History, Education, and History Education: Expressions of Historical Culture in Norwegian and Swedish Upper Secondary Schools (1920-1960)
The aim of this thesis is to analyse expressions of historical culture in the context of Norwegian and Swedish upper secondary schools in the period 1920–1960, and thereby explore changes, continuity, and diversity in historical cultures in Norway and Sweden. The thesis analyses conceptions of history education in curricular documents and teachers’ writings, and ideas of Bildung, history, and pedagogy, in processes of planning, designing, and inaugurating school buildings. In addition to being expressions of historical culture, these documents, texts, and buildings are also pedagogical resources that are important for shaping teaching and learning. The main theoretical perspectives are connected to the concepts of historical culture, Bildung, and reform pedagogy/progressive education. Main methodological tools are historical comparison combined with a transnational perspective, and text analysis, inspired by moderate hermeneutics. The thesis is article-based, consisting of two journal articles and a chapter in an edited volume. This thesis shows diversity within Norwegian and Swedish historical cultures in the period 1920–1960. Although one can see certain shifts, such as a stronger emphasis on democracy and contemporary society, different conceptions existed side by side, and processes of negotiation over history education took place. Different ideals of Bildung influenced conceptions of history education. The source material shows tensions between material and formal aspects of Bildung, even though a strengthening of formal aspects is apparent. The thesis adds new knowledge regarding history education and reform pedagogical ideas in upper secondary schools in Norway, topics which have been given limited attention in previous research. It also contributes to research that stresses the diversity within reform pedagogical and progressive movements of education and problematizes an image of reform pedagogy as inherently democratic. In the context of history education, the thesis shows how the school subject of history, while strongly shaped by temporal and geographical contexts, also contains lasting tensions. Many current discussions echo topics that have been debated in the past. The thesis also thematizes important didactic and educational concepts, such as uses of history, historical culture, and Bildung.
Publisert i 2024
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