Skönlitteratur som ett didaktiskt verktyg i historieundervisningen

Sammanfattning: The aim of this research overview was to examine what role fiction literature plays in history teaching. To clarify and delineate the area of interest, we limited our focus to this question: What does research say about fiction literature as a didactic tool in history teaching? In short, our study is a systematic overview of international and Swedish research that highlights the question we addressed from different perspectives. We used research results compiled in dissertations and published articles and papers, which we examined and discussed with support from an overview model. During our analysis, we came upon an important concept called “historical consciousness”, which the researchers often considered in relation to fiction. This aspect also came to represent an important concept in our study, because without this relationship we found that the discussion concerning fiction as a didactic tool in history teaching was without depth. The research results we analyzed showed that there is generally a positive attitude towards the use of fiction literature in history teaching, but there are also several variables that should be taken into consideration. The conclusion that can be drawn from our research overview is that fiction literature can be an efficient didactical tool with the potential to develop students’ historical consciousness. For this to succeed, the teacher must take real responsibility by approaching the matter with comprehensive knowledge and reflection.