This study explores the psychometric qualities of the Relevance of History Measurement Scale (RHMS), a questionnaire designed to measure students’ beliefs about the relevance of history. Participants were 1459 Dutch secondary school students aged between 12 and 18. Data analysis revealed three reliable factors, compliant with our theoretical framework which defines three strands of relevance of history: relevance for building a personal identity, for citizenship, and for insight into ‘the human condition’. The convergent and known-groups validity of the RHMS was demonstrated. The collected data show that students find history more relevant as they grow older, with most progress taking place between 14 and 16. Out of the three strands of relevance, building a personal identity scores lowest in students’ appraisals. This study shows that the RHMS is psychometrically sound and can be used to evaluate effects of lesson interventions directed at enhancing the relevance of history to students.
The internationalization of higher education has been driven by an increasingly globalized and interconnected world. One concept that embodies this internationalization process is global citizenship, which can be promoted through student mobility, internationalization-at-home, or other forms of intercultural learning. While global citizenship remains a broad and highly contested term, the increased interest of its role in higher education has inspired research in different fields. The aim of this paper is to provide a review of existing research approaches to studying global citizenship, and to formulate future research directions that may integrate these approaches into a holistic framework. By reviewing literature from different fields in the social sciences, we have identified three main research approaches: intercultural competence, social identification with a global community, and civic engagement. While each approach reflects an important dimension of global citizenship, they remain separate in the literature, complicating the understanding and application of global citizenship in higher education. Therefore, for each approach we present a general conceptualization and a brief overview of prior findings. We discuss how integrating these approaches can lead to a more holistic understanding of global citizenship and guide future avenues for research and practice in higher education.
Using the past to orientate on the present and the future can be seen as one of history’s main contributions to educating future citizens of democratic societies. This thesis defines and explores aims and methods that may support teachers and students in making meaningful connections between the past, the present and the future in history class. Measurements with the Relevance of History Measurement Scale (RHMS), which was specifically developed for the purpose of this thesis, revealed that this type of history teaching positively affects students’ views on the relevance of history. This is an important outcome, because young students in particular have difficulty seeing the benefits of studying the past. Enabling them to see the relevance of history may be an important means to stimulate their motivation and engagement, because students’ appreciation of the value of school subjects is key to their commitment in school work.
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