Spanish and Latin-American High School Students’ Conceptualizations and Knowledge on American Political Independences

Abstract

This paper is based on a Research Project of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (reference: EDU2009-09425). The research analyses the identity building among Spanish and Latin-American students through historical knowledge. The project includes High Schools from different regions of Spain (Catalonia, Murcia, Madrid and Aragon). The aim of this paper is to analyse the results of a questionnaire delivered among the Spanish High Schools students, more than 2000. The questionnaire has two parts: a first part of geographical and historical knowledge of Iberoamerica and a second part based on sociological issues: such as prejudice and xenophobic attitudes among pupils in a context of social diversity. The results of the research show that High School students scarcely know the geography and the history of Latin America. The questionnaire points out a high level of prejudice and xenophobia against foreign students, among those students with low marks in the geographical and historical part of the questionnaire.