Abstract

Teaching history holds a special social and cultural significance in the socialization of the young generation and its inclusion in contemporary society and preparation to perform the complex role of a citizen in a multicultural and continuously changing world. Teachers are mediators of historical knowledge and fundamental actors who arrange and support the processes of perceiving historical knowledge. The mediation process consists of critical decisions and operations of remodeling and especially of changes of the epistemological framework and adoption of “educational epistemology”. Crucial aspects in mediation of history are “teachers’ representations” regarding the nature of the history, teaching practices and learning processes activated, relationships and expectations of students and especially their educational role. The process of mediation defines a “semantic topos” from where teachers derive elements for the formation of their “professional identities”. The theory of Social Representations provides an interesting base for exploring “professional identities”. The Social Representations, at the interaction of the individual and the social, participate in the formation of identities. This study aims to map out and elucidate the “Representations of professional identities” of 100 history teachers in Primary and Secondary education in Greece. Quantitative methodological tools were used.