Conceptual learning and guidance: an analysis of the Studies of History Education in Portugal and Brazil (2000-2017)

Abstract

The central problem of this article is the relationship between the learning of epistemological, structuring or second order concepts, and the historical orientation. If the assumption of History Education is that the apprehension of more elaborated or sophisticated concepts, qualify historical learning, how does this learning contribute to the social action and decision-making of individuals? Based on this questioning, we conducted a study, using as sources the minutes, or annals, of the "Jornadas de Educação Histórica", between 2001-2017. We selected and more than 60 texts, considered relevant based on criteria defined for the study, carrying out a panoramic analysis of the different ways used by different scholars to relate the two dimensions we question. We observe that the studies of Historical Education arose from the strong initial influence of English researchers, with centrality of the idea of progression in the learning of epistemological concepts, and gradually moved towards an exchange with other references and concerns, with emphasis on the historical consciousness concept. We found that the forms of appropriation and understanding of the relationships between conceptual learning and temporal orientation were diverse, with emphasis on the still strong presence of the idea of conceptual progression in Portugal. And, in Brazil, the predominance of the idea of forming historical consciousness. Finally, we show that exploring the relationship between conceptual learning and historical orientation is a somewhat neglected issue, but also an open possibility, in studies on historical learning in both countries.