The impact of content knowledge on the adoption of a critical curriculum model by history teachers-in-training

This work analyses the impact of disciplinary training on future Primary and Secondary School teachers’ decision to adopt a critical approach for teaching history. To do this, we will use a two-phase mixed methodological approach (quantitative and qualitative) to analyse the relationship between their previous training and the use of epistemological and psycho-pedagogical objectives and paradigms as outlined in a critical curriculum model. As regards data collection in the first phase, a closed questionnaire was created and validated, using a Likert-style (1–5) evaluation scale. The data was codified using the statistical package SPSS v.26.0 for subsequent analysis. The selected sample included 215 students from a Spanish university on the following courses: Degree in Primary Education (n = 145) and Master’s Degree in Secondary School Teaching specialised in history and geography (n = 70). They were all in the last stage of their initial training. In the second phase, we selected some of the students to participate in discussion groups, where they were able to go into more depth with their answers. In this way, we could better understand the link between their disciplinary training and the adoption of a determined model of history education. To do this, we separated them into three groups with different profiles: students taking the Degree in Primary Education unrelated with History (n = 8), students taking the Degree in Primary Education specialised in arts and humanities (n = 8) and students taking the Master’s Degree in Secondary School Teaching specialised in history and geography (n = 8). The data was gathered using an open coding procedure, based on several categories, which allowed us to compare the different questionnaires. The results reveal significant differences between the different groups. As such, we can conclude as to the importance of mastering epistemological disciplinary knowledge to break with certain traditions which impede innovation and make the adoption of a critical educational model more difficult.