The educational power of heritage sites

The aim of this article is to problematise the use of visits to heritage sites in history education in primary school. The empirical basis is a questionnaire and interviews with teachers in Sweden. Theoretically, the perspective is linked to the discussion of affective practices. The results show the connection that some, but not all, teachers recognise between different forms of historical knowledge. According to these teachers, visits to heritage sites activate the sensory experiences of the pupils, which has a positive impact on the pupils’ learning. Two ideal approaches can be discerned when it comes to the use of visits to heritage sites in history education. Such visits form either a teacher-driven, integral part of the education, or the teacher assigns the display of the site to local guides. The two approaches can be related to the history subject that appears in education, although this is ultimately determined by the educational setting

‘Continuity and change’, large‐scale assessment and equity: a study of gender‐related differences regarding conceptual knowledge

The study examines how students in Grade 9 handle conceptual knowledge through the concept of continuity and change in the context of large-scale assessment. The research questions address (a) what strategies the students use when they use the two parts of the concept concomitantly and (b) any gender-related differences regarding these strategies. A total of 100 student responses on a specific item in the national test in history are examined. The method of concept analysis is applied to identify the strategies of the students from the two groups. The analytical framework is based on previous research regarding the concept. The results show that just over half of the students use the concept as expected. Boys are overrepresented among the students that struggle with the concept. Any correlation between the identified strategies is discussed in addition to the implications the results may have on equity and education