The Centre for the Study of Historical Consciousness Visiting Scholars Program presents:
David Rosenlund, Malmö University, Sweden
“Large Scale Assessment in Swedish History Education: An Attempt to Assess Students’ Historical Consciousness”
Tuesday 19 November 2013, 4:30-6:00 p.m.
UBC, Scarfe building, room 310
The Swedish school system has been subject to many reforms in recent years. These reforms include new curricula for all subjects from year 1 to year 9 in elementary education and years 10-12 in secondary. Another reform was the introduction of national tests in four subjects that had not been subject to large scale testing Sweden prior to 2013, geography, history, religion studies and civics. These tests are conducted in years 6 and 9.
In history education the overarching aim is to develop the students’ historical consciousness. The national test in history should thus assist teachers in their assessments of this ability and at the same time be a tool for evaluation of Swedish history teaching on municipal and national levels. This presentation will provide a brief look at the Swedish school system and the structure of curricula and criteria for assessment. A more thorough presentation will be made of the test in history for grade 9, constructed at Malmö University, and how it attempts to assess students’ historical consciousness.
David Rosenlund is a test constructor and Ph.D. student at Malmö University. His research is focused on Swedish history education from an assessment perspective. He has published research about the alignment between history curriculum and teacher made assessment material. He is currently working on a study that looks into student strategies in constructing historical knowledge and temporal orientation.
No RSVP necessary.