Québec’s history of québec and Canada ministerial examination: A tool to promote historical thinking or a hurdle to hinder its inclusion?

Abstract

Many Canadian provinces use Peter Seixas’ historical thinking framework composed of six second-order concepts as the theoretical foundation of their history curriculum. Québec is not an exception to this as the model can be found in the 2016 History of Québec and Canada program. However, recent critiques have stated that Québec’s curriculum does not promote the development of students’ historical thinking but rather a form of collective memory focused on the story of La Survivance. This argument is reinforced by empirical research on classroom practices which indicates that teachers still favor an approach based on the memorization of content knowledge. However, the influence of the ministerial examination on teaching practices and the orientation of the evaluation criteria found in the curriculum have not yet been investigated. How should historical thinking be assessed according to the curriculum? Is the assessment found in the provincial examination coherent with the aims of the program? This chapter suggests that the failure to promote historical thinking in Québec’s history program does not stem from the curriculum per se but from the assessment criteria found in the provincial examination.