As explicações de alunos sobre o conflito Israelo-Árabe: um estudo no 3º Ciclo do Ensino Básico (The students explanations of the Israeli-Arab conflict: a study of the Third Cycle [High School])

Paula Dias

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Abstract

This work is grounded on the line of research about students’ ideas in second order historical concepts, and relates to a constructivist approach of learning. The central concept explored was Historical Explanation, conceived as the search for an answer to a question of “Why?” type about a particular historical situation - the Israeli-Arab Conflict. The empirical, descriptive study of a qualitative nature aimed to investigate the Explanatory Structure underlying students’ ideas considered in two constructs: Explanatory Mode and Factorial Weight. Students attending the 3rd Cycle of Basic Schooling (7-9 grade) from the Northen Portugal were the target population of this study. From this population, a sample of 80 students ,attending five class-groups in a school located in a rural environment, was selected. Data collection was carried out in two phases: the Pilot Study and the Final Study. Data analysis was guided by the Grounded Theory. This analysis gave rise to a model of students’ ideas organized in four levels: Level 1 – Description; Level 2 – Restricted Explanation; Level 3 – Explanatory Account; Level 4 – Explanatory Narrative. From that analysis some implications seen as important to the History teaching are presented.