"The subject of history is more about the present than the past, right?". A study of how a selection of high school teachers express the purpose of history education.

With the current implementation of a renewed curriculum for Norwegian high schools the purpose of history education is once again up for discussion. The content and wording of the new curriculum illustrate that the Norwegian Directorate for Education outlines the purpose of history education based on didactic theory and “historical consciousness” as presented by Karl-Ernst Jeismann and Bernhard Eric Jensen. History teachers are, among other tasks, supposed to develop the students understanding of how the past, present and future are thought to be connected. Although historical consciousness has been promoted as a purpose for educational practice for several years, the increased focus from the Directorate for Education implicit that the teachers share this understanding of history. Teachers reform the curriculum from paper to practice and their view on the purpose of the subject is therefore of great importance regarding it’s substance, meaning and value in high school classrooms. This master thesis explores Norwegian high school teachers understanding of the purpose of history as a school subject. This research seeks to examine teacher’s expressions of their own understanding in relation to didactic theory and former research perspectives in the field. The question this thesis formulate has formed the framework for a qualitative methodical approach with a collection of data material through individual in-dept interviews with 5 history teachers. The results show that while the teachers share an understanding of a subject purpose related to historical consciousness, there is a clear difference in how they approach history education to reach this goal. The main tension evolves around wether a deeper sense of historical consciousness requires, or is a product of, solid knowledge of historical facts. Or, as Jensen perceive it, a pre-existing part of every human which can be developed alongside, and in relation to, a growing base of historical knowledge. In addition to these polarized understandings amongst teachers, this thesis finds that teachers of different approaches describe their student’s views on the purpose of history education as to “get the facts straight”. The results highlight the on-going challenge with implementing new theoretical ideals in classrooms where teachers, and students, express a diverse, and in some cases opposite, understanding of educational practice and purpose.With the current implementation of a renewed curriculum for Norwegian high schools the purpose of history education is once again up for discussion. The content and wording of the new curriculum illustrate that the Norwegian Directorate for Education outlines the purpose of history education based on didactic theory and “historical consciousness” as presented by Karl-Ernst Jeismann and Bernhard Eric Jensen. History teachers are, among other tasks, supposed to develop the students understanding of how the past, present and future are thought to be connected. Although historical consciousness has been promoted as a purpose for educational practice for several years, the increased focus from the Directorate for Education implicit that the teachers share this understanding of history. Teachers reform the curriculum from paper to practice and their view on the purpose of the subject is therefore of great importance regarding it’s substance, meaning and value in high school classrooms. This master thesis explores Norwegian high school teachers understanding of the purpose of history as a school subject. This research seeks to examine teacher’s expressions of their own understanding in relation to didactic theory and former research perspectives in the field. The question this thesis formulate has formed the framework for a qualitative methodical approach with a collection of data material through individual in-dept interviews with 5 history teachers. The results show that while the teachers share an understanding of a subject purpose related to historical consciousness, there is a clear difference in how they approach history education to reach this goal. The main tension evolves around wether a deeper sense of historical consciousness requires, or is a product of, solid knowledge of historical facts. Or, as Jensen perceive it, a pre-existing part of every human which can be developed alongside, and in relation to, a growing base of historical knowledge. In addition to these polarized understandings amongst teachers, this thesis finds that teachers of different approaches describe their student’s views on the purpose of history education as to “get the facts straight”. The results highlight the on-going challenge with implementing new theoretical ideals in classrooms where teachers, and students, express a diverse, and in some cases opposite, understanding of educational practice and purpose.Historie mastergradsoppgåveHIS350MAHF-HISMAHF-LÆH