Enligt kursplanen för historia i årskurs 7-9 ska eleven kunna uppvisa ett tiotal förmågor utöver det historiska innehållet för att uppnå den lägst godkända kunskapsnivån E. Forskning visar att elever har svårt att konstruera historisk kunskap, samt att ämnesinnehållet ofta är tunt beskrivet. Kandidatuppsatsen är en litteraturstudie med forskning och litteratur utifrån en historiedidaktisk kontext. Empirin är inventerad genom en hermeneutisk metod och har analyserats med historiskt tänkande teorins fokusering av tankebegrepp. Enligt historiskt-tänkande teorin är tankebegrepp redskap för att organisera och hantera det historiska tänkandet och framställandet. Exempel på ett begrepp som studien behandlar är orsak-konsekvens. Totalt studeras sex olika tankebegrepp. Studien syftar till att undersöka vilka undervisningsmetoder och strategier som kan användas i historieundervisningen utifrån historiskt tänkande teorins fokusering av tankebegrepp. Studiens resultat visar bland annat att undervisningsmetoder och strategier som skildrar innehållet ur flera perspektiv, ställer frågor som öppnar upp för analys istället för fakta, samt undervisar dem explicit i undervisningen är faktorer som skapar förutsättningar för att stärka elevers förmågor att framställa och organisera sina historiska kunskaper.

This study aims to investigate how history teachers talk about the historical thinking concepts change and continuity. In this study, four teachers from three different secondary schools in Sweden were interviewed. The theoretical perspectives are Seixas and Morton’s guidelines for teaching change and continuity, and these have been used as a tool to categorize and analyze the teachers’ responses and reflections. From this, five categories or topics that the teachers’ discussions covered were formulated. The most common method that the teachers talked about was to use a timeline or some other form of chronological illustration to provide a solid foundation for the students. The teachers could then use this to consolidate higher levels of understanding of the concepts. The chronological understanding enabled the teachers to address the process of change in terms of variation in paces, patterns and turning points, which the teachers emphasized had a relation to where we look and who it affects. Concerning the discussion of how teachers instruct students about historical progress and decline, it became clear that this is strongly related to language comprehension. It was also evident that students view history as a constant process of improvement. When it comes to historical periodization, all teachers agreed that critical reflection on why and on what premises these divisions has been made is important to consider. However, this was primarily applied to the concept of change, and continuity was most commonly referred to when the historical content was discussed in relation to the history of attitudes or mentalities. The teachers explained different didactical methods while discussing these topics, and they also used different ways to exemplify these with historical content and metaphors. What also became clear was the relationship between the teachers’ educational background and their variation of teaching.

Denna studie syftar till att undersöka hur elever i årskurs 1 på gymnasiet uppfattar att de, inom ramen för kursen Samhällskunskap 1b, kan använda en samhällsvetenskaplig analysmodell för att analysera ett samhällsproblem. Studien utgår från två forskningsfrågor: Hur uppfattar elever på gymnasiets högskoleförberedande program att de ska använda analysmodellen? Vilka olika kvaliteter kan skilja mellan en utvecklad och en mindre utvecklad uppfattning av hur analysmodellen ska användas? Undersökningen tar sin utgångspunkt i en yrkeserfarenhet av att elever ofta undrar hur de ska bli bättre på att analysera. Metoden som använts är att 50 elever besvarat en analysuppgift som syftade till att analysera varför ungdomar inte engagerar sig i det formella, demokratiska arbetet. Till hjälp att utreda frågan hade elevgruppen tillgång till analysmodell och källmaterial från den senaste demokratiutredningen, Låt fler forma framtiden! De svar som samlades in analyserades med en fenomenografisk metod, som syftar till att kategorisera olika uppfattningar som undersökningsgruppen har kring hur analysmodellen ska användas. Resultatet, utfallsrummet, är 6 beskrivningskategorier som skiljer sig avseende hur analysmodellen behandlas, strukturell aspekt, och i vad som behandlas i svaret, referentiell aspekt. Den mest avancerade hanteringen av analysmodellen ser dess delar som en helhet och som en struktur, samt väver in material från källor som stöd för sin argumentation. Den minst avancerade hanteringen behandlar, utan koppling till källor, endast en enstaka del av analysmodellen. I analysarbetet kartläggs också de kritiska aspekter som undervisning behöver fokusera på för att hjälpa eleven från en mindre avancerad uppfattning till en mer avancerad uppfattning, det vill säga för att lära sig att analysera med mer kvalité. Den mest centrala kritiska aspekten visar sig vara att se hur källmaterial är bas för en mer vetenskaplig analys. / It is the writer’s professional experience that upper secondary students often wonder how to improve their skills in analytic reasoning. The aim of this study is to examine conceptions of Swedish upper secondary school-students when it comes to use a model for analytical reasoning in the course Social studies 1b. The research questions are: How do upper secondary student perceive the usage of a model for analytic reasoning? Which qualitative differences can there be between a less complex and a complex conception of the model for analytic reasoning? The research method has been to give an analytic task to 50 upper secondary students aiming to analyze the problem with the diminishing engagement among Swedish youth in the formal democracy process. The participantswere asked to analyze this problem by using the analytic model and a number of sources originating from the Commission on Democracy Report (2014). The student´s answers where analyzed by a Phenomenographic method aiming to find categories of student´s conceptions of the skill of analyzing according to the model. The result, called the learning outcome, was 6 hierarchically structured categories of conceptions, differing from one another in how the analytic model was perceived, the structural aspect, and of how the content of the analysis was handled, the referential aspect. The most complex conception of the analytic model was to perceive it parts as a whole and also use its disposition as a model for the structure of their answers. The least complex conception only handle singular parts of the analytic model and does not use the source material as a factual base for their reasoning. The most central critical aspect to consider when designing teaching for improving the student´s analytic skills is to make them discern the need for source based reasoning if the aim is to develop a more scientific approach.

The purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate how social science teachers perceive and express the concept of society in social studies. The study consists of focus group interviews with nine social science teachers at two upper secondary schools and its results are analyzed against the theoretical backdrop of Odenstad's orientation topics, analytical subjects and discussion topics and Sandahl’s first-order and second-order concepts. In short, the two different conceptual devices can be described as the skills and abilities that are most important for the students to master in order to develop advanced thinking skills in social science. Particular emphasis is put on critical thinking, that is, the ability to seek, structure and evaluate information from different sources and to draw conclusions from this process. The emerging results show a certain consensus on the concept of society among social science teachers as the potential subject of study and analysis that would simplify and clarify the analyses of the different levels in society which, in turn, would contribute to adding significance and bringing cohesion to the subject as a whole. As for the skills and abilities that stem from Odenstad's orientation topics and Sandahl’s first-order concepts, the interviewed teachers all emphasize conceptual ability as well as good external knowledge to have knowledge of how society is made up. With reference to Odenstad's analytical subject and discussion topics and Sandahl's second-order concepts, it would seem that it is not only important but a prerequisite that students develop an analytical ability and critical thinking as well as the ability to sift through and process large amounts of information and assume different perspectives on the topic or issue at hand.

This master thesis’ purpose is to examine how high school students comprehends of news. This will be done by conducting group interviews. By using theories regarding “first and second order concepts”, that originates from history teaching didactics, but using them in a social science context to separate substantive concepts from compound concepts. Furthermore, the study provides insight on how twelve high school students comprehension of three specific news items. Finally, the thesis examines what makes the students’ motivated to follow the news. The results show that the level of comprehension varies depending on which of the three news items the students discuss during the interviews. This might depend on the level of relevance the news has towards the students’ own interests, background or where the news originates from. In summary, this thesis gives a snapshot image of students comprehension and reactions to the news items and what motivates them to stay updated with the news. This result can be useful for any teacher using news as an instrument for achieving the knowledge requirements in the syllabus for social sciences in Swedish high-schools. / Denna studie ska undersöka hur gymnasielever förstår nyheter. Undersökningen kommer utföras genom fokusgruppsintervjuer. Vidare används teorier rörande första och andra gradens kunskaper ”first and second order concepts” hämtade från historiedidaktiken men applicerade i en samhällskunskapskontext, undersöka vilka kunskapsuttryck som eleverna visar i genom sina uttalanden. Vidare har även elevernas motivation till att följa nyheter undersökts. Resultatet visar att elevernas förståelse skilt sig beroende på vilka nyheter som har diskuterats. Med detta har även tecknen på första ordningens såväl andra ordningens kunskaper varierat. Detta kan bero på nyheternas relevans och närhet till eleverna. Avslutningsvis ger denna studie en ögonblicks bild av hur elever förstår sig på och talar om nyheter. Detta kan vara användbart för samhällskunskapslärare som i sin lärargärning vill använda nyheter som ett instrument för att uppnå målen i samhällskunskap.

The focus of this investigation is civics in the Swedish upper secondary school. In addition to subject matter, civics is also an agent for democratic socialisation. The study explores and analyses the reflections of six teachers on their teaching about globalisation. These reflections, or voices, are researched through interviews and classroom observations. The starting point is the teachers’ description of content and goals in their teaching. The overall aim is to identify and analyse first and second order concepts in their teaching and analyse the relationship between the concepts and democratic socialisation. Despite the strong position of civics as one of the main subjects in school curricula very little research has been done. By focusing on one substantial case, globalisation, this study tries to reach beyond the various topics covered in civics. In order to understand civics teaching the researcher use the history didactic terms of first and second order concepts to find a new way to explore and understand civics. Manifested in the teachers’ voices are ideas on how to organise, analyse, interpret and critically review discourses in society. The second order concepts of civics found in the teachers’ voices are social science perspectives, social science causality, social science inference, social science evidence and social science abstraction. In order to reach their goals in civics the teachers underline the importance of using second order concepts. When pupils work more scientifically they develop a way of thinking about society and they have to challenge their set opinions about different topics. Therefore, the second order concepts are important for achieving civic literacy.

Denna studie undersöker hur fyra gymnasielärare i samhällskunskap reflekterar över nationalism i deras undervisning. Fenomenet nationalism går att förstå som ett såväl snävt som brett begrepp och i denna studie intervjuas lärarna om hur de upplever att nationalism förekommer i deras undervisning som kunskap, perspektiv, fenomen och didaktisk utmaning. Studien är explorativ och använder Sandahls (2015) teori om samhällsvetenskapligt ämneskunnande samt begreppsklassifikationer om sunt förnufts-uppfattningar och naturaliserade axiomer. De teoretiska perspektiven används för att bringa klarhet i vad lärarna ser som relevanta kunskaper och erfarenheter av nationalism i undervisningen och för att belysa vilka didaktiska utmaningar fenomenet kan skapa. Resultaten visar att nationalism är ett återkommande perspektiv i samhällskunskapsundervisningen, som ibland berörs öppet och direkt, i andra fall mer subtilt och indirekt. Fenomenet beskrivs av lärarna som en byggsten i elevernas utveckling av de kunskaper och färdigheter som Sandahl (2015) beskriver som samhällsvetenskapliga tankeredskap. Lärarna beskriver nationalism på ett likartat sätt men skildrar i intervjuerna hur fenomenet ges olika stort utrymme och förmedlas på olika sätt beroende på faktorer såsom gymnasieprogram, gruppsammansättning och mängden samhällskunskap som eleverna läser. De lärare som primärt undervisar på högskoleförberedande program beskriver en mer indirekt förmedling av nationalism som perspektiv och förlitar sig på historieundervisningens innehållskunskaper och den kunskapsprogression eleverna genomgår under deras tre gymnasieår. Lärarna på yrkesprogrammen beskriver snarare att de på ett direkt sätt ger utrymme åt innehållskunskaperna om nationalism i deras undervisning. Resultaten visar även att nationalism upplevs som ett kontroversiellt ämne i klassrumssituationer, där en del elever ger uttryck för antingen sunt förnufts-uppfattningar eller naturaliserade axiomer vilka utgör didaktiska utmaningar i undervisningen. Slutligen visar resultaten på att det finns flera utmaningar kopplat till lärarprofessionen i undervisning om nationalism. Dessa utmaningar rör såväl värdegrund, vetenskaplighet och elevers förförståelse som kräver didaktiska övervägningar i samhällskunskaps­undervisningen. / This study examines how four high school social studies teachers reflect on nationalism in their teaching. The phenomenon of nationalism can be understood as both a narrow and broad concept and in this study the teachers are interviewed about how they perceive that nationalism occurs in their teaching as knowledge, perspective, phenomenon, and didactic challenge. The study is exploratory and uses Sandahl's (2015) theory of second order concepts of Social Science as well as the conceptual classifications of common-sense notions and naturalized axioms. The theoretical perspectives are used to bring clarity to what the teachers see as relevant knowledge and experiences of nationalism in teaching and to highlight the didactic challenges the phenomenon can create. The results show that nationalism is a recurring perspective in social studies teaching, which is sometimes touched upon openly and directly, in other cases more subtly and indirectly. The phenomenon is described by the teachers as a foundation block in the students' development of the knowledge and skills that Sandahl (2015) describes as second order thinking concepts. The teachers describe the concept of nationalism in a similar way but describe in the interviews how the phenomenon is given varying amounts of time and conveyed in different ways depending on factors such as the high school program, group composition and the number of social studies classes that the students attend to. The teachers who primarily teach in university preparatory programs describe a more indirect conveyance of nationalism as a perspective and rely on the content knowledge of history teaching as well as the knowledge progression the students undergo during their three years of high school. The teachers on the vocational programs rather describe that they directly give time to the content knowledge about nationalism in their teaching. The results also show that nationalism is experienced as a controversial topic in classroom situations, where some students express either common-sense notions or naturalized axioms which pose didactic challenges in teaching. Finally, the results show that there are several challenges linked to the profession in teaching about nationalism. These challenges relate to foundation of values, scientific rigor, and students' pre-understanding, which require didactic considerations in social studies teaching.

Traditionally, the teaching of history tends to focus on content, where historical learning is reflected in memorizing important dates, events, and concepts about the past. In recent decades, research has drawn attention to a new way of approaching historical learning through understanding causes and effects as well as making connections between different events and stories about the past. Such an approach to historical learning implies a developed capacity for historical thinking. To shed light on this, this survey aimed to investigate the interest students have in history, how they perceive the purpose of history and how they experience the content and implementation of history teaching in upper secondary school. This study is based on semi-structured focus group interviews with 12 students in upper secondary school. The focus group interviews were based on the didactic questions of what, how, and why to achieve developed and qualified answers. The outcomes of the interviews were further interpreted and analysed according to the six sub-components advocated in the Anglo-Saxon history teaching tradition to categorize students' historical thinking skills. The results revealed that students' interest in history has a major impact on how they perceive the purpose of history and how they experience the content and conduct of history teaching insecondary school. Findings also showed that using historical sources is completely excluded from students' responses. The present study forms a foundation for future studies interested in a more practical history teaching approach. Furthermore, it renders insights into the complexities of teaching history from a student perspective, while at the same time points to some opportunities for development towards the teaching practitioner in creating a good history educational plan.

This study examines the subject civics (social studies) in interaction with other subjects in interdisciplinary projects. By studying three different integrated projects in the grades 7-9, the study examines how subjects interact with one another. The aim of the study is to describe and analyze the character and function of civics in interdisciplinary projects. The results are used to discuss the relationship between subject and integration. In the world of education, there are two endeavors that may seem to counteract each other: on the one hand, focus on more clearly subject-specific knowledge and, on the other, the pursuit of cooperation and interaction between subjects in different forms of interdisciplinary organization of teaching and learning. Integration between subjects can be seen as an opportunity to address the complex problems and challenges of today's citizens in a changing global world. The results of the study describe three dynamic interdisciplinary projects that all contain a movement between different types of interaction between subjects with various degrees of integration. These types are predisciplinary, helping, correlated, shared and reconstructed. In addition, the study shows that civics in the three projects is emerging as an obvious main subject that aims to develop the pupils’ abilities to orientate (facts and concepts), analyze and discuss. So far integrated teaching appears to result in both what subject-specific teaching reaches and, moreover, it seems to form a synthesis knowledge that can be difficult to measure, but that relates to the main goals of the curriculum beyond subjects. These abilities to act can be used to describe the synthesized knowledge citizens need in order to act in the world. / Baksidestext I denna studie av hur samhällskunskapsämnet tar sig uttryck i ämnesintegrerade projekt i grundskolans årskurs 7-9, undersöks de till synes motstående strävandena att dels fokusera ämnesspecifika kunskaper, dels ge utrymme för samspel och integration mellan ämnen.  Resultaten visar en ömsesidig relation där ämne och ämnesintegration förutsätter varandra. Projekten innehåller en rörelse mellan olika typer av ämnessamspel – förvetenskapligt, hjälpande, sammankopplande, förenande, omskapande – med olika grad av integration mellan ämnen. Delar av projekten domineras av ämnesspecifika kunskaper där samhällskunskapsämnet framträder som tydligt huvudämne utifrån de ämnesdidaktiska profilerna orienteringsämne, analysämne och diskussionsämne. Andra delar av projekten domineras istället av integrerade synteskunskaper som relaterar till övergripande läroplansmål. Begreppet handlingsämne används för att beskriva denna syntetiserade kunskap medborgare behöver för att kunna agera i världen. Licentiatuppsatsen har skrivits inom CSD-FL, Forskarskolan för lärare i geografi, historia, religionskunskap och samhällskunskap, en särskild fortbildningssatsning för yrkesverksamma lärare. Centrum för de samhällsvetenskapliga ämnenas didaktik (CSD) vid Karlstads universitet har ansvarat för forskarskolan.