Nowadays, the educational resources at the disposal of teachers are not only more numerous and diverse than a few years ago, but they also require a greater degree of knowledge when they are confined to different subjects or heterogeneous nature, enriching a little more one of the most important professions in our society. In the case of history teaching, the methodological revolution which has taken place over the past two decades has been unstoppable and raises the issue of the total renovation of the teaching profession (Boerman-Cornell, 2015; Souto and Martínez, 2016). This paper addresses the use of comics, and in some cases graphic novels (Montenegro, 2012; Sebastián-Faubel, 2016; Williams, 2008), as an educational resource on the rise which aims to facilitate history learning in a motivating way, encouraging critical thinking and, in turn, stimulating students’ creativity.

For many of us, brought up in a society in which the mass media are ever-present, cartoon strips and comics have formed part of what could be referred to as our sentimental upbringing (Gubern, 1977). It is true to state that never before have so many graphic novels been produced and read as is the case today. Thus, this manifestation requires considered reflection and, in our opinion, a suitable educational context in which these resources can be implemented in an effective manner. In this way, the educational potential which comics put at our disposal can be prioritised. If a correct reading is given, by stimulating observation, reading, analysing and interpreting a series of actions reflected in the cartoons, it is possible to consolidate and acquire a historical approach capable of handling and distinguishing between fiction, truth and reality (Lluch-Prats et al., 2016; Sebastián-Faubel, 2016).

In the words of McCloud (1993, p. 9), comics are juxtaposed illustrations and other images in deliberate sequences which aim to transmit information or obtain an aesthetic response from the reader. Gubern (1977), one of the sharpest analysts of the popular and visual culture of our times, characterised comics as a sequence of consecutive images which articulate a narrative in which at least one stable character and an integration of the text in the image can be found throughout the series. Therefore, the most imperative characteristic is the capacity of the comic or graphic novel to naturally integrate iconic and verbal language (Arango, 2012).

If these classical definitions, used in their time to characterise a society ever more focused on aesthetics (as predicted by Berger, 1990), are taken as a starting point, education cannot overlook one of the most important cultural manifestations of the past decades. In other words, it seems to be the ideal moment to incorporate these forms of mass media, along with others such as cinema and photography, into the classroom, adapting them to educational projects resulting from discussion and intellectual debate.

If, as stated by Gubern (1977), ours is a culture of the printed image for the masses, history teaching should provide itself with valid tools for this culture, not so much to ignore what has been done or taught to date, but to offer a re-reading or an alternative version of history (Arango, 2012; Steiner et al., 2014). In the words of Saitua (2018a), history teachers should provide their students with materials and training resources which foster a clear understanding of complex historical processes, enable them to identify historical causality and to develop the skills associated with argumentation. Consequently, comics, as stated by many different authors (Williams, 2008; Aguilera, 2011; Blay, 2015; Boerman-Cornell, 2015; Souto and Martínez, 2016), could be an ideal resource for history teaching and the development of historical thinking (Ortega-Sánchez and Pagès, 2017) due to their recreational and motivational character, plot clarity and multi-modal nature. For Zagkotas (2019) and Sebastián-Faubel (2016), the narrative formula of comics, an element which should, no doubt, be borne in mind, is another way of narrating the past which is closely linked with the narrative discourse of the historian. As the student is presented with the world via an imaginary lens, he/she is encouraged to seek information in an autonomous manner, observing the necessity to confront and contrast the documentary sources, thus fostering discussion and interpretation of the narration, leading to an attitude which is surely more positive concerning the place of history in his/her education.

In close relation to the concepts and ideas described here, Saitua (2018b) points out an element which is fundamental for our interests: reading a comic can enable the student to deploy the necessary mental frameworks for historical thinking. Without doubt, this is an important step in considering this means of expression as a first-order tool in the teaching of history, as is stated in the studies by Aguilera (2011), Boerman-Cornell (2015) and Souto and Martínez (2016). These authors stress the importance of the identification, contextualisation and corroboration of all of the historical elements which appear in the comic, interpreting them via a critical, efficient reading, a characteristic of history teaching itself. In this regard, Arango (2012), Saitua (2018a) and Blay (2015) state that this reading, formulated within an educational project which takes in some of the issues formulated above, not only helps to promote critical thinking among students, but also imagination and creativity. These authors consider that this stimulus, which promotes and encourages imagination, also takes place on what is specifically known as “historical imagination,” defined by Lowenthal (1985, p. 213) as “collective memory is constructed through shared images.” Indeed, the comic strips which present certain historical contents do not restrict themselves exclusively to returning to these shared mental images and reproducing them, as was the case with the well-known graphic novel by Art Spiegelman, Maus: A Survivor’s Tale (1992). But rather, they transform and insert new images into this ensemble, a fundamental aspect when their use is contemplated in the education of students who are in the process of forming their own historical imagination (Arango, 2012; Lluch-Prats et al., 2016).

Among the main advantages of using comics to teach history, it can be highlighted that not only must the student adopt a role as a researcher–reader, as mentioned by many authors (Aguilera, 2011; Montenegro, 2012; Souto and Martínez, 2016; Zagkotas, 2019), evaluating sources, interpreting information and considering different perspectives, but also different key concepts can be worked on, such as identity-otherness, multiple causality, change and continuity, diversity, inequality and conflict, according to the pattern proposed by Sebastián-Faubel (2016). Thus, comics, used as an educational resource, put into images what textbooks explain in words, fostering students’ creativity and increasing their interest in what is taught, as stated by Blay (2015). This is yet another incentive for the use of new methodologies in history teaching as it becomes possible for the teacher to catch his/her students’ attention thanks to the complementarity between what is iconic and what is written, as the task of opening the eyes of the reader is facilitated (Arango, 2012; Boerman-Cornell, 2015).

Ultimately, the challenge with which we are confronted when considering the suitability of the use of comics in the history classroom resides in the capacity of teachers to select which comics are to be used in class, what prior information to offer to students and, last but not least, what type of choice is sought from the reading and analysis of this educational resource (Montenegro, 2012; Steiner et al., 2014; Lluch-Prats et al., 2016). In brief, comics are a cultural product generated in certain specific social and productive conditions (Arango, 2012). Therefore, it is the teacher who is responsible for incorporating them into a broader ensemble of strategies with the aim of substantially transforming the teaching of history (Aguilera, 2011; Blay, 2015).

In this regard, the main aspects which make comics a resource of great educational potential lie in their capacity to motivate (Altarriba, 2003) and in the fact that they are considered to be a transversal and multidisciplinary tool which can facilitate integral learning (Jiménez García et al., 2019). Likewise, Barrero (2002), cited by Jiménez García (2020), points out certain reasons for the benefits of using comics in language teaching, which can, in our opinion, also be applied to other subjects, such as their narrative and visual aspects, the fostering of creativity and the capacity for reflection on cultural and social reality. To all of this can be added the fact that comics enable the introduction of specific contents for different subjects (Pons, 2017).

Along these lines, it can be stated that comics make it possible to work on values and beliefs (Onieva, 2015), reflect on the world around us and favour research (Guzmán, 2011). They are, therefore, an ideal resource for teaching and learning history as their use in the classroom is related, to a great degree, with the objectives and intentions of teachers (Gómez-Trigueros and Ruiz-Bañuls, 2019).

Taking into account the aforementioned statement, comics can be used in history classes in many different ways. First of all, comics can be used as a historical source to address the study and knowledge of the society which produces them (Gual Boronat, 2011, 2013; Sola Morales and Barroso Peña, 2014; Calviño Freire, 2018), as they can show features which reflect the moment of time in which they were created (Jiménez García, 2020). Secondly, another way of implementing the use of comics in the classroom is via the design of educational activities based on the contents of a published comic, making it possible to use works which address the specific period being studied or to be studied in class, thus transforming the comic into a tool enabling the study of a specific historical reality via argumentation (Saitua, 2018b; Fernández de Arriba, 2019). A third approach to working on historical contents based on comics is the creation of comics by teachers and students. This creation can be by hand or via the use of any of the different digital applications available on the Internet. Independently of the tool used to create them, in the case of teachers, the creation and use of comics in the classroom makes it possible to present contents in a different way which can be adapted to both the learning contents and objectives. As far as the creation of comics by students is concerned, this can be the final result of research in the style of a historical narrative.

First of all, as far as the analysis of the descriptive statistics is concerned, it must be stated that the analysis of the means, medians and SD (Supplementary Material) of the 10 quantitative items of the questionnaire has been extremely positive. The item with the lowest mean score is item 4 with 4.0 out of 5, which, in itself, represents a positive result. Thus, the mean values oscillate between 4.0 for item 4 (The activity has improved my motivation to achieve better grades) and 4.6 for item 7 (The activity has motived me because we have used resources which are different to those normally used).

In relation to the median, all of the items are situated between 4 and 5. However, in terms of the SD, all of the items analysed present a value of <1, thus representing a positive detail as no item has a great degree of variability. Item 7 (The activity has motived me because we have used resources which are different to those normally used) presents the greatest homogeneity of responses with the SD below 0.6, whereas item 5 (The activity has motived me because it has enabled me to contribute my knowledge) is that which presents the greatest variability with 0.9, which, in spite of everything, is a very positive piece of information.

The research presented in this paper is based on the prior assumption that surmised that the trainee primary teachers had never worked on history via a resource such as comics. Thus, the researchers wondered whether the future teachers would feel motivated teaching and learning history using comics as an educational resource.

In this regard, the prime objective posed in this research was to analyse the perceptions of trainee teachers regarding their degree of motivation when learning history through comics.

In order to achieve this aim, a specific educational programme on the use of comics in the teaching of the social sciences was designed, along with a mixed qualitative and quantitative questionnaire created ad hoc to evaluate the degree of motivation of the 221 participating trainee primary teachers from the University of Alicante. The results of the construct validity confirm that, methodologically speaking, the tool is highly reliable, as has been the case in other similar research projects on motivation in the teaching of the social sciences, such as that of Gómez-Carrasco et al. (2020).

When analysing the results, three different specific objectives were proposed. First of all, the different aspects of motivation perceived by the participants when using comics in social science classes have been researched (SO1). Here, it should be highlighted that the results concerning motivation have been extremely positive, with mean scores of above 4 out of a possible 5. Item 7 (The activity has motived me because we have used resources which are different to those normally used) stands out with the highest mean score of 4.6 and, furthermore, a positive result indicating that 90.5% of the participants were “in agreement” that working with educational resources which were different to those normally employed proves motivating in history classes.

This can basically be explained by the fact that the teaching of the social sciences, and history in particular, still maintains an extremely rigid and traditional structure (Estepa, 2017; Moreno-Vera and Alvén, 2020), in which the explanatory method (the masterclass) continues to be the most common approach when constructing new knowledge. The textbook is still the most commonly used educational resource in history classes, as pointed out by Vera et al. (2014), who, following an investigation of history teaching in Spain, concluded that more than 85% of teachers continued to employ textbooks as the only resource in the classroom. Thus, using resources other than the textbook in itself represents an element of motivation according to the future primary teachers.

This result is confirmed if the fact is taken into account that 84.1% of the trainee teachers feel motivated when they are responsible for their own learning. The participants in the study consider it to be a factor of motivation that it is the students who shoulder the responsibility of constructing knowledge (Powell and Kalina, 2009), putting into practice educational strategies which facilitate creativity (Cooper, 2018), historical research employing sources (Prats and Santacana, 2001; Ortega-Sánchez and Pagès, 2020), active learning methods (Gómez-Carrasco et al., 2019) and the use of narratives to learn history (Moreno-Vera, 2015).

Some of the results prove to be of particular interest, such as those of item 4, which have the lowest mean score of the study, thereby indicating that the trainee teachers do not attribute so much importance to motivation depending on the final mark that will be awarded.

SO2 was concerned with the analysis of the positive perceptions of the participants when using comics as a resource for the teaching of history. In this case, a wide variety of favourable opinions can be found among a total of 580 responses, among which those referring to the capacity of comics to “encourage understanding of historical contents” stand out, thus coinciding with prior research which has treated narrative resources as a fundamental element when learning history in primary and early-years education (Moreno-Vera, 2015), in which narration has been a significant element for researchers such as Egan (1994).

Indeed, as stated by González Gaxiola et al. (2020), one of the main reasons why teachers resort to graphic narratives (comics, graphic novels, etc.) is to facilitate understanding of abstract concepts among students. Without doubt, the narrative nature of comics with the combination of text and images enables a better understanding of the ideas and contents presented. Therefore, the visual aspect of this resource must be highlighted, as images have, in the words of Becerra Romero and Jorge Godoy (2014, p. 17), the “added value that they avoid pages and pages of descriptions and help to set the scene and contextualise the characters.” In this way, comics facilitate the understanding and visualisation of historical information (Saitua, 2018b; Ortega-Sánchez et al., 2019).

Furthermore, the results obtained via the open questions endorse the idea that comics are a tool with great potential in terms of motivating students (Altarriba, 2003; Gutiérrez, 2006; Saitua, 2018a). This perception is, doubtless, connected with the fact that they are entertaining, which, in the light of the participants’ responses, has passed from being considered prejudicial, as has traditionally been the case (Saitua, 2018a) and as can be observed in some of the responses regarding negative aspects, to being considered by the vast majority as a positive element which can attract the students’ interest and facilitate learning.

These positive results regarding the “motivation” which comics produce among students reinforce the encouraging data shown by the research on motivation via the analysis of the quantitative data. Last of all, the participants highlighted the capacity of comics as a resource to “foster students’ creativity,” thus coinciding with Orlich et al. (1994) and Baur (1978), who stated that, in order to achieve creative thinking, practices which foster it must be worked on in the classroom.

SO3 focused on the qualitative analysis of the possible difficulties, limitations and negative aspects of the use of comics in history classes. In this regard, of a total of 298 responses, the most noteworthy were focused on formal aspects.

Without doubt, introducing comics into the classroom, be it via pre-existing editions or original creations, has a series of limitations or negative aspects which should be taken into account, such as the preparation time required (mentioned by 22.5% of the participants) and, in many cases, the work required, implying the preparation of materials, the use of sources and historical evidence (Seixas and Morton, 2013), research (Prats and Santacana, 2001) and, last of all, the creation of the comic itself.

Likewise, another of the drawbacks or objections mentioned by the participants relates to the difficulty of presenting or adapting historical contents to the format of a comic (15.1% of the total). In this regard, it must be highlighted that this requires a significant capacity for synthesis and organisation of the structure of the comic. However, as stated by Becerra Romero and Jorge Godoy (2014), it should be taken into account that comics are not history books, but rather a resource or complementary material to assist students in approaching a specific topic or subject.

In conclusion, therefore, it can be affirmed that the trainee primary education teachers consider the use of comics to be a motivating resource for the teaching and learning of history, particularly because it makes it possible to work with resources other than the textbook, something that also happen in geography, according to authors like Morote et al. (2021). Furthermore, they consider the use of comics to be extremely useful for their future careers. In addition, they highlight as a positive aspect the fact that comics are capable of facilitating the understanding of historical contents, fostering creativity and motivating their future students. As far as negative aspects are concerned, the participants highlight the excessive time and difficulty implied by creating an original comic in class and the difficulty of correctly adapting historical contents to the format of a comic.

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary Material; further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by Comité de ética de la Universidad de Murcia. The patients/participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.

JM-V: materials and methods, quantitative analysis and results, and discussion. SP-L: instrument design, data collection, educational programme design, qualitative results, and discussion. RB-M: introduction, references, data collection, and discussion. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

This research is part of the project “Accept the challenge! Gamification in online higher education” (2020-1-PL01-KA226-HE-096034) funded by the European Union ERASMUS+ KA2 programme Cooperation and innovation for good practices.

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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