Research Interests:
by Halil Ekşi ve Yavuz Yaşar
Research Interests:
It has been a matter of discussion whether history lessons can be held with young age groups. In general terms, although Piaget has alleged that this was not possible, names such as Vygotsky and Bruner have claimed otherwise. History... more
It has been a matter of discussion whether history lessons can be held with young age groups. In general terms, although Piaget has alleged that this was not possible, names such as Vygotsky and Bruner have claimed otherwise. History education for young age groups is possible with the help of methods and approaches that are intently related to their pedagogical development. Thus, the Reggio Emilia approach, which is oriented toward young age groups, is utilised in history education for early childhood. The research was structured with respect to the action research model in qualitative research. The participants of the research were selected in accordance with purposive sampling, and the research took place in the 2019 Spring semester, throughout April and May. The study group involved 18 students enrolled in a private school that practices the Reggio Emilia education approach, ages ranging from 78 to 89 months. Through four activities done with the children, chronological thinking, historical comprehension, historical analysis and commentary, and the way children acquire historical thinking skills within a context of historical imagination were investigated. These events are built on a process that deals with the home and neighbourhood life of historical Istanbul. In the activities, first hand historical resources that were adapted to the age groups of the students were used extensively. Data was collected through unstructured interviews and observations throughout the research. Data obtained from activity results were also evaluated. The collection of data was analysed by means of descriptive and content analyses. The findings have been evaluated within the scope of chronological thinking, historical concept, historical analysis and interpretation, historical imagination and interpreted separately under each heading. As a result of the study, it is understood that history education can be provided with appropriate techniques and methods with the help of Reggio Emilia approach for children in young age groups.