Comprehension of historical primary sources in high school. A study on the reading of multiple contradictory text of the Civil War

Authors

DOI: https://doi.org/10.6018/pantarei.561961
Keywords: Secondary Education, History Education, Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Civil War

Supporting Agencies

  • Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación de España bajo el proyecto PID2019-104537GB-I00

Abstract

Intertextual comprehension is the ability to integrate information from several texts and sources of information. This competence is key in the development of reasoning, although it is challenging for our students. This study evaluates the impact of providing intertextual or textual comprehension aids in the first year of high school (seventeen-year-old students) when they must understand a historical phenomenon with multiple perspectives. They read 5 texts with conflicting perspectives on the Civil War and, afterwards, they wrote an essay, completed a comprehension test and a recall task of sources.Students who received the intertextual aids wrote a more integrated essay than those who received the textual comprehension aids. There were no differences in individual text comprehension or source recall. These results indicate the necessity of helping to make connections between documents for the students to integrate contradictory historical information into a coherent interpretative account.

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Published
22-10-2023
How to Cite
Rosales García, Álvaro ., Rosales Pardo, J., García-Serrano, M., & García Pérez, J. R. . (2023). Comprehension of historical primary sources in high school. A study on the reading of multiple contradictory text of the Civil War. Panta Rei. Digital Journal of History and Didactics of History, 17. https://doi.org/10.6018/pantarei.561961