1 Beginning teachers ’ conceptual understandings of effective history teaching.

The paper reports on the investigation of seven preservice teachers who studied a nine-week unit of a secondary History methods course in postgraduate diploma of education studies program. The focus of the study was to look at participants’ conceptions of effective History teaching, especially pedagogical content knowledge over a period of time, that is, a study of conceptual change. Participants constructed concept maps in their first and last tutorial of the course. Only two participants’ concept maps indicate conceptual change, and growth in pedagogical content knowledge in History teaching, although other participants ’ concept maps show a generic understanding of subject matter, curriculum knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge in teaching and learning. Towards a re-emphasis on the History curriculum The pressure from the national level of government on state authorities to install the study of History as a compulsory subject alongside maths, English and science continues to grow. In a recent statement on a national curriculum, the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, vowed to have school children studying History as one of the four cor