The Development of Historical Meta-Concepts as a Task for Teaching History

Conceptual Change is gaining momentum in Austrian history education as historical meta-concepts are gradually being incorporated into the curricula. This might help bridge the gap between knowledge and skill orientation, which still exists in history education. However, missing pragmatic examples and the persistent lack of empirical evidence on students’ concept development call the success of this trend into question. The article looks back at the genesis of the conceptual discourse, linking it to discussions on History Education in the German- and English-speaking worlds and discussing a systematic approach to the integration of concepts and competencies. It also outlines the results of a recently completed Austrian study on the developmental logic of concepts of historical thinking from five-year-old children to adults.Conceptual Change is gaining momentum in Austrian history education as historical meta-concepts are gradually being incorporated into the curricula. This might help bridge the gap between knowledge and skill orientation, which still exists in history education. However, missing pragmatic examples and the persistent lack of empirical evidence on students’ concept development call the success of this trend into question. The article looks back at the genesis of the conceptual discourse, linking it to discussions on History Education in the German- and English-speaking worlds and discussing a systematic approach to the integration of concepts and competencies. It also outlines the results of a recently completed Austrian study on the developmental logic of concepts of historical thinking from five-year-old children to adults