The resources of the sociocultural environment and the use of the present in Spanish History classes

Abstract

The main purpose of this line of research is to know the practices adopted in History classes. On the other hand, the objective of this article is “the study of the use of the resources of the sociocultural environment and the use of the present in Spanish History classes”. The non-experimental and descriptive methodology coupled with the selection of the sample by clusters and quotas allowed us to reach 41 participants from 25 of the 136 Secondary Education centres of the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia (CARM), Spain, in the 2014-2015 academic year, using an open-opinion survey. Results show the almost total use of references to the present by teachers in their classes, the integration of heritage in education in the first periods of Spanish History, and the viewing of television series to understand ways of life, especially in current history, together with stories of the people who lived the current political events. The results also show the existence of other unassessed ways of learning and the importance of these resources in general citizenship training.