Critical History: Adapting history education to the challenges of today's digitized, globalized, and diverse societies in Europe

In recent years, there have been significant societal changes influencing the teaching and learning of history. The onset of the internet age, the increased effects of globalisation and post-colonialism, and the blurring between heritage, public history, and history education have added complexity to teaching history in the classroom.

Teachers must therefore be up to the task of recognising biases and challenging assumptions, all while encouraging their students to critically reflect on what they see, read and hear. Current discussions on heritage, and what we as a society choose to remember, cherish or commemorate, does not only help students learn about the past, it also forces them to think about the present and the kind of society we wish to live in.

European classrooms have over time become increasingly diverse. Still, most curricula remain centred on traditional, nation-centric narratives that are neither equipped for, nor reflective of, this new diversity present across our continent.

The aim of this project is therefore to prepare future history teachers for a critical history education more attuned to the realities of 21st century societies. Through an updated critical history education, pupils across Europe will be provided the critical thinking skills required for active citizenship in democratic and pluralistic societies.