Mapping the Field of Historical Foundations of Education

• In Event: Educational Foundations: A Book Symposium

Abstract

This volume examines history of education foundation courses as a dimension of teacher education. Like other foundations examined in this series, history of education has two disciplinary masters. Historians of education are beholden in their research to History and to Education. Thus the volume treats teacher education as a distinct field educational studies as well as history of education as the application of historical studies to education. While educational research has been characterized by Ellen Lagemann (2002) as an “elusive science,” history has a distinct presence beyond schools of education and teacher education, typically in Arts or Humanities Faculties.
Lagemann’s comprehensive historical work documented a story of decline for the historical foundations of education. She notes that at the start of the 20th century, historical subjects made up the majority of graduate theses in Education’s nascent period. The preeminence of historical research reflected a much more pervasive sense of the value of history within teacher education. The decline of history as a foundation has been documented elsewhere, although it remains an open question as to whether the foundations have been marginalized or have merely gone underground. While history of education courses may not exist in the same way they had in the past, historical questions are embedded within other courses populating the landscape of teacher education.
History of education courses are thus “reflecting from the margins” or–in light of educational history’s existence both in teacher education and within broader undergraduate study–seeking to “cross the street” by pleasing both teacher candidates and History department chairs. This speaks to a fundamental paradox in the scholarship on historical foundations: the more history of education addresses the practical concerns of future teachers in their practice, the less it often connects to the broader concerns of historians untethered to professional demands. The opposite is equally true. Instrumentalism is essential within teacher education, even as it is problematic outside of it.
Teaching of educational history courses has undergone significant change in the last fifteen years. The lecture hall and textbook persist, even as they remain in History courses across the globe, although the curricular turn towards historical thinking as an aim has led to diversification of the means and ends of these courses. Much of the leading empirical work focuses on pedagogy within the history of education courses, as national partnerships are emerging that seek to bridge the gap between History teachers, historians of education, and sites for history education including museums.
The future of educational history is bright, although it is for the worst of imaginable reasons. Across the globe, including Canada, where this is authored, we are confronting a history that challenges the one they learned; here the Indian Residential and Day Schools legacy has brought history of education to the forefront of national conversations. History of education holds the promise of supporting Reconciliation between Indigenous and Settler peoples, which requires a historically minded, but hopeful citizenry.

Author

• Theodore Michael Christou, Queen's University - Kingston