Post by History Education at the Council of Europe

Teaching history is difficult - no doubt about that. History teachers often have to navigate conflicts, trauma, ideology and identity in real time. What happens to teachers’ own historical consciousness when their routines break down - when “the wheels come off”? 👇 📖 It's time for a brand new article by OHTE Scientific Advisory Council members. Robbert-Jan Adriaansen, EuroClio Endowed Professor of Historical Culture in Transition at the History Department of Ghent University (Belgium)  conducted interviews with 15 history educators from across Europe. In this article, he shows that the moments we call "critical incidents" - those unplanned disruptions that challenge values, beliefs and interpretative frameworks - are where teachers’ historical consciousness becomes most visible in practice. 📌 Key insight: Historical consciousness isn’t a background skill - it’s a lived, dynamic orientation teachers use to make sense of complex moments, negotiate meaning, and sustain democratic dialogue in the classroom.