{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/129378"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/129378","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Knowing History: A Study of the Construction and Implementation of Historical Knowledge from Theory to Practice","abstract":"Despite attempts throughout the 20th century to shift history curriculum towards disciplinary learning, the lack of lasting reform is an enduring problem in history education. My dissertation explores this problem in three studies which examine the construction and implementation of historical knowledge from theory to practice. By investigating how scholars, curriculum developers, and classroom educators define and enact historical knowledge, I trace how knowledge moves between the spheres of theory and practice. Manuscript One explores the development of conceptions of historical knowledge in England, Germany and the Netherlands, and North America. Discursive analysis highlights how academic, geographic, and historic contexts shape history education discourse through the push-and-pull relationship between scholarly ideas, public debate, and classroom curriculums. Educative curriculum materials are an influential, yet understudied, component of teaching practice heralded for the ability to instigate classroom reform. Manuscript Two reports on a content and discourse analysis of the representation of women in the Digital Inquiry Group's world history Reading Like a Historian educative curriculum. Finally, Manuscript Three investigates how preservice and novice teachers make instructional choices in their school contexts when using the Question Formulation Technique (QFT) to facilitate student-driven historical inquiry. By studying knowledge production at multiple levels, I shine a light on the agency of actors working in the field of history education to push against the structure of schooling, exposing avenues for change.","abstract_html":"Despite attempts throughout the 20th century to shift history curriculum towards disciplinary learning, the lack of lasting reform is an enduring problem in history education. My dissertation explores this problem in three studies which examine the construction and implementation of historical knowledge from theory to practice. By investigating how scholars, curriculum developers, and classroom educators define and enact historical knowledge, I trace how knowledge moves between the spheres of theory and practice. Manuscript One explores the development of conceptions of historical knowledge in England, Germany and the Netherlands, and North America. Discursive analysis highlights how academic, geographic, and historic contexts shape history education discourse through the push-and-pull relationship between scholarly ideas, public debate, and classroom curriculums. Educative curriculum materials are an influential, yet understudied, component of teaching practice heralded for the ability to instigate classroom reform. Manuscript Two reports on a content and discourse analysis of the representation of women in the Digital Inquiry Group's world history Reading Like a Historian educative curriculum. Finally, Manuscript Three investigates how preservice and novice teachers make instructional choices in their school contexts when using the Question Formulation Technique (QFT) to facilitate student-driven historical inquiry. By studying knowledge production at multiple levels, I shine a light on the agency of actors working in the field of history education to push against the structure of schooling, exposing avenues for change.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Evers, Sara Louise"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"doctoral","degree_discipline":"Curriculum and Instruction","degree_department":"Education, Vocational-Technical","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Hicks, David"],"committee_members":["Doolittle, Peter E.","Allen, Amy E.","Fortune, Donna J."],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-05-06","date_published":"2025-05-06","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:57Z","subjects":["curriculum","history pedagogy","historical inquiry","pedagogical decision making"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:42840"],"render_values":[{"text":"vt_gsexam:42840","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/10919/129378","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Hicks, David"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Doolittle, Peter E.","Allen, Amy E.","Fortune, Donna J."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Education, Vocational-Technical"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Evers, Sara Louise"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-05-07T08:00:34Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-05-07T08:00:34Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2025-05-06"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Curriculum and Instruction"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["curriculum","history pedagogy","historical inquiry","pedagogical decision making"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:42840"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/10919/129378"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Despite attempts throughout the 20th century to shift history curriculum towards disciplinary learning, the lack of lasting reform is an enduring problem in history education. My dissertation explores this problem in three studies which examine the construction and implementation of historical knowledge from theory to practice. By investigating how scholars, curriculum developers, and classroom educators define and enact historical knowledge, I trace how knowledge moves between the spheres of theory and practice. Manuscript One explores the development of conceptions of historical knowledge in England, Germany and the Netherlands, and North America. Discursive analysis highlights how academic, geographic, and historic contexts shape history education discourse through the push-and-pull relationship between scholarly ideas, public debate, and classroom curriculums. Educative curriculum materials are an influential, yet understudied, component of teaching practice heralded for the ability to instigate classroom reform. Manuscript Two reports on a content and discourse analysis of the representation of women in the Digital Inquiry Group's world history Reading Like a Historian educative curriculum. Finally, Manuscript Three investigates how preservice and novice teachers make instructional choices in their school contexts when using the Question Formulation Technique (QFT) to facilitate student-driven historical inquiry. By studying knowledge production at multiple levels, I shine a light on the agency of actors working in the field of history education to push against the structure of schooling, exposing avenues for change."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstractgeneral","label":"General Abstract","values":["School history education has a powerful impact on how students understand themselves and their world. Despite attempts to throughout the 20th century to shift history curriculum towards disciplinary learning, history education continues as a rote learning exercise in U.S. classrooms. The lack of lasting reform is an enduring problem in history education. My dissertation research explores the problem of reform in history education through investigation of the construction and implementation of historical knowledge from theory to practice. I use three studies to analyze how historical knowledge is defined and enacted by scholars, curriculum designers, and classroom teachers. By studying historical knowledge in multiple spheres of history education, I shine a light on the push-and-pull relationship between scholarly ideas, public debate, and classroom curriculums."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["ETD"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Knowing History: A Study of the Construction and Implementation of Historical Knowledge from Theory to Practice"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Hicks, David"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Doolittle, Peter E.","Allen, Amy E.","Fortune, Donna J."],"dc:contributor.department":["Education, Vocational-Technical"],"dc:creator":["Evers, Sara Louise"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2025-05-07T08:00:34Z"],"dc:date.available":["2025-05-07T08:00:34Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2025-05-06"],"dc:description.abstract":["Despite attempts throughout the 20th century to shift history curriculum towards disciplinary learning, the lack of lasting reform is an enduring problem in history education. 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The lack of lasting reform is an enduring problem in history education. My dissertation research explores the problem of reform in history education through investigation of the construction and implementation of historical knowledge from theory to practice. I use three studies to analyze how historical knowledge is defined and enacted by scholars, curriculum designers, and classroom teachers. By studying historical knowledge in multiple spheres of history education, I shine a light on the push-and-pull relationship between scholarly ideas, public debate, and classroom curriculums."],"dc:description.degree":["Doctor of Philosophy"],"dc:format.medium":["ETD"],"dc:identifier.other":["vt_gsexam:42840"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/10919/129378"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:subject":["curriculum","history pedagogy","historical inquiry","pedagogical decision making"],"dc:title":["Knowing History: A Study of the Construction and Implementation of Historical Knowledge from Theory to Practice"],"dc:type":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Curriculum and Instruction"],"thesis:degree_level":["doctoral"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy"],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:57Z"}