Does the Anthropocene demand a rethinking of temporal competence in primary history classrooms?

• In Event: Assessing How Historical Content is Learned: Research on Student Thinking and Understanding

Abstract

In history education, it is increasingly clear that traditional linear, human-centric views of time are insufficient for understanding the Anthropocene, an era, where human actions profoundly shape Earth's systems. Drawing on the results of small qualitative study exploring how Irish children visualise time, this paper argues for the inclusion of alternative temporal regimes. Preliminary results, derived from inductive thematic analysis of student-generated drawings, suggest that students appear to possess an intuitive, cyclical understanding of time rather than a linear one. This raises questions about the predominance of linear narratives in classrooms, suggesting more diverse temporal perspectives in curricula is warranted.

Authors

• Caitríona Ní Cassaithe, Dublin City University

• Anne Marie Kavanagh, Dublin City University