ABSTRACT
The theory and philosophy of history have developed in different intellectual traditions that have also incubated different conceptual frameworks for teaching and learning history. History didactics is the field that deals with the teaching and learning of history in its varied educational settings, most typically the formalized setting of the school. Caught between the educational sciences and the discipline of history, its evolution is a story of mixed interests. This chapter examines the differentiated compromises that have been made in education between approaching history from a disciplinary standpoint and in response to the demands of contemporary education. It reveals the two intellectual traditions that have given rise to different theories, methods, and approaches to teaching and learning history, and in recent years provided the basis for increasing intercultural exchange and debate. With its roots in idealism, Bildung and Geisteswissenschaften, the German-led tradition of history didactics has carried forward the legacy of the discipline’s earliest and most committed theorists. By contrast, in countries where curriculum studies have provided the master framework for educational research, the development of history education as a specialized field has reflected the methods and habits of mind of developmental and educational psychologists. The challenge for history educators has been and remains a question of balancing competing priorities, of responding to the ever-changing needs of contemporary education while finding new ways to teach history in keeping with the discipline’s authorized norms, conventions, and principles.
