Exploring Pupils’ Attitudes toward History as a School Subject: Evidence from Selected Secondary Schools in Lusaka, Zambia

Patrick SIKAYOMYA; Austin Mumba Cheyeka; Ferdinand Mwaka Chipindi

doi:10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i01.69481

Exploring Pupils’ Attitudes toward History as a School Subject: Evidence from Selected Secondary Schools in Lusaka, Zambia

Author(s)	Mr. Patrick SIKAYOMYA, Prof. Austin Mumba Cheyeka, Prof. Ferdinand Mwaka Chipindi
Country	Zambia
Abstract	Understanding pupils’ attitudes toward History as a school subject is central to contemporary debates about curriculum relevance, disciplinary knowledge and learner engagement in secondary education. Although History is widely recognised for its role in cultivating critical citizenship, historical consciousness and interpretive reasoning, pupils’ engagement with the subject remained uneven, particularly in postcolonial contexts where schooling was increasingly shaped by instrumental and economic imperatives. Drawing on an interpretivist qualitative framework, this study explored how pupils from some selected secondary schools in Lusaka, Zambia, perceived History as a school subject and the factors that shaped these perceptions. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with purposively selected pupils from four secondary schools. Thematic analysis revealed that pupils’ attitudes toward History were shaped by perceived relevance to lived realities, pedagogical practices, assessment regimes and broader societal discourses that ranked school subjects according to economic utility. While some pupils valued History for its contribution to national identity and civic understanding, many associated the subject with rote memorisation, examination pressure and limited future prospects. The study argued that pupils’ attitudes toward History were socially constructed responses to curricular framing, classroom practices and policy-level priorities rather than individual dispositions. The study concluded by advancing curriculum, pedagogical and policy implications for re-imagining History education in ways that foreground relevance, disciplinary thinking and learner agency.
Keywords	History education; Pupils’ Attitudes; Curriculum Studies; Qualitative research; Interpretivism; Zambia
Published In	Volume 8, Issue 1, January-February 2026
Published On	2026-02-21
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i01.69481

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Exploring Pupils’ Attitudes toward History as a School Subject: Evidence from Selected Secondary Schools in Lusaka, Zambia

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