Problem setting . Questions of historical consciousness, historical memory, patterns of historical knowledge, and trends in the evolution of historical knowledge are constantly in the focus of philosophical research. In the spiritual world of modern youth, historical consciousness is a set of ideas, views, attitudes that allow to accept and appreciate the past in all its diversity. Historical consciousness covers events of different significance and importance is formed not only systematically (through the education system), but also disordered (through the media, fiction. Recent research and publications analysis. Historical consciousness and features of its formation have been the subject of research by such famous scientists as M. Weber, K. Popper, B. Russell, P. Sorokin, O. Spengler, K. Jaspers, M. Hrushevskyi, D. Dontsov and others. Scientists have considered various aspects of the formation of historical consciousness and historical memory. Some aspects of the formation of historical consciousness in the practices of national education in Ukraine are considered in the studies of such scholars as М . Boychenko, V. Vashkevych, А. Zemlianskyi, O. Stasevs’ka, M. Kultayeva, M. Kozlovets and others. Paper objective. The purpose of the article is a philosophical analysis and clarification of the main aspects of historical consciousness in the practices of national education . Paper main body. Historical consciousness in a broad sense should be considered as a specific form of social consciousness that realizes the connection of historical epochs, continuity in the historical process, which provides the relay race of generations. Historical memory is an integral element of historical consciousness (which conceptualizes the relationship of past, present and future) and at the same time it is one of its sources (along with official state concepts, scientific theories, historical mythology, religious teachings, works of literature and art). The main characteristics of historical memory include its social determinism, basicity in the formation of individual and social consciousness, through which it directly affects the social consciousness. Accordingly, it performs the following functions: information (accumulation and transmission of socially significant information); identification (identification of a society or its individual member with a certain historical and cultural community); organizational (structuring society in time); worldview (theoretical understanding of social experience); value-oriented (identification and translation of value meanings, definition of values). Conclusions of the research. Thus, historical consciousness in a broad sense should be considered as a specific form of social consciousness that realizes the connection of historical epochs, continuity in the historical process, which provides the baton of generations. Historical memory is an integral part of historical consciousness and at the same time it is one of its sources. One of the main characteristics of historical memory is its social determinism. Accordingly, it performs the following functions: information; identification; organizational; worldview; value-oriented. Considerable attention is paid to the formation of the historical consciousness of higher education seekers in the national education systems of developed countries, in particular in the United States.