Ylioppilaskirjoituksissa historian valinneiden lukiolaisten näkemyksiä historiasta oppiaineena

The Finnish higher education student selection reform, implemented between 2018 and 2020, shifted the primary admission pathway from entrance examinations to certificate-based selection. As a result, the importance of matriculation examination performance has increased significantly. One notable outcome is the growing number of students choosing history as one of their matriculation exam subjects since 2020. A likely explanation for this trend lies in the scoring model used in certificate-based admissions, which allocates more points for history compared to subjects such as philosophy or social studies. This article is based on survey responses from 61 upper secondary school students and examines their motivation to study history, their perceptions of the challenges associated with the study of history, and their reasons for choosing the history exam in the matriculation test. The responses of students who chose history in the matriculation exams depict history as an interesting subject that is connected to the surrounding society. However, the challenges expressed by students also indicate that history is still perceived as a subject that requires a good memory. About one-third of respondents mentioned university admission points as one reason for choosing to take the history matriculation exam. More often, however, students emphasized the interest they have in history and their experience of being skilled in the subject.