Introduction a multifaceted and flourishing field

Abstract

The history of education is a venerable and multifaceted field of research and writing, dating from the nineteenth century as subject taught in many countries. Initially a central component of teacher education, it grew into a vibrant branch of social and institutional history after the 1960s. Like other fields, it was influenced by social movements of the latter twentieth century and continues to exhibit a concern for questions of inequity and discrimination. It has been influenced by social science theory and research, particularly the work of sociologists and economists, and reflects a variety of methodological and evidentiary traditions. While historians of education have focused largely on events at the national and local scale, they also have longstanding interests in comparative and international research. Historians continue to find new facets of the educational past to examine, insuring that the field will remain lively and compelling for the foreseeable future.