The Role of History in the Education of Teachers

Abstract

Paul Violas argues that if teachers are to understand the problems they face in professional practice — and make informed judgments about them — they must understand the historical context of schooling. Using two examples from European educational history, Violas shows how history can serve as a text for critically interpreting present-day relations between school and society in two ways: one in which history stands as an informative “substitute” for first-hand experience, and one in which history helps us understand how current conditions came to be. Violas believes such understandings are necessary if teachers are to understand the context and consequences of their own practice, and to think critically about the aims and methods of schooling.