Historical enquiry in primary school: Teaching interpretation of archaeological artefacts from an intercultural perspective

Abstract

This article explores how learning historical interpretation of Viking-age archaeological artefacts from an intercultural perspective could be facilitated through historical enquiry in primary school. Three design principles were formulated for the teaching: (1) enquiry based upon an authentic intercultural question; (2) enquiry with a focus on source interpretation; and (3) enquiry using material culture in the form of archaeological artefacts. Two questions were addressed: first, how did the teaching design and practice facilitate the intended learning, and second, what obstacles to learning were encountered as a result of the design? Research data were analysed qualitatively using contentfocused conversation analysis and variation theory. The findings in relation to the first question indicated that the design principles helped teachers facilitate learning through historical enquiry from an intercultural perspective, and that archaeological artefacts can inspire investigations into history by activating pupils' historical consciousness. The answer to the second question indicated that pupils had difficulties responding to historical enquiries with synthesized inferences based on historical evidence. A revision of the final phase of the enquiry suggests that focus is on discussing reasonable explanations in relation to artefacts, rather than synthesizing historical inferences based on evidence. This study points to possibilities of teaching historical interpretation and intercultural perspectives through historical enquiry in primary school, and suggests that archaeological artefacts can be used to initiate historical learning.