ABSTRACT
If a history education is to include an understanding of history as a discipline then central to that understanding is a concept of evidence. It supports our ability to examine the material the past has left behind in order to generate hypotheses and validate historical claims. Of course, it is no easy task to develop such understandings in the classroom. However, knowledge of students’ likely preconceptions and difficulties can support teachers in this enterprise.1 Through an analysis of data from one aspect of the ESRC Project CHATA (Concepts of History and Teaching Approaches) this chapter offers some insight into student ideas, specifically their approaches to validating historical claims, and their understanding of the nature of historical sources.2
