Bertjaap van der Ploeg

Bertjaap van der Ploeg is a University Lecturer in History and Lecturer-researcher in the Language & Development department at KPZ University of Applied Sciences, a specialized institution for primary education teacher training. He coordinates the "Samen Onderzoeken" (Research Together) project, which facilitates collaboration between research schools and universities of applied sciences on practical educational issues.

His research focuses on historical perspective-taking in primary education, examining how students aged 10-12 develop the ability to understand historical contexts and viewpoints. Van der Ploeg views historical perspective-taking as a crucial citizenship skill that fosters empathy, critical thinking, and the ability to understand different perspectives. His work integrates history education with language development and citizenship education, exploring how these domains can reinforce each other in primary school settings.

Van der Ploeg's research examines the use of different text types in history education, including abrasive texts (which challenge existing views), neighboring texts (which provide related contexts), and rich texts. His work investigates how these texts can stimulate historical reasoning and perspective-taking among primary school students. He has also developed expertise in the pedagogical content knowledge of experienced primary school teachers regarding historical perspective-taking instruction.

His scientific contributions include publications in journals such as Resilience and Veerkracht, with recent work extending into 2025. Notable publications include "Historical perspective-taking as a citizenship skill" (2023) and "Breaking the bubble. How historical reasoning can contribute to empathy and understanding other perspectives" (2020).

As a teacher educator, Van der Ploeg contributes to training future primary school teachers in history education. His research directly informs teacher training programs at KPZ University of Applied Sciences, helping prepare educators to effectively teach historical perspective-taking and integrate it with citizenship education.

He actively participates in academic conferences including HEIRNET, History Didactics Day, and Velon Congress, presenting on topics related to historical perspective-taking, citizenship education, and the integration of history and language education in primary school settings.