The Holocaust is an important part of Swedish history teaching. It tends to exemplify human rights violations and has become a means to educate students to be better citizens. Swedish studies have often focused on students’ historical consciousness. This study aims to examine students’ historical thinking about the Holocaust. Three questions are addressed; how students express substantive knowledge, how students express procedural concepts, and how do students express moral aspects about the Holocaust. The material was created during the authors’ teaching practice (in Swedish VFU) and consists of 28 students’ texts. To analyze the material qualitative content analysis was used. Procedural concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, historical agency and, moral aspects, were also used as tools to interpret students’ texts about what was the cause of the Holocaust. The results show that students made implicit references to different procedural concepts when describing how the Holocaust happened. Students often referred to anti-Semitism, Adolf Hitler, and the developed train system as causes for the Holocaust. They tended to understand Hitler as the founder of anti-Semitism and Nazism. He was described to convince the German people to vote for him. Structures and agency of other actors, therefore, disappeared leading to a shallow understanding of the Holocaust. The author of the study argues for a Holocaust education that uses Alice Pettigrews’ concept of “powerful knowledge” and Gert Biestas’ notion of qualification, socialization, and subjectification, to develop students’ moral and civic understanding.

A central aspect of Swedish history teaching is to develop one's ability to use history and to develop historical awareness. As a support for the teacher, there are several different textbooks, but the content may differ in terms of both factual knowledge and methods. With this as a starting point and with focus on using history, the purpose of this essay is to investigate how source management can be applied to different historical events and people, as well as how historical awareness can be developed with the help of different thinking tools. The questions that will be answered are which people and events the books cover withthe source management chapters that exist, how source management methods can be applied to this course of events and how historical awareness can be developed through these books.The method that will be used is a qualitative content analysis to analyze and interpret theteaching books. To examine these issues, Peter Seixa's thinking tool guide and Niklas Ammert's learning material theory will be used as the theoretical framework. With the help ofthese, the content must be assimilated to investigate how the development of historical thinking. Based on previous research, there are abilities and knowledge students must develop through history teaching, but how textbooks can be used is not presented to the same extent.

Denna studie undersöker elevers förklaringar i det nationella provet 2014. Provet skall tas i särskilt beaktning och därmed är det viktigt att förstå hur elever förklarar historiska skeenden vid provtillfället. Syftet med studien är att undersöka elevers uttryck av historiska förklaringar när de resonerar om orsaker till Förintelsen, Gulag och slavhandeln över Atlanten. Frågeställningarna utgår från elevers hantering av tankebegrepp och de mönster som återfinns i deras förklaringar. För studien användes en kvalitativ metod där 53 katalogiserade prov som bedömts med A analyserades. Resultatet delades upp i två grupper: Elevers hantering av kausalitet samt elevers hantering av aktör och struktur. Materialet inhämtades från arkivet vid Malmö Universitet, som på uppdrag av Skolverket utvecklar och utvärderar det nationella provet i historia. Resultatet visar att elever uttrycker komplexa förklaringar utifrån kausalitet och ett implicit förklarande av aktör och struktur. Därutöver visade resultatet att elever lägger stor vikt vid aktörers intentioner i sina framställningar av historia. Studien visar också att komplexiteten i förklaringarna skiljer sig mellan de olika frågorna, möjligtvis då de har olika platser i historiekulturen. Därutöver är en av studiens slutsatser att lärare i sin undervisning måste vara medvetna om hur de förklarar historiska skeenden. Studien visar ett behov av mer forskning kring hur lärare undervisar om svårhanterliga historiska skeenden och hur marginaliserade grupper framställs av lärare.

Abstract The aim with this study is to examine how practicing history teachers in upper secondary school deal with historical thinking concepts. The three main questions are: which concepts do teachers use in their courses and when do they use them? How can teachers’ use of different historical thinking concepts be described in terms of reconstruction and construction? What factors influence teachers when they work with historical thinking concepts?   To answer these questions, the material, for example tests, lesson plans and notes of seven teachers has been analyzed. These analysis were followed by interviews with the teachers.   The empirical data have been handled in two steps. The first step is a survey of what historical thinking concepts teachers use and when they use them. The survey was done as a detailed reading of the teachers’ material. In this survey two historical thinking concepts, evidence and cause and consequence, have been selected for further analysis, which is the second step.   The results show that when teachers deal with the historical thinking concept of evidence they show their students models and ways to handle evidence. This is not the case when teachers handle the historical thinking concept of cause and consequence. Models are shown here as well but not to the same extent. The result also shows that the teachers’ handling of evidence in a greater extent leads to construction compared with their handling of cause and consequence.   The explanations provided in the study also point to the different character between the two concepts and what form of test the teachers’ use and what words are used to communicate for example cause and consequence. Furthermore, the explanations also indicate that the teachers’ view of what historical knowledge contains of, together with what kind of students and what other subject they teach play some part in their dealing with historical thinking concepts. / Vilka tankeredskap hanterar historielärare i sin undervisning och när framkommer dessa i de kurser lärare undervisar i? Hur hanterar lärare tankeredskap i termer av rekonstruktion och konstruktion? Dessa frågor ställs i denna studie som bygger på en analys av sju lärares undervisningsmaterial och på uppföljande intervjuer med lärarna. I den första delen kartläggs de tankeredskap som lärare hanterar i hela kurser som de undervisar i. Ett resultat av denna del är att orsak och konsekvens är det dominerande tankeredskapet som lärare hanterar. Ett annat resultat är att tankeredskapens förekomst i lärarnas kurser uppvisar stora variationer. I den andra delen sker en fördjupad analys av två tankeredskap, källor och källkritik samt orsak och konsekvens. I denna analys framkommer att lärarnas hanterande av källor och källkritik i större utsträckning kan beskrivas i termer av konstruktion, jämfört med lärarnas hanterande av orsak och konsekvens. I analysen framkommer också att lärare kan hantera tankeredskap i två steg; det som i studien kallas tankeredskap som modell respektive tankeredskap som process. / <p>Ingår i CSD-serien.</p> / Ingår i CSD-serien

In the following study the author compares two methods of teaching history, the thematic approach and a more traditional chronological approach. Aiming at distinguishing the perceived notions of strength and weaknesses of each method, from the perspective of teaching, the author uses semi-structural interviews with four teachers in order to shed light on the reasons why each method is chosen. The perceptions of the thematical and chronological method in teaching history are further compared with the result in students’ grades. The result shows that the thematic method is perceived as being better at teaching the student about causality and different understandings of changes in history, which would have positive impact on higher grades. However it was also looked upon as being more demanding of previous knowledge for the student. Therefore teachers would choose the chronological approach if they saw that the necessary previous knowledge was lacking in the class. The grades of different classes showed however that the perceived relation between method and learning can’t be confirmed, but that great difference in grades where found among classes of the same method. Even if the classes of the thematic method shows slightly higher grades then the classes of the chronological method it might be the result of difference in previous knowledge among classes which motivates the choice of method, more than it is the result of the method itself.

In recent years, the Swedish educational system has undergone considerable change. A new curriculum and swift digitization via the implementation of the "one-to-one" system have increased the call for new teaching methods in schools. Previous research indicates that working with primary sources can enhance students’ historical thinking and historical empathy. The present licentiate dissertation aims to investigate Swedish upper secondary school students’ use of critical thinking and historical empathy when utilizing digitized primary sources, such as the parish registers stored in the Demographic Data Base at Umeå University.         Five classes in grades 1-3, comprising 110 students, in the ages 16 to 19, and three teachers participated in the study. The students were assigned with compiling a report based on the digitised primary source material and presenting their findings in a written paper or oral presentation. The study was evaluated through (1) interviews with students and teachers, (2) classroom observation of the students while working with the material, (3) questionnaires on the students´ view of history, and (4) the completed assignments.           The study shows that all the students achieved some result based on the information found in the digitised primary sources. While they applied historical empathy and historical thinking, it was mixed with presentism. The majority did not make use of corroboration, but those who did displayed more examples of historical thinking and historical empathy, primarily evident in grades 2 and 3 and in the free discussions held after the presentations. The students’ perception of primary sources shifted as a result of this exercise: Their preference for using primary sources had increased, although their trust in primary sources had simultaneously decreased. Teachers and students alike were generally satisfied with the assignment but argued that the database needed improvement in order to enhance its usefulness. Over the course of the assignment, students frequently expressed that the individuals in the digitized material came to life for them, generating feelings of empathy.         The study’s contribution to history didactics is twofold. First, it clearly demonstrates how upper secondary students can make use of historical thinking and historical empathy when studying digitised parish records, even though they have difficulty contextualizing their results. Secondly, it provides insight into how Swedish students learn history and the kind of history that interests them. The results are predominantly in agreement with those from previous studies but this study is pioneering in basing its findings on primary sources that are digitised. / En dator till varje elev, det som ofta kallas en-till-en, har skapat nya förutsättningar för undervisning. I denna studie får gymnasieelever arbeta med digitaliserade primärkällor i historieundervisningen. Elevernas förmåga att använda historiskt tänkande, historisk empati och kontextualisering undersöks, och elevernas inställning till historieämnet kartläggs före och efter mötet med de digitaliserade källorna. Samtliga elever klarar av att genomföra sökningar i det digitaliserade källmaterialet, och de uppvisar i högre eller lägre grad historiskt tänkande, historisk empati och kontextualisering under lektionerna och i sina skriftliga och muntliga redovisningar. Elevernas inställning till historieämnet påverkas i viss mån. Främst förändras deras syn på primärkällor.

The present study explores the reception of historical feature films in history education. It is concerned with how pupils experience the films as well as the significance of the feature film for their understanding and interpretation of history. The study incorporates empirical data from classroom projects in two different Swedish upper secondary schools where film was used as an educational tool. Observations of classroom activities were made and interviews with twelve pupils and their history teachers were conducted. The study applies a phenomenological approach. The lifeworld of the pupils is in focus, specifically the aspect of the lifeworld they live and experience in history class when film is used as a means of understanding the past. The phenomenon studied is thus how the pupils experience the film, and through the film, history itself. Theoretical notions from film reception studies and history didactics are used as analytic tools. The study shows how emotional and cognitive processes converge in the pupils’ meaning making of the films. The embodiment of the films’ narrative is an important factor that contributes to both the understanding of the film as well as of history. The pupils experience the films emotionally, feeling both empathy and antipathy for the various characters, physically through sight and sound as well as embodied reactions, and cognitively through an understanding of the film’s narrative. Embodied experience is fundamental for history to become materialized. The audiovisual portrayal and materialization of the past becomes embodied in the pupils so that the experience of the film and of the historical lifeworld presented therein becomes part of their lifeworld. Generally, pupils consider the films to be trustworthy, though this perceived accuracy depends on how authentically the narrative is performed and the pupils’ previous store of historical knowledge.  A didactic dilemma to consider when using historical feature film in the classroom is the contradiction between the aesthetic experience of a feature film and its use as a tool for understanding the past. The captivating character of feature film evokes empathy and engagement with the films’ characters regardless of the degree of historical accuracy. This is a critical issue for teachers; there needs to be balance between respect for the pupils’ aesthetic experience of the film and the need to guide them to develop for example the skills of historical empathy, where distance is necessary for the pupils to be able to consider different perspectives.

The purpose of this study is to examine the historical consciousness and the use of history among pupils in 6th grade, in Swedish elementary school. To do this, the aim is to answer the following questions: Which types of history use are to be found among 6th graders, and how are these expressed? What historical consciousness/historical thinking do 6th graders display, and how is this expressed? What interest do 6th graders have in history? The method used in this study is a survey, which has been answered anonymously by 60 pupils in four different classes, from four different elementary schools, and in four different Swedish suburbs. The final analysis is based on theories on historical thinking/historical consciousness, uses of history, and history cultures, described by important historians, such as Rüsen, Ammert, and Karlsson. The study has led to the conclusion that, although a large majority of the pupils say that they are interested in history and think it is relevant, very few of them can mention uses of history outside the school context. The answers do not reveal a notably developed historical consciousness, even though there are signs expressing historical consciousness to a limited extent. One of the main characteristics of historical consciousness among the pupils is their use of concepts for historical change, such as development and consequence.

The present study addresses what happens when historical feature film is used in history education. The purpose of this thesis is to develop new knowledge of historical film literacy through a study of the feature film's didactical potential in an educa­tional context. This is carried out through an analysis of the historical meaning making among upper secondary students when viewing historical feature films, and special attention is paid to the importance of emotions in the students' meaning making through historical feature film. A focus of the study is the didactical dilemma, previously addressed in historical film research, that arises in the use of feature film in history or social studies education, in relation to educational context, film experience, and historical understanding. The present thesis is an independent continuation of my licentiate thesis History as Fiction (2014). The empirical material consists of interviews with students and teachers from two upper secondary schools in Sweden, as well as documentation from students' assessments and selected scenes from feature films experienced by the students as they were used in history class. The theoretical framework for the study takes an interdisciplinary approach. It is based on Jörn Rüsens under­standing of historical meaning and histo­ri­cal culture, as well as on transaction theory described by John Dewey and Louise M. Rosenblatt. Film reception theory is equally important, represented by theories from David Bordwell and Carl Plantinga. The main research question focused on how the concept of historical film literacy could be developed theoretically. Historical film literacy is understood in this thesis as an advanced consciousness of how historical meaning making is created through the individual's transaction with film's narration in a specific context, and how meaning making ideally links historical disciplinary thinking with practical orientation in life. The core of theoretically developed historical film literacy is an understanding of the individual's emotional and aesthetic experience of historical feature film, and elaborated theoretical knowledge about the close relationship between the affective response and the more distanced cognitive activity during and after watching a film. Also crucial for historical film literacy is an under­standing of the historical film's representation of the past as a conflation of facts and fiction. The knowledge of history that students' gain from historical feature film should be constructed in a synthesis of an aesthetic and an efferent stance in the transaction process. This is because the feature film has the capacity to stimulate both a feeling of empathy and of nearness in the viewer as well as a movement of the viewer away from the narration and towards more distanced cognition. This movement helps the viewer to analyze and interpret the historical meaning making from a critical perspective, when the experience of the feature film is transformed to a reflected experience.

The present study addresses what happens when historical feature film is used in history education. The purpose of this thesis is to develop new knowledge of historical film literacy through a study of the feature film's didactical potential in an educa­tional context. This is carried out through an analysis of the historical meaning making among upper secondary students when viewing historical feature films, and special attention is paid to the importance of emotions in the students' meaning making through historical feature film. A focus of the study is the didactical dilemma, previously addressed in historical film research, that arises in the use of feature film in history or social studies education, in relation to educational context, film experience, and historical understanding. The present thesis is an independent continuation of my licentiate thesis History as Fiction (2014). The empirical material consists of interviews with students and teachers from two upper secondary schools in Sweden, as well as documentation from students' assessments and selected scenes from feature films experienced by the students as they were used in history class. The theoretical framework for the study takes an interdisciplinary approach. It is based on Jörn Rüsens under­standing of historical meaning and histo­ri­cal culture, as well as on transaction theory described by John Dewey and Louise M. Rosenblatt. Film reception theory is equally important, represented by theories from David Bordwell and Carl Plantinga. The main research question focused on how the concept of historical film literacy could be developed theoretically. Historical film literacy is understood in this thesis as an advanced consciousness of how historical meaning making is created through the individual's transaction with film's narration in a specific context, and how meaning making ideally links historical disciplinary thinking with practical orientation in life. The core of theoretically developed historical film literacy is an understanding of the individual's emotional and aesthetic experience of historical feature film, and elaborated theoretical knowledge about the close relationship between the affective response and the more distanced cognitive activity during and after watching a film. Also crucial for historical film literacy is an under­standing of the historical film's representation of the past as a conflation of facts and fiction. The knowledge of history that students' gain from historical feature film should be constructed in a synthesis of an aesthetic and an efferent stance in the transaction process. This is because the feature film has the capacity to stimulate both a feeling of empathy and of nearness in the viewer as well as a movement of the viewer away from the narration and towards more distanced cognition. This movement helps the viewer to analyze and interpret the historical meaning making from a critical perspective, when the experience of the feature film is transformed to a reflected experience.