Austrian teachers’ understanding and teaching of historical culture: challenges for the implementation of curriculum reforms in Austria

Abstract

In Austria, there have been repeated reforms of history curricula in recent years. In particular, these reforms have had the goal of implementing competence orientation. However, numerous research studies have shown that history teachers find it difficult to implement the new standards and that they only partially incorporate the central theoretical principles of the curricula into their teaching practice. In addition, the new specifications have not been fully incorporated into textbooks. This article focuses specifically on the inclusion of historical representations in the classroom, and on the opinions of history teachers in relation to this. Since Austrian curricula are committed to a critical approach towards historical culture, in addition to a source-based approach, the inclusion of historical representations is necessary in order to meet state requirements. However, based on 85 qualitative interviews with Austrian history teachers, it is evident that these teachers are only partially familiar with the theories of history didactics. Many history teachers are not informed about the technical terms used in the curricula, and when manifestations of historical culture are considered in history lessons, they are rarely critically examined.