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Students Discuss People: Usage of Biographical Content in History Lessons Thesis for the degree of "Doctor of Philosophy" By Michal Honig Submitted to the senate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem June 2019 Students Discuss People: Usage of Biographical Content in History Lessons Thesis for the degree of "Doctor of Philosophy" By Michal Honig Submitted to the senate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem June 2019 This work was carried out under the supervision of Dr. Dan Porat Abstract This study examines the educational significance of incorporating biographical content in history teaching. It explores various ways in which history teachers referred to well-known historical figures and ordinary people in history lessons, and how their students responded to deliberate integration of biographical texts in these lessons. The objective was to examine the outcomes of including such content in history teaching, both in developing disciplinary skills and in creating a basis for student engagement in history lessons. This qualitative study was conducted in eleven high-school classes in five state schools in Israel. Data were collected from history lesson observations, interviews with teachers, and focus groups in which students were exposed to biographical contents. The data were documented both digitally and in field diaries. Data analysis was conducted in four stages. 1. Initial reading of the transcriptions of the lessons to identify relevant discourse units. 2. Constructing an initial coding scheme based on the themes emerging from the transcriptions. 3. Examining the coding scheme by additional readers and revising it following their comments. 4. Analyzing the transcriptions by several readers to construct common interpretative lines. The study comprises three articles, each of which uses a different prism and theoretical framework. The first article explores how teachers use different methods of talking about famous and ordinary people in history lessons. It examines the connection between the ways people are discussed and the aim of developing multiperspectivity in students. The second article examines different approaches to teaching difficult events as reflected in how teachers referred to famous Israeli historical figures: David Ben Gurion and Menachem Begin. Finally, the third article explores students' responses to biographical texts about Theodor Herzl read in history lessons and examines the disciplinary skills displayed. The key findings were as follows. First, the teachers observed made scant references to famous historical figures and to ordinary people in history lessons. They frequently referred to people using generic people, general categories, and personification of historical objects such as “nation” or “government”. Second, when key historical figures were placed at the center of lessons dealing with the difficult past, the ensuing class discussion focused on the controversial aspects of the historical affair. When the historical figures were sidelined, the controversial aspects of the affair were blurred. A selective approach mitigated the controversial aspects of the affair and emphasized national cohesion. Finally, many students opposed the use of biographical content in studying history. Their opposition indicated the application of one vital disciplinary skill – inferential sourcing – at the expense another – corroboration. The study's makes three key contributions. First, the use of biographical content in high-school history lessons may promote the goals of history education in developing disciplinary skills: highlighting multiperspectivity as a feature of the discipline, identifying source features, and critical reading of sources. It may also help develop students' engagement: emphasizing multiperspectivity as a civic approach, identifying the relationship between the acts of individuals and broader historical processes, and distinguishing between an individual's viewpoint and generalized, simplified or racist approaches. Second, the development of disciplinary skills or fostering of learners' engagement in learning cannot be achieved by “name dropping”. The potential benefit of incorporating biographical content can only be achieved through in-depth study of biographical content, and judicious choice of the type of content and the way of teaching it, in accordance with the teacher's educational goals. Finally, teachers who are aware of their position at the juncture between disciplinary history and life practices will make optimal use of biographical content, potentially serving as a helpful mediator between history as an academic discipline and a public interest, thereby also enhancing students' engagement in history studies. Keywords: Biographical content, History teaching, Disciplinary skills, Student engagement, Difficult past, Multiperspectivity A letter of contribution I, Michal Honig, whose signature appears below, hereby declare that: 1. I have written this Thesis by myself, except for the help and guidance offered by my Thesis Advisors. 2. The scientific materials included in this Thesis are products of my own research, culled from the period during which I was a research student. Date: 24.6.2019 Name of the student: Michal Honig Signature: Table of Contents 1 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 5 1.1 The Research Problem .................................................................................... 5 1.2 History Education: At the Juncture of Disciplinary History and Life Practice .............. 7 1.3 The Biography: At the Juncture of Disciplinary History and Life Practice ................. 10 1.4 The Status of Historical Figures in History Education............................................. 13 1.5 Methodological Overview ................................................................................. 15 1.6 Articles Summary .................................................................................. 17 2 The British, the Tank and That Czech: How Teachers Tlak About People in History Lessons ........................................................................................................ 28 2.1 Abstract .................................................................................. 29 2.2 Literature Review .................................................................................. 30 2.2.1 Historical Figures in Various Official Curricula ...................................... 30 2.2.2 Why people? Theoretical Perspective on People in History and History Education . ...................................... 31 2.2.3 The Role of Historical Figures in History Education ...................................... 33 2.3 Theoretical Framework: Multiperspectivity in History Education ............................. 34 2.4 Method .................................................................................. 36 2.4.1 Setting and Participants ...................................... 37 2.4.2 Curricular Context ...................................... 38 2.4.3 Data Gathering and Analysis ...................................... 38 2.5 Findings .................................................................................. 40 2.5.1 Individuals ...................................... 40 2.5.2 Generic People ...................................... 43 2.5.3 General Categories ...................................... 47 2.5.4 Personification ...................................... 49 2.6 Discussion and Conclusions ................................................................................ 52 2.6.1 Limitations ...................................... 55 2.6.2 Practical Implications ...................................... 55 3 Fight, flight or light: Three Approaches to Teaching Difficult Past Events as Reflected in Historical Figures ...................................................................................................... 64 3.1 Abstract .................................................................................. 65 3.2 Literature Review .................................................................................. 66 3.2.1 Difficult Past and the Prism of the Historical Figure ...................................... 66 3.2.2 Teaching Difficult Past in State Schools ...................................... 67 1 3.2.3 The Altalena Affair ...................................... 68 3.3 Method .................................................................................. 69 3.3.1 Setting and Participants ...................................... 70 3.3.2 Curriculum Context ...................................... 71 3.3.3 Instruments and Data Collection ...................................... 71 3.3.4 Data Analysis ...................................... 71 3.4 Findings .................................................................................. 72 3.4.1 Shira's Lesson: "Unfortunately, we did not have perfect leaders" ....................... 73 3.4.2 Yonatan’s Lesson: “When you establish a state, there are difficulties”................ 77 3.4.3 Yael's Lesson: "We will avert civil war" ...................................... 81 3.5 Discussion .................................................................................. 85 3.5.1 “Fight”: Focus on Figures ...................................... 86 3.5.2 “Flight”: Figures Forced to the Sidelines ...................................... 86 3.5.3 “Light”: A Selective Attitude to the Figures ...................................... 87

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