This article explores the use of turning points in history teaching. Historians describe instances of pivotal change as turning points. Identification of a turning point is a judgment of historical significance. The research demonstrates this by analysing an example from classical historiography. Inclusion of a turning point at the start of…

The concept of 'powerful knowledge' has become extremely influential in discussions about curriculum in England over the last ten years. However, the concept seems to have done little to revolutionise curriculum design, and in some cases it has led to curricular narrowing and a focus on an increasingly nationalistic narrative in history. Michael…

Artists have long addressed social injustices within popular music. As teachers consider how to deconstruct and teach the events of 2020 (and beyond) with an eye toward the future, we offer a novel pedagogical approach to incorporating music into the social studies classroom: the set-list. The set-list can be understood as containing temporal…

This book focuses on discourses of the politics of history education and history textbooks. It offers a new insight into understanding of the nexus between ideology, the state, and nation-building, as depicted in history education and school textbooks. It especially focuses on the interpretation of social and political change, significant events,…

Even before the global pandemic and record-breaking protests against racial injustice, Generation Alpha (born 2010-2024) were on track to be the most civically engaged group of students ever. They will be the most educated, the most digitally savvy, and the most diverse of any generation in history. They are learning from their savvy Generation Z…

A relatively new technology being used to deliver academic lessons is immersive virtual reality (IVR). This study examined whether IVR is a more effective instructional medium than other multimedia, such as a video on a computer monitor. Additionally, this study explored the underlying affective and cognitive mechanisms of learning in an immersive…

History teaching from early educational stages not only should assess the student's ability to memorise historical content, but also their ability to think historically. Traditional summative tests do not enable teachers to continuously monitor the progress of students. This study evaluates the effect in history learning of incorporating learning…

Ever since the 1970s, politicised debates have raged over the teaching of history, dubbed the 'history wars'. These debates continue to impact primary and secondary teachers' choices of history curriculum foci to this day. This research aimed to discover history teachers' understanding of how to develop diversity within their history curricula and…

Most of the history education research that addresses controversial issues suggests that disputes arising in the history classroom are rooted in students' diverse identities that relate differently to history. Therefore, a history education that wants to ease tensions must try both to make these different identities and their relations to history…

The politicization of history education relating to colonialism in former major colonial powers, like Britain and France, and former colonies has for obvious reasons received ample scholarly attention. But how is colonial history represented in educational materials aimed at primary school students in countries with a less evident connection to…

This article brings out ethical aspects arising in Plato's classical critique of narrative and imitative art in "The Republic," especially when it comes to reading stories about the past. Socrates's and Glaucon's most important suggestion, I argue, is to cultivate an ethical consciousness where one ought to see the distinctions between…

Increasingly, educators seek to teach and assess historical thinking. In the post-secondary environment, historical thinking skills are typically taught alongside historical fact, however there is a paucity of research on the relationship between historical thinking skills and knowledge of historical fact. The purpose of this study was to…

Teaching and learning are grounded on age-appropriate, credible curricular resources, which can be formal (i.e. textbooks) and informal (i.e. trade-books). As Charles Darwin's ideas galvanized biology and racism, this study examined his historical representation within trade-books (e.g. biography, narrative non-fiction, expository, etc.),…

Teachers unconsciously, and at times intentionally, use metaphors to graphically image new reform policy. This qualitative multiple case-study explores how secondary school teachers employed metaphors to communicate excitement and/or frustrations with a new history curriculum they were implementing in Zimbabwe. Findings from semi-structured…

This picture-type analysis of front covers of the German magazine "Der Spiegel" starts from the premise that the magazine's front covers convey history narratives that might play an important role in history education. Pupils can learn from them which history narratives dominate public discourse or cultural memory. The article provides a…