Teaching Primary Students about War

This article examines Australians at War: Primary Schools Education Resource and what it teaches students. This resource, for grades 4-6 students, has as its learning outcomes: knowledge of Australia's involvement in various conflicts; students' empathising with the experiences of war; the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Australian journal of teacher education 2019-08, Vol.44 (8), p.1-14
Main Authors: Potts, Anthony, Maadad, Nina
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Australian history
Conflict
Course Content
Curriculum materials
Educational Resources
Elementary School Students
Foreign Countries
History Instruction
History teaching
Internet
Outcomes of Education
Painting (Visual Arts)
Photography
Political Attitudes
Primary education
Primary school teachers
Primary schools
Self Concept
Teaching Methods
Television
Violence
War
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Summary:This article examines Australians at War: Primary Schools Education Resource and what it teaches students. This resource, for grades 4-6 students, has as its learning outcomes: knowledge of Australia's involvement in various conflicts; students' empathising with the experiences of war; the use of a variety of sources about war; engaging with people about war and their experiences of war; and reflecting on Australia's wartime involvement in the development of identity and heritage. The article first locates the teaching approaches used in the resource within the research on history teaching and the political and public debates on what we should teach students about war. It then proceeds to examine Australians at War and its use of photographs, paintings and diaries to determine what is taught to students about war. The article exposes the difficulties and tensions inherent in teaching primary school students about armed conflict and the interest groups who want to shape what is taught. The article illustrates how Australians at War often presents a sanitised version of the horrors of war when compared to the realities portrayed on television and the internet. [Author abstract]
ISSN:0313-5373
1835-517X
1835-517X
DOI:10.14221/ajte.2019v44n8.1