New Possibilities for the Past

The place of history in school curricula has sparked heated debate in Canada. Is Canadian history dead? Who killed it? Should history be put in the service of nation? Can any history be truly inclusive?

New Possibilities for the Past advances the debate by shifting the focus from what should be included in a nation's history to how we should think about and teach the past. Museum educators, secondary school teachers, historians, and history educators document the state of history education research. They go on to consider the implications of the research for classrooms from kindergarten to graduate school and in other contexts such as museums, virtual environments, and public institutional settings. This book takes into consideration the perspectives of indigenous peoples, the citizens of Quebec, and advocates of citizenship education.

This volume sets a comprehensive research agenda for educators, policy-makers, and historians to help students learn about and, more importantly, understand the significance of the past.