'See, think, feel, ask, talk, listen, and wonder'. Distance and proximity in history teaching and heritage education in the Netherlands

Heritage education has recently become a distinct type of teaching and learning. Heritage organizations argue that monuments, relics, and other remains offer young people a sensory experience and stimulate emotional engagement with the past. This approach, however, seems contrary to the goals of history teaching in the Netherlands, which requires the application of historical thinking. In this article we first assess the Dutch institutional contexts of history teaching and heritage education. Next we reflect on the significance of historical distance and proximity in both types of education. For this purpose we have developed an analytical framework comprising five elements: time, person, imagination, place, and engagement.