oa Discussiedossier Inleiding: oral history en geschiedenisonderwijs

Oral history and history education. Current status and new possibilities

Oral accounts have become increasingly popular in the heritage field and in popular culture. The relative lack of engagement with oral history in history education in the Netherlands is therefore surprising. Unlike in surrounding countries, as well as in the Anglo-Saxon world, hardly any attention is given to oral history in history teacher training curricula. Existing initiatives depend entirely on the efforts of individual teachers, and are often isolated from other interview projects, heritage institutions, and the school curriculum. A solid foundation and a sustainable structure are needed to strengthen and expand the important initiatives in the field of oral history in education. These issues are even more pressing against the background of the digital revolution and its effects on oral history. What opportunities are there for oral history in the classroom, and (how) can digitization strengthen the practice of oral history in teaching and research? The contributions in this section are based on focus group interviews with student history teachers, questionnaires among teachers and students, and/or literature study. They present multiple opportunities for implementing oral history in history education, as well as suggestions for further research.