Learning Materials for Teachers

Controversial issues in history teaching

Fredrik Alvén • Journal of Curriculum Studies • 2024

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Individual Resource

Levels and forms of education

Tertiary Education

Teacher Training

Other Levels and Forms of Education

Resource type

Conceptual or themathic publications

Guidelines and guidance for teaching

Alternative textbooks

Historic approaches concerned

Cultural History

Gender History

Political History

Social History

Transnational History

Other Approaches

Historic period

No data

Countries or areas concerned

, Cross-regional

Languages

English

Description

Most of the history education research that addresses controversial issues suggests that disputes arising in the history classroom are rooted in students’ diverse identities that relate differently to history. Therefore, a history education that wants to ease tensions must try both to make these different identities and their relations to history visible and to enable an understanding of different relations to history based on identity. Starting with Gadamer’s concept of historically effected consciousness, this article outlines a model consisting of ontological third-order concepts and historical empathy in the history education as a suggestion to enable and corroborate constructive deliberative discussions in the history classroom.

Keywords

Contoversial issues

Historical empathy

Conflicts

Difficult history

Civic education

Migration history

Social inequality

Multiperspectivity