”Nu fattar jag lite mer hur de verkligen hade det och varför det blev så hemskt.” : En kvalitativ studie om högstadieelevers uppfattningar av ämnet historia och om hur de ser på skönlitteratur och film i undervisningen som en väg mot ett ökat historiemedv

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this study is to contribute to an increased awareness of how students perceive the subject of history and how they approach the subject of increasing their awareness, through meeting historical characters in novels and film. I am seeking the answer to what opinions students have about studying history, what experiences they have of novels and film as a means to teaching the subject and how they look at material that give life to the thoughts and feelings of historical people, aiming to increase historical awareness. The study is based on qualitative interviews with 15 students in secondary school, The interviews are based on open questions and originate from sociocultural perspective, with its base in phenomenology. The result indicates that students perceive that studying the subject is mainly about historical facts. Several students, and especially students with Swedish as a second language and students with language difficulties, mention that the subject is linguistically difficult, with hard to understand words and phrases. This seems to obstruct an increased awareness of history. The teachers role is considered important. Their capability to interact, explain and clarify is important to bring the subject alive. Students can see the benefits of novels and film to increase historical awareness and many wish for more of that kind of tuition to increase interest and perception. However, many find it difficult to see how this will fit in the time schedule.