Public Defence: Anne Helene Høyland Mork

Anne Helene Høyland Mork is defending her thesis for the degree philosophiae doctor (PhD) at the University of South-Eastern Norway. The doctoral work has been carried out at the Faculty of Humanities, Sports and Educational Sciences.

You are welcome to join both her trial lecture and public defence.

• Join virtually (Zoom)
• Read the full dissertation: History, Education, and History Education: Expressions of Historical Culture in Norwegian and Swedish Upper Secondary Schools (1920-1960) (openarchive.usn.no) 

Summary:

This thesis deals with conceptions of history education, ideals of Bildung (education), and ideas of reform pedagogy (progressive education) in Norwegian and Swedish upper secondary schools in the period 1920–1960. Ideas of reform pedagogy, with emphasis on more student active education, were central to school debates and school reforms. The thesis analyzes ideas about the goals, content and methods of history education in curricular documents and in texts written by Norwegian teachers. In addition, it explores uses of history and expressions of pedagogical ideas in the processes of building school buildings at a Norwegian and Swedish school in the 1920s. These texts, documents, and buildings are seen both as expressions of broader historical cultures and as pedagogical resources that contribute to forming education. 

The thesis shows that history education was assigned a range of purposes, both in curricular documents and by teachers. Knowledge and content remained central elements in curricular documents throughout the period, but elements of students’ development and learning methods were increasingly stressed. This is expressed in the inclusion of individual assignments, more student interaction, more active use of historical sources, and, in the later Swedish documents, critical thinking. While the Swedish curricular documents display a shift in ideas about the nation, a shift in the views on the role of the student is seen in the Norwegian documents. The texts written by the teachers show great variety within movements of reform pedagogy, especially in the 1930s. Although the teachers could agree on demands for more student active education, they emphasized different aspects and expressed very different conceptions of history and wishes for societal development. The processes around school buildings exemplify how elements of broader historical cultures could be used to create belonging and legitimacy and how ideas of reform pedagogy, to a certain degree, could influence the design of school buildings. 

This thesis contributes with new knowledge about history education and reform pedagogy in upper secondary schools, and thematizes concepts from the fields of pedagogy and history didactics, such as Bildung, historical culture, and uses of history. The thesis also exemplifies the great variety within movements of reform pedagogy/progressive education and problematizes an image of reform pedagogy as inherently democratic. The thesis shows that even though conceptions of history education are closely linked to place and time, there are some lasting tensions within history education. This may explain why topics that have been central to debates in the past are still discussed today.