[ La place de l’Histoire nationale dans les programmes d’Histoire du cours secondaire général au Bénin: 1987-2016 ]
Arnaud Achille G. Gnidehoue1
1 Laboratoire de Recherche Rétrospective-Afrique (LabRA), Université d’Abomey-Calavi, Benin
Original language: French
Copyright © 2025 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Since its independence in 1960, the education sector has become a sovereign sector of the State of Benin. To this end, the various study programs developed and implemented meet the goals defined by the authorities, which embody the people of Benin. As such, the study programs developed in the various school subjects take into account the objectives and purposes set by the authorities. However, an analysis of high school history studies programs between 1960 and 2016 shows that national history, especially post-colonial history, is poorly taught in schools. While in the years after independence, at least thirty themes related to national history were included in secondary school history curricula, this number has dropped considerably over the course of the reforms. Today, it is only three Learning Situations (SA) that address themes relating to national history. It is briefly taught, the history of the settlement of Benin, the participation of the former coastal kingdoms of Benin in the transatlantic slave trade and the stages of the decolonization of Benin to the detriment of the history of Africa, the great wars, the ‘UN... The logical consequence of this situation is the low knowledge of national historical facts by young Beninese. The objective of this research is to analyze the place of national history in secondary education programs in Benin between 1960 and 2016. Among other words, it is about understanding the anchoring of the national history in the said programs. To achieve this objective, the methodological approach used consists of a cross and adequate use of written and oral sources. The first is conducted through written documents, archives, curriculum documents and secondary history guides. The second was carried out with the designers of school programs, in particular inspectors. The results of this research show that national history is weakly embedded in high school curricula. This situation, which is due to several reasons, is at the origin of the ignorance of certain parts of national history by the current generation.
Author Keywords: Benin, education, national history, study programs.
Arnaud Achille G. Gnidehoue1
1 Laboratoire de Recherche Rétrospective-Afrique (LabRA), Université d’Abomey-Calavi, Benin
Original language: French
Copyright © 2025 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Since its independence in 1960, the education sector has become a sovereign sector of the State of Benin. To this end, the various study programs developed and implemented meet the goals defined by the authorities, which embody the people of Benin. As such, the study programs developed in the various school subjects take into account the objectives and purposes set by the authorities. However, an analysis of high school history studies programs between 1960 and 2016 shows that national history, especially post-colonial history, is poorly taught in schools. While in the years after independence, at least thirty themes related to national history were included in secondary school history curricula, this number has dropped considerably over the course of the reforms. Today, it is only three Learning Situations (SA) that address themes relating to national history. It is briefly taught, the history of the settlement of Benin, the participation of the former coastal kingdoms of Benin in the transatlantic slave trade and the stages of the decolonization of Benin to the detriment of the history of Africa, the great wars, the ‘UN... The logical consequence of this situation is the low knowledge of national historical facts by young Beninese. The objective of this research is to analyze the place of national history in secondary education programs in Benin between 1960 and 2016. Among other words, it is about understanding the anchoring of the national history in the said programs. To achieve this objective, the methodological approach used consists of a cross and adequate use of written and oral sources. The first is conducted through written documents, archives, curriculum documents and secondary history guides. The second was carried out with the designers of school programs, in particular inspectors. The results of this research show that national history is weakly embedded in high school curricula. This situation, which is due to several reasons, is at the origin of the ignorance of certain parts of national history by the current generation.
Author Keywords: Benin, education, national history, study programs.
Abstract: (french)
Depuis son indépendance en 1960, le secteur de l’éducation est devenu un secteur régalien de l’Etat béninois. A cet effet, les différents programmes d’études élaborés et mis en œuvre, répondent aux finalités définies par les autorités, lesquelles incarnent le peuple béninois. A ce titre, les programmes d’études élaborés dans les différentes disciplines scolaires tiennent compte des objectifs et finalités fixés par celles-ci. Seulement, une analyse des programmes d’études en Histoire au cours secondaire entre 1987 et 2016, montre que les thématiques liées aux faits nationaux fluctuent dans lesdits programmes. Si pendant la période révolutionnaire (1987), au moins une trentaine de thématiques liées à l’Histoire nationale ont été inscrites dans les programmes d’étude, ce nombre a considérablement baissé au fil des réformes. Aujourd’hui, c’est quatre Situations d’Apprentissages (SA) qui sont entièrement consacrées aux thématiques relatives à l’histoire nationale. Il est enseigné l’histoire du peuplement du Bénin (cinquième), la participation des anciens royaumes côtiers du Bénin à la traite transatlantique (quatrième), la vie économique et politique des anciens royaumes de la République du Bénin (première AB) et les étapes de la décolonisation du Dahomey (terminale). La conséquence logique de cette situation, est la faible connaissance des faits historiques nationaux par les jeunes Béninois. L’objectif de cette recherche est d’analyser les raisons du faible ancrage de l’histoire nationale dans les programmes d’études du secondaire au Bénin entre 1987 et 2016. En d’autres termes, il s’agit d’appréhender l’ancrage de l’histoire nationale dans lesdits programmes. Pour atteindre cet objectif, l’approche méthodologique utilisée consiste en une exploitation croisée et adéquate des sources écrites et orales. La première est menée à travers les documents écrits, les archives, les documents programmes et guides d’Histoire et de Géographie du secondaire. La seconde s’est effectuée auprès des concepteurs des programmes scolaires notamment les inspecteurs. Les résultats de cette recherche montrent que l’histoire nationale est bien ancrée dans les programmes d’études du secondaire. La méconnaissance de certains pans de l’histoire nationale par la génération actuelle est due à plusieurs raisons notamment, la qualité des enseignants chargés de dispenser les cours, le manque de manuels d’histoire et le manque de préparation des fiches pédagogiques par les enseignants.
Author Keywords: Bénin, éducation, histoire nationale, programmes d’études.
