed in collective memory, to deal with conflicting views, to perceive – through appropriate teaching strategies – the multiple dimensions of a historical phenomenon and, above all, to recognize the moral aspect of the actions of the past for their lives in the present. Both the aims and the activities recommended to teachers facilitate the building of evidence-based interpretations by students, examining a variety of historical sources and teaching materials (primary and secondary sources (either conflicting or not), material culture, images, timelines, maps, films, documentaries, websites, worksheets) and participating in tasks that employ empathy, enquiry, historical reasoning, role play, debates, drama, digital applications and created material, for appreciating issues of significance, agency, causality, multiperspectivity and morality dealing with the ancient past
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