Economic crises in history teaching - Thematic report by the Observatory on History Teaching in Europe 2025 #960040

How can history education equip students to understand and confront the economic crises of yesterday and tomorrow? Since the beginning of the 21st century, the economic consequences of the debt crises of 2007 and 2008, of the Covid-19 pandemic and of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine have continuously challenged the livelihood of many families in Europe and around the world. Understanding economic crises from a historical perspective enables students to better respond to present and future experiences of such crises. The mission of the Observatory on History Teaching in Europe (OHTE) is to provide a clear picture of the state of history teaching in its member states. This is done through OHTE general reports on the state of history teaching in Europe and OHTE thematic reports, which explore particular areas of interest and how they are treated in history lessons. The second thematic report of the OHTE investigates the extent and the ways in which learners are being prepared to understand and cope with such crises through history education in the public schooling systems of OHTE’s 17 member states. It combines curriculum and textbook analysis with an explorative study of teachers’ experiences and summarises its most significant conclusions into 10 key findings listed in the introductory chapter.