Documenting the reception of the pre-eminent Austrian school reformer Johann Ignaz Felbiger and his pedagogical thought in European histories of education in the nineteenth century, this volume demonstrates how national and religious ideological preferences have propelled the construction of fundamental biases in educational historiography. Covering more than 200 years and multiple national contexts, this book’s case studies of France and Switzerland, as well as close analysis of historical documents and textbooks, reveal how a canon of glorified historical "heroes" have been promoted over and above other educational actors, with the aim of morally instructing future teachers according to national and religious values. Based on a strong array of historical sources, the author demonstrates how biased educational historiographies are utilized in gaining support for certain pedagogical and curricula models. Through the deep examination of textbooks used in teacher training and the explication of the work and actual influence of Felbiger’s method in Catholic parts of Europe, this book captures how these narratives impact our understanding of early national histories. Offering new knowledge in the history of curriculum studies, this volume will be of interest to scholars and researchers with an interest in the history of education, as well as comparative teacher education.

This book urgently confronts systems of privilege and oppression within education, and combines concepts including bifocality, currere, and conscientização to highlight the role of dialogical and autobiographical reflection in dismantling neoliberal and colonial logics at the level of theory, policy, and practice. The author purposefully connects methods and concepts from curriculum, social studies and the arts, and offers insights into identity formation, social position, and social transformation. As such, Jales Coutinho presents an opportunity for curricularists to evaluate the connections between their lives and their work within and across mutually-constitutive discursive and material contexts, and critically analyze their agency, their relational encounters, and their position as changemakers within unjust social realities. Focusing on the intersection of curriculum theory with educational policy and leadership, the text calls for a mutual "becoming conscious" to illustrate how this can affect a paradigmatic shift toward social justice education, lived curriculum, and emancipatory pedagogy. With the potential to expand and set the tone for a long-standing curriculum conversation for curriculum theorists, educational leaders and policymakers concerning the contours and dimensions of our work in schools, research institutions, and policy circles, it crucially asks: what does it mean to engage in the complicated conversation of curriculum work in a post-reconceptualist era?

Contributing to interdisciplinary discussions on nationalism, the book explores how educational systems and practices contribute to the phenomena of nationalism and nation-building. Using nine comparative case studies from four continents, the book elaborates a theoretical understanding of nationalism from the perspectives of comparative education research. It integrates the theme of nation, nation-building and nationalism and its involvement with issues of education. It explores the theoretical scope of concepts such as national identities, national literacies, or "doing" nation. The book revives the idea that nation should be the starting point of comparative research and contributes to the theoretically reflective integration of nationalism research into education research. This timely book will be highly relevant for researchers, academics, and postgraduate students in the fields of comparative education, international education, education policy, and curriculum studies.

Globalisation and Historiography of National Leaders: Symbolic Representations in School Textbooks, the 18th book in the 24-volume book series Globalisation, Comparative Education and Policy Research, explores the interrelationship between ideology, national identity, national history and historical heroes, setting it in a global context. Based on this focus, the chapters represent hand-picked scholarly research on major discourses in the field of history textbooks and symbolic representations of national heroes, and draw upon recent studies in the areas of globalisation, history textbooks, and national leaders.A number of researchers have written on the importance of teaching national history in order to foster national identity and a sense of belonging to a certain society, state, and people among the younger generation. Some nations prefer to create national heroes out of their political leaders who are still in power, and whose lives and reputation are portrayed as being eminently spotless. Using diverse comparative education paradigms from critical theory, social semiotics, and historical-comparative research, the authors analyse the unpacking of the ideological agenda hidden behind the choice and lionization (or silencing) of the preferred national heroes. They provide an informed critique of various historical narratives depicting national leaders and national heroes.The book provides an easily accessible, practical yet scholarly source of information on international concerns in the field of globalisation, history education and policy research. Offering an essential sourcebook of ideas for researchers, history educators, practitioners and policymakers in the fields of globalisation and history education, it also provides a timely overview of current changes in politically correct history education narratives in history textbooks.

This book engages readers in thirteen conversations presented by authors from around the world regarding the role that textbooks play in helping readers imagine membership in the nation. Authors’ voices come from a variety of contexts – some historical, some contemporary, some providing analyses over time. But they all consider the changing portrayal of diversity, belonging and exclusion in multiethnic and diverse societies where silenced, invisible, marginalized members have struggled to make their voices heard and to have their identities incorporated into the national narrative. The authors discuss portrayals of past exclusions around religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, as they look at the shifting boundaries of insider and outsider. This book is thus about “who we are” not only demographically, but also in terms of the past, especially how and whether we teach discredited pasts through textbooks. The concluding chapters provides ways forward in thinking about what can be done to promote curricula that are more inclusive, critical and positively bonding, in increasingly larger and more inclusive contexts.

The study of modern Chinese history has developed rapidly in recent decades and has seen increased exploration of new topics and innovative approaches. Resulting from a special issue of Modern Chinese History Studies, this set is devoted to showcasing the healthy development of Chinese modern history studies, and has already been revised twice in the original language. This three-volume set exhibits major achievements on the study of modern Chinese history and shows how the role of history was in debate, transformation, and re-evaluation throughout this tortuous yet prosperous period. Articles on 23 different topics are collected from over 30 prominent historians in order to represent their insights on the developmental paths of Chinese historical studies. Drawing on a large number of case studies of critical historical events that contribute to the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, this set offers a panoramic view on the studies of modern Chinese history. In addition, it incorporates more pioneering topics such as intellectual history, cultural history, and translations of overseas studies on contemporary Chinese history. This book will be a valuable reference for scholars and students of Chinese history.