The historical consciousness of European students : Pioneering work by the Youth & History Project

The authors focus on the didactical implications of the results of the Youth and History-project in which the researchers attempted to make an intercultural comparison of the historical consciousness of youth in a quantitative, empirical description. One of the conclusions is that a regular geographical pattern can be distinguished. The countries can be classified in four groups: Nordic countries, Eastern Europe, Eastern Central Europe and Western Central Europe. Some didactical findings concern: political interest and religious engagement of pupils, the relevance and aims of history according to the students, their interest in different periods, items and areas, the teachers' judgement on students' interest in history, the geographic areas of predilection and fun and trust in different presentations of history. A survey on methods and goals indicates a rather traditional type of historical instruction all over Europe