Lärarstudenters relation till historieämnet

Student teachers in Sweden conducted structured inquiry projects in which they investigated school children’s understanding of history. Analysis of the student teachers’ written assignments indicates ambivalence on part of the student teachers. On the one hand, they want to change both content and teaching methods in the subject of history, but on the other hand many of them seem happy with how things are. Further, the student teachers want to take the interests and needs of their pupils seriously, but they do not reflect much on what will be the practical consequences of this for their teaching. The student teachers did not use a specialised vocabulary when discussing history and history teaching, which indicates the academic training they have got may be inadequate. It appears that the investigations challenged the beliefs of the student teachers about children’s prior knowledge. After taking part in the projects, the student teachers claimed they had developed a new appreciation for children’s prior ideas. These findings suggest that structured investigations, focused on specific disciplinary content, have the potential to encourage student teachers’ reflection on their pupils’ cognition