ABSTRACT
Learning history and negotiating the present both require the ability to identify, comprehend, explain and evaluate historical interpretations. This chapter explores some practical, theoretical and logical aspects of historical interpretation and considerations relevant to the task of developing students' abilities to think critically, comparatively and evaluatively about history and historical interpretations. Understanding historical interpretations involves thinking critically about the diverse ways in which human groups and societies make sense of time and change. Historical interpretations are a key component of the history curriculum in England in all key stages. Teasing out the implications of the curriculum documents helps students to learn how the past has been interpreted in different ways; explain why the past has been interpreted in different ways; and evaluate different interpretations of the past. The chapter explores some of the issues raised by these tasks.
