University Courses on Teaching of Historical Periods in Primary and Secondary Schools – from the Perspective of History Didactics

Abstract

The article makes suggestions for the university courses ‘Th e teaching of Ancient / Medieval and Early Modern / Modern / Contemporary History in primary and secondary schools’ from the perspective of the didactics of history. The first part of the study presents the problems and the methods of content selection. This activity is largely absent from the Hungarian teachers’ practice, which closely follows the content of textbooks. The second part focuses on the importance of prior knowledge in the teaching of history and shows how it can be incorporated into classroom practice. The third part proposes activities related to the sources used in history teaching, with an emphasis on audiovisual media, which have a great appeal for young people today.