This article asks historians of education to think about the influences that we bring to bear on our work. It uses, as an example, Carolyn Steedman's book "The Tidy House: Little Girls Writing" (1982). "The Tidy House" set out to interpret a short story written by three primary school girls in Britain in 1976. Steedman…

This article analyses the manner in which the physical and sexual energy of the white, native South American and black populations was represented in reading books for elementary school children in Spain and Colombia between 1900 and 1960. Ninety reading books from representative authors were examined. It was found that the ideal of extraordinary…

Focusing on British graduates from Gipsy Hill Training College (GHTC) in London, this article illustrates transnational history's concerns with the reciprocal flows of people and ideas within and beyond the British Empire. GHTC's progressive curriculum and culture positioned women teachers as agents of change, and the article highlights the lives…

This paper is an examination of the history of Scottish religious education (RE). Focusing on 1962-1992, it distinguishes the temporal processes that unfolded during this period to identify the circumstances that led to a serious case of neglect of the subject, especially in the non-denominational sector. Next, it highlights the less emphasised…

In recent decades, the history of childhood and history of education have gained status as political concerns through the establishment of numerous truth commissions and inquiries into historical institutional child abuse. This article discusses the methodological and ethical dilemmas that arise when writing the history of abused children with the…

In 1924 the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace published a volume investigating the teaching of school history in former belligerent states in Europe. The project sought to reconcile former enemies through mutual understanding and educational exchange and reflected a widely held belief that although the military conflict had finished, its…

A challenge for historians of education is to explain the ways in which the development of education has been a gendered process. The literature tends to focus on primary and secondary schools; the role played by religious orders; the experiences of female teachers; ideological influences on curriculum; and the preparation of young girls for their…

By analysing teachers' journals in Luxembourg from 1892 to 1939, this paper argues that the teaching press played an active role in the promotion of Luxembourg's forthcoming cultural identification. Set amid the growing importance of their professionalisation and self-understanding, teachers became recognised as an essential force for the national…

Narrowing the focus of existing research on academics' and historians' use of digital technologies and social media, this paper considers historians of education and their use of online platforms. It combines a small-scale survey of the self-reflections of historians of education together with personal reflections gained from building the social…

Treading in the footsteps of past generations, Ontario policy advisers journeyed throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1966 to directly understand the educational reforms that were being undertaken in that country. On their return, these consultants brought back a number of innovations for discussion with their parent committee in the…

This article examines petitions submitted to the Egyptian state by students and parents over the span of a century. These sources reveal that Egyptians from across the economic spectrum were shifting their construction of schooling in response to changing political and educational policies and evolving conceptions of educational need. Over the…

Despite the prohibition on punishment in the form of emotional, psychological and physical abuse under the Fascist school regulations, it was common--particularly in Italian rural classrooms--for the purpose of managing and disciplining students. Sticks, "chickpeas" or "donkey desks" represent just a few examples of the methods…

The history of Scandinavian social welfare services is a well-established field of research. Numerous studies have examined the principles and consequences of poor laws and criminal legislation with respect to various social groups, the emergence of child-rescue institutions and their activities. The socio-political function of education…

The History Workshop movement took its stance on the democratisation of history making, becoming notorious for its exuberant gatherings and impassioned "histories from below". At the centre of the early Workshop was the British historian Raphael Samuel, who has been described as the personification of its intellectual and ethical…

In 1924, John Dewey travelled to Turkey to make recommendations on the Turkish educational system. According to many existing accounts, Dewey brought a sorely needed progressive educational perspective to a nation emerging from centuries of despair. On the whole, these accounts dismiss the Ottoman legacy and overlook how Dewey's historical…