European Association of History Educators

A Changing World, the Significance of Everyday life in the Learning and Teaching of History with Focus on the 20th Century

The 18th Annual EUROCLIO Professional Development Conference took place in Tallinn, Latvia, from the 14th till the 18th of March was hosted by Eesti Ajalooopetajate Selts , The Latvian History Teacher’s Association. The theme of the conference was ‘A Changing World, the Significance of Everyday life in the Learning and Teaching of History with Focus on the 20th Century’.  The aims were to discuss the challenges and problems related to the learning and teaching of History in Europe and to consider the implications for classroom practice. The choice for the history of everyday life has consequences for the learning and teaching of history. Which topics are appropriate for certain age-groups? Is this topic helpful when we look for cross-curricular approaches? How to develop an assessment system which does justice to the topic and enables pupils to improve their performances in knowledge, understanding and skills? In the conference the participants were requested to present examples of best practice from curricula, textbooks and personal experiences.
140 participants from 35 countries travelled to Tallinn to think about and discuss this topic. The programme included workshops with classroom material, lectures and discussion panels, but also several excursions to historical sites in and around Tallinn. The participants were enthusiastic about the organisation of the conference and the combination between lectures, workshops and excursions. The theme History of Everyday Life inspired many of the participants to introduce new approaches and topics in their education. It was amazing to discover how many problems in history education can be circumvented by approaching the problem from the perspective of Everyday Life.