Informal historical learning at home: on historical culture and everyday historical thinking of children

This article presents several insights from an ethnographic study that explores the private lives of 39 children aged between 7 and 12 in Austria. It examines the forms of historical culture present in their home environments, how these objects are engaged with by the children, and how such interactions influence their conceptualisations of the past and history. The data for this study were collected between 2017 and 2020. Unlike the laboratory-style tests frequently employed in empirical research conducted in schools, the methodology adopted here seeks to provide deeper insights into the cognitive habits and social practices related to engaging with the past and history by slowing down the research pace and meeting children in their home environments. The study particularly emphasises the everyday historical thinking, a distinct mode of thought that fundamentally differs from academic historical thinking.