History - common core subject in programmes for general studies (HIS1-02)

Gjelder fra: 2009-08-01T00:00:00 +2

Gjelder til: 2022-07-31T00:00:00 +2

Purpose

The history subject shall contribute to increasing understanding of relations between the past, present and future, and provide insight into the thoughts, lives and actions of people during different time epochs and cultures. Awareness of history provides the basis for reflection on one's own value choices.

The subject shall provide insight into the diversity of living conditions of people in the past and increase the understanding that all communities represent values and attitudes that are the result of historical processes. It shall promote tolerance, mutual respect and understanding of human rights. The history subject shall provide insight into the importance of democracy in our society, and contribute to raising awareness of global challenges. The subject shall stimulate involvement and active participation in society by developing skills in critical, analytical and creative thinking.

The history subject can have great impact on how pupils understand and perceive themselves and society, and on how each person creates his or her own identity and belongingness with others. The subject shall improve the pupil's knowledge of and insight into important events and lines of development in history. The subject shall promote the ability to process and assess historical material and other information. Historical insight can contribute to better understanding of contemporary affairs, and to understanding that each person is part of a historical process and part of creating history.

Main subject areas

The subject has been structured into main areas for which competence aims have been formulated. These main subject areas supplement each other and must be considered together.

History has competence aims after Vg2 and Vg3 (the second and third years) in programmes for general studies.

Overview of main subject areas:

Year	Main subject areas
Vg2	Understanding of history and methods	Society and people in a historical perspective
Vg3	Understanding of history and methods	Society and people in a historical perspective

Understanding of history and methods

The main subject area understanding of history and methods deals with how people think differently about the past, and how this is expressed in narratives and historical presentations. This main subject area deals with how historical knowledge is developed, understood and assessed. Emphasis is placed on being critical of sources, analysing how history is presented and assessing historical explanations. Another key aspect is how historians' choices of research topics change over time based on their point of view. Using history in today's society and examining how media influence perceptions of the past and the present are also included in this main subject area.

Society and people in a historical perspective

The main subject area society and people in a historical perspective comprises key historical phenomena and processes and draws lines between the past, the present and the future. Different perspectives on the past are in focus, including power and politics, social and economic conditions, culture and the way people were and thought. This main subject area attaches importance to continuity and change in the development of society and to humankind as actors in historical processes, both individually and in groups.

Teaching hours

Teaching hours are given in 60-minute units:

PROGRAMMES FOR GENERAL STUDIES

Vg2: 56 teaching hours

Vg3: 113 teaching hours

SUPPLEMENTARY STUDIES QUALIFYING FOR HIGHER EDUCATION - VOCATIONAL EDUCATION PROGRAMME

Vg3: 140 teaching hours

113 teaching hours for pupils with Finnish as a second language

Basic skills

Basic skills are integrated in the competence aims where they contribute to development of the competence in the subject, while also being part of this competence. In the history subject basic skills are understood as follows:

Being able to express oneself orally and in writing in history means presenting a history topic clearly and concisely and applying relevant terms in one's own argumentation, analysis and reasoning. It also means being able to reflect on the meaning of content in texts, pictures and film, and to elaborate on and compare points of view in historical sources and literature.

Being able to read in history means developing one's vocabulary and general language skills by reading historical texts. This means reading with a critical mind and reflecting on how views on society influence a presentation. Key elements are reading and interpreting different types of historical material, with different origins and from different historical periods, and reading and interpreting pictures, film, historical maps and other graphic material, artefacts and written sources.

Being able to do mathematics in history means interpreting and applying tables and graphic presentations in descriptions and analyses of issues, and using quantitative historical data in one's own presentations.

Being able to use digital tools in history means developing awareness of being critical of sources when using the internet to find historical information. This means being able to search for and assess information from different websites and then use this in one's own presentations. Digital tools will be a natural aid for publication of one's own and joint work. Having digital skills also means being able to use digital communication and cooperation tools in interaction with others.