Testing elementary and secondary school students’ ability to perform historical perspective taking: the constructing of valid and reliable measure instruments

Abstract

Historical reasoning competencies play an important role in history education. However, valid and reliable large-scale measurement instruments to assess these competencies are scarce. This study considers two instruments for measuring students' ability to perform historical perspective taking (HPT) as a historical reasoning competency. The instruments have been tested for validity and reliability among 1,270 Dutch upper elementary and secondary school students, ranging in age from 10 to 17 years. One instrument offers effective validity and reliability and can map HPT performance among a large and heterogeneous student population. The results show that even upper elementary school students are capable of performing HPT. However, as students age, their ability to perform HPT increases. Differences regarding the ability to perform HPT were also found between educational levels. Pre-university students performed HPT more successfully compared to students at lower educational levels. The results of this study can be used to gain insight into the construct of HPT and into how historical reasoning competencies such as HPT can be measured. Furthermore, the results provide insight into how differences between students, such as age and educational levels, influence the performance of HPT.

Toward Historical Perspective Taking: Students’ Reasoning When Contextualizing the Actions of People in the Past

“…Moreover, we focused on pre-university students aged 15-16 because, based on previous research (e.g., Berti et al, 2009;Hartmann & Hasselhorn, 2008;Huijgen et al, 2014), we concluded that students are able to perform HPT at this age, thus enabling us to investigate the reasoning that underlies one's ability to take a historical perspective.…”

“…They found that approximately 90% of the participants in the study successfully performed HPT. Huijgen et al (2014) used the same instrument to test the ability of 1,270 elementary and secondary students aged between 10-17 years to perform HPT. Their results showed that even upper elementary school students are capable of performing some elements of HPT, though older students performed HPT more successfully than younger students.…”

“…An HPT instrument developed by Hartmann and Hasselhorn (2008) and translated into Dutch by Huijgen et al (2014) was selected, as this instrument is suitable for research on a large group of students and refers to a historical topic that has been taught to the students participating in this study, thus resulting in sufficient prior knowledge. The HPT instrument consists of a hypothetical scenario referring to the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany in the 1930s.…”

“…Moreover, valid assignments and measurement instruments to assess students' historical reasoning competencies, such as HPT, are scarce (Breakstone, 2014;Reich, 2009;Rothstein, 2004;VanSledright, 2013). Therefore, to understand how students learn history and how they improve as a result of such learning, more information is needed regarding how students reason when performing historical reasoning competency tasks and regarding the development of instruments that operationalize this type of reasoning (Hartmann & Hasselhorn, 2008;Huijgen et al, 2014).…”

“…Despite the importance of HPT in enhancing students' historical thinking and promoting citizenship among students, recent research has indicated that students may struggle when asked to perform thinking skills, such as HPT (e.g., Beyer, 2008;Huijgen, Van Boxtel, Van de Grift, & Holthuis, 2014;Reisman & Wineburg, 2008;Van Boxtel & Van Drie, 2012), and that history teachers may lack the requisite knowledge to promote historical reasoning competencies, such as HPT (e.g., Achinstein & Fogo, 2015;Bain & Mirel, 2006;Grant & Gradwell, 2010). Moreover, valid assignments and measurement instruments to assess students' historical reasoning competencies, such as HPT, are scarce (Breakstone, 2014;Reich, 2009;Rothstein, 2004;VanSledright, 2013).…”