History

Education news, analysis, and opinion about how history is taught

Explainer

Who Decides What History We Teach? An Explainer
Education Week breaks down how politics has long been embedded in this decision, and how new laws may affect the process.
Illustration of chatbot artificial intelligence AI technology education concept isometric illustrations.
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Artificial Intelligence Can AI Make History Class More Fun for Students?
One elementary coach uses AI tools to help her students chat with historical figures.
Alyson Klein, July 1, 2025
4 min read
Bird flying up into sky behind a broken chain. Freedom concept, liberty and human rights allegory, career or business ambitions, dove spread wings. United States patriotism.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week + iStock/Getty Images
Social Studies Opinion Patriotic History Education Doesn’t Mean Ignoring Our Country’s Troubled Past
History educators must reevaluate how to teach the subject to empower students to sit with historical tensions.
Zachary Cote, June 27, 2025
5 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Curriculum Opinion This State Is Achieving Impressive Reading Gains. Why?
How content-rich curricula is fueling a rise in reading scores.
Rick Hess, May 22, 2025
7 min read
 Knowledge mechanism. Business people and connect gear mechanisms.
Liz Yap/Education Week and iStock/Getty
Social Studies What National Endowment for the Humanities Cuts Could Mean for Social Studies Teachers
The agency made grants for professional development and supported nationwide history education programs. Now these offerings may disappear.
Sarah Schwartz, April 9, 2025
9 min read
Hope Benner holds her daughter Liberty Benner, 6, as President Donald Trump speaks at a reception celebrating Women's History Month in the East Room of the White House, March 26, 2025, in Washington.
Hope Benner holds her daughter Liberty Benner, 6, as President Donald Trump speaks at a reception celebrating Women's History Month in the East Room of the White House, March 26, 2025, in Washington.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Teaching Schools Find New Ways to Celebrate Women’s History Month
March is Women’s History Month, a time dedicated to remembering the trailblazers who gave all women the right to vote and honoring women's many contributions to U.S. education, science, technology, policy, and more.
Jennifer Vilcarino, March 28, 2025
3 min read
Conceptual illustration of classroom conversations and fragmented education elements coming together to form a cohesive picture of a book of classroom knowledge.
Sonia Pulido for Education Week
Social Studies Opinion How to Empower Students Right Now, According to a Teacher
With social and political unrest, teachers must draw from the past to help students understand the world today.
Larry Ferlazzo, March 28, 2025
5 min read
A poster hangs on the walls of Brien McMahon High School during Black History Month in Norwalk, Conn.
A poster hangs on the walls of Brien McMahon High School during Black History Month in Norwalk, Conn.
Courtesy of LaShante James
Equity & Diversity Q&A How One School Leader Uses Music and More to Celebrate Black History
As Black History Month ends, a school leader in Norwalk, Conn., reflects on her varied approach to celebrating the month—and the significance of studying and learning from Black history.
Jennifer Vilcarino, February 28, 2025
4 min read
Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) greet Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Education, before her Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing, at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, on Feb. 13, 2025.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, greet Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be secretary of education, before her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Feb. 13, 2025.
Graeme Sloan for Education Week
Federal McMahon Declines to Say If Black History Classes Are Allowed Under Trump Order
The comment came during an exchange with Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., about Trump's executive order on "radical indoctrination."
Mark Lieberman, February 13, 2025
3 min read
A student raises their hand to ask a question before a group of assorted historical figures.
Camilla Sucre for Education Week
Social Studies Opinion Black History Month: A Time of Reflection and Celebration
Read all of Education Week Opinion’s Black history projects guest edited by educator LaGarrett J. King.
January 30, 2025
A hidden library of knowledge behind the curtain of a classroom.
Islenia Mil for Education Week
Social Studies Opinion Why We Need Black History Education: A Collection
This year’s special Education Week Opinion project offers perspectives and guidance from educators for improving Black history education.
January 30, 2025
Many hands build a pyramid of books.
Islenia Mil for Education Week
Social Studies Opinion What We Lose When We Only Teach ‘Respectable’ Black History
It’s tempting to overcompensate for the absence of Black history by teaching only perfect, pristine, and pure histories.
LaGarrett J. King , January 30, 2025
5 min read
A group of children walk across a book under protective hands.
Islenia Mil for Education Week
Social Studies Opinion What We Can All Learn From Black Women in Education
These eight extraordinary women in history have a lot to teach us today.
Dawnavyn M. James, January 30, 2025
5 min read
Student silhouettes walk past a locked library cabinet.
Islenia Mil for Education Week
Social Studies Opinion Can’t Teach AP African American Studies? Start a Club
My students wanted more Black history than our school curriculum offered. Here’s what we did.
Nick Kennedy, January 30, 2025
3 min read
A hidden library of knowledge behind the curtain of a classroom.
Islenia Mil for Education Week
Social Studies Opinion The Problem With Primary Sources in Black History Education
Do you know how to put Black history sources in context?
Abigail Henry, January 30, 2025
5 min read