‘There is no Continuity’: Assessment of Pre-Service Teachers' Ability to Analyse Historical Sources in Two Ghanaian Public Universities

Authors

• Anitha Oforiwah Adu-Boahen, University of education, Winneba, Ghana (West Africa)Follow

Document Type

Article

Abstract

The paper examined student-teachers’ understanding of change and continuity in History. Using a convergent parallel mixed method approach, one hundred and thirty-five (135) student-teachers from two public universities examined images depicting classroom settings in Ghana’s educational system from different periods. Respondents were expected to show and explain the continuities and changes in the different periods in Ghanaian history. They were to focus on the disparities in ‘change’ and ‘continuities’ in classroom settings in the Ghanaian educational system over time. Again, student-teachers were expected to transform their knowledge of these changes into historical understanding by writing an interpretation from the sources. The results show that approximately 50% of the student-teachers had a literal understanding of the concepts of ‘Change’ and ‘Continuity’. However, they could not write a coherent interpretation of a historical phenomenon to explain the two concepts comprehensively. History educators in the two public universities should be encouraged to assist student-teachers in developing a deeper understanding of Change and Continuity within the context of history. This could be done through sufficient support in terms of time and educational material, and designing history lessons that encourage students to characterise and evaluate aspects of both Change and Continuity.

Recommended Citation

Adu-Boahen, Anitha Oforiwah (2026) "‘There is no Continuity’: Assessment of Pre-Service Teachers' Ability to Analyse Historical Sources in Two Ghanaian Public Universities," The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies: Vol. 89: No. 2, Article 2.
Available at: https://thekeep.eiu.edu/the_councilor/vol89/iss2/2

AI Statement

During the preparation of this work, the authors used Grammarly for proofreading and spell checking. The authors reviewed and edited the content as needed and take full responsibility for the content of the publication.