ABSTRACT
Introduction This chapter is not a report of substantive conclusions, but an interim note on research in progress. As such it is less a guidebook to a strange land than an account of first impressions acquired on a journey. We have tried to set out some of our aims, some of the assumptions we have made, and the picture we are beginning to build up of some elements of children's conceptions of the discipline of history. We have necessarily confined ourselves to exemplification rather than attempted to make general claims which we are not yet in a position to support. Despite these limited goals, we hope we have provided an opportunity for colleagues to assess whether our activities might bear on their own concerns.
