<p>Syftet med mitt arbete var att öka min förståelse för hur barn tänker kring kunskapsbegreppet generellt samt specifikt inom historia och religion.</p><p>Jag läste litteratur i ämnet för att ge en bakgrund till hur forskningen sett och ser på kunskap och inlärning. Martons m.fl. "Inlärning och omvärldsuppfattning" samt Pramlings "Barn och inlärning" har varit till stor hjälp. En viktig del i arbetet har även Pramlings metodbok för barnintervjuer haft. Jag har intervjuat åtta barn i en årskurs fyra om vad de uppfattat att de lärt sig generellt och specifikt på lågstadiet och jag har via enkät bett fyra lågstadielärare svara på frågor om vad de tar upp inom ämnena historia och religion samt vilka mål de har med sin undervisning däri.</p><p>Med detta material som grund fann jag att det i denna grupp fanns en tydlig tendens att det som barnen i första hand uppfattar som kunskap var det som vi betecknar som grundläggande färdigheter inom matematik och svenska. I historia och religion var barnens uppfattningar om vad de lärt sig mer vaga, speciellt inom religion. Förhållandet mellan lärares mål med undervisningen och elevers uppfattningar om vad de lärt sig visar på en större ”samsyn” i historieundervisningen än i religionsundervisningen.</p> / Examensarbete på Grundskollärarprogrammet 1-7 ht 1999.

Syftet med mitt arbete var att öka min förståelse för hur barn tänker kring kunskapsbegreppet generellt samt specifikt inom historia och religion. Jag läste litteratur i ämnet för att ge en bakgrund till hur forskningen sett och ser på kunskap och inlärning. Martons m.fl. "Inlärning och omvärldsuppfattning" samt Pramlings "Barn och inlärning" har varit till stor hjälp. En viktig del i arbetet har även Pramlings metodbok för barnintervjuer haft. Jag har intervjuat åtta barn i en årskurs fyra om vad de uppfattat att de lärt sig generellt och specifikt på lågstadiet och jag har via enkät bett fyra lågstadielärare svara på frågor om vad de tar upp inom ämnena historia och religion samt vilka mål de har med sin undervisning däri. Med detta material som grund fann jag att det i denna grupp fanns en tydlig tendens att det som barnen i första hand uppfattar som kunskap var det som vi betecknar som grundläggande färdigheter inom matematik och svenska. I historia och religion var barnens uppfattningar om vad de lärt sig mer vaga, speciellt inom religion. Förhållandet mellan lärares mål med undervisningen och elevers uppfattningar om vad de lärt sig visar på en större ”samsyn” i historieundervisningen än i religionsundervisningen. / Examensarbete på Grundskollärarprogrammet 1-7 ht 1999.

This thesis offers critical perspectives on a history syllabus for vocational education and training (VET) tracks in Swedish upper secondary schools and adds to our knowledge and understanding of the educative function of history education for the individual and for society. The overall aim of this thesis is to critically investigate discourses that are voiced in different fields about the construction and reproduction of the history curriculum in VET tracks. A general question addressed is how vertical (critical and theoretical) and horizontal knowledge is articulated by the discourses in terms of the meaning of history in a VET context. The following four research questions were the focus of the four different studies in this thesis: How were non-vocational subjects discussed on a policy level during the post-war period, and what meanings were ascribed to history education? What aspects of history as a field of knowledge are recontextualised into a pedagogic discourse for the VET curriculum? How do teachers perceive the history syllabus? What do the students express concerning the history syllabus and history education? The results of these studies are reported in separate papers, and the aggregated results are analysed in this thesis. The data consisted of government bills and committee reports, material from the National Agency of Education archives, and interview data gathered through interviews with 5 teachers and 46 students. The major theoretical inspiration comes from Basil Bernstein whose theories of classification and framing, pedagogic discourse, pedagogic code, and vertical and horizontal discourses are used in the analysis. With the aid of these concepts, the content and meaning of history education for VET are connected to macro levels of education, and the way in which education reproduces social order when certain forms of knowledge are distributed to different groups in society is discussed. Three major conclusions are drawn. First, history as a pedagogic discourse comes forward as versatile and contradictory when the results from the studies are aggregated. There is, however, a shared understanding that the meaning of history in VET is to educate the students to become democratic and active citizens. Secondly, the investigated discourses ascribe history education with the potential to distribute critical and powerful knowledge. The students see a value for history education in their future as citizens and for giving them access the public conversation of society. A final conclusion is that the pedagogic code, embedded in the history curriculum, can be interpreted in two different ways. The emphasis on competencies and the focus on the last two hundred years can be interpreted as (A) an expression of a wish for immediate utility and thus an instrumental view of education or (B) the recontextualisation of scientific theories, concepts, and practices into a pedagogic discourse as a means to give students access to disciplinary (powerful) knowledge.

This thesis by publication contains an introductory summary chapter and three papers. The first paper presents a study of how the concept of historical consciousness has been defined, applied, and justified in Swedish history didactical research. It finds that there is consensus regarding the definition of what a historical consciousness is, but that there is variation in how the concept is applied. It is suggested that this variation makes historical con­sciousness a complex and vague concept.      The second paper uses the results presented in the first paper as a point of departure and from thence argues for a broadened understanding of the concept of historical consciousness that incorporates its definition, applica­tion, development, and significance. The study includes research about his­torical consciousness primarily from Sweden, the UK, the USA and Canada. The paper presents a typology of historical consciousness and argues that level of contextualisation is what distinguishes different types of historical consciousnesses and that an ability to contextualise is also what makes his­torical consciousness an important concept for identity constitution and morality.      The third paper proposes a methodological framework of historical con­sciousness based on the theory of historical consciosusness presented in the second paper. It presents arguments for why the framework of historical consciousness proposed can be useful for the analysis of historical media and it discusses how aspects of the framework can be applied in analysis. It then presents a textbook analysis that has been performed according to the stipulated framework and discusses its results regarding how textbooks can be used to analyse historical consciousness and its development. / Forskarskolan Historiska Medier (ForHiM)

What has happened affects our lives as well as our actions; the past is inseparably connected to the present and to the future. Although this relation exists, it is not that simple to bring it up when teaching history. However, if that is never done, the subject might be considered irrelevant. This study aims therefore to research in what way history teachers create a relation between past, present and future in their teaching, and how they look upon this issue. To make these dimensions in time visible in an empiricist analysis, the theory starts from the concept of historical consciousness. Historical consciousness is a mental process within each person, where reflections of the past create an understanding of the contemporary, thus creating conceptions of the future. The empirics have been gathered through semi structural interviews with three teachers at upper secondary school, that all are interested in – as well as working with – historical consciousness. The tools of analysis are Klas-Göran Karlsson’s historical mental operation “historiska tankeoperation” and the critical narrative of Jörn Rüsen’s typology of historical narrations.   The result suggests four different strategies of teaching that can be utilized to create a relation between the three dimensions of time. (1) Future scenarios may be discussed from historical courses of events and lines of development. (2) History may be used to draw conclusions and to learn from. (3) Historical consciousness may be made visible through reflections of how our individual experiences affect our lives today, and how they affect our future actions. (4) Alternative interpretations and narratives about the past may be used to affect, or to change, the students’ conception of something today or/and in the future. / Det förflutna påverkar våra liv och våra handlingar, dåtiden står i en oupplöslig förbindelse med nutiden och framtid. Trots att denna relation existerar så är det inte så enkelt att belysa den i historieundervisning och om detta inte görs så riskerar historieämnet att uppfattas som irrelevant. Denna studie undersöker därmed hur historielärare ser på och skapar en relation mellan dåtid, nutid och framtid i historieundervisningen. För att få syn på dessa tidsdimensioner i en empirisk analys så utgår teorin ifrån begreppet historiemedvetande. Historiemedvetande är en mental process hos varje människa där reflektioner av det förflutna ger en förståelse för den egna samtiden och där igenom skapar uppfattningar om framtiden. Empirin har samlats utifrån semistrukturella intervjuer med tre gymnasielärare som är intresserade av och arbetar med historiemedvetande. Analysverktygen består av Klas-Göran Karlssons historiska tankeoperation och den kritiska berättelsen ifrån Jörn Rüsens berättelsetypologi.    Resultatet visar på fyra undervisningsstrategier som kan användas för att skapa en relation mellan de tre tidsdimensionerna. (1) Framtida scenarion kan diskuteras utifrån historiska skeende och utvecklingslinjer. (2) Historien kan användas för att dra slutsatser och lärdom av. (3) Historiemedvetande kan synliggöras genom reflektioner av hur våra individuella erfarenheter påverkar våra liv idag och våra framtida handlingar. (4) Alternativa tolkningar och berättelser om det förflutna kan användas för att påverka eller förändra elevernas uppfattning om någonting idag och/eller i framtiden.

This thesis by publication contains an introductory summary chapter and three papers. The first paper presents a study of how the concept of historical consciousness has been defined, applied, and justified in Swedish history didactical research. It finds that there is consensus regarding the definition of what a historical consciousness is, but that there is variation in how the concept is applied. It is suggested that this variation makes historical con­sciousness a complex and vague concept.      The second paper uses the results presented in the first paper as a point of departure and from thence argues for a broadened understanding of the concept of historical consciousness that incorporates its definition, applica­tion, development, and significance. The study includes research about his­torical consciousness primarily from Sweden, the UK, the USA and Canada. The paper presents a typology of historical consciousness and argues that level of contextualisation is what distinguishes different types of historical consciousnesses and that an ability to contextualise is also what makes his­torical consciousness an important concept for identity constitution and morality.      The third paper proposes a methodological framework of historical con­sciousness based on the theory of historical consciosusness presented in the second paper. It presents arguments for why the framework of historical consciousness proposed can be useful for the analysis of historical media and it discusses how aspects of the framework can be applied in analysis. It then presents a textbook analysis that has been performed according to the stipulated framework and discusses its results regarding how textbooks can be used to analyse historical consciousness and its development. / Forskarskolan Historiska Medier (ForHiM)

The aim of the study presented in this report was to analyse how the lack of time in the subjectof history, in Swedish upper secondary school, tend to influence the process of history didacticsthat affects teachers’ implementation of the curriculum. Furthermore, the study aimed toanalyse the outcome of the history didactics process in the vocational and theoretical programs.The process was examined through qualitative interviews with six history teachers that teach in two basic history courses and the analysis was based on a theoretical framework consisting of Street-Level Bureaucracy, Curriculum Theory and Vertical and Horizontal discourses. The result shows that the lack of time influences the execution of the history teaching in many ways. The history teaching in the vocational programs is though affected to a greater extent than the theoretical programs. Furthermore, the teachers in the present study find themselves in a complicated dilemma when it comes to balancing the ideal of the curriculum and the ideal of history teaching. The teachers shall both live up to the curriculum, while also adjusting the teaching to available time and students’ individual needs. The study also reaches the conclusion that the students in the vocational programs tend to have fewer opportunities to practise both vertical and horizontal knowledge, when compared to students in the theoretical programs. Based on Bernstein, this can be said to indicate that a reproduction of the prevailing social order and inequalities in society occur within the subject of history in Swedish upper secondary school. Finally, the teachers’ ability to deal with the prevailing problems could be facilitated through better conditions to execute the curriculum’s content, such as extended teaching time or a smaller amount of content to process and examine, especially within the vocational program where the implementation of the curriculum is most problematic.

Begreppet historiemedvetande återfinns i den inledande syftestexten för ämnet historia i grundskolan. Begreppet beskrivs vara inflätat i elevens förståelse för hur det förflutna samspelar med det nutida och ska ge eleven perspektiv på framtiden. Historiemedvetande är ett nyckelbegrepp i historiedidaktiken och har en roll i syftet med ämnet.  Varierande benämningar på begreppet historiemedvetande enligt tidigare forskning och sökandet på hur undervisningen ska planeras för att främja utvecklingen av elevernas historiemedvetande föranleder syftet med föreliggande studie. För att uppnå studiens syfte där frågeställningar ämnar besvara hur verksamma lärare tolkar och använder begreppet historiemedvetande i mellanstadiet användes semistrukturerade kvalitativa intervjuer med fem lärare. Resultatet analyserades utifrån valda teman som diskuteras i förhållande till tidigare forskning och det sociokulturella perspektivet i resultats diskussionen. Resultatet till studien visar att det finns arbetssätt som gynnar elevernas historiemedvetande och att det finns utmaningar med att arbeta med begreppet. Arbetssätt som lärarna beskriver är att arbeta med närområdet, moment som innehåller diskussioner och att använda digitala verktyg. Utmaningar beskrivs vara när eleverna inte kan koppla sitt eget liv till svensk historia och att läromedel inte alltid tillgodoser möjligheten att utveckla elevernas historiemedvetande. / The concept of historical consciousness is found in the introductory aim text for the subject history in middle school. The concept is described as intertwined in the pupil's understanding of how the past interacts with the present and should give the pupil a perspective on the future. Historical consciousness is a key concept in history didactics and has a role in the purpose of the subject.  Varying names for the concept of historical consciousness according to previous research and the search for how teaching should be planned to promote the development of pupil's historical consciousness give rise to the purpose of the present study. To achieve the purpose of the study, where questions intend to answer how active teachers interpret and use the concept of historical consciousness in middle school, semi-structured qualitative interviews with five teachers were used. The results were analysed based on selected themes that are discussed in relation to previous research and the socio-cultural perspective in the results discussion. The results of the study show that there are working methods that benefit pupil´s consciousness of history and that there are challenges in working with the concept. The working methods that the teachers describe are to work with the local area, elements that contain discussions and to use digital tools. Challenges are described as being when pupil´s cannot connect their own lives to Swedish history and that teaching materials do not always satisfy the opportunity to develop historical consciousness.

The purpose of this study is to compare how pre-service teacher students describe historical consciousness, concerning if they are studying their first or last history course. The concept historical consciousness was chosen because of its central role in the Swedish curriculum for the history subject. To achieve the study’s purpose eight pre-service teacherswere qualitatively interviewed. Five of the eight students studied their first history course, while the remaining three studied their last history course. The two theories that made up the theoretical framework of the study was Rüsen’s three principles for narrative competence as well as Jensen’s five processes of historical consciousness. The result of the studyshows that a clear majority of the students described historical consciousness as a method of learning from historical mistakes. This trend was clear with both groups of students. This study also shows that a majority of students had difficulties with the future’s role in historical consciousness. One out of the eight students made clear and continuous references between the three tenses past, present and future. The result reveal that the teacher education should focus more on the three tenses past, present, and future in relation to practical teaching situations. This to make historical consciousness more practical for the student teachers.

The aim of the study is to analyze how the practice of teaching history in Swedish upper secondary school was impacted by the covid-19 pandemic. The study used qualitative interviews with five history teachers to gain an understanding about how they felt that the pandemic came to affect them and their teaching.  To analyze the result the frame factor theory, and frame factory frames: pandemic and remote teaching have been used.  The result of the study shows that online education and the pandemic effected most aspects of teaching, especially the social collaboration between students’ and students and their teacher. All five teachers reported that not being able to read their students’ body language and alertness during their lectures was an issue, since they were unable adapt their lesson after their students' needs. The teachers believe that these issues resulted in a lower quality learning environment.  Remote teaching also increased the workload for teachers, especially when they needed to develop their technical skills to meet the demands of remote teaching. The teachers preferred to teach in classrooms with their students present, but they also saw the value in their own professional development during this challenging period.  Despite the challenges, the teachers’ view of remote teaching is positive and they see several advantages with the tool. One example of this is that certain group of students that tend to stay at home and avoid school, performed better during remote teaching period. Another example is that teachers had an easier time having deeper and more meaningful conversations with their students. However, the main take away from the study is that the teachers recognize the importance of remote teaching as a tool in case something similar, like the covid pandemic, should occur in the future.