“If one thinks there will be conflicts, it will be an us and them perspective based on prejudices, not on knowledge.” : A study of historical culture based on teachers’ and students’ experiences in multicultural classrooms.

This thesis explores history education and how history is taught and understood in multicultural classrooms in Swedish lower secondary schools. The study addresses the problem of the limited research on how both teachers and students experience history lessons in culturally diverse environments. The aim is to investigate how teachers’ and students’ views relate to historical culture and intercultural understanding. The theoretical framework is based on historical consciousness, historical culture, use of history and intercultural competence. A mixed methods approach was used, combining qualitative interviews with history teachers and a quantitative survey conducted among students in grades 7–9. This approach enabled a multifaceted analysis of the teaching and learning of history in multicultural contexts. The results show that the teachers often use intercultural ideas in their teaching without always being aware of it. The students’ understanding of history are shaped by both their backgrounds and by how history is taught. The study concludes that history education holds the potential to support intercultural understanding, but that this requires increased reflection from the teachers on how they present history.