From Colonial Narratives to Ecological Narratives: An Experiment of Green History Pedagogy in High School History Learning

Abstract

Conventional history teaching often centers on colonial narratives that highlight power, conquest, and national identity. Although such narratives help shape collective memory, they tend to overlook the ecological dimensions of history and the interaction between humans and nature. This anthropocentric view narrows students’ understanding of how the environment actively shapes historical change. This study aims to examine the implementation of Green History Pedagogy as a history learning approach that emphasizes ecological awareness in high schools in Jember Regency, East Java, Indonesia. The approach was developed to shift historical narratives from colonial perspectives toward a more critical and contextual understanding of the environment. This research employs a Mixed Methods Research (MMR) design involving classroom observation, interviews with teachers and students, analysis of lesson plans, and questionnaires on ecological attitudes. The findings reveal that implementing Green History Pedagogy encourages teachers and students to reflect on the relationship between history, environment, and local life. Students became more critical of the colonial legacy contributing to environmental degradation and demonstrated increased ecological awareness throughout the learning process. Overall, this approach effectively enhances the relevance of history education to environmental sustainability and local identity issues.