CENTRE FOR INTERCULTURAL AND TRANSNATIONAL RESEARCH
IN HISTORY DIDACTICS, SOCIAL STUDIES AND CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION (CITRA)

CHE – civic and history education

KA1-project "Assessment, tutorial structures and initial teacher education of trainee students in the subjects Political/Civic Education, Social/Cultural Studies and History in Europe - a comparative study"

The project is supported by the European Commission in the framework of the Lifelong Learning Programme KA 1 (Studies and Comparative Research), the ERSTE Foundation and the Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, Arts and Culture.

Running time: January 2010-July 2013

Participating countries and organisations: Austria, Albania, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Kosovo*, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Georg-Eckert-Institute (Germany), Euroclio, Council of Europe

Preliminary results: presentation of the preliminary results (.ppt) from the questionnaire by Alois Ecker

Final results

Project description: School subjects such as "Political/Civic Education", "Social/Cultural Studies" and "History" are expected to form the socio-political identity of the future citizens of Europe. Teachers of these subjects are expected to develop the pupils' skills and competencies towards democratic citizenship, intercultural dialogue, mutual understanding and tolerance. However, there has not been a lot of research on the education of teachers' skills and competencies on an European level so far. Results of the comparative studies ITT 2006, ITT SEE and ITT pilot on the structures and standards of initial training for history teachers in Europe have shown that the education of teachers almost exclusively relies on national structures and organisations. The role and identity of (subject) teachers are formed and conceptualised at the very beginning of their career. It therefore seems to be of high relevance for educational planners, curriculum developers and teacher trainers to know more about the assessment and the initial education of teachers in the above described subjects. There is also little knowledge on a comparative European level about the structures of tutoring/mentoring and their impact on the retention of student teachers as well as their impact on the development of social skills and teamwork of the trainee teachers. In secondary general and/or vocational schools the subjects "Political/Civic Education", "Social/Cultural Studies" and "History" are partly taught as integrated subjects, partly as separate subjects. There has been little discussion about the theoretical and didactic concepts and the rationales that lie behind the decisions towards one or the other model of training. This project will contribute substantially to future discussions on curriculum development of the subjects 'political/social/cultural studies' and 'history' on the level of organisation, content, and didactics.

Aims: The goal of the project is to investigate the structures, concepts and standards of assessment, tutorial systems and initial education for teachers of the subjects "Political/Civic Education", "Social/Cultural Studies" and "History". The project aims at contributing to an evidence based discussion on teacher education for key subjects of political education in Europe.

Methodology: The project is based on a three-fold research plan:

  1. investigation in the participating countries on the basis of a standardised questionnaire, collection of the data, analysis and feed back from the coordinating project team, in-depth expert discussions on the country reports at two meetings and additional comments from educational policy makers
  2. formation of thematic working groups to supply investigation on qualitative questions concerning the structures, standards and concepts of political, civic and historical education of trainee teachers and
  3. development of a comparative analysis on these topics on a European level with respect to results of previous case studies and results published by international educational organisations.

Expected results: The project group will produce a comparative study published in print version and here on the homepage. Results will be disseminated in the framework of the Council of Europe, EUROCLIO, and by a new eJournal of Didactics of History and Political Education. Summaries go to international educational organisations, ministries of education and teacher training institutions. As a by-product the study aims at developing a network of experts in charge of educational management as well as teacher trainers who will participate in establishing adequate European standards in the assessment, tutorial and mentor system and initial training for trainee teachers of the subjects civic/political education and history.

Participating partner organisations: The following thirty-eight partner organisations in thirty-four countries will do research in all participating countries on the basis of a standardised questionnaire:

  • University of Vienna (Austria)
  • University of Tirana (Albania)
  • Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)
  • EUROCLIO - HIP of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
  • Sofia University (Bulgaria)
  • University of Zagreb (Croatia)
  • Pedagogical Institute (Cyprus)
  • CIEE Charles University in Prague (Czech Republic)
  • University of Tartu (Estonia)
  • University of Turku (Finland)
  • History Teachers Association of Macedonia (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia)
  • Ministère de l'éducation nationale (France)
  • Pedagogical University Heidelberg (Germany)
  • University of Augsburg (Germany)
  • University of Siegen (Germany)
  • World Citizen Educational Consulting (Hungary)
  • University La Sapienza Roma (Italy)
  • Ministry of Education Science and Technology of Kosovo (Kosovo*)
  • University of Malta (Malta)
  • State Pedagogical University "Ion Creanga" (Moldova)
  • University of Montenegro (Montenegro)
  • Bergen University (Norway)
  • University of Wroclaw (Poland)
  • Museu Nacoional de Arqueologia (Portugal)
  • University of Bucharest (Romania)
  • Russian Academy of Education (Russian Federation)
  • Stavropol State University (Russian Federation)
  • Elementary School "King Peter the First" (Serbia)
  • Constantin the Philosopher University Nitra (Slovakia)
  • Museum of Recent History (Slovenia)
  • University of Valladolid (Spain)
  • Umea University (Sweden)
  • School for Teacher Education FHNW (Switzerland)
  • University of Ankara (Turkey)
  • All-Ukrainian Association of Teachers of History and Social Studies "NOVA DOBA" (Ukraine)
  • Manchester Metropolitan University (United Kingdom)
  • Georg-Eckert-Institute (Germany)
  • EUROCLIO
  • Council of Europe