Timewise Improving pupils' understanding of historical time in primary school

The understanding of historical time is an essential aim for the subject of history. However, evaluations in the Netherlands show that that too few pupils at the end of primary school, reach a sufficient understanding of historical time, despite the implementation of the ten-era curriculum (2006), which aims at supporting pupils in their orientation in time. Therefore, the central question of this dissertation is: How can pupils’ understanding of historical time in primary school be improved? Five successive studies focus on the conceptualization of the understanding of historical time; on pupils’ development; on analyses of curricula on historical time in England and the Netherlands; on measurements of pupils’ performances; and on effective aspects of teaching and teacher training. This dissertation yielded in a model with objectives and stages on pupils' development in the understanding of historical time, an instrument to assess pupils' development and an overview of types of problems that might arise in pupils' reasoning while placing historical phenomena in time. Findings of the intervention study indicate that pupils’ development in the understanding of historical time can be stimulated from an early age, by teaching according to the objectives that are defined in the model, with a consistent use of timelines.
The model, assessment instrument, overview of types of problems, Timewise (the teaching approach that was developed with materials and resources on a website) and the professional development program for teachers can be useful for teachers in primary school, for teacher trainers, textbook editors and educational policy makers.