The use of history in history education. : A Knowledge overview about how teachers teach the usage of history and how that affects students understanding of history.

A central part of the Swedish history curriculum is use of history. Consequently, the aim of this study is to research the science field regarding use of history in education. Thus, our research questions are: What does the research field say about teachers use of history in history in education, and how does it that effect student’s perception of history? In this study we looked at research regarding both use of history in a theoretical context and also in a classroom context. This research overview is mainly focused on Swedish and Nordic research regarding Swedish secondary and upper secondary school. To gather research for this study we used the following databases: Swepub, Ebsco and DiVA. The result of the knowledge overview that Swedish history teachers find it difficult to educate students about the concept use of history as well as defining the concept. Furthermore, the study shows that in the history didactic research field typologies is a common way to explain and systemise the concept of use of history. Even though scientists in the history didactic field generally are critical of the use of typologies. Another conclusion of our research is that students who have basic history knowledge tend to have a better understanding of use of history. In conclusion, the knowledge overview of this research area suggests that a deeper cooperation between the theoretical and practical aspects of the usage of history would be highly beneficial for teachers and students alike.