Constructing Students’ Affective Connection to Historical Events through Critical Reflection and Historical Contextualization: A Narrative Analysis of Senior High School Students

Developing affective connections to the past enables students to understand historical figures as individuals whose experiences were shaped by the social, cultural, and political circumstances of their time, thereby fostering an understanding of history that extends beyond the acquisition of factual knowledge. This study aims to 1) identify the tendencies of reflective learning in senior high schools in Banjarmasin City; 2) analyse how teachers can implement learning treatments to train students' affective connections to historical events; and 3) analyse the results of the learning treatments provided by teachers through narrative analysis. This study employed a qualitative narrative analysis design to explore how students construct affective connections to historical events through critical reflection and contextual understanding. The results show that to foster students' affective connections to historical events, learning treatments that allow students to express their knowledge and abilities through essays are needed. Student learning activities need to be adjusted to the stages of critical reflection and historical contextualization. The narrative analysis of students' essays identified expressions of affective engagement with historical events, particularly through reflections on historical actors, human suffering, and the social and political circumstances surrounding historical events.