To what purpose? the ends and means of history education in the modern world

Much about the world has changed over the past few decades, and as technology opens the floodgates of information about our past, history educators find themselves with numerous opportunities to employ new purposes and methods for teaching history. Yet in many ways, the manner in which we teach and learn about the past has stubbornly resisted change as codified knowledge, power dynamics, and national interests collide with more critical approaches to teaching history. However, one thing that history educators in the United States can largely agree upon is the important role that history plays in developing informed democratic citizens. It is through that lens—the learner as informed citizen—that this chapter unpacks the various orientations toward history education that have influenced the teaching and learning of history over the past few decades. In doing so, we touch on the ontological and epistemological concerns facing history educators as well as how they are reflected in state standards for the social studies. The chapter concludes with a brief review of influential literature on civics and history education published within the past five years to ponder the path that history education might follow in the future.