Important, fun or interesting? : The attitude and perceptions of pupils regarding the school subject history

This is a study on Swedish high school students’ perceptions and attitudes towards the school subject history. The idea for the thesis derived from preconceived notions about the forementioned aspects and to try the bias towards each program. Is the general opinion on the school subject history better among students who are studying preparatory programs than among those who are studying vocational programs? As it turns out, at least in this study, it is not. A survey was sent out among a total of five classes in order to get a similar number of students from both programs. The main reason for this was that the sizes of the vocational classes were so small but also because they are divided from all the programs in the school and there was no way to divide it further. The classes respective history teachers were also interviewed to get a deeper understanding of changes over time in students’ attitudes and perceptions towards the subject. They received the questions in advance and had time to prepare. The results were the opposite of the perceptions and while there are many reasons for this it is interesting for further research.