Analysis and interpretation of an historical photograph among future teachers of social science subjects: Research using the eye-tracking method

This article presents the findings of mixed-design research carried out in 2021 on a sample of students who were training to become teachers of social sciences subjects. The aim of the research was to determine the extent to which a carefully considered, didactically structured analysis of an iconographic historical source (an historical photograph depicting the occupation of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact troops on 21 August 1968) influences the quality of the source’s perception, analysis and interpretation. A computer test with a set of questions for the respondents (test subjects) was created as a research tool. The study used three methods of data collection and processing: audio recording analysis using open axial coding and categorization; eye-tracking to investigate the perception strategies of the test subjects; and structured interviews carried out with the test subjects following the test, in order to gain information about the course of the test and to indicate potential options for modifying the research tool. The results of the study showed that a didactically structured analysis of the iconographic source had a substantial positive effect on the students’ perception strategies and the quality of their interpretation. If the test subjects are not guided towards a thorough observation of the image, identifying its individual elements and determining their meanings, they mostly overlook these important elements entirely, and their interpretation as a whole is very superficial. Another aspect of the source that is usually overlooked is the level of empathy, i.e. understanding of the individual experiences of the depicted people, bringing multiperspectivity in the perception of the depicted situation. These research findings should be taken into consideration during pre-graduate training for future teachers of social sciences subjects; graduates of teacher training degrees should possess these specific competencies and be able to implement didactically structured analyses and interpretations of historical sources in their teaching at primary and secondary schools.