Active teachers' perceptions on the most suitable resources for teaching history

The study addresses which didactic resources active teachers consider most relevant for teaching history amid a proliferation of ICT and alternative resources beyond textbooks. Prior work highlights extensive use of textbooks and traditional methods, but growing advocacy for heritage, primary sources, and active, student-centered approaches. Central research question: What resources do active teachers consider most relevant for the teaching of history? Specific objectives and hypotheses: SO1: Analyze ratings by sex (H0: no differences; H1: differences). SO2: Analyze ratings by age (H0: no differences; H1: differences). SO3: Analyze ratings by education stage (H0: no differences; H1: differences). The study aims to inform methodological shifts towards active learning in history education.

The literature underscores that while ICT (web apps, mobile devices, VR, video games, audiovisuals) have entered classrooms, their effectiveness depends on appropriate pedagogy. Textbooks remain the most used resource and are associated with traditional, hegemonic views of history and potential teacher deprofessionalization when used exclusively. Heritage—conceived holistically (material, cultural, archaeological, artistic)—is argued to have strong educational potential, enabling hands-on, minds-on, and hearts-on learning, development of historical skills, use of primary and oral sources, and inquiry approaches aligned with historical thinking (Seixas, Wineburg). Studies report incremental methodological change towards student-centered approaches, with increased use of historical sources, heritage, and video games. Nonetheless, gaps persist between valuation and actual classroom use of heritage and digital resources, constrained by perceived extracurricular status, curricular density, time, and insufficient initial/continuous training and digital competence. Positive evaluations of heritage and narrative media (novels, comics) correlate with active methodologies and critical conceptions of history, yet many secondary settings still privilege traditional practices and textbook reliance.

Design: Non-experimental quantitative ex post facto study using a Likert-scale questionnaire. Ethics: Informed consent obtained; favorable reports from Research Ethics Committees (University of Murcia and coordinating universities). Sample: 332 active history teachers in Spain; 51.2% Primary (6–12 years), 47.3% Secondary (13–16 years), 1.5% unspecified; 52.7% women, 47.0% men, 0.3% other; participants from 10 of 17 autonomous communities (Andalusia, Asturias, Canary Islands, Castile and Leon, Valencia, Extremadura, Galicia, Madrid, Murcia, Basque Country). Although non-probabilistic, the sample size corresponds to ~5% margin of error at 95% confidence relative to national teacher counts. Instrument: “Questionnaire on ways to approach the teaching of history.” Part 1: 10 sociodemographic items (sex, age, training, stage, status, school ownership, province, experience, other levels taught, participation in innovation projects). Part 2: Two blocks. Block 1: 20-item Approaches to Teaching Inventory (ATI), Spanish S-ATI-20 adaptation for history (Monroy et al., 2015; Trigwell & Prosser). Block 2: 58 items, five dimensions (historical themes, historical competencies, suitability of didactic resources, assessment instruments, handling controversial topics), Likert 5-point scale from “barely relevant” to “highly relevant.” This study analyzes the third dimension (suitability of didactic resources). Validity: Block 1 validated in prior literature; Block 2 validated for clarity/relevance by six expert judges (all items >3 on 1–4 scale; no modifications). Data collection: Paper and online distribution via project research team across universities. Analysis: Descriptive frequencies for ordinal responses; inferential nonparametric tests—Mann–Whitney U (sex), Kruskal–Wallis H (age, stage). When significant and factor had >2 levels, post-hoc pairwise tests were conducted to locate differences. Software: Mplus 7.0.

Overall valuations: - Heritage was rated adequate/very adequate by 93.3% of teachers; museums by 87.3%. - Least suitable: videogames (38.2% rated not or barely suitable), textbooks (19.8% not or barely suitable). Descriptive medians/modes (Table 4 highlights): Websites (Mo=5, Me=5); Museums, Virtual recreations, Historical novels/comics/children’s literature (Me=5); Heritage, Artistic productions, Cinema/documentaries, Documentary and oral sources (Me=4). By sex (Mann–Whitney U): Significant differences (p<0.05) with women generally rating resources higher in seven items: - Applications for devices (W=11,751.5, p=0.0355) - Artistic productions (W=11,183.5, p=0.00242) - Cinema and documentaries (W=11,608, p=0.0144) - Festivals and traditions (W=10,949, p=0.00153) - Heritage (W=11,186.5, p=0.0013) - Popular magazines (W=11,178, p=0.00467) - Virtual recreations (W=10,557.5, p=0.000404) By age (Kruskal–Wallis H): Significant differences in - Oral sources (p=0.015): largest post-hoc difference between 60+ and 20–29 (Z=59.030, p=0.020), with older teachers rating oral sources more appropriate. - Videogames (p=0.012): largest difference between 60+ and 30–39 (Z=50.893, p=0.017), with older teachers rating videogames less appropriate. - Local/regional festivals and traditions (p=0.001): significant difference between 50–59 and 30–39 (Z=55.663, p<0.001), older teachers rating them more appropriate. By education stage (Mann–Whitney U): Significant differences (p<0.05) in six resources, with Primary teachers generally valuing resources more than Secondary, except for primary documental sources and artistic productions: - Artistic productions (W=11,193, p=0.00719) - Historical novels/comics/children’s literature (W=15,448, p=0.00433) - Popular magazines (W=14,821, p=0.040) - Primary documental sources (W=11,128.5, p=0.0186) - Virtual recreations (W=15,371, p=0.00418) - Websites (W=15,460, p=0.0038) Ranking tendencies: Most valued—heritage, artistic productions, museums; least valued—videogames, textbooks, mobile/tablet apps with historical content.

Findings answer the central question by showing teachers’ preference for resources that support active, participatory learning and historical thinking (heritage, museums, artistic productions) over traditional tools (textbooks) or less-integrated digital resources (videogames, mobile apps). This indicates a perceived methodological shift towards student-centered approaches and inquiry, even if traditional practices persist in classrooms. Significant sex differences suggest women attribute higher relevance to multiple resources, including ICT-related ones, aligning with prior reports of stronger digital attitudes/uses among women. Age-related patterns reflect a generational digital gap: older teachers value oral sources and traditions more and videogames less than younger peers. Stage differences indicate Primary teachers tend to value a broader set of resources more than Secondary teachers, consistent with more traditional practices persisting in secondary settings. The results underscore the importance of enhancing teacher training—both initial and continuous—in heritage education, active methodologies, and digital competence to translate positive perceptions into classroom use and to overcome barriers such as time, curriculum density, and limited preparation.

The study contributes empirical evidence on active teachers’ perceived suitability of diverse resources for history teaching in Spain. Teachers most value heritage, museums, and artistic productions—resources aligned with active, inquiry-based learning—and least value videogames, textbooks, and mobile apps. Significant differences by sex, age, and education stage refine this picture, highlighting where support and training might be targeted. Implications include: - Strengthening initial and continuous teacher education in heritage-based pedagogy, historical inquiry, and integration of digital tools for competence-based historical learning. - Providing exemplars and time/resources to implement active methodologies and alternatives to textbook-centric teaching. - Addressing the digital competence gap to better harness ICT (including videogames) pedagogically. Future research could: - Explore reasons for continued reliance on textbooks despite low perceived suitability. - Conduct comparative and longitudinal studies across regions and countries. - Examine the translation from perceived suitability to actual classroom practices and student outcomes.

- Non-probabilistic sample from 10 of 17 Spanish autonomous communities limits generalizability, though sample size approximates a 5% margin of error at 95% confidence. - Self-reported perceptions on Likert scales may not reflect actual classroom practices. - Cross-sectional, ex post facto design precludes causal inference. - Analyses focus on the resources dimension of a broader instrument; other dimensions are not reported here. - Ordinal data summarized via frequencies and nonparametric tests; no triangulation with observational or performance data.