“Hard” Facts or “Soft” Opinion? History Teachers’ Reasoning About Historical Objectivity

Objectivity is a contested issue in history and history education. This study explores history teachers’ conceptions about historical objectivity and whether or not their reasoning resonates with their classroom practices. Data was collected through in-depth interviews and lesson observations from 15 public senior high schools in the Central Region of Ghana. Data was thematically analyzed, with three themes forming the main lines of argument in this study. Findings show that participants recognize historical evidence as important to accessing the past reality and regard the interpretive intervention of historians as useful in the reconstruction of the past. Classroom practices reveal minimal attention to the problematization of historical knowledge, as most participants taught history as grand narratives. The study recommends a postmodernist re-orientation of the Ghanaian history curriculum and a continuing professional development of history teachers.<p></p>