This article considers how past and current research on the history of education has intersected with the histories of emotions, senses and experience. The article suggests that addressing these features and by drawing on approaches from a burgeoning field of research on the emotions and senses, as well as using methodologies from the 'new' history of experience, offers fresh possibilities for the writing and understanding of education in the past. Following a brief survey of current and past research, the article proceeds to highlight some of the possible directions where researchers might engage with the emotions, senses and experience more deeply to produce innovative and original research that would further expand the history of education.