Abstract
This study clarifies the perspectives on history education held by geography and history teachers as well as the factors contributing to the formation of these perspectives. It relies on the analysis of the life stories of five teachers, clarifying items emerging from those stories that could serve as reference points for other teachers. First, the study highlights three points regarding the foundation from which differences in the views of history education arise: (1) whether the teacher emphasizes the relationship between history education and social studies education; (2) how the teacher expresses his or her perspective on history education in the classroom; and (3) how strongly the teacher is aware of the applicability of history to real life. Second, the study clarifies the following five decisions as important factors in the formation of history education perspectives: (1) whether the teacher attempts to develop a perspective in such a way as to adapt to the conditions of the students he or she is teaching; (2) whether the teacher attempts to develop a perspective that demonstrates the awareness of current social phenomena; (3) whether the teacher attempts to develop a perspective that utilizes his or her academic knowledge; (4) whether the teacher autonomously participates in research groups to expand his or her knowledge; and (5) how the teacher understands the revisions in the government curriculum guidelines.
