The Japanese occupation of Malaysia during the Second World War has occupied a significant space in national history textbooks in Malaysia. The period has been associated with nationalist movements and independence from colonial rule. However, narratives of the Japanese occupation in school history textbooks have changed in terms of the importance…

The international situation of history didactics as an academic discipline is characterized by the fact that many basic disciplinary concepts often differ considerably: The same or similar terms denote different concepts or vice versa comparable concepts not only have various names but also hold different positions in the respective disciplinary…

History textbooks are less likely to be complete renderings of the truth than a series of stories textbook authors (and the many stakeholders who influence them) consider beneficial. Sam Wineburg describes how the process of writing history textbooks often leads to sanitized and inaccurate versions of history. As an example, he describes how the…

The heightened resonance of identity-driven politics in many states across twenty first century Europe emphasizes the critical role of history in shaping public contestation of the idea of the nation, and accordant manifestations of nationalism and national identity. How the past is interpreted or what and how is remembered has proven increasingly…

In this article, the author describes three inquiry activities based on a children's book set in the Philippines during World War II. In many U.S. history and modern world history curricula and textbooks, events in the Philippines (and more generally in the Pacific theater) during World War II are not covered well. Because these events cannot be…

The tremendous impact of comics to young people at the beginning and the middle of the twentieth century drew the attention of educators, thus the debate concerning the use of comics at school began very early. Some studies revealed that Greek pupils think of History as an extremely boring lesson, full of names and dates. Therefore, there is a…

In recent years, disciplinary literacy has offered a promising approach to history instruction in K-12 schools. Disciplinary literacy in history (hereafter, "historical literacy") entails approaching texts with an awareness of the interpretive nature of the field, reading and analyzing a variety of primary and secondary sources in…

Decades of curriculum research have uncovered a persistent trend: white people are depicted as dominating the history of the United States, whereas communities of color and their experiences are omitted or misrepresented in social studies textbooks and curriculum standards. The message the resulting curriculum sends to children is that the United…

History textbooks in contemporary democracies have often been exposed to censorship and other forms of interference. This article presents the idea of a classification of these forms as a novel way to contemplate the ambivalent relationship between democratic authority and historical instruction. The model primarily distinguishes official forms of…

World history curriculum continues to be plagued by Eurocentric narratives and perspectives eliminating local and community agency in Caribbean history. Textbooks and curriculum standards exclude much of Caribbean history and marginalize the influence and contributions of the African Diaspora. Oftentimes, Caribbean achievements are attributed to…

This conceptual article uses new materialism, and its particular focus on material things, as a lens of analysis in social studies education in order to demonstrate alternative ways in which social studies education researchers and teachers might engage in inquiry. Historically, social studies curriculum and teaching have centered human agency and…

The emergence of the Times Up and the #MeToo movements has sparked a conversation in the United States uncovering the grim realities that many women face. As the focus on gender equity and power dynamics between men and women continue to garner national attention, the authors of this article were curious to see if this progress manifested itself…

The purpose of this article is to introduce text sets of picture books that address 10 ancient civilizations commonly taught in middle school and also offer instructional strategies that could be used for critical and multicultural literacy exploration. Beginning with discussion of the importance of picture books and text sets in the middle school…

Like many history teachers, Brent Ruswick struggles for ways to lessen his dependence on textbooks while also teaching students to read their textbook with the critical eye of a historian. It is a struggle he has come to appreciate more keenly as, in addition to teaching the standard college-level introductory history courses, he also teaches the…

In this article we identify opportunities for students to use timelines and textbooks to meet standards. Through the use of timelines, textbooks, and selected activities, upper elementary and middle school students are able to (1) be engaged in content area reading and writings; (2) understand large themes in social studies including time,…