Finnish Prehistory in Primary School History Textbooks

Authors

• Ilari Aalto Turun yliopisto
• Lauri Kemppinen

DOI: https://doi.org/10.33350/ka.87857

Abstract

For most Finns, primary school is the only phase in education during which Finnish prehistory (8 850 BCE – 1200 CE) and Finnish archaeological heritage can be taught. The history textbook is an invaluable aid in this mission. In this study, we evaluate how Finnish prehistory is presented in currently available textbooks. We studied seven history textbooks published between 2003 and 2019. We coded the subject matter in the books into 50 content areas using NVIVO 11 software. This database enabled us to form a comprehensive understanding of how the textbooks statistically represent Finnish prehistory. The content analysis shows a marked change in subject matter during the current national curriculum (since 2014): discussion on prehistoric material culture has been omitted and textbooks now focus on ancient beliefs. The subject content is often outdated and represents archaeological research from the 1980s and 1990s. Ethnicity is viewed more critically in the newest textbooks, but the role of Sámi in Finnish prehistory especially remains unclear. We suggest that the curriculum should provide more pronounced guidelines for representing prehistory subject content. From the archaeological perspective, the prehistory content of textbooks produced under the current national curriculum are not meaningful.