What is History is What is Illustrated. The Utilization and Function of Images in History Coursebooks in Poland and Britain.

In a society which is increasingly visual, and the teaching of history and critical thinking so important in an age of post-truth and fake news, the words of the Swedish poet, Linn Hansén, seem particularly apt: what is history, is what is illustrated. The images found in history coursebooks help learners to imagine the past, providing a visual aid to support learning, but they can also be used to foster critical thinking by treating the images as historical sources in themselves. This paper presents the results of a pilot study conducted on the functions of images contained in Polish and British history coursebooks using a proprietary paradigm developed on the basis of existing scholarship in English Language Teaching. It shows that the pedagogical functions of images in history coursebooks vary greatly between the two educational contexts. In Britain, images are typically treated as historical sources in themselves, whilst in Poland they typically perform more of a decorative function. The paper closes with a number of recommendations for further research and publishers of history coursebooks.