O uso de videojogos no ensino de História: a perspetiva de estudantes de Mestrado em Ensino de História em Portugal

Abstract

The contemporary context is marked by the accelerated development of digital technologies, a phenomenon that has been causing significant transformations in society on a global scale. In this context, various demands are placed on schools and teachers in Portugal, one of which is the integration of digital technologies into the educational field. Today's society is also marked by the massification of the video game industry, which is part of the everyday lives of most young people. This has led many to explore the educational potential of video games, which can help promote a more flexible, student-centred approach to teaching. It was from this backdrop that the following question arose: how do future History teachers view the use of video games as a pedagogical resource? In this sense, the present dissertation aimed to understand how students of the Master's in History Teaching for the 3rd Cycle of Basic Education and Secondary Education at the universities of Porto, Minho, Coimbra, Lisbon, and Nova de Lisboa perceive the use of video games as a pedagogical tool. To this end, curricular unit outlines from the aforementioned master's courses were collected, and, additionally, a questionnaire survey was conducted among the students of these courses. The collected data were analysed from an interpretative approach, using both document analysis and descriptive statistical analysis. The data analysis led to the conclusion that the Portuguese universities analysed are concerned with addressing educational technologies in the training of History teachers for the 3rd Cycle of Basic Education and Secondary Education. However, the pedagogical potential of video games is not an explicit component of the official curricula of the researched master's programmes. Furthermore, the obtained data suggest that the students in these courses recognise video games as an effective resource for teaching History, capable of positively impacting students' interest and motivation regarding historical content. The students believe that the use of video games should be an explicit component of the master's curricula they are pursuing, but they also recognise that teachers, both in universities and in schools in Portugal, face challenges in effectively addressing and using video games in teaching. Some of these obstacles include time constraints, a lack of knowledge about video games, insufficient access to technological resources, and a lack of technical support.