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Please find ISHD’s President’s letter here.

History Education and the Truth Problem by Terry Haydn

“With misinformation and distorted versions of the past gaining dangerous traction worldwide, it is crucial that students and adults can discern between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ history and make accurate and well-founded judgements on contemporary issues and problems. This timely book explores the concept of truth in the discipline of history and argues that history education must evolve to combat the post-truth crisis.

The book examines how recent changes in society and in technology have had a disruptive influence on both the writing of history and on its consumption and use and the consequences of this for the health and vitality of societies worldwide. It considers how history education might address the truth problem more effectively, so students understand how knowledge is constructed, questioned and deployed and can make intelligent and rational decisions about what to believe both about the past and the present.”

Source: (https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781003092940/history-education-truth-problem-terry-haydn)

History Education Dissertation Prize awarded to Marjolein Wilke (KU Leuven)

During the EuroClio annual conference in Brussels, the History Education Dissertation Prize was awarded for the first time. The prize is an initiative of EuroClio in collaboration with the International Society of History Didactics (ISHD), the Centre for Historical Culture at Erasmus University Rotterdam, the History Educators International Research Network (HEIRNET) and International Research Association for History and Social Science Education (IRAHSSE). It is awarded to doctoral thesis that in the view of history educators has the most practical use to them. The final decision was made by registered participants of the EuroClio conference who voted on the animations based on three dissertations shortlisted by the jury: Robbert-Jan Adriaansen (Erasmus University), Denise Bentrovato (IRAHSSE), Tim Huijgen (HEIRNET) and Joanna Wojdon (ISHD):

Marjolein Wilke, Historical Thinking in Upper Secondary Education – Three integrated studies on historical (teacher beliefs, a designed teaching unit, and a randomised trial) delivering both scholarly rigorous evidence and immediately usable classroom materials. The jury praised its impressive scope and its direct practical contribution. A striking finding: historical thinking gains did not automatically transfer to democratic citizenship, contrasting widespread assumptions in the field.

Photo by Mirela Redič

Brent Geerts, Negotiating Colonial HeritageHow do you design history education around collections built to glorify colonialism? – Working with two Belgian museums, Geerts combines interviews, performance tasks, and a five-month professional learning community, working with teachers and museum guides rather than just studying them. The jury valued its cross-profile comparisons and rare attention to school-museum cooperation.

Sara Karn, Historical Empathy in Canadian History Education – Historical empathy has been theorised internationally for decades yet remained absent from Canadian curriculum and research. Through interviews with researchers and teachers, Karn maps how empathy is taken up in classrooms without official support. The jury recognised a timely contribution, especially its distinction between the “historical” and “personal” dimensions of affect.

See a document on teaching regional history, initiated by The Euroclio, in the Council of Europe’s Congress of Local and Regional Authorities. 50th SESSION. Report: CPR(2026)50-01prov. 4 March 2026. Title: Squeezed out? Bringing regional history teaching to the fore. Peter Drenth as a Repporteur.

Prof. Angelos Palikidis: “Worth to say that it is the first official document of the Council of Europe, approved by all member states and stakeholders, that highlights the value of regional history in educating young people to develop historical competences and become democratic citizens and active members in contemporary diverse societies. My wish is to make as much as possible use of it in your countries by encouraging teachers to develop regional history projects and by pressuring local and regional authorities to support such initiatives, as well as to shape the ground for transregional – transnational cooperation. Special thanks to Steven Stegers and EUROCLIO. Without their support in Bratislava, probably this effort wouldn’t be successfully completed.”

See the full Document here.