Developing Competency in Local History in Future Teachers

Abstract

The research analyzes the process of developing competency in local history in future teachers as one of the components of their professional training. It shows that the development of components of competency in local history contributes to developing the teacher’s personality as a researcher and specialist in terrain geography. It presents the author’s model for training future teachers (based on the example of geography teachers) for local studies and tourist activities following a competency-based approach. This model consists of several blocks and their parts: targets (goals, objectives), methods and structure (approaches, principles, the subjectivity of relationships between participants in local studies and tourist activities, components of competency in local history and their criteria), content and procedures (stages, content, forms, methods, technologies, pedagogical conditions), evaluation and outcomes (levels, as well as the results obtained from the introduction of the author’s model into the educational process). Also, the research specifies the following criteria of future geography teachers’ competency in local history: motivation and values, cognition and knowledge, activities and practice. It clarifies low, average and high levels of future geography teachers’ competency in local history. It demonstrates the organization and the course of experimental work. Finally, it draws relevant conclusions about the effectiveness of proposed pedagogical conditions for developing competency in local history in future geography teachers following a competency-based approach.