Challenges of Historical Literacy Education when Students Work with Historical Sources

Abstract

Abstract. This article reviews the evolution of the concept of historical literacy, based on the philosophical considerations of J. Rüsen, S. Wineburg, P. Lee, A. Chapman, P. Seix, D. Shemilt, T. Taylor, H. Scheiber, M. Stobart, and others, revealing how history education relates to the development of students’ historical literacy. The article presents two studies and their results. During one of them, it was established that so far there are discrepancies between the objectives of the curriculum and the possibilities of its realisation in the lesson. Students prefer an elementary narrative of the past in order to focus on facts rather than interpretations, so they lack the knowledge and ability to create a historical context. The second study found that insufficient time was devoted to student ability to independently and critically analyse sources with historical sources of a different genre, and to understand the process of storytelling.