Content Analysis of the History Curriculum at Middle Schools in Palestine

Abstract

The study aims to analyze history books of the upper primary stage in

Palestine according to the principles of «integrity and relay».To know the

degree of its commitment to these criteria, The researcher has designed a

«study tool» which includes a categorized list of several criteria that classifies

the main elements of integrity and relay. The study tool includes: (subjects,

interacting between subjects, using projects methods, other resources

in addition to the book, gradation from simple to complex, and from the

concrete to the abstract, gradation from the whole to the part and from public

to private and sequence according to chronological order). The researcher

used the method of content analysis as a basic tool for describing the quality

and quantity of the curriculum content. Therefore the researcher chose the

following units for analysis: (the book units, basic and subsidiary titles and

maps, pictures and shapes, and the introductory activities. The researcher

has examined the validity and the reliability of the tool by showing it to some

specialists in the education field. The study reached a result that the curricula

used as a sample had taken into consideration the principles of integration

and relay in most of the analyzed units in this study.

Suggestions and Recommendations

In conclusion, the researcher has recommended to benefit from the

researched results of the study when printing new editions for the subjects

of history for the high basic stage in Palestine. He also recommends that the

curricula should fit the horizontal integration and vertical continuity more

precisely out of the importance of these principles in organizing the curriculum

elements. The curricula should also be formulated curricula in away that suits

the project methods which depend on team work and cooperation between the

students in carrying out the activities practically, and providing the necessary

equipment to implement the integrated curriculum