Ideals and Ideas in History and Civics Courses: East and West German Video Classroom Observations from 1970 to 1995

Author(s):

May Jehle(presenting / submitting)

Conference:

ECER 2013

Network:

17. Histories of Education

Format:

Poster

Session Information

17 SES 05.5 PS, General Poster Session

General Poster Session

Time:

2013-09-11

12:30-14:00

Room:

FUAYE

Chair:

Contribution

This project analyses videos of classroom observations in history and civics courses in the German Democratic Republic (GDR, or East Germany) and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, or West Germany) from the 1970s to the 1990s. Building upon extant research on civics courses in the GDR that has relied upon written sources (such as curricula, textbooks, lesson plans, teaching aids and educational policy materials), my research introduces video recordings of classroom interactions in order to enhance our understanding of pedagogical aims and practices in both halves of Cold War Germany.

I begin this analysis by considering how teachers and students work together to create a specific classroom environment. Then, I consider the role of videotaped classroom observations for teacher education purposes versus these videos’ importance for contemporary scholarly research. To be sure, these videotaped lessons do not portray a distortion-free “reality”, but can and do convey a general picture of an ideal lesson as conceived of by educational experts at the time. Indeed, it becomes possible to analyze structures and processes of communication and instruction in these subjects.

This study distinguishes between the actions as they take place in front of the camera and the action of the camera itself; for example, the ways in which the camera draws attention to some aspects of the lesson while disregarding others, or the effects of a particular camera angle. Second, the context of each recording must be taken into account. Is it a recording of a student teacher, or are we observing a more experienced teacher trying out a new didactical concept? Is the lesson an example of best practices, or does it highlight typical classroom problems? With these sorts of questions in mind, the results of this research project will contribute to the literature on theory versus practice in educational settings.

Method

This analysis requires the development of a methodology that permits the study of action that occurs in the classroom in front of the camera on the one hand, as well as the study of how the researcher’s point of view is influenced by the camera itself on the other. To discuss intentions of these practices of videotaping, it will also be necessary to explore the context of each video. Therefore, my methodology is based on qualitative practices of media studies, including tools of hermeneutics, ethnography and the sociology of knowledge. In this manner, the dramaturgical aspects of the video observations can be addressed. This mixed-method approach will enable the measurement of the consistency of the research findings.

Expected Outcomes

These video recordings of classroom observations represent a new source for educational research and the history of education and didactics. I thereby contribute an innovative primary source base and methodology to the discourse surrounding the use of media and technology in educational scholarship. Moreover, the findings of this study will shed light on the relationship between theoretical didactical concepts and their implementation in actual teaching practices. Clearly, the unique geo-political contexts offered by an investigation into education in divided Germany will also contribute to discussions about ideology within a broader socio-historical European dimension.

References

- Akademie der Pädagogischen Wissenschaften der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik (1982) (Ed.): Erhöhung der geistigen Aktivität aller Schüler im Unterricht. Berlin (East). - Behrmann, Günter C./ Jeismann, Karl-Ernst/ Süssmuth, Hans (1978) (Eds.): Geschichte und Politik. Didaktische Grundlegung eines kooperativen Unterrichts. Paderborn. - Benner, Dietrich/ Merkens, Hans/ Gatzemann, Thomas (1996) (Eds.): Pädagogische Eigenlogiken im Transformationsprozeß von SBZ, DDR und neuen Ländern. Berlin. - Benner, Dietrich/ Merkens, Hans/ Schmidt, Folker (1996) (Hg.): Bildung und Schule im Transformationsprozeß von SBZ, DDR und neuen Ländern. Untersuchungen zu Kontinuität und Wandel. Berlin. - Blessing, Benita/ Grammes, Tilman/ Schluß, Henning (2012): Civics courses in the German Democratic Republic: A Case Study in the History of Curriculum end Educational Research. In: JSSE 11/2, 85-105. - Breit, Gotthard/ Schiele, Siegfried (1998) (Hg.): Handlungsorientierung im Politikunterricht. Schwalbach/Ts. - Erickson, Frederick (1992): Ethnographic Microanalysis of Interaction. In: LeCompte, Margaret/ Millroy, Wendy L./ Preissle, Judith (Eds.): The Handbook of Qualitative Research in Education. San Diego, London, 202-225. - Fuhrmann, Elisabeth (1982): Problemlösen im Unterricht. Berlin (East). - Gagel, Walter (1995): Geschichte der politischen Bildung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland 1945-1989. Opladen. - Grammes, Tilman/ Schluß, Henning/ Vogler, Hans-Joachim (2006): Staatsbürgerkunde in der DDR. Ein Dokumentenband. Wiesbaden. - Jehle, May/ Schluß, Henning (2013) (Eds.): Videodokumentation von Unterricht. Historische und vergleichende Zugänge zu einer Quellengattung der Unterrichtsforschung. Wiesbaden (in print). - Reichertz, Jo/ Englert, Carina Jasmin (2011): Einführung in die qualitative Videoanalyse. Eine hermeneutisch-wissenssoziologische Fallanalyse. Wiesbaden. - Schluß, Henning (2001): Intentionen und Legitimationsstrategien staatsbürgerlicher Erziehung und politischer Bildung. In: Zeitschrift für Pädagogik 6, 47. Jg., 869-879. - Schluß, Henning/ Crivellari, Fabio (2007): Videodokumentation von Unterricht in der DDR als Quelle. Ergebnisse eines DFG-Projekts zur medialen Unterrichtsforschung. In: Pädagogische Rundschau 4, 61. Jg., 437-452. (Reprinted in: Jehle / Schluß 2013) - Uffelmann, Uwe (1990): Problemorientierter Geschichtsunterricht. Grundlegung und Konkretion. Villingen-Schwenningen.

Author Information

May Jehle (presenting / submitting)

University of Vienna

Department of Education

Vienna

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