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Should local history be included as a part of history education in upper secondary school, and if so, how could it be done? History teachers’ and museum educators’ attitude regarding these questions are examined through semi-structured interviews. The empirical material is categorized with the aid of a phenomenographic method approach and the result is then interpreted based on Bernard Jensen’s theory of historical consciousness. The study is limited to highlighting local historical examples with a geographical link to Västerbotten or Norrbotten, but the different working methods that exist are general. The general opinion of the interviewing informants seems to be that local history can be justified, but that there are some challenges depending on the working method that constitute the starting point.

What are successful teaching-situations, and how do teachers in history perform them? These questions are examined by semi-structurally interviewing history teachers about their definitions of said situations and practical execution to reach such a performance. The empirical material is transcribed and categorized with aid of the phenomenographic method. The study is limited to a region in the middle parts of Norrland, although the results are still of importance in its purpose to exemplify what successful teaching-situations are and how to reach them. The general opinion of the informants seems to be that historical consciousness and learning goals are of importance, yet so too are the social and democratic fostering process if the purpouse are to become a good teacher who offer students successful teaching-situations.

The aim of the study presented in this report was to analyse how the lack of time in the subjectof history, in Swedish upper secondary school, tend to influence the process of history didacticsthat affects teachers’ implementation of the curriculum. Furthermore, the study aimed toanalyse the outcome of the history didactics process in the vocational and theoretical programs.The process was examined through qualitative interviews with six history teachers that teach in two basic history courses and the analysis was based on a theoretical framework consisting of Street-Level Bureaucracy, Curriculum Theory and Vertical and Horizontal discourses. The result shows that the lack of time influences the execution of the history teaching in many ways. The history teaching in the vocational programs is though affected to a greater extent than the theoretical programs. Furthermore, the teachers in the present study find themselves in a complicated dilemma when it comes to balancing the ideal of the curriculum and the ideal of history teaching. The teachers shall both live up to the curriculum, while also adjusting the teaching to available time and students’ individual needs. The study also reaches the conclusion that the students in the vocational programs tend to have fewer opportunities to practise both vertical and horizontal knowledge, when compared to students in the theoretical programs. Based on Bernstein, this can be said to indicate that a reproduction of the prevailing social order and inequalities in society occur within the subject of history in Swedish upper secondary school. Finally, the teachers’ ability to deal with the prevailing problems could be facilitated through better conditions to execute the curriculum’s content, such as extended teaching time or a smaller amount of content to process and examine, especially within the vocational program where the implementation of the curriculum is most problematic.

Swedish compulsory school has recently been subjected to a number of political reforms. Between 2011 and 2014, for example, earlier grades, more national tests and a new curriculum plan (Lgr 11) were to be implemented. This thesis aims to examine those changes as they were experienced by teachers who teach history in Swedish upper primary schools. The theoretical framework is in-spired by existential philosophy, primarily as formulated in the works of Martin Heidegger and Hanna Arendt. In this way, the study highlights the teachers’ lived experience by making use of the concepts yearning, appearance, acting and mood. The study comprises of 36 interviews with 26 informants. The interviews were carried out and transcribed during 2014. The questions focus on both the existential being of the teachers’ lives as well as the ideological function of the history subject. This highly renders in the issue of how lived experiences of a specific school reform corresponded to the teachers’ own perception of a mean-ingful history education. Both the yearnings that were expressed by the participants and their de-scriptions of what they have experienced, have been related to the overall educational ideological functions stated by Gert Biesta (socialisation, subjectification and qualification) and Jonas Aspelin (existentialisation). Although the teachers’ narratives were greatly varied in some aspects, their interpretations of the new assignment seemed to be quite homogenous. Most of the teachers portrayed a situation characterised by performativity. Measurable knowledge and more frequent documentation seemed to be prioritised. Some of them stressed that they experienced less autonomy. In terms of history, the new curriculum was associated with more content knowledge, cognitive skills and procedural abilities. From the teachers’ perspective, pure qualification, rather than subjectification and social-isation, characterised the new curriculum. Still, the teachers’ feelings towards the curricular changes showed a great deal of divergence. Some of them embraced most of the new aspects. They claimed that clearly formulated require-ments in the history curricula provided them with security. They declared that their history teaching to some extent became more professional. In line with such beliefs, some teachers asserted that the strengthened focus on analytical skills improved their teaching. Particularly those who ex-pressed that they preferred such analytic procedural approaches described their experience in terms of confirmation and approval. Others appeared to struggle with the changes. While a few teachers even tried to resist the curricular changes, some found themselves forced to endure what appeared to be a totally new situation. They expressed disbelief, frustration and pain. Notably it was those most devoted to the existentialisational function of history teaching that usually seemed to express such alienation. As argued, they appeared to long for a lost possibility to engage their pupils, to bring history alive and to make meaning of the past.

The present study addresses what happens when historical feature film is used in history education. The purpose of this thesis is to develop new knowledge of historical film literacy through a study of the feature film's didactical potential in an educa­tional context. This is carried out through an analysis of the historical meaning making among upper secondary students when viewing historical feature films, and special attention is paid to the importance of emotions in the students' meaning making through historical feature film. A focus of the study is the didactical dilemma, previously addressed in historical film research, that arises in the use of feature film in history or social studies education, in relation to educational context, film experience, and historical understanding. The present thesis is an independent continuation of my licentiate thesis History as Fiction (2014). The empirical material consists of interviews with students and teachers from two upper secondary schools in Sweden, as well as documentation from students' assessments and selected scenes from feature films experienced by the students as they were used in history class. The theoretical framework for the study takes an interdisciplinary approach. It is based on Jörn Rüsens under­standing of historical meaning and histo­ri­cal culture, as well as on transaction theory described by John Dewey and Louise M. Rosenblatt. Film reception theory is equally important, represented by theories from David Bordwell and Carl Plantinga. The main research question focused on how the concept of historical film literacy could be developed theoretically. Historical film literacy is understood in this thesis as an advanced consciousness of how historical meaning making is created through the individual's transaction with film's narration in a specific context, and how meaning making ideally links historical disciplinary thinking with practical orientation in life. The core of theoretically developed historical film literacy is an understanding of the individual's emotional and aesthetic experience of historical feature film, and elaborated theoretical knowledge about the close relationship between the affective response and the more distanced cognitive activity during and after watching a film. Also crucial for historical film literacy is an under­standing of the historical film's representation of the past as a conflation of facts and fiction. The knowledge of history that students' gain from historical feature film should be constructed in a synthesis of an aesthetic and an efferent stance in the transaction process. This is because the feature film has the capacity to stimulate both a feeling of empathy and of nearness in the viewer as well as a movement of the viewer away from the narration and towards more distanced cognition. This movement helps the viewer to analyze and interpret the historical meaning making from a critical perspective, when the experience of the feature film is transformed to a reflected experience.

This compilation thesis contains an introductory chapter and four original articles. The studies comprising this thesis all concern aspects of how historical culture is constituted in historical media and history teachers’ narratives and teaching. It is argued that the teaching of history is a complex matter due to an internal tension resulting from the fact that history is both a product and a process at the same time. While historical facts, and knowledge thereof, are an important aspect of history, history is also a product of careful interpretation and reconstruction. This study analyses and discusses how history is constituted in history textbooks and popular history magazines, i.e. two common historical media, and in teachers’ narratives and teaching of history. The study finds that the historical media studied generally tend to present history as void of perspective, interpretation and representation, suggesting this to be the culturally warranted form of historical exposition. Moreover, the teachers studied also tend to approach history as if it were not contingent on interpretation and reconstruction. These results indicate that the history disseminated in historical media and history classrooms presents history in a factual way and disregards the procedural aspects of history. Applying the history didactical concepts of historical consciousness, historical culture and uses of history, this thesis argues that an essential aspect of historical understanding is an appreciation of the contextual contingency that characterises history. All history is conceived within a particular context that is pertinent to why and how a certain version of history is constructed. Furthermore, all history is also received within a particular context by people with particular preconceptions of history that are contextually contingent, in the sense that they are situated in a certain historical culture. Readers of historical media are members of societies and are thus affected by how history is perceived and discussed in these contexts. This thesis argues that an awareness of these aspects of history is an important factor for furthering a complex understanding of history that encompasses the tension highlighted above.

This thesis offers critical perspectives on a history syllabus for vocational education and training (VET) tracks in Swedish upper secondary schools and adds to our knowledge and understanding of the educative function of history education for the individual and for society. The overall aim of this thesis is to critically investigate discourses that are voiced in different fields about the construction and reproduction of the history curriculum in VET tracks. A general question addressed is how vertical (critical and theoretical) and horizontal knowledge is articulated by the discourses in terms of the meaning of history in a VET context. The following four research questions were the focus of the four different studies in this thesis: How were non-vocational subjects discussed on a policy level during the post-war period, and what meanings were ascribed to history education? What aspects of history as a field of knowledge are recontextualised into a pedagogic discourse for the VET curriculum? How do teachers perceive the history syllabus? What do the students express concerning the history syllabus and history education? The results of these studies are reported in separate papers, and the aggregated results are analysed in this thesis. The data consisted of government bills and committee reports, material from the National Agency of Education archives, and interview data gathered through interviews with 5 teachers and 46 students. The major theoretical inspiration comes from Basil Bernstein whose theories of classification and framing, pedagogic discourse, pedagogic code, and vertical and horizontal discourses are used in the analysis. With the aid of these concepts, the content and meaning of history education for VET are connected to macro levels of education, and the way in which education reproduces social order when certain forms of knowledge are distributed to different groups in society is discussed. Three major conclusions are drawn. First, history as a pedagogic discourse comes forward as versatile and contradictory when the results from the studies are aggregated. There is, however, a shared understanding that the meaning of history in VET is to educate the students to become democratic and active citizens. Secondly, the investigated discourses ascribe history education with the potential to distribute critical and powerful knowledge. The students see a value for history education in their future as citizens and for giving them access the public conversation of society. A final conclusion is that the pedagogic code, embedded in the history curriculum, can be interpreted in two different ways. The emphasis on competencies and the focus on the last two hundred years can be interpreted as (A) an expression of a wish for immediate utility and thus an instrumental view of education or (B) the recontextualisation of scientific theories, concepts, and practices into a pedagogic discourse as a means to give students access to disciplinary (powerful) knowledge.

My purpose was to gain knowledge about how the Kalmar Union was presented in Danish and Swedish text books for upper secondary school during the period 1960-2000's. In order to fulfill my purpose three Swedish and three Danish textbooks for upper secondary school was analyzed. To concretise the purpose, I was looking for differences and similarities between how the Danish and Swedish history textbooks presented history about the Kalmar Union. I was also looking for continuities and changes in how the Danish and Swedish history textbooks present history about the Kalmar Union during the period 1960-2000’s. Prior research showed that there was currently different conclusion regarding the Kalmar Union. Both similarities and differences have emerged between both the Danish and Swedish textbooks. Primarily the Swedish textbooks were more consistent with each other than the Danish textbooks had been. The books during the same decade differed in the extent that Swedish textbooks described the need to break free from the oppression from Denmark a lot more often. The Danish textbooks had rather more examples that explained cohesion during the Kalmar Union and how the Union was created. That indicated that history could be presented in different ways in different countries. I could therefor conclude that the history about the Kalmar Union presented in textbooks upper secondary school in Sweden and Denmark during the period 1960-2000’s actually tended to focus on different areas. The textbooks from the same countries seemed to be more similar to each other over time. For example the textbooks in Denmark tended to be more similar to each other during a longer period of time than they were with the textbooks in Sweden at the same period of time. The textbooks in Sweden also tended to be more similar to each other during a longer period of time. Distinct historical cultures like Sweden and Denmark, still tend to produce events in ancient history through the Kalmar Union from a national perspective. Keywords: The Kalmar Union, Danish textbooks, Swedish textbooks, History textbooks, Upper secondary school, Margareta, Erik of Pomerania, Swedish-Danish relations.

Scandinavian prehistory has hitherto received little attention in the field of history didactics. In Swedish schools, it is taught in the lower grades in accordance with traditional periodization: the Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age and the Viking Age. The aim of the present thesis is to provide an overview of Scandinavian prehistory as presented by 20th- and early 21st-century history textbooks and to trace its development and revisions. These revisions are situated in relation to contemporary society and concurrent developments in archaeological research. This study attempts to demonstrate the extent to which history textbooks and archaeological research correspond. In a long-term perspective, the textbooks form a developmental chain in which the gradual revision of historical culture is made manifest. As presented in the textbooks, prehistoric history expresses a historical culture valid in the context of a particular era. The concept of cultural memory, a memory that extends so far back in history that it can only be mediated by someone with expert knowledge (e.g. teachers, journalists or scholars), is applied in order to observe changes in its description. Cultural memory reveals how some stories constantly recur, while others are neglected or forgotten. The textbooks have been compared to standard archaeological works and their development and revisions have been examined from dual perspectives - "story" as cultural memory and gender. The present thesis reveals that most of the stories have been remembered and repeated for more than a century, though interpretations sometimes change along with changes in society and progress in research. A gender perspective elucidates the chores and activities ascribed to prehistoric men and women, respectively, and the changes they have undergone. Although archaeological findings have been influenced by gender research, this study indicates that society itself has had the greatest impact on the treatment of gender in the textbooks. Perceptions of "male" and "female" have changed and women have been become visible after previously being as good as ignored. Both history textbooks and archaeological research are clearly affected by general trends in society and the textbooks under investigation have evolved from focusing on nationalistic aspects and the predominance of men to assigning equal value to people of all cultures and to the sexes.

Textbooks are a very influential medium considering the fact that they often introduce students to information they have never read or heard about before, and as such they become very important in forming students’ opinions on different matters. In this study I have taken a closer look at five textbooks in history that are currently being used in the Swedish upper secondary school. My aim has been to find out how East Asia is pictured and also how much space East Asian history is given in these textbooks with the postcolonial theory as theoretical basis. My study shows that East Asia is given very little space compared to Europe in these books, with an average of less than a twentieth of the number of pages that deal with European history. However, compared to other non-European and non-western parts of the world East Asia is given relatively much space. Concerning the picture of East Asia I have found two different discourses that are dominating the scene. One discourse is characterized by a postcolonial and stereotypical perspective on East Asia, where the countries are described as passive and inferior to the Western world. The other discourse, however, shows a more nuanced perspective on East Asia. I have also found a number of problematic factual inaccuracies in the chapters on East Asia in these books. Conclusively my study shows the importance of a critical perspective on textbooks when using them in education. Keywords: Östasien, Kina, Japan, historiedidaktik, historieläroböcker, omvärldsbilder, postkolonial teori, orientalism, diskursanalys.

This thesis by publication contains an introductory summary chapter and three papers. The first paper presents a study of how the concept of historical consciousness has been defined, applied, and justified in Swedish history didactical research. It finds that there is consensus regarding the definition of what a historical consciousness is, but that there is variation in how the concept is applied. It is suggested that this variation makes historical con­sciousness a complex and vague concept. The second paper uses the results presented in the first paper as a point of departure and from thence argues for a broadened understanding of the concept of historical consciousness that incorporates its definition, applica­tion, development, and significance. The study includes research about his­torical consciousness primarily from Sweden, the UK, the USA and Canada. The paper presents a typology of historical consciousness and argues that level of contextualisation is what distinguishes different types of historical consciousnesses and that an ability to contextualise is also what makes his­torical consciousness an important concept for identity constitution and morality. The third paper proposes a methodological framework of historical con­sciousness based on the theory of historical consciosusness presented in the second paper. It presents arguments for why the framework of historical consciousness proposed can be useful for the analysis of historical media and it discusses how aspects of the framework can be applied in analysis. It then presents a textbook analysis that has been performed according to the stipulated framework and discusses its results regarding how textbooks can be used to analyse historical consciousness and its development. Forskarskolan Historiska Medier (ForHiM)

The present study explores the reception of historical feature films in history education. It is concerned with how pupils experience the films as well as the significance of the feature film for their understanding and interpretation of history. The study incorporates empirical data from classroom projects in two different Swedish upper secondary schools where film was used as an educational tool. Observations of classroom activities were made and interviews with twelve pupils and their history teachers were conducted. The study applies a phenomenological approach. The lifeworld of the pupils is in focus, specifically the aspect of the lifeworld they live and experience in history class when film is used as a means of understanding the past. The phenomenon studied is thus how the pupils experience the film, and through the film, history itself. Theoretical notions from film reception studies and history didactics are used as analytic tools. The study shows how emotional and cognitive processes converge in the pupils’ meaning making of the films. The embodiment of the films’ narrative is an important factor that contributes to both the understanding of the film as well as of history. The pupils experience the films emotionally, feeling both empathy and antipathy for the various characters, physically through sight and sound as well as embodied reactions, and cognitively through an understanding of the film’s narrative. Embodied experience is fundamental for history to become materialized. The audiovisual portrayal and materialization of the past becomes embodied in the pupils so that the experience of the film and of the historical lifeworld presented therein becomes part of their lifeworld. Generally, pupils consider the films to be trustworthy, though this perceived accuracy depends on how authentically the narrative is performed and the pupils’ previous store of historical knowledge. A didactic dilemma to consider when using historical feature film in the classroom is the contradiction between the aesthetic experience of a feature film and its use as a tool for understanding the past. The captivating character of feature film evokes empathy and engagement with the films’ characters regardless of the degree of historical accuracy. This is a critical issue for teachers; there needs to be balance between respect for the pupils’ aesthetic experience of the film and the need to guide them to develop for example the skills of historical empathy, where distance is necessary for the pupils to be able to consider different perspectives.

This paper presents a theoretical approach to analysing educational media using the concept of historical consciousness. The concept of historical consciousness is defined and operationalised and its relevance for analysis of historical media is discussed. One aspect of the theoretical framework proposed is then applied in an analysis of a history textbook account. The analysis finds that while the framework may be applied in analysis of textbooks, its results regarding historical consciousness are tentative and in need of further investigation from the perspective of how its users perceive and appropriate the textbook account. Still, it is argued that the framework proposed may be useful since it specifies how a historical consciousness may be manifested and what methodological approaches that can be used when analysing it.Keywords: historical consciousness, historical media, textbook analysis, historical culture, uses of history, educational media, history education(Published: 8 December 2014)Citation: Education Inquiry (EDUI) 2014, 5, 24282,http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/edui.v5.24282

Showing movies to pupils is hardly a new, innovative teaching method. However, knowledge about how film is used and why, as well as what kind of film is used is scarce. In the present licentiate thesis, eight active teachers have been interviewed on their experiences with and approached to using film as a pedagogic tool in high school history lessons. The purpose of the study is to analyze the respective teachers´ use and understanding of history, based on their opinion of film as a didactic alternative. Why do teachers to use film in class? How do they describe the way in which they work with it in concrete teaching situations? What films do they use and what makes them suitable for classroom viewing? The teachers emphasize five primary ways in which they use movies as teaching tools and the advantages in doing so: to present facts; as an example of multiperspectivism; to promote ethics and empathy; to discuss source criticism; and to arouse interest. The teachers see documentary film as an accurate, reliable form of presenting facts while considering drama more complicated and important to address in class. The study shows that the teachers feel they are left to their own devices to discover film´s potential as creators of meaning but that they rarely have the educational background or time to engage colleagues in didactic reasoning on the subject. The type of films they consider as having the most favorable effect in the classroom generally deal with war and other conflicts from a Western perspective. Most see film as an effective secondary source but a few also see it as a useful primary source. Analyzing their statements as a whole, the informants articulate that while film is widely used in high school history classes, it is done so for very different reasons.

The overall aim of this thesis is to investigate why history textbooks are used the way they are and to identify possible reasons for the contradictions and dilemmas regarding the role of the textbook in history education. This thesis describes a case study of the history teaching at an upper secondary school class and investigates the attitudes of the pupils, teachers and textbook authors towards history, the teaching of history, textbooks and the use of textbooks. The study also investigates the textbook used in the history class and the attitudes that the authors expose in the textbook. The analyses are based on interviews with the pupils and teacher, the pupils’ responses in a questionnaire, lesson observations, parts of the textbook, and some other teaching materials used in the lessons. In addition to constituting research on attitudes, this study is also linked to cognitive dissonance theory since it highlights dissonance among the attitudes of the teachers, pupils and textbook authors. The study shows that one main dilemma is the fact that the textbook is frequently being used in the classroom, but many pupils find it dull and uninteresting. Other dilemmas are basically explanations for this and are discussed as such. The study also shows that the pupils prefer history lessons that follow certain strategies and that these strategies are only reflected in the textbook to a limited extent. However, these strategies are used to a large extent in the teaching and when other teaching materials are used instead of the textbook. Sometimes the language used in the textbook seems to prevent the pupils from being able to take in the content but they are not given any help to cope with this difficulty. However, the pupils are exposed to other teaching resources, such as films and lectures, which helps them to understand the subject matter and they appreciate such resources more than the textbook. Moreover, the use of this type of learning resources is combined with methodology that is popular among the pupils and they get help from each other and from the teacher when interpreting and working with these resources. The textbook is used primarily individually and some of the pupils find it difficult to understand. In addition, the textbook is used with teaching methodology that the pupils find dull. This could explain why films and lectures are the main focus of the history lessons while the textbook is used primarily as a supplementary factual resource. This may also be a reason why the pupils have a negative attitude towards the textbook.

This thesis studies teachers’ and students’ conceptions of history and history teaching and aims to explain the importance of an interest in history among teachers and students of the subject. Research on teachers’ conceptions (e.g. Martin 2005) shows that the didactical question “Why?” influences the “How?” and “Why?” questions and that teachers’ thinking about their own practice is mainly influenced by their background and their experiences from teaching. Research on students’ opinions (e.g. Youth and History, 1997) shows that they enjoy history shown in films, that they appreciate museums, and that the preferred topic is 20th century history. In this thesis learning is envisaged as something individual but it is the learners’ social context that defines what is important, meaningful and interesting to learn. The research methods consist of a survey study concerning the pupils’ attitudes towards history and history education, and an interview study with their teachers about their teaching and their opinions about history in general. Nine teachers and their 217 pupils participated. It is mainly topics from 20th century that are described as interesting by both students and teachers. The teachers had different views on the didactical whyquestion, which they described either as student oriented or subject oriented. Their views on why history is important influenced their teaching methods. The student oriented teachers stated that their pupils’ needs and wishes affect their methods while the subject oriented teachers said that they give varying lessons, and have a more student active teaching, but decide for themselves what teaching methods are to be used. The subject matter is influenced by the teachers’ personal interest in history, in most cases a Eurocentric political history. This choice of content, and the teachers own interest, are explained by the historical culture of Swedish society rather than the curriculum. The teachers state that exciting stories and dramatic events related in books or films were, and still are, important to their interest in history. Their individual interpretation of what is important and meaningful in their historical culture influences teachers’ personal interest, their knowledge, and the content of their history teaching. The students’ attitudes to history are also influenced by various factors, of which history education at school is merely one.

The aim of this study has been to investigate, through the narratives of ex-perienced teachers, insights and strategies in the teaching of history in upper secondary school. Based on a flexible grounded theory, life history and theories of pedagogical content knowledge, seven experienced history teachers have been interviewed about their conceptions of history teaching. Development of insights into history teaching and the formation of knowledge can be described as involving both a refinement of practice and more revolutionary turning points. These insights emphasize that good knowledge of the subject is central for legitimacy and creativity. History teaching in Sweden is described as increasingly international and contem-porary, and focussed on students’ learning from various points of view. Varied teaching is stressed with the teacher in centre and also being able to take the role of arranger. Of importance is also the handling of teaching in history as a foundation course as well as an advanced or specialized course. Influences from other subjects have had a diverse impact at the same time as personal interests and experiences, as well as external influences, have been important for the development of strategies. History teachers’ teaching strategies may be described in terms of 1) multiperspectivity, where different points of view and interpretations of history are central; 2) narrative history, where through both major and minor stories, a chronological structure and animation of the subject of history are strived after; 3) social scientific history, which uses history to explain contemporary society through making comparisons and seeking general patterns; and 4) an eclectic strategy, which strives after varieties of an individualised teaching of history by allowing students to make their ways into history in diverse ways. The experienced history teachers’ narratives make evident how the subject of history can be transformed, they demonstrate different conceivable ways of teaching history and reveal its complexity. The teachers’ narratives show how, through their strategies in interaction with their insights in history teaching, they have created an overview and structure in the complex reality of teaching history. The teachers’ insights and strategies constitute a practice based contribution to a more experience informed practice and research on the teaching of history.

Uppsatsen handlar om hur historielärare tänker kring planeringen av undervisningen för att hinna ge eleverna en översikt av historien och nå de ambitiösa målen i styrdokumenten och anknyta till elevers livserfarenheter så att elever kan förstå och bli intresserade av historia samt hur lärarna konkret lägger upp vissa moment av historien. Fyra gymnasielärare har intervjuats under 1-1,5 timme och tre av intervjuerna spelades in på band medan den fjärde antecknades. Intervjuerna skrevs ut från band, kortades och redigerades varsamt. Undersökningsresultatet pekar på vikten av att läraren gör ett medvetet urval för att hinna fram till modern tid och göra de nödvändiga historiska kopplingarna till nutid. Utan urval kan historieundervisningen i hög grad bli en förmedling från läraren med för lite bearbetning och social interaktion för eleverna. Läraren måste växla mellan en övergripande nivå där de stora utvecklingsdragen visas för eleven och en nivå där man visar hur den lilla människan hade det. Har man för mycket av undervisningen på en övergripande nivå blir historien abstrakt för eleverna. Om man å andra sidan inte fortlöpande refererar till orsaker och konsekvenser och låter eleverna fundera över detta och visar större utvecklingssammanhang riskerar historien för eleverna bara att bli ett antal oberoende händelser.