Brokers of multiperspectivity in history education in post-conflict societies

In post-conflict societies marked by strong negative stereotypes or delicate and sometimes unstable political contexts, teaching both knowledge of and understanding for contested histories has become a matter of educational urgency. Conversely, a framework for effective teacher trainings, that prepare teachers to activating and facilitating the exchange of multiple perspectives, has yet to be identified. This qualitative and exploratory research aims to answer the questions, what boundaries do expert teacher trainers believe that teachers in post-conflict societies encounter when activating multiperspectivity in the classroom? What teaching or training methods do teacher trainers employ to overcome those boundaries? To advance the use of multiperspectivity in post-conflict history education and enhance history-teacher training design. answer these questions, semi-structured interviews were conducted with thirteen world leaders and experts in history-teacher training. Whose statements were openly and axially coded using Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) Ecological Systems Theory as an analytical lens. Identifying ten personal or environmental boundaries to activating multiperspectivity, and two effective training approaches to help teachers establish continuity between their multiperspectivity training and day-to-day teaching practices. Further providing actionable recommendations to practitioners and educational scientists alike.