DGIV/EDU/HIST (2005)03

MULTIPERSPECTIVITY

IN

TEACHING AND LEARNING

HISTORY

Presentations from Seminars

and

Workshops Materials

Nicosia, Cyprus, 24 – 27 November 2004

 MULTIPERSPECTIVITY

IN

TEACHING AND LEARNING

HISTORY

Presentations from Seminars

and

Workshops Materials

Nicosia, Cyprus, 24 – 27 November 2004

The opinions expressed in this work are those of the authors and do not
necessarily reflect the official views and policy of the Council of Europe
 Contents
Preface 7

Acknowledgements 11

PART I: PRESENTATIONS

Introductory Presentations

Teaching history without dividing lines: an overview of the Council of

Europe’s work in history teaching

Ms Tatiana Milko, Programme Officer, Council of Europe 15

Teaching methods in history school education in Cyprus: present-day

situation and future developments

Ms Chara Makriyianni, Educator, President of The Association For

Historical Dialogue and Research, Cyprus 23

History textbooks and teaching material for school education: present-

day situation and future developments

Mr Güven Uludağ, History Textbook Author, History Teacher, Cyprus 33

Keynote Presentations

The use of multiperspectivity when teaching history in secondary and

upper-secondary schools: an example of the United Kingdom

Ms Sue Bennett, Educator, United Kingdom 39

Teaching history through intercultural dialogue to 11 – 14 year old

students: an example of Spain

Ms Cristina Del Moral, Educational Consultant, Spain 47

 The use of history textbooks and other teaching materials when
teaching history in present-day schools

Mr Brian Carvell, Publishing Consultant, United Kingdom 55

PART II: WORKSHOP MATERIALS

Report on the 26 -27 November 2004 Workshops

Dr Stavroula Philippou and Dr Ahmet Cavit, Cyprus 69

“Teaching about historical personalities on the basis of

multiperspectivity”

Animator: Ms Sue Bennett 83

“Pedagogical use of historical sites and museums”

Animator: Ms Cristina Del Moral 95

“Teaching history for reconciliation using examples from the history of
World War II”

Animator: Mr Brian Carvell 97

APPENDICES

Programme of the seminars and workshops 101

Recommendation Rec(20011)15 on history teaching in twenty-first-century 109

Europe
 Preface
This publication contains the presentations made by experts in history teaching
from Cyprus, Spain and the United Kingdom at the following activities
organised by the Council of Europe in co-operation with the Association for
Historical Dialogue and Research and the Cyprus Turkish Secondary Education
Teachers’ Union (K.T.O.E.Ö.S), in November 2004 in Nicosia:

the Seminar on “Multiperspectivity in history teaching”;

the Seminar on “History textbooks and teaching materials and their use in
a classroom”;

the Workshops on “New approaches to teaching history:

multiperspectivity”.

The Council of Europe began its work on history teaching in Cyprus in July
2003 following the initiative of the Secretary General. The first seminar on “The
Council of Europe and history education” was organised in June 2004 in Nicosia
in co-operation with the Cyprus Fulbright Commission. It provided an
opportunity for 80 participants from both communities to meet and exchange
views on teacher training and curriculum development as well as on the
preparation of new teaching materials. The Seminar also introduced the
experiences of the Council of Europe concerning the development of regional
co-operation and the use of multiperspectivity in history teaching.

This co-operation was continued in November 2004 when the activities brought
together about 300 educators from the whole of Cyprus including teachers from
Armenian schools, reflecting the fact that Cyprus is multicultural. One of the
goals of the activities was to supply the participants with practical information
which could be used in their everyday class practice.

The discussions were focused on how to use new interactive methods in

teaching history based on multiperspectivity and to seek out additional teaching
materials for history lessons; how to select historical sources and achieve
balance in teaching political, economic, social and cultural history; how to teach
history for reconciliation using different sources and to train such pupils’ skills
as critical thinking and open-mindedness.

One may indeed ask why the Council of Europe is so involved in history
teaching.

History teaching has always been one of the pillars of the Council of Europe’s
education programmes because of the important role it plays in the education of
the future citizens of democratic societies. History teaching helps develop the

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democratic culture without which democratic institutions and, ultimately,
democratic societies cannot function. This culture includes a willingness to be
open minded in debate and to respect other people’s views. The Council of
Europe’s programmes started in the 1950s with work on history textbooks and
entered a new phase in the early 1990s after the fall of the Berlin Wall when the
Council of Europe became a truly pan-European Organisation with its new
member States from Central and Eastern Europe. Today the Council of Europe
has 46 member States, while 48 States are parties to the European Cultural
Convention, which was adopted in 1954. This publication is a fitting illustration,
as we celebrate 50 years of cooperation under the European Cultural
Convention, of the importance of education and culture in developing and
reaffirming basic European values, including that of democratic citizenship.

The challenges facing the Council of Europe in this period provided a renewed
impetus for its activities in education. History education took on a considerable
importance with the re-discovery by the new member States of their national
histories.

Within the Council of Europe, co-operation in history teaching is present at

three levels: bilateral, regional and multilateral. Bilateral co-operation gives an
opportunity to provide assistance and discuss issues which are of particular
interest for the countries concerned; activities at a regional level allow history
educators from neighbouring countries to discuss their shared histories; the
multilateral level joins the efforts of specialists from all member States and
brings them together to look at key issues of common interest, for example,
how to teach about the European dimension in history.

In recent years, special emphasis has been placed on the development of

regional co-operation. It is interesting to note that several different regions –
almost at the same time – expressed an interest in regional co-operation for
history education, primarily because they all felt that there was a lack of
information and knowledge about their neighbours. Consequently, the Council
of Europe became involved in the Baltic History Textbook Project, and
undertook programmers of activities such as the Tbilisi Initiative and the Black
Sea Initiative on History.

These initiatives were long–term programmes which included different types of

activities: seminars on curricula, history textbooks and teacher training;
meetings of experts; Ministerial conferences and consultations. They united the
efforts of Ministry officials, historians, teacher trainers and practising teachers,
and provided an opportunity to apply new approaches, such as
multiperspectivity, based on mutual respect and understanding of cultural
diversity as an enriching factor in the regional context.

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The Council of Europe has always supported the view that diversity and
intercultural dialogue are of great importance in building mutual understanding
in Greater Europe. These are reflected in the Recommendation on teaching
history in twenty-first-century Europe adopted by all the member States of the
Council of Europe.1 The text of this Recommendation also emphasises the idea
that in the 21st Century history teaching should encourage peoples to join their
efforts rather than strengthen dividing lines between them. Therefore, in the
above-mentioned regional initiatives, particular attention was paid to the history
of interactions and positive mutual influences between different peoples living
in the same area.

As history should be taught in its full complexity, one should not avoid speaking
about controversial and sensitive topics. Debates on such issues in history are
going on and will still continue, as history, by its nature, is based on different
interpretations. Therefore, history teaching should not try to deliver definitive
answers, but to provide an understanding of the complicated historical
processes. One of the aims of the above-mentioned projects is to make clear that
present-day history teaching should reflect the full complexity of this discipline,
including controversial and sensitive issues, but, at the same time, avoid
creating or reinforcing images of enemies or give pretexts for new
confrontations.

The activities of the Council of Europe organised in Cyprus in 2004 created a

basis for future co-operation.

Where do we go from here?

Discussions showed that there is a need for continuing this co-operation, in

particular as regards teacher training and preparation of new teaching materials.

From our side, we hope that future activities of the Council of Europe will
provide an opportunity for history educators from the whole of Cyprus to meet
and share their experiences and concerns and that they will help create a solid
basis for mutual understanding, confidence and trust.

The Secretariat of the Council of Europe wishes to thank all those who have
been involved in the work and, in particular, our partners in Cyprus: the
Association for Historical Dialogue and Research and the Cyprus Turkish
Secondary Education Teachers’ Union (K.T.O.E.Ö.S), for their help and
commitment.

Gabriele MAZZA
Director of School, Out-of-School and Higher Education

1
Recommendation (2001)15 of 31 October 2001.

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 Acknowledgements

We, the editors, wish to thank all those who contributed to the organisation of
these activities.

In particular, we thank the organisational committee which consisted of the

following members: Mr Tahir Gökçebel, General Secretary of Turkish-Cypriot
Secondary School Teachers’ Union (KTOEÖS); Mr Marios Epaminondas, Vice-
President of the Association for Historical Dialogue and Research (AHDR);
Mr Mete Oguz, Secretary of AHDR and member of KTOEOS; Mr Kyriakos
Pachoulides, Treasurer of AHDR; Dr Ahmet Cavit, Press Officer of AHDR;
Ms Eleni Panagi, Organisational Secretary of ADHR; Mr Charis Psaltis,
Research Administrator of AHDR; Mr Constandinos Stylianou, Member of
AHDR; Mr Ahmet Billuroğlu, Member of AHDR and KTOEÖS; Ms Rena
Hoplarou, member of AHDR; Mr George Stoyias, member of AHDR;
Mr Michalis Erotokritou, member of AHDR; Dr Stavroula Philippou,
International Relations Administrator of AHDR; Ms Chara Makriyianni,
President of AHDR; Mr Güven Uludağ, member of KTOEÖS.

We also thank the authors of this publication for their contributions as well as all
the participants for their involvement in the activities.

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PART I: PRESENTATIONS
 Teaching history without dividing lines: an overview of the
Council of Europe’s work in history teaching
Ms Tatiana MILKO
Programme Officer
Council of Europe

History teaching has always been an important element of the activities of the
Council of Europe as it plays a crucial role in the understanding of democratic
values. One of the main documents of the Council of Europe, the European
Cultural Convention, highlights this role. During more than 55 years of the
existence of the Council of Europe, the organisation has built on the wide
experience in history teaching which it has gained from activities organised
throughout the whole continent.

Although at times ideas may have changed or been modified, the approach has
stayed the same: the main question has always been how the Council of Europe
could face such changes and challenges and respond to them, in our case,
through the prism of history teaching.

A quick overview of the changes and challenges of the last decade will allow us
to understand better the philosophy behind the latest activities. What are these
changes and challenges?

On the one hand, we have all been eyewitnesses to the collapse of communism
and the inclusion of new countries in the sphere of European democratic values,
of the intensification of economic and political contacts and the disappearance
of borders, as well as the development of globalisation.

On the other hand, during recent years, we have clearly seen an increasing
number of national and ethnic conflicts, an escalation in violence at all levels,
including in secondary schools and family life; a rise in military conflicts and,
finally, we have come face to face with one of the most threatening
phenomenon of all - terrorism.

It is clear that the activities of the Council of Europe in all areas, including
education, and in particular, history teaching, should respond to this new
situation. The practical question is how? What are the mechanisms through
which the Council of Europe could act?

To answer this question from the perspective of history teaching, I would like to
discuss this at two levels: legal and pedagogical.

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Legal level: During recent years, the Council of Europe has adopted two
Recommendations on history teaching which reflect the changes as well as the
specific role which history teaching should play in the educational system. The
first Recommendation on history teaching was adopted in 1996 by the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. The main focus of this
document is that:

history teaching should be free of political and ideological influences;

politicians have their own interpretation of history and history should not
be used as an instrument for political manipulation;

history is one of several ways of gaining knowledge of one’s national

identity. It is also a gateway to the experiences and richness of the past of
other cultures.

This Recommendation reflected the changes in the late 1990s when many
European countries were going through a period of transition. After the fall of
the Berlin Wall, the notion of Europe changed, as it marked the starting point for
the creation of a so-called Greater Europe. At that time, it became clear that all
the countries constituting Europe are different even though they share common
democratic values. Therefore, it became paramount to make people understand
that diversity is not a danger, but an enriching factor. The new Recommendation
on history teaching in twenty-first-century Europe, adopted by the Committee of
Ministers in 2001, thus highlight the necessity to:

understand our differences;

realise the value of diversity;

respect others;

develop intercultural dialogue;

build relations on the basis of mutual understanding and tolerance.

This document not only determines the main guidelines but also proposes
answers to such questions as:

Why should we teach history in present-day schools?

How should we teach it so as to achieve the aims indicated above?

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As regards the first question, the Recommendation points out that the main aims
of teaching history are to:

understand the present-day situation and help young people find their
place in the changing world;

help the young generation to develop such skills as critical thinking,

open-mindedness, ability to express one’s point of view and respect for
other perspectives;

develop a respect of all kinds of differences;

play a vital role in the promotion of fundamental values such as

tolerance, mutual understanding and trust between peoples;

create responsible and active citizens by developing their ability for

independent and critical thinking, open-mindedness and resistance to all
kinds of political and ideological manipulation.

How to teach history?

In answer to this question, the Recommendation draws attention to the fact that
history teaching in the new millennium should:

unite people rather then divide them;

reflect the historical picture in its full complexity, but without creating
images of an enemy;

maintain a balance when presenting political, social, economic, cultural

and everyday life history;

maintain a balance in teaching national and world history;

present facts in their full complexity, including controversial and

sensitive issues;

use multiperspectivity and present different points of view;

eliminate prejudices and stereotypes;

encourage pupils to work with historical sources, including archives and

museums visits;

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 use innovative methods based on dialogue;

develop creativity and a positive attitude towards reality.

Pedagogical level

The new challenges– such as the creation of a Greater Europe without dividing
lines – provided a new impetus for the activities of the Council of Europe and
history education took on an even greater importance due to a renewed interest
of the new member States in their national histories. Regional cooperation on
history teaching became one of the priorities of the Council of Europe as it gives
a rare opportunity to:

work in teams at an international level;

develop cooperation on an equal footing;

know more about neighbours using a multiperspectivity approach;

express one’s point of view while also listening to differing ones;

share good practices and examples in different areas;

analyse existing problems from different perspectives in their full

complexity;

understand general trends which are typical of a region as well as

national peculiarities;

identify similar problems and try to find a solution by common action;

find ways to reach a compromise in areas where consensus cannot be

found;

help prevent conflicts.

Regional co-operation in history teching

This interest in regional co-operation was reflected in the documents of the

Council of Europe and confirmed at the highest political level at the Second
Summit of Heads of State and Government in Strasbourg in 1997 where the
importance of regional co-operation in strengthening stability and security in
Europe was highlighted.

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It is important to stress that, at almost the same time, different countries initiated
the development of two long-term regional projects on history teaching under
the auspices of the Council of Europe: the Black Sea Initiative on History and
the Tbilisi Initiative.

The Black Sea Initiative on History was initiated by the Romanian Authorities
in 1999 and involved seven countries, all bordering the Black Sea: Bulgaria,
Georgia, Moldova, Romania, the Russian Federation, Turkey and Ukraine. One
of its aims was the preparation of a teaching pack on the history of this region.
The Black Sea teaching pack represents supplementary teaching materials for
secondary schools and will provide teachers and pupils with more information
about the history of the neighbouring countries as well as about the Black Sea
region itself.

The Tbilisi Initiative project is connected with the preparation of a textbook on

the History of the Caucasian Region for secondary schools and could be used as
a supplementary source in teaching history in the countries participating in the
Project. The proposal was put forward by the Georgian Authorities at the first
Regional Seminar organised by the Council of Europe in the Caucasian Region
on “The reform of history teaching in secondary schools” (Tbilisi, September
1997).

This proposal was strongly supported by the Ministers of Education of

Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and the Russian Federation and its importance
was stressed once more in the Declaration adopted at the Regional Conference
of Ministers of Education of the Caucasian countries (Tbilisi, 28-29 March
2000).

The textbook should develop a new approach to the teaching of history in the
Caucasian Region. It should reflect the national diversity of the Region and
emphasise, at the same time, the common roots and common heritage of this area.
Through the balance in presentation of political, economic, and cultural history,
the history textbook should promote a positive image of neighbouring countries
among young people of the Region.

The Black Sea Teaching Pack was published by the Norwegian publishing house
Gyldendal in 2004 and the Caucasian textbook will be published in 2005.

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In conclusion, I would like to emphasise once more the importance of regional
cooperation. Not knowing who one’s neighbours are is dangerous, in particular,
because this lack of information can too easily be replaced by incorrect and
biased information. Though the history of neighbours can often be disturbing, it
is impossible not to talk about it. The goals of the Council of Europe’s regional
initiatives are thus to:

teach history in such a way as to bring people together;

help pupils understand diversity.

Such initiatives are long-term processes that plant the necessary seeds through
the creation of textbooks and supplementary teaching materials.

Expectations of the countries involved in regional co-operation in history

teaching

The main reasons why many countries almost simultaneously expressed their
interest in regional co-operation were:

a lack of information on the history of neighbouring countries in

curricula for secondary and upper-secondary schools;

the fact that an image of ‘others’, in particular, neighbours, was mainly

presented in ‘dark’ colours through such political topics as wars, military
conflicts, revolutions, etc.

a lack of information on new interactive methods in teaching history.

Philosophy of long-term regional projects

These projects were not only aimed at the preparation of the supplementary
teaching materials. It was a long-term process which included the organisation
of seminars, conferences, and meetings of experts, Ministerial conferences on
the preparation of new textbooks and teaching materials, curricula and teacher
training issues. This provided an opportunity:

to combine the efforts of Ministry officials responsible for history

education, academics, curricula specialists, teacher trainers, publishers
and history teachers;
to agree that present-day history teaching should be aimed at
strengthening reconciliation and tolerance, rather than creating dividing
lines;

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 to reach the conclusion that history teaching should be based on mutual
respect and not used to create an image of the enemy, in particular when
teaching about neighbours;

to agree that present-day history teaching should be taught in its full

complexity, including controversial and sensitive issues, on the basis of
multiperspectivity;

to agree that history teaching in the 21st Century should help the young
generation to become active citizens; it should, therefore, be aimed at the
development of such skills as critical thinking, open-mindedness, the
ability to reach independent conclusions rather than simply obtaining a
certain amount of knowledge;

to learn more about mechanisms of regional co-operation developed

within the Council of Europe based on respect and equal footing for all
countries involved, as well as on the principle of transparency in
teamwork.

Innovative features of the teaching materials prepared within the projects

The Teaching Pack on the history of the Black Sea and the textbook on the
history of the Caucasus both developed new approaches in teaching history
based on:

a balance between political, economic, social and cultural history;

innovative methods in the presentation of controversial and sensitive

issues;

the use of interactive methods in teaching history.

The experiences gained during the Project could be used in their future work
by:

curricula specialists;

textbook authors;

teacher trainers;

history teachers.

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One of the aims of these projects was not only to prepare and publish teaching
materials but also to encourage the process of changing attitudes through
education on the basis of democratic values.

During the whole period of the development of these projects, the Council of
Europe was also fulfilling its commitments in providing:

continuity in the work;

equal footing for all participants involved;

full transparency in co-operation;

a wide forum for discussion on the basis of multiperspectivity;

basis for confidence and trust.

Based on the Recommendation and the results of the activities, the Council of
Europe asked Dr Robert Stradling from the United Kingdom to prepare a Guide
for teachers on the use of Multiperspectivity. One of the main aims of this
publication was to look at how the ideas of the recommendations could be
implemented in pedagogical practice using examples of the history of the 20th
Century. It was published in 2003 and translated into 16 languages.

The successful implementation of the activities within regional co-operation

showed that education could play an important role in the reconciliation process.
Political difficulties which still exist in the relations between countries did not
prevent educators of all levels from joining their efforts and working together to
realise their responsibility towards the young generation. The Council of Europe
gathered these experiences and is now ready to share them with all partners
who may be interested in teaching history without dividing lines so as to achieve
mutual understanding, tolerance and peace.

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 Teaching methods in history school education in Cyprus:
present-day situation and future developments
Ms Chara MAKRIYIANNI
Educator
President of The Association
for Historical Dialogue and Research

Introduction

What a broad and challenging topic! Broad, because I have to give an overview
of the teaching methods currently practised in history education in Cyprus, with
reference to the different perspectives of various actors; and provide sustainable
recommendations for possible future developments! Challenging, because I
must, in less than 25 minutes, present this to you, an audience of well-informed
educators, theorists and practitioners, who, I am sure, are not only familiar with
what I will be saying, but most probably have already devised unique,
imaginative and creative methods to develop children’s historical thinking in
your classrooms.

Thus, in order to make things a bit easier for me, I would like to narrow down
my topic and focus on history education in the Greek Cypriot primary and
secondary state schools of Cyprus. I will draw on my own experience as a
teacher and President of the Association for Historical Dialogue and Research as
well as on the very few relevant pieces of research that have been conducted in
Cyprus. My presentation is also based on information gathered from written
interviews and questionnaires with educators from all levels and on the analysis
of educational publications.

Moreover, in order to give as full a description as possible of the many different

perspectives of the current situation, I will firstly deal with “the teaching
methods in Greek-Cypriot state schools” as a phenomenon which is, part of a
complicated and contested educational practice, through these four levels of
analysis:

the intra-personal level: e.g. a teacher, a student;

the inter-personal level: e.g. teacher-student;

positional level: differences that exist in the social position and influence
of the particular actor prior to the interactions with other actors, e.g.
inspectors;

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 the representational level: system of beliefs, social representations, values
and norms, which validate and maintain social order.

Interactive relations

For some, history teaching and learning are confined to the classroom, where
history is communicated to a student via a mediator: the teacher. This
interaction, however, is a triangular relationship. The following diagram, which
illustrates this triangular relationship, will help me to illustrate the multifaceted
nature of the subject of history at other levels too.

History
(aims of education, curriculum,
teaching media and tools, methods)

Student Teacher

During this interaction a teacher sets constraints on a student (use of particular

genre in written and oral tasks, behaviour, grades, tests), but the student also sets
constraints on teachers like, for example, taking into consideration the child’s
cognitive and developmental constraints. Likewise, educational aims, history
curriculum, teaching media and tools, and methods set constraints on both a
teacher and student. Constraints, however, do not determine the learning
process and outcome, since students and teachers (and other mediating actors)
have, as we will see, relative autonomy. Yet, teachers and students are not alone
in the history teaching and learning process, nor is this process confined to the
four walls of a classroom. There are also many other actors that play an equally
important role in the ‘Whos’, ‘Whats’, ‘Hows’ and ‘Whys’ of history lessons in
Cyprus. Against a backdrop of shared understandings, practices, language and
representations, each and every one of these actors interacts from a different
stand-point with the other, regarding a particular object: in our case, History
Education. Let us see some examples of this networking of interactions:

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 Teachers’ Trade In-service Family
Unions Teacher Trainer

Teacher Student Media

Inspectors
History Council of
(Aims, Tools, Europe
Methods)

Academics Policy-makers

Council of Europe – History – Policy-Makers

Focusing on the particular interactive relationship between policy makers, the

Council of Europe and History Teaching, it is worthwhile mentioning that the
Committee of Ministers (of which Cyprus is a member) approved, on
31 October 2001, the “Recommendation Rec (2001)15 of the Committee of
Ministers to member states on history teaching in twenty-first century Europe”.
The Recommendation includes specific proposals regarding the learning and
teaching of history, and also suggestions on how to avoid the misuse of history,
such as for example concentrating on a particular event whilst omitting others.
It is expected that policy-makers will follow these recommendations and put
them into practice.

Policy-Makers – History – Academics

Let us now concentrate on another particular triangular relationship: between

academics and policy makers in relation to the history teaching. Currently in
Cyprus, there is an underlying tension and debate for the proposed Educational
Reform of the Republic of Cyprus. The reason for this being? The very recent
Educational Reform Report, which has been prepared by a group of academics
at the request of the Government of the Republic of Cyprus. In various
discussion panels and articles in the press regarding the Educational Reform
Report, two main lines of argument have emerged.

On the one hand, there is the Educational Reform Committee, and those who
support it, who argue for an ideological re-orientation and restructuring of the
aims of the Cypriot education, maintaining that the general orientation and
ideology in Cypriot education remains to a large extent Greek-ethno-centric and
traditionally focused on information. The Committee suggests, among other

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things, that narrow ethnocentric, mono-cultural elements should be removed
from education, that a European dimension and the principles of ‘inclusive
democracy’, which will also embrace the Turkish Cypriot community, should be
incorporated. There are also suggestions to restructure and modernise school
pedagogy and educational context (school knowledge, national curricula,
teaching and learning process); textbooks should be reviewed from an
intercultural education point of view. Regarding history textbooks in particular,
the Education Reform Committee proposes that they be revised by an impartial,
joint committee of Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot academics.

On the other hand, there are those who argue that the political orientation and
aims of every educational system are intertwined with its particular state of
potential relations, both interior and exterior. Thus, no educational reform
should be put forward in Cyprus, particularly regarding history teaching,
without taking into consideration the current situation and not before a solution
for all Cypriots is found; one that will guarantee restoration of human rights and
safety issues, such as the withdrawal of Turkish troops and the issue of settlers.

Teachers – History – Students

Coming back to the triangular relationship of teachers – students – history, we

will now concentrate on the current educational aims, which, along with the
teaching means and methods, set constraints both on teacher and students:

The general aim of Cypriot Education is the spiritual, emotional

and psychokinetic development of students, according to the
principles of the Orthodox Christian Religion and the Greek
Tradition, the right guidance of citizens towards the virtues of
freedom, democracy and justice, the strengthening of national
identity and fighting moral struggle, and the preparation for all
aspects and roles of life. (Primary Education National Curricula,
1994).

Regarding history in particular, the national curriculum for primary education

states:

The aim of the subject of history is to help students to become

familiar and appreciate the historical life and cultural heritage of
Cyprus and Greece and construct a national consciousness as
members of the Greek nation and as citizens of a semi-occupied
Cyprus. (Primary Education National Curricula, 1994).

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The national history curriculum for Secondary Education (in press) states:

The subject of History is mainly a humanitarian subject and its

general aim, that is the construction of a historical consciousness
and the development of historical thinking, is in absolute harmony
with the wider aim of Cypriot education that refers to the
preparation of fulfilled/whole and active citizens. (Secondary
Education National Curricula, 2004).

These aims are broken down to more specific objectives and activities. Who
will strive to meet these aims? The Greek-Cypriot educators. Educators, who
are now active European citizens, yet continue to live on a divided island with
the unresolved Cyprus Problem which creates insecurities and concerns for the
future. Within this context, in order to successfully implement these aims,
teachers are free to use a variety of primary sources, but secondary sources are
laid down. Allow me to remind you that in both primary and secondary
education, the single-textbook policy applies; that is, teachers have to use the
specific history textbooks prepared and approved by the Ministry of Education
and Culture of Cyprus. The history textbooks, which follow a spiral content
structure, are prepared and published in Greece by OEDB (Organisation of
Greek Didactic Books, Ministry of Education), and also in Cyprus by the
Department for Developing Programmes, Ministry of Education and Culture.

Generally speaking, the Ministry’s guidelines emphasise that in order to have

the most productive and successful implementation of the aims and objectives of
history education, it is vital that the teacher adopts active, cooperative learning
methods such as: inquiry-based methods, problem-solving, taking decisions on
moral dilemmas, dramas and role plays, debates, as well as the use of various
modern teaching tools such as videotapes, educational CD-Roms, etc. It is
worth mentioning that, through information technology, there are online
databases with lesson plans and materials for inquiry-based approaches for
primary school. Secondary education has concentrated more on the production
of CDs on the History of Cyprus with encyclopaedic information, activities and
visual material on archaeology.

Guidelines in both primary and the secondary history curriculum recommend

that, during his/her lesson, a teacher should make good use of school history
textbooks and other books, maps and modern visual aids. Lessons need to be
organised in a pragmatic way so that a student is given an opportunity to
analyse, judge, compare, become aware, discuss and try to find solutions to
problems, to promote creative thinking and develop particular skills and
abilities. Diathematic and diachronic approach of topics is encouraged whenever
the teacher thinks appropriate, as well as visits to museums and archaeological
or historical sites, once the teacher feels the pupils are adequately prepared.

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The Ministry of Education and Culture has done a great deal of work on visits to
archaeological and historical museums and sites. For Secondary Education there
is a series of six educational booklets that can be photocopied by teachers and
used for work on site. There are also museum packs
that can be borrowed and used at school. For Primary
Education there are museum educational programmes
conducted and organised by teachers on secondment, in
Archaeological and Social History Museums and Art
Galleries in Larnaka and Non-Occupied Famagusta,
Limassol, Paphos and Nicosia. It should also be noted
that the participation in educational programmes
organised by semi- or non-governmental organisations
with museum collections, is also encouraged.

The realities of everyday school life

The existence of such a variety of methods, teaching means and tools is very
encouraging. However, there is often a gap between the theory and the practice
of everyday school life. This gap is due to the following constraints, which we
must acknowledge, in order to overcome them in the future:

a lack of research regarding history and history teaching in Cyprus;

a highly centralised and bureaucratic educational system.

In the Greek-Cypriot educational system, which is both highly centralised and

bureaucratic, policy makers place rigid constraints (via the National Curriculum
and Circular Letters) on Directors of Education, who in turn place constraints on
inspectors, and they then place constraints on head teachers and, finally,
numerous demands and duties are placed on teachers.

quantity of the subject-matter.

The quantity of the subject-matter, as determined in the syllabus, is the basic

cause for stress and various other problems in secondary and, to a lesser extent,
primary school teachers and, of course, secondary school students who have to
pass their history exams. The stress and tension reaches its peak in the third
year of Lyceum, where the test-based system centres on knowledge and,
therefore, creates an imbalance between knowledge and skills. It should be
noted that, despite the fact that the history curriculum allocates roughly 20% to
the teaching of the history of Cyprus, many educators fail to teach even the most
recent events because there is never enough time. Teaching methods and
approaches which promote dialogue, enquiry, multiperspectivity are either

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avoided, seldom used or inconsistent. We often hear: ‘how much can you teach
in 40 minutes especially if you are not the regular teacher of the class? By the
time pupils enter, sit down, open their books, and can finally begin to
concentrate, time is up’.

A lack of pedagogical training of history teachers.

Teachers are usually neither familiar with, nor trained to, teach history using
new technologies or the most updated methods and approaches. As a result,
there is no confidence, and instead a justified resistance, feelings of insecurity
and even prejudice against the use of such methods in history teaching.

And, finally, something that I consider as the biggest problem, something that is
directly related to teachers such as:

fear, dilemmas, insecurities, lack of trust in the ‘Others’.

This concerns the fear of any opening which would allow the voice of the
Others to be heard, which could give a forum to other histories, like the histories
of the religious minorities or other ethnic groups, and which might damage
morale and the national identity of young people.

In my opinion, the problem with history education in Greek-Cypriot schools has

as much to do with the teaching methods as with our more general approach to
history and our interpretations of history. We have to acknowledge and accept
that:

a history lesson is a place where you learn to tolerate uncertainty;

history is contentious; there is not just one history, but many and often
conflicting accounts;

as Christine Counsell said in her address to the Association for Historical

Dialogue and Research at the February 2004 seminar: ‘When we learn
history we encounter all the time. We encounter the other, we encounter
otherness. We encounter the strange (and we discover it is surprisingly
familiar). And we encounter the familiar (and discover how it is
strange).’

It might indeed be the case that the Republic of Cyprus’ highly centralised
system of education reproduces certain rigid constraints on the subject of
history. These, in conjunction with the Cyprus problem being still unsolved,
create many more dilemmas, tensions and complications. Yet, we are all here
today. Why? Because we want to learn more about how to become better

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history teachers, because we want to overcome our fears and dilemmas, because
we really want our children, our pupils, to learn to think critically and
historically through dialogue, as equals.

It is time to end the ‘trend’ which places a teacher at the centre of every negative
criticism regarding history education in Cyprus. I believe that after a series of
successful events organised by our Association and with a lot of effort, personal
sacrifice, steadfastness and confidence in our cause, I can say with certainty
today that: with your help and that of our members, in cooperation with various
educational authorities and institutions in Cyprus and Europe, such as Euroclio,
and with the continuous support of the Ministry of Education and Culture and
the Council of Europe, we can and we will play a vital role in the improvement
of the quality of history teaching in our island.

Via constructive dialogue and well-planned research of the Cyprus situation,

with productive cooperation between history teachers who love history and
those with a special interest in the teaching and learning of history, beyond
linguistic, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and through well-organised and
consistent teacher-training courses, we can pave the way for more creative,
responsible and democratic European citizens.

I would like to end my presentation with some questions which can place some
constraints on but, at the same time, raise some issues for discussion:

what do we want to teach?

do we want our pupils to conform to a particular perspective OR to come

to grips with multiperspectivity ?

do we want our pupils to memorise ‘significant’ historical events OR to

evaluate historical significance?

do we want a monological OR a dialogical approach to teaching the

history of Cyprus?

do we want to promote tolerance, justice, peace, and human rights?

Thank you.

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 References
Ministry of Education and Culture of Cyprus (1996). Αναλυτικά Προγράµµατα
Δηµοτικής Εκπαίδευσης [Primary Education Curricula]. Λευκωσία: Υπουργείο
Παιδείας και Πολιτισµού, Υπηρεσία Aνάπτυξης Προγραµµάτων.

Ministry of Education and Culture of Cyprus (1996). Αναλυτικά Προγράµµατα

Μέσης Εκπαίδευσης για την Ιστορία Ενιαίου Λυκείου [Secondary Education
Curricula for History of United Lyceum]. Λευκωσία: Υπουργείο Παιδείας και
Πολιτισµού, Υπηρεσία Aνάπτυξης Προγραµµάτων.

Doise, W. (1986) Levels of Explanation in Social Psychology. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press

Committee of Educational Reform (2004) Δηµοκρατική και Ανθρώπινη Παιδεία

στην Ευρωκυπριακή Πολιτεία: Προοπτικές Ανασυγκρότησης και
Εκσυγχρονισ ού. [Democratic and Human Education in the Euro-Cypriot
Polity: perspectives of Re-organisation and Modernisation]. Υπουργείο
Παιδείας Και Πολιτισµού, Κυπριακή Δηµοκρατία.

Council of Europe, the Committee of Ministers Recommendation (2001) 15 on

teaching history in twenty-first-century Europe.

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 History textbooks and teaching material for school
education: present-day situation and future developments

Mr Güven ULUDAĞ
History textbook Author and History Teacher

I would like to welcome you on behalf of the Cyprus Turkish Secondary

Education Teachers’ Union (KTOEÖS) and I hope you will all gain from the
first part of this seminar entitled “History textbooks and teaching materials: their
use in a classroom”, which was organised with the help of the Council of
Europe.

Teachers are the pioneers of communal development. Everyone who supports

these pioneers should be appreciated. Therefore, I would like to thank the
representatives of the Council of Europe, the Association for Historical
Dialogue and Research as well as the Cyprus Turkish Secondary Education
Teachers’ Union (K.T.O.E.Ö.S) which organised this seminar.

I am one of the teachers who contributed to the project for the reformation of
Cyprus history textbooks and for the re-conceptualisation of history lessons. I
will now explain the positive and negative effects and, most importantly, the
philosophy of this project.

As we all know, the history textbooks we use in our schools come from the
Ministry of Education in Turkey. Teaching history in the National Turkish
educational system is based on teaching national history. Therefore, history
textbooks are based on national history. In these books, world history is either
not mentioned or occasionally referred to when it is linked to Turkish history.
Since we use these books from Turkey, teaching history in our schools has been
greatly affected by teaching national history. In addition, during our university
education as teachers, we were taught to teach within the framework of the
national history syllabus. Consequently, it seems difficult to integrate the
current syllabus into one that includes, for example, content on environment,
culture and history of states independently, as we were not educated in that
respect and the content mentioned earlier is absent from the current syllabus.

Although we also used some textbooks that were written in Cyprus, they were
not extremely different from those produced in Turkey. Like in Turkey,
teaching Cypriot history was based on teaching national history. For example,
in spite of the fact that the textbook was entitled ‘Cyprus History’, the
certificates (school-record) given to pupils at the end of each semester refer to
the subject as the ‘History of Turkish Cypriot National Struggle’.

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Before I will move to the new history textbooks that have recently been
produced, I would like to indicate that these new textbooks are not perfect,
complete textbooks, but that they must be viewed as a preparatory step for
future projects. This project is a beginning to change approaches to history
teaching, not to change history. In addition, it is important that this project is
developed and that new adjustments are made in the future. I am sure that our
colleagues, who will be involved in such projects in the future, will turn this
project into a larger and more scientific one.

When we started this project, we firstly dealt with the current syllabus. The
authors’ committee held meetings to determine the topics to be included in the
syllabus, as well as to discuss how and why they would be taught. One of the
outcomes of these meetings was our decision to integrate social, economic and
cultural history besides political and diplomatic history into our textbooks.

During the process of determining these topics, we investigated our pupils’

views on them and got some really interesting answers. For example, we asked:
‘Do you think you gain enough from your Cyprus history textbooks?’.
Interestingly enough, all students replied: ‘we do not like that textbook’. In
addition, it was interesting to find out that not even one student could say
something about the history of a local football team when we asked: ‘What do
you know about the history of your favourite team?’. Students replied about
teams in Turkey instead. Moreover, when the students were asked to write
whether there were any remnants from the Cyprus Railway in their area, most of
them answered by asking: ‘Was there ever a railway in Cyprus?’. All these
answers helped us to select the topics and also indicated that we were on the
right track.

When we first started, our main aim was not to change history but to change
general approaches to history teaching. We also aimed to transform students
from passive into independent, active learners who could find the necessary
information by themselves and actively participate in lessons. We decided to
embellish the textbooks with photographs, drawings and cartoons to help pupils
realise that the information they found themselves would be more substantial.

The new textbooks were not written in the way that the traditional ones were.
For example, there used to be only one textbook for three years of secondary
school which contained about 50 photos and maps, as opposed to the three new
ones, each of which contains about 20 maps, 70 photos and 45 drawings. Apart
from these visual materials, the new textbooks include documents, summaries of
agreements and eyewitnesses accounts. As a result, while pupils are learning
history, they also realise that their relatives, families and ordinary people have
been involved in recent history. They also understand that history is not a
process created only by distinguished people, but also by ordinary people such

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as those mentioned above. This approach will increase pupils’ motivation to
conduct research and learn more.

While we were putting the topics in chronological order, we realised that the
most difficult periods were in the youngest pupils’ textbook. However, this was
a difficulty we could do nothing about. Also, we did not have the opportunity to
access scientific support in order to reorganise the chronological order of events
or to explore the positive and negative effects of teaching recent history topics
to the youngest pupils. I believe that we can get sufficient support here today.
Since I have mentioned support, I would like to bring up another issue. For
example, in the new textbooks there is a dialogue between two people in the
Turkish Cypriot dialect; this has been criticised by experts who are interested in
history from a scientific point of view. In addition to what was mentioned
earlier, I hope that we will also discuss today whether or not it is appropriate to
use such dialogues as teaching materials.

Another problem we faced while writing the textbooks was the ‘ugly’ events,
which involved neighbouring countries. It was important to know how to reflect
these in the textbooks, as our community remains sensitive about them. It was
inevitable to cause some inconvenience to some people, even if we had
presented the events from their point of view. Therefore, we observed this
inconvenience being expressed soon after the textbooks had been published.

Anger towards our work was spelt out frankly. All authors have faced the
criticisms that arise in places where history textbooks are reformed and we still
do. However, I would like to mention that there were more positive comments
than negative ones. The most important opinions were those of the pupils and I
can proudly say that they really appreciated the new textbooks.

If I were asked whether we have been objective while writing the textbooks, I
can simply say that as long as the two communities on this island do not agree
on taking steps to confront the past, writing objective history books is
impossible. However, I believe that, looking at the past of our country, this first
step taken by Turkish Cypriots deserves respect, as it is very important. It also
shows that the objective values of the community have increased dramatically.

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I cannot evaluate the financial expenses of our textbooks, as I have no idea
about the average expenses of such work elsewhere in the world. I assume that
the cost of each book is about 5 euros. It is very important for me to say that our
authorities never interfered while we were writing the books, although it was
official history. They only put a written document on our study table reminding
us of the expected general aims of history lessons. Some of the general aims
were as follows:

To help the pupils to:

become aware of the place of Cyprus in world history,

and the role and importance of Cyprus in the
development of civilisation;

develop love for their country, nation, humanity and

community;

become aware of basic values such as international

peace, human rights and democracy;

become aware of historical relations to local, regional,

national and international levels;

grow into active and responsive citizens who can think

and judge independently.

To be honest, I am not sure if we were able to achieve these aims in the new
textbooks. On the other hand, I have doubts as to whether these aims are easy to
achieve altogether.

We all know that the content taught during history lessons is completely or
partially forgotten after a short period of time. We also know that people can
gain any information they require very easily. Therefore, I cannot stop thinking
that perhaps we would be more successful if we started off with aims which
refer to the general idea of the historical period taught and to various factors
which affect students’ own lives, rather than aims that cannot be reached.

Another problem was that when we were interviewing people about the recent
history, some people did not want to talk about sensitive events. Also, some
people did not want these events to be discussed at all; they believed that they
should be kept secret.

Cypriots experienced pain and happiness together until the 50s. The generations
who lived between 1950-1970 fought against each other. The generations who

-36-
lived between 1970-1990, however, have grown up without knowing anything
about each other and are drifting apart day by day. The generations of the new
millennium want something different. They believe that conflicts can be
resolved through mutual dialogue instead of battle. They would like to learn
about each other and they really need this. We, as history teachers, can
undertake constructive tasks in order to help the new generation fulfil their
demands. We should not forget that we owe this to our country.

Finally, I would like to thank everyone who participated and contributed to this
project.

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 The use of multiperspectivity when teaching history in
secondary and upper secondary schools: an example of
the United Kingdom
Ms Sue Bennett
Educational Consultant
United Kingdom

It is a great pleasure and honour to be here. My background is that of a history

teacher. I have taught history in secondary schools, developed materials to
support history teachers and worked on the development and implementation of
the English national curriculum for history. Now I partly work for an
organisation called the Specialist Schools Trust and also as a freelance
consultant. I have worked for ten years as a consultant in many of the ex-Soviet
block states in Central and Eastern Europe both for the Council of Europe and
for EUROCLIO.

I have been asked to talk about what we in the United Kingdom have learnt
about multiperspectivity. As you may know, the United Kingdom is not that
united. To meet the new decentralisation of government and the different
cultural and historical traditions, the component parts of the kingdom have
history curricula that suit their own needs and challenges. There is a broad
similarity in the aims and purposes of the different curricula and a consensus
about the skills that pupils need to acquire. However, each country lists different
content through which the skills should be developed. For a variety of reasons, I
want to draw on experiences in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

I want to start in Northern Ireland. If you travel to parts of Belfast, the capital of
Northern Ireland, you will see images painted on the end walls of houses -
images of heroes and scenes from Irish history: heraldic shields, mottoes,
symbols and scenes from recent history. These images show how history is
alive in that community and is not just a dead past, safely locked away in
documents and museums. It is alive and on the walls and influences both
present and future. Its tentacles reach out, wrapping whole communities in its
power, and it is the power not just of the intellect, but also the power of the
emotion.

What do these images do? Well, they represent a form of the past – not
necessarily what happened but how people today see and use the past. This is
because Northern Ireland is still a country divided by religious lines between
Catholic and Protestant and their religious affiliation affects where many people
live and where their children go to school. (Most of the education is segregated
by religious lines but pupils are also divided by gender – there are boys’ and
girls’ schools and at the moment children are segregated by ability).

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I want to tell you about some of the images. One image on a wall in a Catholic
area shows Ireland as a chained hand, clasping a lily, the symbol of Ireland.
Around the edges are symbols of parts of Ireland, including the red hand of
Ulster. At the top is a picture of the Post Office in Dublin burnt during the
‘Easter rising’ by Republicans in 1916 in their struggle to be independent from
England. Rising from the flames is a phoenix, the mythical bird reborn from the
ashes. I leave the interpretation to you.

A wall in a Protestant area shows William of Orange, the great hero of the
Protestant community. William deposed James II, the Catholic king of England,
in1685. James II, with a largely French army, invaded Ireland and was defeated
at the Battle of the Boyne on 11 July 1690. (Interestingly, William was in
alliance with the Pope in Rome.) The Protestant Orange Order still marches on
11 July to celebrate this victory. Another Protestant image shows the massacre
of Protestants by Catholics in 1641.

The final image is more recent. It is from a Catholic area and refers to the
Hunger Strikers who protested in the early 1980s against their imprisonment as
ordinary, rather than political prisoners. The striker is depicted as if he was
being crucified on an ‘H’ that represents the H-shaped prison block. The pose
resonates with traditional images of the crucifixion of Christ. You can, no
doubt, decode how this image is pulling at the emotions.

Young people who grow up in these communities see this kind of history on the
walls around them and they absorb it from their families and communities.
What kind of history is it? Well, I am sure that you can perceive what it is. It is
a history that appeals to the emotions and uses myths deeply embedded in the
human psyche. This is a past based on stereotyping the ‘other’ and centred on
creating myths of identity – myths that perpetuate divisions rather than healing
them and building towards a positive and tolerant future. History teachers in
Northern Ireland have tried to tackle some of these issues and made some
progress, but I have to say that recent research suggests that some young people
now have two histories: the history they are taught in school and the history
absorbed through their families and communities.

The past does not have such a powerful presence in the rest of the United
Kingdom but it does influence young people. Films such as ‘Braveheart’, which
portrays William Wallace, a Scot, in a heroic struggle against the English,
influence young people’s vision of the past and their concept of identity. It is
left to the teacher to help pupils analyse how the film mixes historical fact and
imagination to achieve its effect.

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In England the curriculum probably has an over emphasis on the Second World
War (largely driven by pupils’ interest in the topic.) Recently the German
Ambassador to the United Kingdom complained to the Qualifications and
Curriculum Authority of England (the organisation that is responsible for the
national curriculum) that this was creating a negative image of Germany
because pupils knew very little about post-war Germany.

We also face the challenge in the United Kingdom of making history relevant to
the needs of young people who live in an ethnically diverse country. We need,
therefore, to teach something about the history and cultures of the communities
from which those people came to Britain and about the long history of black
peoples’ contribution to Britain. We need to do this in ways that create positive
images. This requires great sensitivity as our choices may have unintended
outcomes, as in the case of the teaching of Hitler’s Germany. Teachers wanted
to help pupils understand how and why Hitler came to power in order to prevent
a similar dictatorship emerging in Europe. The outcome of this emphasis was
the unintended outcome of negative stereotyping of Germans.

As teachers, we can choose to teach history in ways that will help to create
societies that are based on tolerance and mutual respect, or we can decide
consciously or unconsciously to continue the cycle of hatred and intolerance. In
some countries, the media, the curricula and textbooks all help to lock people
into a cycle of pride or pain. In these places history is taught to reinforce ‘our
greatest moments’ and/or how ‘we suffered the most’. This is not to say that we
should not help our young people understand their traditions and feel a
commitment to their countries, only that if they are to live in harmonious
communities it matters very much how and what we teach them about their
histories.

So there are barriers that we have to overcome. They include the fact that:

the emotional can block out the rational;

myths of national identity are difficult to dislodge even if we prove they

are not based on evidence;

the history learnt in the home is stronger than the history taught in
school;

symbolic events and people are very dominant and can be used to
reinforce stereotypes.

So, how has multiperspectivity helped us in the United Kingdom? I have to say
that the term ‘multiperspectivity’ is not commonly used in the United Kingdom,

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although the curricula and teaching methods aim towards it. I should also say
that I want to talk about approaches we find helpful, but I do not want to suggest
that we have got it right, only to offer ideas.

Robert Stradling, who has written an excellent booklet for the Council of
Europe on the subject, defines multiperspectivity as:

‘A way of viewing and a predisposition to view, historical events,

personalities, developments, cultures and societies through drawing on
procedures and processes which are fundamental to history as a
discipline.’

But Robert Stradling thinks using multiperspectivity means more than just using
the procedures and processes of history. He thinks that we must consciously
look at the past from different perspectives. This means trying to understand the
standpoints of the producers of the source materials, the perspectives of those
involved in events and those who interpreted them at the time as well as those
who wrote about them later.

How is this approach realised in United Kingdom? The curricula of the United
Kingdom require or advise teachers to teach about the diversity of the past by
looking at the lives of different groups in society, for example the lives of men
and women. Teachers in England are required to teach about the social,
cultural, religious and ethnic diversity of societies both in Britain and the wider
world and to teach history from a variety of perspectives, including political,
religious, social, cultural, aesthetic, economic, technological and scientific. All
of the curricula require or advise teachers to use a range of source materials and
to help their pupils realise that there is more than one interpretation of the past.

These requirements mean that teachers need time to tackle some issues in depth.
If they have to teach too much content, they will not have enough time to help
pupils engage with the more complex issues and to develop skills of analysis.
This is one reason why all four curricula in the United Kingdom do not
prescribe content in detail and leave teachers free to choose what to teach in
relation to broad guidelines.

Teachers, thus, have time to tackle the complexity of history. What does this
mean? Well, let me give you an example. This is an extract from an essay by
Dan:

‘The story of medieval towns is the story people becoming free. Or is

it? In this essay I will explain why some people wanted to be free but I
will also explain why it is not so simple. We might think that being
‘free’ was a good thing. But medieval people meant special things by

-42-
 being free – and it did not mean that you were really free. Besides
there were lots of other things to worry about. A town could help you
become a ‘freeman’ but no one could do exactly as they liked. Towns
were full of strange rules and they kept some people freer than
others.’2

Dan was a low ability twelve year old studying medieval towns. His teacher
Christine Counsell, who some of you may have heard speak last year, designed
an investigative question to structure pupils’ learning – ‘Did towns make people
free?’. What she wanted to do was to help her pupils see that the word ‘free’
was complex and slippery and that it meant something different in medieval
England to what it means today. So she constructed a learning journey that
enabled her pupils to find out about life in towns and what freedom meant. Her
pupils looked at town rules and at whether they were about freedom or control.
The exercise concluded with pupils writing an essay – Dan wrote about 5 pages
and stayed in voluntarily through his break to finish it. As Christine would say,
‘it does not get much better than that’.

So we need to treat the complexity of the past with respect. Words are complex;
pupils need time to absorb them.

Christine also constructed a learning journey. This is an important part of

helping pupils understand the complexity of the past. Normally, this learning
journey involves developing a key question and designing activities that involve
pupils processing knowledge through sorting, classifying and structuring
information. This leads to a culminating activity, sometimes an essay and
sometimes a presentation.

I want to say at this point that what this example shows is that the most
important resource in the classroom is the teacher. It is the teacher who inspires
the pupils, who devises the learning journey and helps the pupils become
independent learners. No resource can replace a good teacher. She or he tells
stories to intrigue the pupils, builds knowledge through reinforcing prior
learning, listens and responds to pupils, models the questioning and
communication styles that the pupils need to learn. Nothing can replace a good
teacher. To teach well teachers need good in-service training and time to think
about what they are doing. They also need other ways to learn about good ideas.
This includes case studies of good lessons, lesson plans and teaching activities
on the Internet.

Part of a pupil’s learning journey can include the use of sources. There is a long
tradition of source-based work in the United Kingdom and it forms an important
part of our examination system for pupils aged 16 and 18. Pupils start using

2
The extract replicates Dan’s ‘mistakes’.

-43-
sources at a young age and all primary school children will have worked with
artefacts, pictorial and written sources when they transfer to secondary school at
11. In secondary school they continue to handle a range of different sources,
learning to extract information, make inferences and deductions, to compare and
contrast sources and to look at the perspectives of the writer and at whether the
sources are reliable and useful for a particular enquiry.

We have learnt a lot about using sources over the last twenty years. First,
source work is best built into an enquiry or investigation about the past rather
than being a discrete activity on its own. This helps pupils make links with
other knowledge and set the source work in context. Second, pupils need an
opportunity to look at longer sources as well as shorter ones that are found in
our textbooks. Third, they need to be helped to make inferences and deductions
and to compare sources. They also need to understand that a source may still be
valid even if it is biased or conflicts with another source. Too often pupils reject
sources because they assume that the writer was biased or not a first-hand
witness. At its best, pupils can be helped to understand how to extract evidence
from the source and to use it to construct an interpretation of the past.

This approach is encapsulated in some textbooks, for example one textbook is

entirely constructed around a study of King John and whether he was a bad king
(see Banham,D. and Dawson, I. 2000). Students look at evidence for John’s
career and assess how he has been interpreted. They consider some of the
evidence from monastic chroniclers that presents a negative image of John
because of his quarrel with the Church. From that they move to look at later
interpretations of John from the Victorian period to the present day and consider
how and why historians have interpreted him differently. So they are moving
from source-based work to looking at interpretations. The approach is one that
makes history relevant, motivating and exciting.

Work on interpretations is a fairly new aspect of the teaching and learning of

history. It is about helping pupils understand that the history we read in books;
see at historic sites or museums, on television or film is an interpretation of the
past, hopefully based on evidence. We want our pupils to understand that there
are different types of interpretation:

Academic, such as books and journals by professional historians;

Educational, such as textbooks, museums, TV documentaries;

Fictional, such as novels, feature films, drama, plays;

Popular, such as folk history, advertising;

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 Personal, such as oral history.

We do not ask younger pupils to work out which interpretation is correct

because at this age they will not have the skills to do this (although 16-18 year-
olds are asked to evaluate interpretations). But we ask them to work out:

Which parts of the interpretation are factual and which are points of view
or imagination?

How believable is the interpretation?

How far are the views supported by evidence?

What was the purpose of the interpretation?

Pupils need to be supported in their analysis of interpretations. The study of

John I told you about looks at how and why interpretations of John have
changed over time. At the end having built up their knowledge and summarised
the evidence and what they know about John, they give their own opinion.

Multiperspectivity then, means:

Teachers with a commitment to teaching well and respecting diversity.

Structuring learning to build up pupils’ knowledge of the complex past.

Building a learning journey based on an enquiry.

Helping pupils realise that our understanding of the past is based on

evidence derived from sources – sources that need to evaluated and not
taken at face value.

Helping pupils realise that what we see presented to us in film or on TV

and in their textbook is an interpretation, which needs to be tested and
evaluated against the available evidence.

So, just as parents know that they have succeeded when their children become
mature, independent adults, so a history teacher should be waiting for the
moment when their pupil says: ‘Miss, Miss, I think you are wrong. I think this
because the evidence suggests that …’.

This is the buzz moment, the transformative moment when we have helped a
young person become a citizen of democratic Europe for they have seen the past

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through their own eyes and applied their own judgement to the evidence
available.

References

Banham, D. and Dawson, I. (2000) King John: A Key Stage 3 Investigation into
Medieval Monarchy, London: John Murray.

Stradling, R. (2001). Teaching 20th Century European History, Council of

Europe Publishing.

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 Teaching history through intercultural dialogue
to 11 – 14 year old students:
an example of Spain
Ms Cristina DEL MORAL
Educational Consultant
Spain

Of all subjects, history is the best adapted for transmitting values and positive
attitudes to students during a period of their lives, which is essential for their
formation as citizens and persons. But history can easily turn into being a
vehicle for transmitting prejudices and stereotypes as well. Notably, history is
the channel through which the concept of nation state is presented to those
students that one day will become theoretically empowered citizens of the state.

To such an extent political changes can affect the way history is taught that
some even put in question the veracity of historical facts and ask themselves
whether there is any real historic truth after all, or if history is just but a menu of
different interpretations of facts from which one can pick up one or other
according to the specific trend in vogue in an ever changing society. Although
this view can seem to be somehow exaggerated, there is, however, an inherent
truth in the idea that historic facts are interpreted according to some goals or
others in order to be transmitted to the new generations.

The Spanish case is a clear example of how the way history is taught has greatly
changed in a very short period of time. History teachers have been formed
according to some specific methodology and, even more importantly, in the
light of a determined approach to Spanish history that is reflected in our
curriculum design and in our textbooks. Have we re-written the history of Spain
or have we re-interpreted it?

My view is that we have rescued it from the line of thought upon which
Franco’s State doctrine was construed, which constituted a very narrow
framework for the whole reality of Spain’s history. The history of the Spanish
nation (one of the oldest nations of the world, as its origins are commonly traced
back to the 15th century, at the time of the union of the Catholic Kings Ferdinand
of Aragon and Isabela of Castile, and also the nation possessing the oldest
frontier, the one that separates it from Portugal) was previously presented in a
theological manner. In other words, it was a history conceived as a means for
achieving a goal: the success of the Catholic faith all over the world.

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In order to make that possible, the Spanish nation was presented as an
underlying perennial reality through different historic ages - from the Hispania
of the Romans through the Barbarian invasions: Swabian, Vandals, Alans, and
Visigoths - until it eventually forged its real personality through seven centuries
of fighting against the Muslims. When the nation saw itself free from the
invaders, it extended the Catholic faith to Europe, fighting against the
Protestants, and converted ‘Indians’/Native Americans in America.

The Spanish Empire (the most extensive in world history, running from Chile to
the Philippines in the 16th and 17th century) was justified on that religious
ground. The next two centuries which saw the progressive loss of our colonies
and the disintegration of Spanish power were generally viewed as a preparation
for General Franco’s dictatorship who again made Spain accomplish its eternal
destiny through the sacred duty of being the western beacon on the way to
Catholic orthodoxy, of course.

In this particular approach to our history, our friends were the Catholic nations
and our enemies were the Muslims, the Jews and all those that could be
qualified as heterodox. Some European countries like England (which was
named in textbooks ‘the perfidious Albion’) were seen as historic enemies while
the Spanish colonies were close friends with which Spain maintained a mother
country-like relationship. As far as the different Spanish regions are concerned,
Castile among the others was considered to be the one that had always
accomplished its mission, having fought until the end against the Muslim
kingdom and having conquered Granada and America. Accordingly, history
was studied from a regional point of view in which Castile was the centre and
the rest of the regions were subordinated.

After the death of General Franco (1975) and the arrival of democracy which
was confirmed by the signature of the Spanish constitution (1978) Spain went
through a series of political, social and economic changes which altered
profoundly life in our country and were reflected in the way history was taught.
A new curriculum was written, new textbooks were published and the way
history was taught in school was modified.

The most outstanding changes as far as the teaching of history in Spain is

concerned are:

History taught at the secondary level is basically that of Western culture.

Spanish history itself is taught during the last year of the secondary
education when students are 17-18 years old.

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 The integration of Spain in the Council of Europe and in the European
Union has determined that the history of the continent and Spanish
history are seen as running parallel to each other.

From a centralist history we have passed to a decentralised view of

history. Nowadays, not only the different specific aspects of each region
are highlighted as positive, but the educational authorities of each region
can choose 30% of the subject contents.

Nevertheless, the most important new feature is that historic questions are
analysed using a multi-faceted approach. This is evident when we look at the
following aspects:

The acceptance of different contributions to the History of Spain by Jews,

Muslims and Christians as contributing to the cultural richness and
interchange of different ways of living and not as mere confrontation.

Special attention is paid to the different ways of life of both communities

in Spain in the Middle Ages. The Muslim part of Spain is more focused
on trade and urban life while the Christian part is more focused on rural
life and agriculture. Both cultures are presented as an enrichment of
Spanish culture as a whole.

The presentation of art as representations of the different spiritual and

religious life of the different communities. As Spain is one of the richest
countries in the world in terms of historical heritage, organising visits to
monuments of diverse cultural origins is not a difficult task for history
teachers.

The analysis of different ideological sources regarding problems and

questions, which imply civil wars, fighting, political crisis or social
confrontations.

The study of the different peoples from various continents that once upon
a time constituted the Spanish Empire which are presented as important
cultural units and not as savages who only received advantages from
Western colonization; insisting that their contributions enriched Western
culture.

An interesting attempt is the comic in four books from the Peruvian

historical cartooner Juan Azevedo (See Appendix 1 to this paper). He
recounts South American history from the children’s point of view while
maintaining a great deal of respect for the most modern historiography
and much more exact illustrations of the passages and monuments where

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 it takes place. Introduction of the point of view of women, children and
less-advantaged social classes that were more than mere passive subjects
of the actions of politicians, warriors and the military. In other words, the
introduction of a history of everyday life (what the Spanish philosopher
Miguel de Unamuno used to call the ‘intrahistoria’) together with the
military and political history which was previously the unique point of
view.

The labelling as fundamental of the ‘procedural contents’ fundamental

that can be defined as the student’s training in the acquisition of those
procedures and skills specific to the subject in question (see Appendix 2
to this paper). This non-traditional school practice is aimed to equip
students with the tools they would need to be able to learn progressively
and autonomously. In contrast with the traditional approach, which
renders them in the position of mere recipients of knowledge delivered in
such a way that they are simply expected to memorize it by heart, the
new didactic goal is to help them ‘learn how to learn’.

The Spanish Curriculum for Secondary Education also includes cross-curricular

topics that have to be studied from all aspects, such as Peace Education, Health
Education and European Dimension Education. In fact, these cross-curricular
topics are included usually in Social Sciences and are aimed to increase values
and positive attitudes among students to different cultures and religions (see
Appendix 3 to this paper). This is especially important nowadays in Spanish
schools because, due to the increasing flow of migration into Spain over the past
10 years, sometimes 25% of the students in the Spanish schools come from
South American or North African countries. Teachers’ and parents’ associations
organise discussions and exchange of experiences among teachers (like the
Comenius program) as well as festivals and parties in which young people share
songs and food.

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 APPENDIX 1
Example of a history publication

“Historia de Iberoamérica desde los niños”, a comic written by Juan Azevedo, and published
by the Secretaria de Cooperación Iberomaericana and the Organización de Estados
Iberoamericanos, Volume 3, p. 235, Madrid 2000. The aim of this publication (in 4 volumes)
is to present young people with the common Spanish and South America History.

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 APPENDIX 2
Example of teaching material prepared by teachers

The material of the teaching pack, prepared by teachers of the Spanish Teacher Association to
teach the Franco time in Spain, were presented in a meeting held in Segovia 1998.

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 APPENDIX 3
The education system in Spain
The current education system is the one established by the Constitutional Act
1/1990, of 3 October on the General Guidelines for the Education System
(LOGSE) and its subsequent legislative arrangement. This is configured in the
following manner:

© Barcelona City Council

Available at http://w3.bcn.es/V13/Home/V13HomeLinkPl/0,2750,389431_514127_3,00.html

Law for the General Regulation of the Education System

A significant educational reform process was initiated in Spain in October 1990

by the Law for the General Regulation of the Education System or LOGSE (Ley
Orğanica de Ordenación General del Sistema Educativo). This educational
reform involves a commitment of Spanish society to attain better teaching
quality in all its forms and methods.

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 New approaches in the preparation of history textbooks and
teaching materials for secondary
and upper-secondary schools
Mr Brian Carvell
Publishing Consultant
United Kingdom

I wish to offer a third perspective for this seminar on history teaching in Cyprus
— that of a publisher. I believe this will complement the perspectives we have
heard thus far, from a curriculum maker and from a teacher.

School publishing must aim to reflect the general purposes of education, and in
simple terms, help deliver the curriculum agreed by educators and education
departments of governments. Authors of textbooks, often teachers, should bear
in mind that their books should:

Stimulate interest in the subject;

Increase pupils’ knowledge and understanding;

Deepen pupils’ application of skills;

Encourage active learning;

Challenge pupils of all abilities;

Get pupils to think and not just learn facts;

Challenge pupils to use evidence and develop positive attitudes and

respect for different viewpoints.

Also, it may be noted that enquiry-based and issue-based learning should be

apparent in textbooks and that writers must encourage the acquisition and
development of skills. The range of skills in each subject may be different.
School textbooks also need to take into account the different purposes of the
subject. For history these include:

How to prepare pupils to evaluate evidence;

How to present a variety of viewpoints, alternative interpretations or

conflicting truths;

How to convey sensitive issues to the next generation;

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 How to provide young people with a keen historical interest and
curiosity;

How to help young people understand the world they live in and which
forces and events shaped their world.

History textbooks need to represent two major dimensions, that of existence and
that of identity. The dimension of existence covers socio-economic, political,
constitutional and cultural history. The dimension of identity covers aspects
such as gender, ethnicity, age and origin. An educational publisher can assist in
the process of teaching and learning. I will consider how modern educational
publishing has evolved in the United Kingdom.

Educational publishing is distinct from learned or academic publishing. It has

developed and grown over the last 200 years alongside the growth in
institutionalised schooling. Philanthropic interests and commercial instincts co-
existed for some time. A successful model emerged based on the subject-based
textbook, conveying knowledge in a simplified way. Didactics, pedagogy,
teaching methods and ideas from child psychology were grafted on during the
twentieth century, and have now become intrinsic to textbook writing. In the
last 40 years or so the textbook and supporting resources have become more
sophisticated and more learner-centred.

Publishers have become recognised partners in education helping teachers and

learners achieve their stated aims. In the United States of America and much of
Europe the industry has consolidated and become very competitive. This
market competition has driven publishers to higher standards and greater
responsiveness to their customers, the teachers. At the same time governments
have taken an increasing interest in what is taught in schools and indeed how it
is taught. This has led to the emergence of statutory national curricula in most
European countries. Authors and their publishers must interpret the curricula
and help the teacher. Introduction of national curricula has shifted the balance
from authors’ personal standpoints to publishing accepted materials for study.

Technology has led to further recent improvements. On-screen editing,

computer to plate print technologies, integrated page design, digital archiving all
contribute to faster product development cycles, increased product quality. A
greater range of product types is possible now, including electronic products.
Technology has also helped publishers get closer to their customers which
means materials can be constantly improved as a result of research into
classroom use.

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 Publishers’ role in the value chain

Content

Learning

Student
+ structure= element School
Books/
+ pedagogy = material
+ programme of Course
study =

+ interaction & Learning

testing + teacher =
Educational publisher

Publishers have an important role in the value chain of education. The diagram
attempts to summarise the role of the modern publisher in the delivery of the
curriculum. Appropriate content is structured so that learners and teachers have
a clear pathway through knowledge. Method and pedagogy are integrated with
each learning element and the elements are mapped to the programme of study
of the curriculum producing now a full course (textbook, teachers files,
homework books, question banks...); the educational publisher undertakes all
this. The teacher now takes over the delivery of the course by mediating,
monitoring progress, and interacting with pupils so that appropriate learning
takes place.

So we see that school history publishing in the United Kingdom today is not
simply one textbook. It is multi-component, most likely comprising: student
resource books; teacher files containing worksheets, additional material for
children of differing abilities; notes for the teacher on lesson planning; copies of
source material; interactive CD-ROMs for pupil or classroom use on an
electronic whiteboard; and links to suitable web sites, with notes on these sites.
The increasing use of digital material in the classroom along with textbooks and
other print material is becoming known as ‘blended’ learning and teaching. The
best of ‘blended’ teaching and learning uses the appropriate medium for selected
material, but also powerfully combines the private use of a textbook with the
classroom use of projected digital material. The digital material is linked to the
textbook, sometimes via a replica of the page from which the teacher can drill
through to the Internet or a digital library.

More importantly within the student resources there is a variety of material

including displays of original source material, maps, pictures, newspaper
reports, and plenty of opportunity for students to interact with the material in

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discussion and written work. The student material usually maintains a narrative
approach and always caters for children of different abilities. Within the
structured text there will be sections helping the teacher with formative
assessment of their pupils and stimulus material enabling pupils to carry out
investigations. The content will be the content required of the curriculum and
the elements, chapters or sections will reflect the programme of study suggested
by the relevant curriculum authority.

At this stage I thought it would be useful to look at just one section of one of the
modern publications in the United Kingdom. The course is entitled “Empires
and Citizens” (Nelson Thornes, UK, 2003). The title already implies more than
one perspective in the writing. The section I have chosen deals with
industrialisation and the unit heading asks the pupils to think (even before they
have read anything) whether certain aspects of the industrial revolution in
Britain were a blessing or a curse. This is the enquiry question that starts the
learning journey. The section is ten pages long and about seven of these pages
are taken up with source material. Nine of the sources are pictorial and one is a
graph. The written sources are from newspapers, government reports, books
(including novels), university lectures, public health and housing reports.

In the teachers’ support materials there is a CD-ROM, which contains the

sources again, so that teachers can project these onto a whiteboard for classroom
discussion. In addition there are further sources for extension work for the
quicker and more able pupils, and templates, or writing frames, which the
teacher can print out for pupils to record ideas in response to the sources before
they tackle the range of questions and activities.

One of the first questions asks pupils to look at a range of sources and list
positive aspects of life in Britain. Then a more complex activity asks the pupils
to adopt a viewpoint of a reporter examining all the sources available and write
an article on ‘what makes Great Britain great’. Different questions ask pupils to
examine certain sources about factory life and write down some of the less
desirable consequences of industrialisation. All the questions and activities in
the textbook force pupils to interrogate the sources. Since different perspectives
are given in the range of source material the pupils are able to compare sources
and work out their own perspective on certain historical events. As there is little
text between the presentation of sources the pupil is not drawn into writing
down what the textbook author thinks about each question. Finally, as an
extension to the work in this unit it is suggested that pupils look at today’s
newspapers and find the same story covered in different ways.

I now want to move on to the question of quality of educational resources. The

European Union through its quality team has developed a set of quality
principles through which teaching materials can be judged. There is nothing

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statutory about these principles. National Governments will also have their own
criteria for judging good textbooks. These will be more specific to the culture
of education in the country in question. The EU principles are derived from
general principles of quality and their relationship to the learning and teaching
process. Each principle is divided into sub-principles that directly reflect
different dimensions of teaching and learning. A simplified guide is available
for use by publishing houses and is quoted as an appendix to this paper, with the
permission of the author team. This guide enables evaluation of educational
materials regardless of the curriculum covered by the materials. Hence it is an
important adjunct for the editor in a publishing house.

As educators you will all have sound ideas of the elements of a good textbook. I
have suggested some key features concerned with supporting components; I
have referred briefly to the relationship between the text and the curriculum; and
I have mentioned some general principles of quality.

I now want to move on to one of the crucial issues in presenting history for the
young learner, that of dealing with controversial issues. We accept that
controversy exists in the interpretation of events because historians adopt
differing perspectives. Conflicting truths co-exist. In the history of all countries
there are many different themes and viewpoints. The educator should try to
acknowledge the contribution to national identity of a wide range of groups and
a variety of perspectives. The effect of events on citizens as well as leaders
must be considered.

All textbooks acknowledge invasions, repulsions and wars, decisions of kings,

princes and parliaments, and deal with the effect of these and other historical
events on society, national, multinational and international. The way such
events are interpreted may be left to the teacher. However, as I have already
said, modern publishing seeks to be part of the value chain of education in an
active way. When writing material for children therefore the way controversial
issues are presented is important. Are several perspectives offered? Or is the
writer clearly biased? Even if several perspectives are shown in the text, does
the author declare an interest, preferring one viewpoint or remain neutral leaving
the pupils to react? Are the viewpoints simply explained in an objective or
academic way, or is a conclusion drawn after considering all viewpoints: the
writer acting as an advocate.

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I would now like to wish the participants every success in fulfilling their
objectives in this project with the Council of Europe. Thank you for giving me
the opportunity to address you and I look forward to an interesting few days. I
conclude by reminding us of some of the reasons that history publishing is of
vital importance:

it helps develop research skills;

it supports the development of reading for understanding and critical

thinking skills;

it prepares for democratic citizenship;

it deals with spiritual, moral, social and cultural issues;

it helps pupils develop skills of enquiry, communication, participation

and responsible action;

it strengthens trusting and tolerant relations within and between states.

I would like to emphasise the last point and hope that our work will indeed
strengthen trusting and tolerant relations between all the various Cypriot
communities.

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 Appendix
European Quality Team: Quality principles
for Educational Publishers
Compiled by the members of the European Quality Team
Preben Spaeth (Århus), Carlo Serra Bornito (Rome),
Brian North (Zürich), Jean Claude Lasnier (Paris), Petra Morfeld (Frankfurt).

The theoretical concept of the guide is based upon nine general principles of
quality and their relationship to the learning and teaching process. The
principles are broad super-ordinate notions, which have been developed by
relating widely used concepts of quality to current learning and teaching
theories and adjusting them for our purposes. Each principle is divided into
several sub-principles, which represent its different dimensions. The evaluation
of the books/materials will be carried out on the basis of the following principles
and sub-principles:

1. Relevance
Relevance refers to the appropriateness of an issue in terms of its accordance
with the needs, objectives and purposes of the users (learners, teachers etc.).
Relevance can apply to content as well as methodology. The principle of
relevance comprises the following sub-principles:

Learner Centredness
Programmes and materials take account of the personal characteristics of the
learners (referring to: content, situations, skills). This requires a good
knowledge of the learners and of their needs and differentiation in the selection
and organisation of programmes and materials to meet them.

Appropriateness
Programmes and materials suit the learning/teaching context. Approaches,
materials, examples and activities take into account the social, cultural and
educational characteristics of the learner.

2. Transparency
Transparency, as applied to programmes and materials, describes those features
which (cognitively) contribute to facilitating access and use. The principle of
transparency comprises the following sub-principles:

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 Clarity of aims
Programmes and materials clearly indicate the learning objectives. In other
words, the user is given the opportunity to determine whether the material or
programme or learning environment actually suits his or her needs. Furthermore,
the skills taught and the target level should be clearly specified.

Clarity about achievement

Programmes and materials help learners become conscious of areas of success
and of weakness and inform them about progress made in relation to the
learning objectives.

Clarity of presentation
Programmes and materials present a clear and logical structure with appropriate,
comprehensible instructions and layout.

Clarity of rationale
Programmes and materials provide the teacher with a methodological rationale,
explaining the learning approach(es) used. For teachers it is important that the
assumptions and aims of the methodology are clearly explained.

3. Reliability
Reliability refers to the internal consistency of programmes and materials and
the dependability of contents and methods, thereby facilitating the
implementation of the teaching/learning process. The principle of reliability
comprises the following sub-principles:

Internal coherence
Programmes and materials are well constructed with a consistent inter-
relationship between their parts. Presentation, explanation, practice, exercise,
feedback, etc. should be coherently inter-related.

Methodological integrity
Programmes and materials reflect validated methodological premises in the
selection of activities, exercises, etc.

Textual integrity
Programmes and materials respect the integrity and authenticity of the relevant
genre in the creation, adoption, and adaptation of texts.

Factual integrity
Programmes and materials present accurate information, examples and
statements and authentic social behaviour.

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 Practicality
Exercises included in programmes and materials can be successfully completed
by the learners concerned. One has to be sure that the exercises actually work,
and that their degree of difficulty corresponds to the level of the learners
concerned.

4. Attractiveness
The principle of attractiveness summarises all the features of programmes and
materials that are appealing to the user and therefore contribute to enhance
his/her motivation. The principle of attractiveness comprises the following sub-
principles:

User friendliness
Programmes and materials are easy to use (easily accessible, with a user-
friendly interface and appropriate illustrations). This issue is particularly
relevant to multimedia programmes and for autonomous learning.

Interactivity
Programmes and materials create a dialogue with the learner, in that they offer
facilities and feedback, stimulate curiosity and generate an atmosphere of play.

Variety
Programmes and materials are characterised by a range of activities, types of
interaction and working rhythms. Motivation in learning is enhanced by
switches of emphasis.

Sensitivity
Programmes and materials take the affective dimension into consideration,
creating an attractive environment and motivating activities to help create a
relaxing atmosphere. Furthermore, it is important for any learning environment
that the learners’ progress is encouraged, that correction does not stultify the
desire to learn and that there is attention and patience for weaker learners.

5. Flexibility
Flexibility accounts for the individual modes (both cognitive and affective) in
approaching the teaching/learning process. It refers to features of programmes
and materials that are sensitive towards the individual specificity of the user,
including group differentiation in classroom environments. The principle of
flexibility comprises the following sub-principles:

Individualisation
Programmes and materials take account of learner characteristics like former
learning experience, learning styles, disposition for autonomous learning, etc.

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The material or programme should allow different types of learners to use
different activities or techniques to approach a topic or problem.

Adaptability
Programmes and materials allow for expansion, reduction, easier and more
challenging adaptation and exploitation for different learning purposes. The
material or programme should be open and flexible enough to allow the
individual learners to work more in depth with particular items.

6. Generativeness
Generativeness accounts for the open-ended character of programmes and
materials, which facilitate cognitive development, and the transfer of what has
been learnt in one context to more general tasks and/or other contexts. The
principle of generativeness comprises the following sub-principles:

Transferability
Programmes and materials encourage the transferability from controlled through
guided to free activities and the transferability of strategies, skills and contents
to different contexts in and outside the learning environment.

Integration
Programmes and materials build on previous knowledge (progression) and help
learners to relate concepts.

Cognitive development
Programmes and materials provide opportunity for learning to learn (problem
solving, strategy training, etc.) and promote the awareness of these aspects in
the learners.

7. Participation
Participation is concerned with opportunities to make choices and to share
responsibility in the process of teaching/learning. The principle of participation
comprises the following sub-principles:

Involvement
Programmes and materials allow learners to be fully and actively involved in the
learning process. This requires that the activities - both in the cognitive and
affective dimension - are designed in such a way that the learner at any time has
the knowledge and skills required for taking part in the learning process.

Personal interest
Programmes and materials allow learners to bring their interests, opinions and
experiences to the learning process, thereby making it personally meaningful.

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The materials and programmes may achieve this by challenging, provoking,
reassuring and confirming attitudes of the learners.

Partnership
Programmes and materials encourage learners to make choices, contribute to
decisions, and share responsibility for their learning.

8. Socialisation
Socialisation concerns ‘added value’ to a programme that pursues the
development of additional skills beyond the actual competencies taught. The
principle of socialisation is fulfilled if programmes and materials also pursue:

Social skills
Programmes and materials aim at promoting the social skills of the learners such
as the ability to co-operate with others or to develop empathy. In addition to
that, the learners are encouraged to develop new concepts and to look at things
from a different perspective.

Intercultural awareness
Programmes and materials ask learners to reflect upon the knowledge and
understanding of their own culture as well as the cultures of other countries and
their personal attitude towards them.

For further information visit www.quiltnetwork.org

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PART II: WORKSHOP MATERIAL
 Report of the 26 -27 November 2004 Workshops

Dr Stavroula Philippou
and Dr Ahmet Cavit
Cyprus

INTRODUCTION

On 26 and 27 November 2004, about 80 participants (40 from each of the larger
communities of Cyprus, as well as from other communities) worked in three
rotating parallel workshops, on the topic of “New approaches to teaching
history: multiperspectivity”. Two of the workshops took place at Ledra
Palace and one at the Cyprus JW Fulbright Centre. The working languages of
the workshops were English, Greek and Turkish.

The aims of the workshops were:

to analyse different examples of source materials on the topics indicated

in the Programme;

to look at how different historical sources could be used in a classroom

when teaching history interactively on the basis of multiperspectivity;

to discuss new approaches which could help pupils to develop such skills
as critical thinking, ability to reach independent conclusions and open-
mindedness.

There were three parallel Workshops:

I. Workshop on “Teaching about historical personalities on the basis of

multiperspectivity”

Animator: Ms Sue Bennett

Rapporteurs: Mr Marios Epaminondas
Mr Tahir Gökçebel

II. Workshop on “Teaching history for reconciliation using examples from the
history of the World War II”

Animator: Mr Brian Carvell

Rapporteurs: Mr George Stogias
Mr Yılmaz Akgünlü

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III. Workshop on “Pedagogical use of historical sites and museums”

Animator: Ms Cristina Del Moral

Rapporteurs: Ms Christina Georgiou
Ms Samiye Takin

The workshops were preceded by a brief plenary session at the Cyprus JW

Fulbright Centre chaired by Ms Tatiana Milko, who opened the session by
explaining how the workshops provided continuation of the seminars. She
stressed that the workshops would attempt to provide practical suggestions and
materials as well as to discuss issues raised by both Greek Cypriot and Turkish
Cypriot teachers during the seminars.

Mr Gabriele Mazza, Director of School, Out-of-School and Higher Education,

Council of Europe, summarised the development of the Council of Europe’s
work in education. He analysed the values and attitudes which education could
help to develop to create a peaceful future. Democratic changes in Europe put
forward a set of challenges for the organisation and the Council of Europe tries
to respond to them. He pointed out that the Council of Europe, based on the
ideas of European humanism, is open to the Mediterranean, the Arab world and
to the other continents in its attempt to develop intercultural dialogue. Within
this context, Mr Mazza stressed that Cyprus is currently one of the political
priorities of the Council of Europe, as shown by the seminar organised in June
2004 and the current ones, and assured the participants that the Council of
Europe will continue its activities in Cyprus. The speaker made clear that future
cooperation would depend on the participants and the results of the current
activities which will constitute the main guidelines for the Council of Europe’s
future actions.

Mr Marios Epaminondas, Vice-President of the Association for Historical

Dialogue and Research, noted the enthusiastic response of teachers to participate
in the seminars and workshops which was most encouraging and stressed the
importance of local initiatives, like those of the Association, in contributing to
better teacher training, dialogue and research in history learning and teaching.
He also pointed out that local initiatives are essential and cooperation with
international institutions like the Council of Europe is necessary, particularly
since the Council of Europe can help teachers fulfil aims they will set
themselves through its concentration on the principles of democracy and human
rights and through its vast experiences in producing supplementary teaching
materials commonly accepted by a number of countries, for example in the
Black Sea and the Caucasian Regions. He underlined that producing materials
is not the final aim and that, most importantly, teachers should be trained to be
able to use new teaching materials, which is what he hoped to start doing during
the workshops.

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Mr Tahir Gökçebel, Secretary-General of the Cyprus Turkish Secondary
Teachers’ Trade Union, also thanked the Council of Europe for the organisation
of these activities. He pointed out how difficult and sensitive the subject of
history is. New history textbooks, for example, are currently under attack by
some Turkish Cypriot political parties. However, it is perhaps encouraging that
the Council of Europe managed to produce materials within the Black Sea
project, despite the fact that history was a taboo subject at one time. He pointed
out that he had taken part in the previous two seminars and observed how
teachers from the two communities worked together. His conviction is that
these activities will eventually help bring a solution to the Cyprus problem
because he believes teachers are the most dynamic leaders who can teach
children to cooperate.

Ms Tatiana Milko concluded the session by commenting on the importance of

civil society for change, which is why the Council of Europe attributes great
importance to local partners. She drew everybody’s attention to the fact that,
during the preparation of these activities, a solid basis for future cooperation
was constructed, namely, trust between the two communities.

SUMMARY OF WORKSHOPS

The summaries of these workshops were written jointly by both general

rapporteurs with the help of notes that the rapporteurs took during the
workshops. In summarising the work carried out during the workshops, we
have tried to balance two questions: firstly, how the report can be useful for
teachers (ie. to what extent will it reproduce what was done so that teachers can
use it later in their own teaching practices); and, secondly, how the report can be
useful to the Council of Europe and include the discussions and suggestions
anticipated. Eventually, we focused on both, something which derived from the
nature of the workshops itself, since the comments and discussions arose during
the context of different activities, the sequence of which is, therefore, also
briefly described.

Workshop I

One workshop was on the subject of “Teaching about historical personalities

on the basis of multiperspectivity”, animated by Ms Sue Bennett from the
United Kingdom. The two rapporteurs, one from each community, were
Mr Mete Oğuz and Ms Rena Hoplarou. Ms Bennett explained that during the
workshop she would provide some suggestions for teaching tools with which the
role of individuals in history can be studied in a classroom. She used the
example of Richard the Lionheart, a controversial personality who is much
studied in the United Kingdom.

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Ms Bennett first asked the participants to choose a historical personality and for
each of them to write the following on a piece of paper folded in four parts:

on the first part, three facts taught about that person’s life;

on the second part, any interpretations we have for that person, e.g. if
they are considered heroes, traitors, etc.;

on the third part, some activities we could do in teaching about that

person;

on the fourth part, the resources we would use in the classroom.

Participants had to choose a person they did not know before to share this work
with him/her. During the group discussions, some comments, issues and
concerns arose from the participants, for example:

they thought it was easier to choose a personality from distant rather than
from recent history as this would be less likely to provoke strong
emotions in a classroom;

the rapporteurs and general rapporteurs observed some difficulty

regarding choosing a historical personality and actually deciding who
was a historical personality and who was not. For example, who can be
considered a historical personality, what ‘criteria’ should be used to
select, are ‘saints’ and ‘heroes’ facts or interpretations, what is an
‘opinion’ and what is a ‘fact’?;

the range of personalities chosen was drawn from European, Greek,

Turkish or Cypriot history and were, for the most part, men, which
reflects, as one rapporteur mentioned, ‘the way we have been taught
history at school’;

some of the personalities chosen, for example Atatürk, are people of

whom Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots have totally different
interpretations;

the personalities chosen tended to be similar in that they were considered

important (by their own people mostly rather than internationally),
intense personalities and that they had changed somehow the course of
history;

for most of the personalities Greek Cypriots chose, Turkish Cypriots

knew almost nothing and vice versa.

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The second activity involved the study of portraits, a useful tool used in the
United Kingdom as we can learn a lot about historical personalities from them.
Ms Bennett distributed two portraits of Richard and Saladin (his main military
opponent, even though they were friends, to introduce an element of
multiperspectivity regarding how two different cultures portrayed power and
authority) and asked participants to discuss the pictures with four questions in
mind:

What does the source (picture) tell me?

What deductions can I make? What can I infer from this?

What does this source not tell me?

What other questions should I ask?

Ms Bennett pointed out that this activity can be used for any age group but that
the results would of course differ accordingly.

The third activity focused on facts from Richard’s life and, as pointed out, is an
activity we can use with any personality. These facts were written on cards in
three languages (Turkish, Greek and English) and put in envelopes which were
distributed in the groups. Participants were asked to write the facts horizontally
and in chronological order and to insert positive and negative facts about
Richard above or below the line respectively. Discussions arose amongst
teachers regarding the relativity of the distinction between ‘positive’ and
‘negative’ (e.g. capturing Cyprus was positive for his career but not for
Cypriots!) and Ms Bennett pointed out how this change of perspective could
actually be a teaching tool e.g. from the point of view of Cyprus, France or
Saladin. Other versions of this activity would include tasks like ‘Find the card
which has to do with Cyprus, or France, or the Crusades’ etc.

Later, Ms Bennett explained how, in the United Kingdom, key questions are
used to structure a whole piece or part of the work. She distributed a set of
questions and pointed out that one of them could be chosen to study Richard.
She asked the groups to discuss whether each question focused on: whether
Richard was important (historical significance); how Richard was interpreted
(interpretation); or evidence about Richard. She warned against some questions
which sought moral rather than historical judgment and emphasised how the
questions we ask structure our activities in a classroom and whether we should
focus on interpretation or why the personality is remembered or whether we
study sources.

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The fifth activity started with the distribution of a second set of two envelopes;
the first envelope contained cards-sources with interpretations of Richard and
aimed at pointing out how differently Richard has been interpreted by historians.
Participants were asked to rank the cards from the most positive to the most
negative views and identify any patterns regarding how Richard was seen
according to different sources (English, French, Arab historians) and different
periods (medieval or recent time). The second envelope during this activity
contained cards detailing events and participants were asked to find out whether
any of these events supported any of the interpretations and match the two. In
the United Kingdom, students would spend a lot of time classifying sources and
interpretations and writing dissertations on Richard; a writing frame was
distributed which is designed to help students structure such an essay and which
showed how history teaching focused on illustrating both his positive and
negative sides.

Teachers generally liked this way of working and pointed out how interesting it
would be for their students as it would make them participate more and started
suggesting personalities as well as controversial events which could be
approached in the same way, for example, the Ethnosynelefseis of the Greeks at
the beginning of the Greek Revolution, where a lot of disagreements occurred,
or the Icon Dispute in the Byzantine era. At the same time, teachers pointed out
that this kind of work needs a lot of preparation on their behalf and a lot of
research to find the appropriate sources and interpretations, which is quite
difficult to achieve. They, therefore, suggested to start the preparation of such
materials which they could use. A criticism which occurred was that there was
no time to carry out activities like the ones used to study Richard the Lionheart
with personalities included in local curricula such as Bekir Pasha and
Hadjigeorghakis Kornesios and that, in the future, more work would be needed
on personalities from the Cypriot context.

Workshop II

The other workshop focused on World War II and was entitled “Teaching
history for reconciliation using examples from the history of the World
War II” and was animated by Mr Brian Carvell from the United Kingdom.
The rapporteurs were Mr George Stogias and Mr Yılmaz Akgünlü.

Mr Carvell explained the structure of the workshop and split the participants
into three bi-communal groups. Each group was provided with source materials
concerning the participation of Cyprus in World War II coming mainly from
current newspapers and archives. The aim of the workshop was for each group
to produce a lesson plan for use in a classroom with 11-14 year pupils from both
communities. Mr Carvell explained that this topic was chosen because source
material is available, Cyprus was then under one administration. It offered an

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opportunity to use multiperspectivity and the topic had a wider context as well
as local and regional significance. In order to produce a lesson plan, each group
had to choose a topic (in this case this was given as the role of Cyprus in World
War II); a key question (an enquiry question that would start and structure the
whole learning journey); sources (those that would answer the key question);
and questions and activities for students to assess what they learnt from the
sources available. Examples of some enquiry questions were provided such as:

Why did Cypriots fight in World War II?

What was the effect of the war on Cypriots at home?

What special contribution did Cypriots make?

It was also clarified that one of the aims should be to find out how both Greek
Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots came together to fight in the war and find
evidence of that in the source materials provided.

The groups then worked for approximately an hour going through the resources
and structuring lesson plans. At the beginning, the groups focused on choosing
the key question as this question would then structure their subsequent work.
They then proceeded in setting out the rest of lesson plans and studying the
various sources they had in front of them. Groups were very committed to their
discussions and produced a number of teaching suggestions.

Each group had the opportunity to present their work to the rest of the
participants and discuss some of the issues raised. Mr Carvell pointed out how
actively the groups had worked and how they were also different in that. Some
groups focused on a detailed 45-minute lesson plan and others suggested ideas
and activities that could last for a whole work unit (for example, by extending
activities into museum visits or by inviting people into a classroom for students
to interview). The general sequence of the lesson plans proposed by the groups
included a brief introduction and provision of basic information by a teacher,
followed by providing a selection of sources to the pupils to work in groups to
answer the enquiry question (as a group suggested in the form of the ‘cards in
envelopes’ technique which Ms Sue Bennett used in the other workshop) and
then letting the pupils present their work to the rest of the class. The groups
tended to focus on different sources, e.g. an image of bombardments in Cyprus
or an advertisement of the British calling in troops or images of women
working in silk and button factories. The questions and activities proposed by
the teachers focused on ‘who’ participated in the war (so as to illustrate how
people from different communities, professions, ages and gender all
contributed); ‘how’ these different groups of people contributed in different
ways (e.g. by joining the army, dying in battlefields across the world, working

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in factories to produce silk for parachutes or buttons for military uniforms etc.);
‘why’ they contributed, ie. what the nature of their motives were (ideals of
freedom, to liberate Greece, to earn money and gain employment, to defend
Cyprus from a possible Nazi invasion?); ‘what’ the effect of the war was on
those who stayed on the island, e.g. bombardments, working in factories to
produce supplies for the soldiers, etc. Some activities included an element of
empathy, as they asked students to take the position of different people during
the war and perhaps even staging a play (e.g. as German or English soldiers on
the one side and as Cypriots in the Cyprus Voluntary Force on the other). Other
activities called on geographical skills as they required the use of maps of
Europe and the world. Another thing teachers thought was important to include
in their lesson plans was how Cypriots were disappointed when at the end of the
war they did not receive the freedom they had been promised.

One of the issues that came out during the work of the groups was that there was
uncertainty about some of the historical facts amongst teachers themselves, for
example, some of the participants were not aware that both Greek Cypriots and
Turkish Cypriots joined the army or that they were mercenaries and had started
joining the army in 1939. There was factual information in the sources on all
these issues, but there were concerns as to whether, for example, we should let
pupils know that not all the soldiers’ motives were the ideals of freedom. These
discussions indicated that, in the Greek Cypriot community, World War II is
mainly taught in schools within the theme on the Greek National Anniversary of
the 28 October 1940, which was when Greece joined the war. Consequently,
the contribution of Cyprus as such is not highlighted and knowledge about it is
limited. As the motives of the Cypriot soldiers for joining the war were
discussed, there were further questions as to whether we can decide if each
community’s motives were different. Some argued that Greek Cypriots joined
the war because Britain was allied with Greece and, therefore, by participating
in the war they were fighting for their ‘motherland’, for ‘Enosis’ (Union with
Greece) as well as for their freedom from the British. Some thought, however,
that the question remained as to why the Turkish Cypriots joined the war, since
their ‘motherland’ was not fighting with the British. Other questions raised
were:

Was the experience of fighting in World War II the same for Greek
Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots?

Was the contribution of the Cypriots great in relation to the population of

the island and in comparison with other countries?

What was the role of the Cyprus Regiment, did they fight, where were
they sent?

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Another remark was made concerning the sources provided, which were largely
drawn from Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot newspapers, and there were
some questions as to whether these sources presented similar or different
information. The need for primary sources produced during the war (rather than
interpretations written in newspapers sixty years later and influenced by
subsequent or current ideological or political views) was acknowledged and
there was the suggestion that any teaching materials on World War II produced
in the future should include both primary and secondary sources.

Workshop III

The workshop was entitled “Pedagogical use of historical sites and museums”
and was animated by Ms Cristina Del Moral from Spain. The rapporteurs
were Ms Christina Georgiou and Ms Samiye Takın.

The workshop was structured around the presentation of some materials

produced in Spain by Foundation La Caixa for the study of historical cities (in
particular the city of Granada, a multicultural city like Nicosia) titled Vivir en
las Ciudades Histórica (Living in historical cities) and of art museums. The
materials were provided to schools for free upon request and were not
mandatory. Ms Del Moral firstly clarified some concepts by contrasting formal
to informal teaching, pointing out that the materials she would show during the
workshop fitted the ‘informal teaching model’. Consequently the materials
would have extracurricular and open-ended objectives; would emphasise skills
and attitudes rather than concepts in terms of content; would aim at open and
multiperspective knowledge; would involve a non-linear and changing
educational process; would assess its impact in qualitative rather than
quantitative ways and with group assessment; would have a non-linear
presentation; would incur high motivation and high emotional implication based
on curiosity and previous knowledge. Some of the skills and attitudes that can
be developed through such materials are observation, respect, sensibility,
criticism, change, comparison, empathy and others.

The presentation of the material on the city of Granada started with a short
video-clip and then materials were presented, bit by bit. During this process,
participants were invited to think of how they could prepare similar materials for
the city of Nicosia or Famagusta. The materials comprised different maps,
books, slides, images, questions and tasks, as well as a bag with ‘tools’ such as a
compass, rulers, lenses, thermometer, measure sheets, etc. that would be used to
explore the city and conduct research. Firstly, pupils would study the city in a
classroom. The preparation in a classroom can be made with a series of slides
or pictures or postcards included in the materials. All the monuments can be put
on the map of the city or country. Then, students would go into the city in
groups of five and, using the materials, they would reflect about the people,

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organisation, architecture, environment, transport, communication and flora and
fauna of the city.

An important element of the materials was the use of ‘dilemmas’ that challenged
students’ critical thinking. For example, one dilemma was how we could help
historical cities be practical and habitable for present-day and future citizens
without destroying their historical environment, e.g. to develop infrastructure
such as transport. The following issues were raised:

Should we transform the old city into a pedestrian site?

Should we learn about a number of historical cities or only the one we

live in?

How we can continue living in historical cities while maintaining their

historical identity?

What role do rivers or walls play in the development of the city?

Considering the cost, should we restore all monuments or just a few?

If we are to restore a monument, how are we to do it and for what

purpose?

Can we restore old and new buildings side by side?

Should a building in the centre of the city be destroyed to build a parking

place?

To discuss all these dilemmas, students are required to consider the different
perspectives of different groups of people (for example ecologists, historians,
shop owners, the mayor, an architect, newspapers, ordinary people, etc.) and
also interview them so as to build their own opinion. After their exploration of
the city, students return to the classroom to continue working on it, for example,
making comparisons with other historical cities. The materials are designed for
14-16 year old students who have been trained to use the material and have
already gained some basic knowledge about the historical development of the
city. Permission from parents is also required before they can visit the cities
and, in fact, parents are invited to join their children. The key aim of the
materials is to make students reflect and discuss and help them realise how we
need to know a city’s past in order to plan a better future for it and its residents.
All this is learnt in an enjoyable way and pupils are challenged to express their
feelings, emotions and sensations: children have so much fun, Ms Del Moral
noted that they actually continue working on it during weekends on their own.

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This material introduces multiperspectivity in that it draws upon a number of
different disciplines, for example history, natural sciences, mathematics, etc. In
fact, not just one teacher should be with students when they explore the city but,
rather, teachers from a number of disciplines. There were some reservations
from a few of the participants concerning whether, in the cultural and
educational context of Cyprus, teachers from different disciplines could
cooperate or that teachers would allow time for such extra-curricular work,
since, as a Turkish Cypriot participant noted, each teacher considers their own
subject as the most important. However, there were also some examples of such
a multidisciplinary project on a school-based level concerning copper in Cyprus
(for example the development of writing at the time, the printing of artistic
decoration on copper objects, the chemical and physical phenomena occurring
when copper is processed, how it is extracted from the earth, etc.), which was
mentioned by one participant, a Greek Cypriot secondary school teacher, and a
project on the Lebanon. A suggestion concerning multiperspectivity was to
study the Büyük Han in Nicosia from perspectives of different people such as
builders, guests, owners, prisoners, visitors, etc. from both communities. This
discussion pointed to the need for formal curricula to include such
multidisciplinary units, as they are still missing in the curricula used by both
communities.

Concerning museum visits, some other material was presented by Ms Del

Moral, which came from a number of art museums in Spain (Prado and Thysen-
Bonemiscza) and was produced by the Pedagogical Departments of the
museums. Ms Del Moral pointed out that, during visits, the teaching materials
should focus only on a few paintings (6-10) to study, for example, the history of
the paintings or the history of painters or the history of art schools and periods
or painting techniques. The study of common life during other historical
periods, dressing, bourgeoisie, religion are examples of topics students can
study in such museums. Formal analysis can be made before and after visits to
the museums. The study of art is an example of multiperspectivity itself, since
pieces of art can be interpreted differently at different times and by different
people. Ms Del Moral stressed that in the study of historical monuments and
museums the focus is not to give students answers but challenge them to think
about questions and dilemmas. Particularly, in the case of politically sensitive
monuments, we should ask questions, not give answers, and avoid leading
discussions into one-sided arguments, admitting that we, teachers, do not know
that some things can also be useful in challenging our students to think
independently.

During the discussions, some misconceptions concerning Arabs were revealed

as Arabs are often negatively stereotyped when teaching history in Cyprus
whereas, in Granada or Spain in general, their positive influence is evident.
This was a very useful comment since the aim of the workshop was to use

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multiperspectivity in the study of monuments and museums. Another question
concerned how, in Spain, the transition from mosques to cathedrals (like the
cathedral in Córdoba) is approached pedagogically. Ms Del Moral replied that
we cannot avoid discussing this and that we should focus on why it happened,
whilst trying not to impose any fixed ideas against those who did it and not to
teach it in terms of ‘us’ and ‘them’ but instead to use a number of perspectives.
Indeed, multiperspectivity is useful in studying monuments and cities since
monuments change throughout history. For example, Ms Del Moral showed a
map of Granada city with layers from different historical periods: Iberic
Granada, Islamic Granada, Christian Granada, Renaissance Granada. A
suggestion was made by one of the participants that a similar map can be
prepared for Nicosia showing its monuments from the early ages up to the
Lusignan, Ottoman and British periods.

However, even though the materials shown were excellent and could be used as
examples of how another culture had dealt with its monuments pedagogically,
teachers felt that the workshop should focus more on how we can produce such
materials for the Cypriot context, particularly for monuments interpreted
differently by the two communities. Thus, the discussions of the teachers
focused on:

how we require materials, such as the ones shown in the workshop on

historical monuments and museums in Cyprus;

the difficulty of choosing which monuments could be the subject of such

a project, since some tend to produce very sensitive reactions;

the difficulty of funding and organising such a project;

the difficulty in incorporating different perspectives from the two

communities in the study of a monument, e.g. a Byzantine church turned
into a mosque and vice versa, a Catholic church turned into a Byzantine
one, etc.

The participants also stressed how important it was that, even if or when such
materials would be produced in Cyprus, the organisers should seriously consider
how to train teachers to use them and how to include them in their teacher-
training activities. Issues like whether the whole or part of the historical city
should be reflected in the materials, which historical monuments should be
included, which dilemmas should be posed, would also need discussions during
the development of such materials. The example of Nicosia was particularly
mentioned by participants who raised issues such as:

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 How can we use the walls of Nicosia since they represent its history at
different periods?

How do we restore the city, e.g. ‘Freedom Square’?

What can we do with Agios Kassianos (a deserted school in the Buffer

Zone): a museum of friendship, a mixed school, a gymnasium?

How can the old city be used from both sides since it is the same as it
unites north and south and is a common element with which we can think
of Nicosia as a whole, but is not presently used?

If we look at the layers of history of Nicosia, what changes and

continuities will we find, for example, which are the commercial streets,
where is the river of Pediaios located?

How can we use multiperspectivity to examine the case of the mosaics of

Panagia Kanakaria, of Bayraktar Mosque, of the Agia Sofia Cathedral, of
the House of the Dragoman?

How will we deal with monuments whose interpretations are influenced

by political problems, monuments which are currently used in ways
different than those intended at the beginning?

How can we approach monuments in a view of unification: return to their

1960s function or change it altogether?

What could be done with the Green Line after reunification: a parking
place, a flower garden, a children’s park?

How can we deal with non-inhabited parts of a city like Nicosia?

Other questions focused on the administrative aspects of such a project, ie. who
developed the project on Granada and how long did it take? Ms Del Moral
replied that in the case of materials presented on Granada, each teacher prepared
materials for one monument. 20 teachers worked on the project in total for six
months during which they met in Barcelona three times. These questions
attempted to draw parallels with the situation in Cyprus to identify the future of
developing such materials for the Cypriot context. A first step was to translate
the materials provided by Ms Del Moral from Spanish in order to enable
participants to study them more deeply and in the future to use similar
approaches when preparing teaching materials on Nicosia.

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 Workshop on “Teaching about historical personalities
on the basis of multiperspectivity”

Animator: Ms Sue Bennett

Introduction

People’s lives are the stuff of which history is made — how they lived, what
they did, how they behaved, what drove them, why they are remembered; these
are all aspects of the past that fascinate everyone — adult, young person and
child. Stories about people educate, entertain and intrigue. But to make them our
own, to interiorise and to evaluate their significance we all need devices to help
us think about them. These devices should help us see the person, as through a
kaleidoscope, in all their many facets. This includes realising that people of
different cultures and backgrounds can view the same historical person or event
in different ways.

Richard the Lionheart, King of England, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Normandy

and Count of Anjou is a good example of someone who has been interpreted in
different ways. A king who spoke no English and spent most of his time away
either in his lands in France or on crusade, he has been both hated and idolised.
Arab, French and English chroniclers, viewed him differently and his
significance for the history of Cyprus is very different to his impact on the
history of England. A study of his career is thus a useful vehicle for helping
pupils understand how and why an individual can be interpreted very
differently. Such a study can help develop pupils’ understanding of multi-
perspectivity. Looking at Richard through different lenses can also help to
address some of the sensitive issues that any study of the crusades is likely to
raise.

A study of Richard can thus enable pupils to:

learn about the history of Richard and also about Saladin, the leader of
the Muslim forces against whom Richard fought;

understand that there have been different interpretations of Richard;

relate these interpretations to the events of Richard’s life;

consider the significance of Richard for the history of England, Cyprus

and the eastern Mediterranean.

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The activity described below, which can be used either as INSET activity with
teachers or with pupils in a classroom, is designed to show some of the
techniques that could be used in such as study. It was used at a seminar, which
included Turkish and Greek Cypriot teachers. The activity was mainly run as if
the teachers were pupils but there were opportunities to reflect on the different
tasks and to consider their effectiveness in stimulating pupils’ learning.

Building the learning journey

Any sequence of activities should be designed to take pupils on a learning

journey — a journey in which the teacher helps them pursue an enquiry and
answer a question. Depending on their age and ability pupils’ learning can be
assisted by a variety of activities designed to help them acquire and process the
information they need to answer their enquiry.

Choosing the question that governs the enquiry is the trickiest part of the
process since the question not only motivates the pupil but also determines the
historical knowledge, concepts and skills that pupils need to be taught.

The question for this enquiry was: Why have people interpreted Richard so
differently?

This is a question about interpretations of the past, about how and why people in
different periods and from different cultures have seen Richard so differently. It
requires pupils to know about Richard’s career and about the different
interpretations of him found in books, films and museums and in different
places and different periods. Significantly, it is not asking which interpretation
is right but about the reasons for these different viewpoints. Judging the
interpretations is a more complex task, requiring a range of knowledge, which
this set of activities do not build up.

There are a number of other questions that could be used to structure an enquiry
into Richard the Lionheart. Figure 1 is an activity designed to enable teachers to
look at some key questions and to examine them for their historical validity and
teaching potential. Some of the questions are weak and will tend to moral
superficiality rather than rigorous historical thinking; some will help to ensure
that pupils see the diversity of the past.

Starting points

Only when we commit ourselves to something wholeheartedly are we likely to

get maximum benefit from an activity. This is true of a teacher and a pupil.
Commitment and motivation come when we are intrigued, puzzled, amazed, or
emotionally affected — thus the first activity in any learning sequence is vital in

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leading pupils into the work they have to do. Ideally, it should be mirrored or
rounded off by the culminating activity that draws the threads of the activity
together. The initial activity can be a story, an intriguing source, a puzzling
incident anything that will engage and excite.

In this case the introductory activity was a study of two pictures, one of Richard,
the other of Saladin. The pictures were very different and were visually
appealing. Pupils can study the pictures using a framework of questions that
enables them to work out what information they know for certain from the
pictures, what they can infer and what else they need to know. They can also
evaluate the usefulness and reliability of the pictures in any investigation of the
two leaders’ characters and appearance. Comparing the two pictures enables
them to assess how different cultures and art forms influenced the ways in
which people were portrayed. Teachers using the activity in in-service training
can follow the same questions. Careful debriefing can help to tease out the
significance of the process and the learning points that need to be reinforced by
the teacher.

Establishing the framework of knowledge

Before pupils can look at the interpretations, they need a framework of

knowledge. Activity 1 is designed to build this framework (Figures 2 and 3).
Pupils are given a set of cards outlining Richard’s career. They put these on
graph with the length of Richard’s life as the horizontal axis – positive, and
negative as the vertical. If the event is positive for Richard they place it above
the line in a position that shows how good it was. Negative events go below the
line. This gives the pupils an idea of the main events and the progress of
Richard’s career. Seeing Richard’s career from another perspective, for
example, his brother John or Saladin can change the interpretation of the events
so pupils can be asked to redo the graph from a different perspective.

Looking at interpretations

The next activity is designed to help pupils evaluate the different interpretations
of Richard. Pupils are given a variety of different interpretations of Richard
from different periods and cultures (Figure 4). They decide where to put them
on the diamond chart (Figure 5) with the most positive at the top and the most
negative at the bottom. Pupils are then given the event cards (Figure 6) and
asked to place them next to the interpretation that the event supports. The
purpose is not to decide if the interpretation is right but to see how the event
could have led to a particular interpretation.

-85-
Drawing it all together

In conclusion pupils are asked to write a brief essay on why have people
interpreted Richard so differently? The writing frame in Figure 7 is designed to
help them structure their report.

Alternatively, pupils can take part in a debate, produce a radio programme or a

storyboard for a television programme. Whatever the activity, it is important
that they substantiate their views with factual information.

Using the activity in in-service training

If these activities are used for in-service training, it is important that the trainer
takes time to debrief after each stage and facilitates debate about the value of the
activity and how it might support pupils’ learning.

-86-
Figure 1: Developing key questions – based on activity devised by
Ms Christine Counsell

Developing key Questions – an INSET activity

Look at each key question and examine it for historical validity and teaching
potential. Look out for any questions that are weak and will tend to moral
superficiality rather than rigorous historical thinking. Which questions will
promote rigorous historical thinking? Which will promote multi-perspectivity?

Which questions lead to Which questions focus Which questions focus

explicit questions about on interpretations? on significance?
evidence?

Was Richard a successful military leader?

Why do people remember Richard?

Was Richard a chivalrous knight?

Why has Richard been portrayed as a hero?

Was Richard a hero?

Who was the better leader Richard or Saladin?

Why have some people thought Richard was a good military commander?

Why did Richard manage to capture Cyprus so easily?

Why did Richard fail to regain the Holy Land?

Was Richard a man of honour?

Do you agree with the picture painted of Richard by Muslim chroniclers?

Did Richard’s journey to the Holy Land change anything?

Does the career of Richard matter?

Did Richard treat his conquered lands and cities fairly?

Why have people interpreted Richard so differently?

-87-
Figure 2: Events

1157 Born second son of Henry II 1191 Quarrels with Duke Leopold of
of England and Eleanor of Austria
Aquitaine

1169 Does homage to Louis VII of 1191 Phillip II of France decides to

France for Aquitaine and return home
betrothed to the French King’s
daughter

1173 Rebels against his father and 1192 Wins battle of Arsuf
fights with Louis VII

1174 Forced to ask his father’s 1192 Fails to advance on Jerusalem

pardon

1183 Becomes heir to Henry II 1192 Returns to Europe

1187 Vows to go on crusade 1192 Captured by Leopold of

Austria

1189 Defeats Henry II and on Henry’s 1192 His brother John rebels
death became King of England against him with the help of
the King of France

1190 Sets out on crusade 1193 Ransomed for £100,000

1191 Captures Messina in Scilly 1199 Regains his lands in France

captured by the King of
France

1191 Captures Cyprus 1199 Killed in an attack on the

unimportant castle of Chalus in
France

-88-
 Figure 3a: Establishing the framework -Graph

Richard’s Life

Importance
+

1157 1169 1173 1174 1183 1187 1189 1190 1191 1192 1193 1199

-89-
Figure 3b: Establishing the framework - A finished sample of how the
graph might be completed

Richard’s Life

1189

1169 1183
1190
1174 1187

1199
1157
1191
1193
1173
1192

-90-
Figure 4: Interpretations

I have long since been aware that your The King of England was a very
king is a man of honour and very brave powerful man among the Franks, a man
but he is imprudent, indeed absurdly so, of great courage and spirit. He had
in the way he plunges into danger and in fought great battles, and showed a
reckless indifference to his own safety. burning passion for war.

Saladin describing Richard 1 to Hubert Baha Al-Din — one of Saladin’s officials

Walter

For the head and the father of valour, the The King was indeed a man of wisdom,
courageous and powerful king of the experience courage and energy.
English is dead.
Baha Al-Din — one of Saladin’s officials
th
French troubadour Gaucelem Faidit 12
Century

He spoke no English and was not Now, however, he (Richard) broke his
interested in England except as a supply word to the Muslim prisoners…they fell
of money. upon (them) and slaughtered them in cold
bold.
Mr John Gillingham - English 20th
Century historian Baha Al-Din - one of Saladin’s officials

He was a bad king … his ambition was He was at heart a statesman, cool and
just that of a warrior patient in the execution of his plans

Bishop Stubbs - English 19th Century Mr JR Green - English 20th Century

historian historian

He was brutal and unintelligent A great man…shrewd in politics and also

capable of diplomacy on a grand scale.
Mr R Grousset - French historian More generous than his father, nobler,
more imaginative

Mr F Barlow - English 20th Century

historian

-91-
Figure 5: Diamond chart

1.

2. 3.

4. 6.

7. 8.

9.

-92-
Figure 6: Events

Richard captured Cyprus in one month. Richard won the battle of Arsuf. His
He confiscated property from those who soldiers commented on his bravery but
fought against him. He imposed a 50% it was his clever tactics that won the
levy on every Cypriot. battle.

Richard quarrelled with both Philip of Twice Richard was within twelve miles
France and Leopold of Austria about the of Jerusalem but each time he was
plunder and lands the Crusaders captured. forced to turn back.

At Acre Richard followed up Richard made peace with Saladin. The

bombardments of the walls with attacks coast remained in Christian hands. The
by soldiers on the weak points. Muslims kept Jerusalem but Christians
were free to visit the city.

Having promised to free 2,700 Muslim After the capture of Cyprus Richard
prisoners captured at Acre, Richard killed confirmed the island’s traditional laws
them when the promised ransom did not and customs.
arrive.

-93-
Figure 7: Writing Frame

Why have people interpreted Richard so differently?

Richard has been seen as a hero. People have thought this because…

Some people disagree with this view. They argue that…

Medieval writers thought that Richard…

Modern historians have said that…

Evidence from Richard’s life suggests that…

I think the reason why Richard has been interpreted differently is because…

-94-
 Workshop on “Pedagogical use of historical
sites and museums”
Animator: Ms Cristina Del Moral, Spain

A teacher who wants to work with historical cities should have the following
objectives:

to make pupils understand the value of heritage, historical cities and

architectures;

to make pupils understand heritage as a sign of identity and development;

to promote active citizenship related to the problems of historical cities;

to foster curiosity for ancient periods;

to encourage critical thinking about the present-day situation connected

with historical cities;

to develop empathy for people who lived in ancient periods;

to encourage creativity.

Ways of working

to share experience with other teachers on the basis of multidisciplinary

approach;

to organise pupils in group work;

to prepare enquiries;

to present dilemmas;

to collect different opinions;

to respect other points of view.

-95-
Evaluation

A teacher will evaluate:

the pupils’ participation in working groups (openness, respect,

cooperation);

active participation in debates;

a presentation of the enquiries’ results;

the correct answers to multiple choice questions which a teacher should

present in a class;

the creativity shown in drawings, maps etc;

the correct use of language and concepts when presenting the final report
about the experience.

-96-
 Workshop on “Teaching history for reconciliation using
examples from the history of the Second World War”
Animator: Mr Brian Carvell, United Kingdom

The purpose of this workshop was to help prepare teachers to teach about World
War II with reference to Cyprus. When discussing this topic, it was anticipated
that issues of historical multiperspectivity and interactive learning would
emerge.

In order to help the participants appreciate the need for multiperspectivity, they
were given some guidance to assist their discussion and preparation. Participants
were asked to develop a pedagogical unit, or a lesson plan that could be used:

in classrooms;

with 14-16 year olds;

in different communities;

to encourage pupils to think historically.

The period of the Second World War was chosen for the following reasons:

a good range of source materials was collected by the participants;

it was a period when Cyprus was under one administration;

it offers many opportunities for presenting different perspectives;

it offers an opportunity to teach about local, regional and global

perspectives.

The workshop was organised in a way which provided active involvement of all
participants. Everybody was involved in selecting sources, in preparing answers
in writing, in reading what others have written, and in discussing whether the
materials were suitable for the use in schools.

Participants worked in groups which included representatives of different

communities.

-97-
Each group was asked to choose a subtheme to explore. This directed their
choice of source materials and build up of narrative for the unit. The range of
sub themes suggested was:

why did Cyprus take part in World War II?

where did Cypriot soldiers fight?

what did Cypriots learn from their experiences?

what was life like for civilians?

what special contribution did Cypriots make?

how was the island defended?

It is intended that the notes prepared by the participants for lessons or projects
could later become a part of a supplementary pedagogical set of materials which
could be used in schools in Cyprus.

-98-
APPENDICES
 PROGRAMME OF THE SEMINAR ON

“MULTIPERSPECTIVITY IN HISTORY TEACHING”

Wednesday, 24 November 2004

08h00 – 09h00 Registration of the participants

09h00 – 11h00 Plenary Session

Chair: Ms Tatiana Milko, Council of Europe

Presentation on: “Teaching history without dividing lines:

an overview of the Council of Europe’s work on history
teaching”, by Ms Tatiana Milko, Programme Officer,
Council of Europe.

Presentation on: “Teaching methods in history school

education in Cyprus: present-day situation and future
developments”, by Ms Chara Makriyianni, Educator,
President of the Association for Historical Dialogue and
Research.

Presentation on “The use of multiperspectivity when

teaching history in secondary and upper-secondary schools:
an example of the United Kingdom”, by Ms Sue Bennett,
United Kingdom.

Discussion with all the participants.

11h00 – 11h30 Break

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11h30 – 14h00 Plenary session

Chair: Ms Tatiana Milko, Council of Europe

Presentation on: “Teaching history through intercultural

dialogue to 11-14 year old students: an example of Spain”,
by Ms Cristina Del Moral, Spain.

Presentation on: “The use of history textbooks and other

teaching materials when teaching history in present-day
schools”, by Mr Brain Carvell United Kingdom.

Discussion with all the participants.

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 PROGRAMME OF THE SEMINAR ON

“HISTORY TEXTBOOKS AND TEACHING MATERIALS

AND THEIR USE IN A CLASSROOM”

Thursday, 25 November 2004

08h00 – 09h00 Registration of the participants

09h00 – 11h00 Plenary Session

Chair: Ms Tatiana Milko, Council of Europe

Presentation on: “Teaching history without dividing lines:

an overview of the Council of Europe’s work in history
teaching”, by Ms Tatiana Milko, Programme Officer,
Council of Europe.

Presentation on: “History textbooks and teaching material

for school education: present-day situation and future
developments”, by Mr Güven Uludağ, History Textbook
Author, History Teacher.

Presentation on: “New approaches in the preparation of

history textbooks and teaching materials for secondary and
upper-secondary schools”, by Mr Brian Carvell, United
Kingdom.

Discussion with all the participants.

11h00 – 11h30 Break

11h30 – 14h00 Plenary session

Chair: Ms Tatiana Milko, Council of Europe

Presentation on: “The use of history textbooks and teaching

materials when teaching history through intercultural
dialogue to 11-14 year old students: an example of Spain”,
by Ms Cristina Del Moral, Spain.

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Presentation on: “The use of different teaching materials
when teaching history interactively on the basis of
multiperspectivity to 11-14 year old students: an example
of the United Kingdom”, Ms Sue Bennett, United
Kingdom.

Discussion with all the participants.

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 PROGRAMME OF THE WORKSHOPS ON

“NEW APPROACHES TO TEACHING HISTORY:

MULTIPERSPECTIVITY”

Friday, 26 November 2004

08h30 - 09h00 Registration of the participants

09h00 - 10h00 Plenary Session

Chair: Ms Tatiana Milko, Council of Europe

i. Mr Gabriele Mazza, Director of School, Out-of-

School and Higher Education, Council of Europe;

ii. Mr Marios Epaminondas, Vice-President, the

Association for Historical Dialogue and Research;

iii. Mr Tahir Gökçebel, General Secretary, Cyprus

Turkish Secondary Education Teachers’ Union
(K.T.O.E.Ö.S).

10h00 - 10h30 Break

10h30 - 12h30 Three parallel Workshops:

Workshop on “Teaching about historical personalities on

the basis of multiperspectivity”

Animator: Ms Sue Bennett

Rapporteurs: Mr Marios Epaminondas
Mr Tahir Gökçebel

The discussions will be based on the analysis of source

materials on the following historical personalities:

- Richard the Lionheart;

- Bekir Pasha;
- Hadjigeorghakis Kornesios, the Dragoman.

-105-
 Workshop on “Teaching history for reconciliation using
examples from the history of the World War II”

Animator: Mr Brian Carvell

Rapporteurs: Mr George Stogias
Mr Yılmaz Akgünlü

Participants are asked to bring with them different examples

of source materials on everyday and family history.

Workshop on “Pedagogical use of historical sites and

museums”

Animator: Ms Cristina Del Moral

Rapporteurs: Ms Christina Georgiou
Ms Samiye Takın

The discussions will be based on the analysis of source

materials on the following sites and museums:

- Büyük Han;
- the house of Hadligeorgakis Kornesios;
- the Venetian Walls.

12h30 – 14h00 Lunch

14h00 – 16h.30 Continuation of the Workshops session

Saturday, 27 November 2004

09h00 – 11h00 Continuation of the Workshops session

11h00 – 11h30 Break

11h30 – 13h00 Plenary Session

Chair: Ms Tatiana Milko, Council of Europe

Discussion with all the participants on the Workshop

sessions.

13h00 – 14h30 Lunch

-106-
14h30 – 16h00 Plenary Session

Chair: Ms Tatiana Milko, Council of Europe

Summing up of the results of the workshop discussions by

the general rapporteurs.

Closing of the workshops.

-107-
 RECOMMENDATION REC(2001)15

ON HISTORY TEACHING IN TWENTY-FIRST-CENTURY EUROPE

COUNCIL OF EUROPE
COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS

Recommendation Rec(2001)15
on history teaching in twenty-first-century Europe

(Adopted by the Committee of Ministers

on 31October 2001 at the 771st meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies)

The Committee of Ministers, in pursuance of Article 15.b of the Statute

of the Council of Europe,

Considering that the aim of the Council of Europe is to achieve a greater

unity between its members;

Bearing in mind the European Cultural Convention, signed in Paris on 19

December 1954, which called on its signatory states to encourage the
study of the history and civilisation of the other contracting parties and to
promote such studies in the territory of the other contracting parties;
Calling to mind the Vienna (1993) and Strasbourg (1997) summits, at
which the heads of state and government of the Council of Europe:

– expressed their wish to make the Council of Europe fully capable of

meeting the challenges of the twenty-first century;

– expressed the need for stronger mutual understanding and confidence

between peoples, particularly through a history teaching syllabus
intended to eliminate prejudice and emphasising positive mutual
influence between different countries, religions and ideas in the historical
development of Europe;

– reaffirmed the educational and cultural dimensions of the major

challenges in the Europe of tomorrow;

Confirming that ideological falsification and manipulation of history are

incompatible with the fundamental principles of the Council of Europe as
defined in its Statute;

-109-
Bearing in mind the Parliamentary Assembly recommendations on the
European dimension of education (Recommendation 1111 (1989)) and on
history and the learning of history in Europe (Recommendation 1283
(1996));

Bearing in mind Resolution No. 1, adopted at the 19th Session of the

Standing Conference of European Ministers of Education, on the theme
of trends and common issues in education in Europe (Kristiansand,
Norway, 1997) and the conclusions and resolutions of the 20th Session of
the Standing Conference of European Ministers of Education on the
project “Learning and teaching about the history of Europe in the
twentieth century” (Cracow, Poland, 2000);

Bearing in mind the declaration adopted at the Informal Conference of

Ministers of Education from South-East Europe (Strasbourg, 1999), in
which it is recommended that practical activities be undertaken in the
thematic areas in which the Council of Europe had long-standing and
recognised expertise, including history teaching;

Taking into account the declaration adopted at the Regional Conference

of Ministers of Education of the Caucasus countries (Tbilisi, Georgia,
2000);

Having regard to Recommendation No. R (98) 5 of the Committee of

Ministers to member states concerning heritage education, in which the
Ministers affirm that educational activities in the heritage field give
meaning to the future through a better understanding of the past;

Taking into account Committee of Ministers Resolution (98) 4 on the

cultural routes of the Council of Europe;

Considering Recommendation No. R(2000)1 of the Committee of

Ministers to member states on fostering transfrontier co-operation
between territorial communities or authorities in the cultural field, in
which the Ministers affirm that transfrontier activities help the young to
acquire transfrontier vision while raising their awareness of the diversity
of cultural and historical traditions;

Taking into account the resolutions adopted at the 5th Conference of

European Ministers of Cultural Heritage (Portorož, Slovenia, 2001) in
which the ministers reaffirmed that history teaching should be founded
on an understanding and explanation of heritage, and should highlight the
cross-border nature of heritage;

-110-
Considering Recommendation No. R(2000)13 of the Committee of
Ministers to member states on a European policy on access to archives, in
which the Ministers, taking account of the increasing interest of the
public for history, and noting that a better understanding of recent
European history could contribute to conflict prevention, call for a
European policy on access to archives, based upon principles compatible
with democratic values;

Bearing in mind Recommendation No. R (97) 20 of the Committee of

Ministers to member states on ‘hate speech’, in which hate speech is
defined as all forms of expression which spread, incite, promote or justify
racial hatred, xenophobia or antisemitism, and in which it is pointed out
that the impact of hate speech is more damaging when disseminated by
the media;

Taking into account the Council of Europe’s previous work in history

teaching, based upon the idea of reconciliation and positive mutual
influences among people, such as that of the post-war period, which
focused on ridding history textbooks of bias and prejudice, and that of the
project “History in the new Europe” and of the programme “History
teaching and the new initiative of the Secretary General”, which assisted
the republics of the former Soviet Union in developing methodologies to
modernise history teaching, producing new textbooks and training
teachers accordingly;

Having taken note of the results of the project “Learning and teaching
about the history of Europe in the twentieth century” and of all the
teaching materials presented at the project’s final conference entitled
“The Twentieth Century: An Interplay of Views”, held symbolically at
the House of History of the Federal Republic of Germany (Haus der
Geschichte in Bonn, Germany, 2001);

Noting that the project “Learning and teaching about the history of
Europe in the twentieth century” made it possible, among other things:

– to make appreciable progress in developing a pluralist and tolerant

concept of history teaching, inter alia, through the development of
individual research and analysis capabilities;

– to highlight educational innovations, using both information

technologies and new sources of teaching material;

– to draw up examples of open approaches to the central issues of

twentieth-century European history, Recommends that member states’

-111-
governments, while respecting their constitutional structures, national or
local situations and education systems:

– draw on the principles set out in the appendix to this recommendation,

with regard to current and future reforms in both history teaching and
training for history teachers;

– ensure, through appropriate national, regional and local procedures, that

the relevant public or private bodies in their own country be informed of
the principles set forth in this recommendation, with the support of the
reference documents that underlie it, in particular the teaching resources
prepared by the project “Learning and teaching about the history of
Europe in the twentieth century”;

– on the basis of arrangements to be determined, continue activities

relating to history teaching in order to strengthen trusting and tolerant
relations within and between states and to meet the challenges of the
twenty-first century;

– adopt an integrated approach, using other Council of Europe projects,

in particular the project “Education for democratic citizenship” project
and work carried out in the field of cultural heritage;

Ask the Secretary General of the Council of Europe to draw this

recommendation to the attention of those states which are parties to the
European Cultural Convention but are not members of the Council of
Europe.

Appendix to Recommendation Rec(2001)15

1. The aims of history teaching in the twenty-first century

History teaching in a democratic Europe should:

– occupy a vital place in the training of responsible and active citizens

and in the developing of respect for all kinds of differences, based on an
understanding of national identity and on principles of tolerance;

– be a decisive factor in reconciliation, recognition, understanding and

mutual trust between peoples;

– play a vital role in the promotion of fundamental values, such as

tolerance, mutual understanding, human rights and democracy;

-112-
– be one of the fundamental parts of the freely agreed building of Europe
based on a common historical and cultural heritage, enriched through
diversity, even with its conflictual and sometimes dramatic aspects;

– be part of an education policy that plays a direct role in young people’s

development and progress, with a view to their active participation in the
building of Europe, as well as the peaceful development of human
societies in a global perspective, in a spirit of mutual understanding and
trust;

– make it possible to develop in pupils the intellectual ability to analyse

and interpret information critically and responsibly, through dialogue,
through the search for historical evidence and through open debate based
on multiperspectivity, especially on controversial and sensitive issues;

– enable European citizens to enhance their own individual and collective

identity through knowledge of their common historical heritage in its
local, regional, national, European and global dimensions;

– be an instrument for the prevention of crimes against humanity.

2. The misuse of history

History teaching must not be an instrument of ideological manipulation,

of propaganda or used for the promotion of intolerant and ultra-
nationalistic, xenophobic, racist or anti-Semitic ideas.

Historical research and history as it is taught in schools cannot in any

way, with any intention, be compatible with the fundamental values and
statutes of the Council of Europe if it allows or promotes misuses of
history, namely through:

– falsification or creation of false evidence, doctored statistics, faked

images, etc.;

– fixation on one event to justify or conceal another;

– distortion of the past for the purposes of propaganda;

– an excessively nationalistic version of the past which may create the

‘us’ and ‘them’ dichotomy;

– abuse of the historical record;

– denial of historical fact;

-113-
– omission of historical fact.

3. The European dimension in history teaching

As the building of Europe is an expression of both a decision freely

entered into by Europeans themselves and a historical reality, it would be
appropriate to:

– show continuing historical relationships between local, regional,

national and European levels;

– encourage teaching about periods and developments with the most

obvious European dimension, especially the historical or cultural events
and tendencies that underpin European awareness;

– use every available means, particularly information technology, to

promote co-operation and exchange projects between schools on themes
connected with the history of Europe;

– develop pupils’ interest in the history of other European countries;

– introduce or develop teaching about the history of the building of

Europe itself.

To promote the European dimension in history teaching in an enlarged,

democratic, peaceful Europe, it would be appropriate to:

– take account of the results of the work done during the project
“Learning and teaching about the history of Europe in the twentieth
century” conducted by the Council for Cultural Co-operation, in terms of
both content and methodological approach;

– draw on Council of Europe programmes on the reform of history

teaching and on the preparation of new textbooks and methodological
guides during activities to develop and consolidate democratic stability;

– draw on Council of Europe programmes for raising awareness of and

teaching about heritage;

– disseminate as widely as possible the teaching materials produced by

the project “Learning and teaching about the history of Europe in the
twentieth century” by making appropriate use of information and
communication technologies;

-114-
– increase assistance in the preparation of new syllabuses and standards
in history teaching, including production of new textbooks, in particular
in the Russian Federation, the Caucasus countries, South-east Europe and
the Black Sea region;

– take advantage of the Council of Europe’s In-Service Training

Programme for Educational Staff to help teachers acquire this new
knowledge in a European context enabling them to compare views and
experience.

4. Syllabus content

History teaching, while it must avoid the accumulation of encyclopaedic

knowledge, must nevertheless encompass:

– awareness-raising about the European dimension, taken into account

when syllabuses are drawn up, so as to instil in pupils a ‘European
awareness’ open to the rest of the world;

– development of students’ critical faculties, ability to think for

themselves, objectivity and resistance to being manipulated;

– the events and moments that have left their mark on the history of
Europe as such, studied at local, national, European and global levels,
approached through particularly significant periods and facts;

– the study of every dimension of European history, not just political, but
also economic, social and cultural;

– development of curiosity and the spirit of enquiry, in particular through

the use of discovery methods in the study of the heritage, an area which
brings out intercultural influences;

– the elimination of prejudice and stereotypes, through the highlighting in

history syllabuses of positive mutual influences between different
countries, religions and schools of thought over the period of Europe’s
historical development;

– critical study of misuses of history, whether these stem from denials of

historical facts, falsification, omission, ignorance or re-appropriation to
ideological ends;

– study of controversial issues through the taking into account of the

different facts, opinions and viewpoints, as well as through a search for
the truth.

-115-
5. Learning methods

Use of sources

The widest variety of sources of teaching material should be used to

communicate historical facts and present them to be learnt about through
a critical and analytical approach, more particularly:

– archives, open to the public, especially in the countries of central and

eastern Europe, which now provide never previously available access to
authentic documents;

– documentary and fictional films and audiovisual products;

– the material conveyed by information technology, which should be

individually and collectively studied, with the teacher playing a vital part;

– all types of museums of the twentieth century set up throughout Europe

and the historically symbolic places, which promote a realistic perception
by pupils of recent events, especially in their everyday dimension;

– oral history, through which spoken testimony on recent historical

events can make history come alive for young people, and which can
offer the viewpoints and perspectives of those who have been omitted
from the ‘historical record’.

Personal research

Pupils should be encouraged to carry out personal research, according to

their level and circumstances, thus fostering their curiosity and initiative
in terms of information collection and their ability to distil the main facts.

Group research

Groups of pupils, classes and schools should be encouraged to engage in

research projects or active learning, so as to create conditions for
dialogue and for the open and tolerant comparison of opinions.

The cross-disciplinary and multidisciplinary approach

The learning of history should at all times make use of the educational
potential of a cross-disciplinary and multidisciplinary approach, forging
links with the other subjects on the curriculum as a whole, including
literature, geography, social sciences, philosophy and the arts and
sciences.

-116-
The international, transfrontier approach

Depending on the circumstances, encouragement should be given to the

implementation of international, transfrontier projects, based upon the
study of a common theme, comparative approaches or the performance of
a common task by several schools in different countries, with advantage
being taken inter alia of the new possibilities opened up by information
technology and of the establishment of school links and exchanges.

6. Teaching and remembrance

While emphasising the positive achievements of the twentieth century,

such as the peaceful use of science towards better living conditions and
the expansion of democracy and human rights, everything possible
should be done in the educational sphere to prevent recurrence or denial
of the devastating events that have marked this century, namely the
Holocaust, genocides and other crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing
and the massive violations of human rights and of the fundamental values
to which the Council of Europe is particularly committed. This should
include:

– helping pupils to develop knowledge and awareness of the events – and

their causes – which have cast the darkest shadows on European and
world history;

– thinking about the ideologies which led to them and how to prevent any
recurrence of them;

– shaping, developing and co-ordinating the relevant in-service training

programmes for educational staff in the member states of the Council for
Cultural Co-operation;

– facilitating access to the documentation already available on this

subject, inter alia through the use of new technology, and developing a
network of teaching resource centres in this field;

– implementing and monitoring implementation of the education

ministers’ decision (Cracow, 2000) to designate a day in schools, chosen
in the light of each country’s history, for Holocaust remembrance and for
the prevention of crimes against humanity;

– developing the Council of Europe’s specific input in the education field

to the Task Force for International Co-operation on Holocaust Education,
Remembrance and Research.

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7. Initial and in-service training for history teachers

Specialised initial and in-service training for history teachers should:

– enable and encourage history teachers to work with complex, process-

oriented and reflective methods of history teaching;

– inform future history teachers and those already practising the

profession about all the latest products, instruments and methods,
particularly where the use of information and communication
technologies is concerned;

– make teachers aware of the use of teaching techniques which, going

beyond, but taking account of factual information, are intended to enable
pupils to interpret and analyse historical facts and their influence on the
present, in different contexts, for example, social, geographical,
economic contexts, etc.;

– help to enable teachers to make use of assessment techniques which

take account, not just of the information memorised by pupils, but also of
the activities they are capable of carrying out thanks to their knowledge
of the information concerned, whether these involve research, discussion
or the analysis of controversial issues;

– help to devise and create cross-disciplinary learning situations in their

classes, in collaboration with their fellow teachers.

As information and communication technologies are leading to a

transformation of history teachers’ role, it is important to:

– create opportunities for exchanges, so that teachers may become aware

of the great variety of learning situations involving the new roles
concerned;

– support the setting up of discussion groups to look at the profession’s

difficulties, hesitations and doubts about these new methods of teaching;

– develop resource banks which specify, not only the documents and sites
available, but also the validity of the information derived from the said
documents and sites.

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In order to fulfil these objectives and to establish a specific profile for
history teachers, it would be appropriate to:

– provide training institutes for history teachers with the support needed
to maintain and improve the quality of their training, and develop the
professionalism and social status of history teachers in particular;

– accord particular attention to training for trainers of history teachers,

based on the principles contained in this recommendation;

– promote comparative research on the objectives, structures and

standards specific to initial and in-service training for history teachers
and in so doing promote inter-institutional co-operation and the exchange
of information needed for the reform of initial and in-service history
teacher training and in-service training for trainers;

– seek out and foster partnerships between all of the institutions active in
or concerned with history-teacher training (in particular the media), with
a view to emphasising their particular mission and specific
responsibilities.

8. Information and communication technologies

While complying with legislation and respecting freedom of expression,

the requisite steps should be taken to combat the dissemination of racist,
xenophobic and revisionist material, especially via the Internet.

In the context of the widespread use of information and communication

technologies by the young, both during their school and out-of-school
lives, it is important that teaching methods and techniques allow for the
fact that these technologies:

– are vital resources for history teaching;

– necessitate in-depth consideration of the diversity and reliability of

sources;

– allow teachers and pupils access to original sources and to multiple

interpretations;

– spectacularly broaden access to historical information and facts;

– increase and facilitate opportunities for exchanges and for dialogue.

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Moreover, it would be appropriate to set up the conditions necessary for
teachers to:

– in the selection process, help their pupils to assess the reliability of

information sources and information for themselves;

– introduce classroom procedures which encourage critical analysis,

which acknowledge a multiplicity of standpoints and which adopt a
transcultural approach to the interpretation of facts;

– help their pupils to develop skills such as critical analysis and

analogical reasoning.

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