Uchronia in schools: national perspectives and practices in Estonia.

Estonia

Narva Pahklimae school

Maksim Chernyatkin, Olga Zukova

March 2026

The education system in Estonia is known for its high quality and equal opportunities. Students in Estonia show very good results in international studies like PISA. School education is free and compulsory from ages 7 to 16. After that, students can choose general secondary education or vocational education. Estonian schools are quite flexible: teachers can choose their teaching methods, and schools can adapt learning to students’ needs. Estonia is also a very digital country. Schools widely use technology and online tools in learning.

Today, more attention is given to social and emotional skills, such as communication, teamwork, empathy, and self-control. These skills are important for both school success and everyday life. However, they are not always taught regularly in all schools.

One challenge is that education is still strongly focused on academic results. Because of this, there is sometimes less time for developing social skills. Inclusive education is another important issue. Estonia supports teaching all students together, including those with special needs. However, teachers often face problems like lack of training, not enough support staff, and differences between schools. Critical thinking is also very important, especially in a digital world. Students need to learn how to understand information, check if it is true, and think independently. These skills are included in the curriculum, but their development depends on how teachers teach.

Estonia is improving its education system through national strategies. The Education Strategy 2035 focuses on developing knowledge, social skills, and critical thinking. Another important plan is the Lifelong Learning Strategy 2020, which supports modern teaching and equal opportunities. The national curriculum also includes general skills like learning skills, social skills, and self-management. These ideas are connected to European policies developed by the European Commission.

In Estonia, social skills mean basic things like talking to people, listening, working in a team, understanding others’ feelings, and being respectful. Schools don’t only care about grades  they also want students to become good and responsible people. That’s why social skills are part of the national curriculum, as something every student should learn. At school, social skills are not a separate subject. Instead, students learn them during normal lessons. For example, they do group work, projects, and class discussions. This helps them learn how to share ideas, listen to others, and work together.

In Estonia, social skills mean basic things like talking to people, listening, working in a team, understanding others’ feelings, and being respectful. Schools don’t only care about grades  they also want students to become good and responsible people. That’s why social skills are part of the national curriculum, as something every student should learn. At school, social skills are not a separate subject. Instead, students learn them during normal lessons. For example, they do group work, projects, and class discussions. This helps them learn how to share ideas, listen to others, and work together.

In our schools, this usually happens in a couple of really cool ways. Our teachers love what they call integrated lessons, where they mix History with Literature or Social Studies. For example, instead of just reading a dry textbook about the 19th-century National Awakening, we might follow the life story of a specific person from back then like a poet or a farmer to understand how Estonia really became a country through their eyes. Plus, since we’re a Digital Republic, we use a ton of tech to tell these stories. It’s super common for us to use tools like Canva for posters, or even simple video editing to create our own digital movies about historical events. It makes the whole thing feel more like a creative project and way less like a boring lecture.

Even though we don’t have one massive, official Uchronia Project in Estonia yet, there are some really interesting initiatives that use these narrative methods in ways that feel very modern. For instance, if you visit the Estonian National Museum (ERM) in Tartu, their main exhibition called Encounters is entirely built on narratives. Instead of just looking at old pots and tools, you follow the everyday lives of ordinary Estonians throughout different centuries. They have these educational programs where you literally „step into the shoes“ of someone from a different era, making choices that people actually had to make back then.

Then there’s NGO Mondo, or Maailmakool, which uses storytelling to teach us about global issues like climate change or human rights. They have these learning materials where you participate in role-playing scenarios like being a person in a drought-stricken village to understand the difficult choices people have to make. I also think Propastop is worth mentioning, even if it’s more about the news. They show how alternative narratives which is basically fake history or propaganda are used to manipulate people today. It’s like studying uchronia to learn how to spot lies in the real world.

I honestly think the potential for what if history, or uchronia, is huge here because Estonia’s history is full of these crazy turning points where everything could have gone differently. When we ask questions like What if the Singing Revolution hadn’t been peaceful? or „What if Estonia had won the fight against the Crusaders in the 1200s?“, it really pushes our critical thinking to the next level. It makes us realize that history isn’t just something that was meant to be it’s actually the result of human choices and a bit of luck. Doing this also builds a lot of empathy because you start to see how high the stakes were for our ancestors and how scary some of those moments must have been. Most importantly, I think it gives us a sense of agency. If we can imagine different versions of our past, it reminds us that the choices we make today are what will create the history of tomorrow. It makes you feel like you’re not just a bystander, but someone who can actually help shape where we’re going next.

In our research, we explore how counterfactual history or what if scenarios can be a powerful tool for learning. According to Niall Ferguson (2011), looking at alternative paths in history helps us move away from the idea that everything was „destined“ to happen. Instead, it teaches us that history is the result of specific human choices and chance, which makes the subject much more dynamic. This is especially relevant in our local context. For example, the Estonian National Curriculum emphasizes developing historical consciousness. This matches what Estonian researchers like Mare Oja (2017) have found: students learn better when they are active and have to evaluate different perspectives on complex social processes.

We also looked at how technology and storytelling fit into this. Modern reports on Game-Based Learning (GBL), such as those by Marc Prensky (2023), show that when we create our own historical narratives instead of just reading a textbook, we process information much more deeply. This kind of narrative immersion acts like a cognitive laboratory for us. By identifying points of divergence the exact moments where history could have changed we have to use high-level critical thinking to separate historical facts from fiction and analyze cause-and-effect relationships.

Furthermore, these activities are great for developing social skills and empathy. Since Estonia has a very complex 20th-century history, imagining alternative outcomes helps us practice multi-perspectivity. By stepping into the shoes of different historical figures, we improve our empathy and conflict-resolution skills. At the same time, working in teams to build a consistent alternative world requires constant negotiation and collaborative problem-solving, which are key skills for the future.

Our project is backed by both local and international sources. We rely on national references like the University of Tartu’s research on digital literacies and the national curriculum, as well as international frameworks like the OECD Learning Framework 2030. These documents all highlight how narrative learning and critical analysis are essential for building the „transformative competencies“ that students need in today’s world.

National

Estonian National Curriculum for Upper Secondary Schools (History and Social Studies).

Oja, M. (2017). Changes in History Teaching in Estonia. A study on how interactive methods improve student engagement.

University of Tartu (UT) research on Digital Literacies: Exploring how narrative tools influence youth civic identity.

International

 Ferguson, N. (2011). Virtual History: Alternatives and Counterfactuals. The foundational text on the validity of „what if“ scenarios in academia.

Alvstad, E., & Öhman, J. (2023). Narrative Learning in History Education. Focused on how storytelling shapes historical understanding.

 OECD Learning Framework 2030: Highlighting the importance of „transformative competencies“ like critical thinking and empathy.

In our project, we believe that learning social skills is a key way to promote inclusion and diversity. In the Estonian classroom, where students often come from different cultural backgrounds, alternative history provides a „neutral ground“ for dialogue. Because we are discussing „what if“ scenarios rather than just memorizing fixed facts, there is no single „correct“ perspective. This allows every student, regardless of their origin or language level, to contribute their own ideas to the team. By working together to build a new version of the past, students learn to respect different viewpoints and practice empathy, which are essential social skills for a diverse society.

We also see that narrative approaches are especially relevant for disadvantaged learners. In many cases, students who struggle with traditional history lessons like memorizing dates or writing long essays feel disconnected from the subject. However, when history becomes a creative story where they have the power to change things, their motivation increases. This „narrative freedom“ gives them a sense of agency. Instead of being judged only on their academic writing, they can show their intelligence through logic, problem-solving, and creative thinking. This shifts the focus from what they can’t do to what they can create, making the learning process much more fair and empowering.

Finally, we prioritize accessibility by making our methods flexible and varied. We know that every student learns differently, so we use a variety of tools that go beyond just reading and writing. In Estonia, we have great digital resources that allow us to use visual timelines, interactive maps, and oral debates. By using these different formats, we make sure that the project is accessible to everyone including those who prefer visual information or those who learn better through speaking and movement. This „universal“ way of teaching ensures that no one is left out just because they have a different learning style or specific educational needs.

Key insights relevant to the project: The most important insight is that history shouldn’t be a passive subject. In Estonia, we have the digital tools and a flexible curriculum, but we need a better way to connect academic facts with social skills. Our project, Reframe the Story, shows that „what if“ scenarios are not just for fun—they are „cognitive laboratories.“ They help students understand that the past was shaped by choices, which means the future is also in our hands. Another key point is that narrative learning creates a „neutral ground“ where students from different backgrounds can talk about difficult history without feeling attacked.

Opportunities: Estonia is a „Digital Republic,“ so we have a huge opportunity to use technology (like Minecraft, Canva, or AI) to make history interactive. Teachers also have the freedom to try new methods, which is a big advantage.

Risks: The biggest risk is the heavy focus on academic results and exams. Teachers might feel they don’t have enough time for „imaginary“ history when they have to cover the official syllabus. There is also a risk that without proper guidance, alternative history could be confused with „fake news“ or propaganda, so we must be very careful with how we teach it.

Collaborative „Divergence“ Tasks: Students should work in teams to find the exact moment history changed. This builds negotiation skills.

Digital Integration: Use existing Estonian digital resources to visualize alternative outcomes (e.g., interactive maps).

Reflective Discussion: Every uchronia exercise should end with a „real-world“ link asking students how the choices they made in the story relate to social issues today.