Multiperspectivity in remembrance and history education for democratic citizenship
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly
debate on 29 January 2025 (5th sitting) (see Doc. 16090, report of the Committee on Culture, Science, Education
and Media, rapporteur: Ms Luz Martinez Seijo). Text adopted by the Assembly on
29 January 2025 (5th sitting).See also Recommendation 2290 (2025).
1. The importance of history teaching
was affirmed at the Summits of Heads of State and Government of the
Council of Europe in 1993, 1997 and 2005, and its relevance for
democratic citizenship and stability is well captured in the motto
of the Observatory on History Teaching in Europe: “Teaching history,
grounding democracy”. Well-designed history education is essential
for gaining a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the past,
and applying it to evaluate the present with a critical eye, as
it develops the capacity to differentiate between facts, memories,
interpretations and perspectives, and to detect and analyse distortion and
propaganda.
2. At a time when historical narratives are increasingly distorted
to justify aggression – most notably in the context of the ongoing
war waged by the Russian Federation against Ukraine – the role of
critical, evidence-based history education in countering disinformation
has become vital. Referring to its
Resolution 2558 (2024) and
Recommendation 2280 (2024) “Countering
the erasure of cultural identity in war and peace”, the Parliamentary
Assembly emphasises the perils of politicising history and highlights
the power of history education to build resilience against the misuse
of narratives justifying aggression, human rights abuses and territorial
claims.
3. The Assembly holds that the inclusion of sensitive and controversial
topics of history in school curricula, the consideration of multiple
perspectives and the analysis of historical sources can play a role
in reinforcing democratic culture within a society and fostering
respect for different opinions, pluralism, tolerance and diversity.
Taking students out of the classroom to learn in
situ from historical places and sites of remembrance should
be part of this process. The Assembly firmly believes that history
education should be a key part of human rights education and a foundation
for young people to develop democratic citizenship.
4. However, delivering quality history education in schools can
be very challenging due to overloaded curricula, traditional teaching
practices and, in many instances, highly centralised education systems.
History teachers may struggle to address multiple, coexisting perspectives;
they may lack adequate training and even though they may have an
in-depth knowledge of their discipline, they often have limited
time to work on the overall historical context with students and
limited access to teaching and financial resources. Moreover, in many
countries, initial teacher training does not include the development
of competences required to deliver citizenship education.
5. The Assembly values the Reference Framework of Competences
for Democratic Culture created by the Council of Europe and welcomes
the political momentum provided by the 2023 Council of Europe Standing Conference
of Ministers of Education for the renewal of the civic mission of
education. The Council of Europe Education Strategy 2024-2030 “Learners
first – Education for today’s and tomorrow’s democratic societies” aims
to establish a European space for citizenship education to exchange
good practices and implement existing Council of Europe instruments
and tools.
6. Education systems must adapt to social changes and respond
to new demands with new curricula and interactive methodologies
– not only to meet emerging job requirements but also to respond
effectively to the growing diversity of societies. They must also
contribute to countering the erosion of democratic values, particularly
among young people in Europe. For these reasons, education for democratic
citizenship should be provided as a distinct compulsory subject,
be included in other relevant subjects, such as history teaching, during
all stages of formal education (primary, secondary and higher education),
and form a constituent part of vocational training and non-formal
education.
7. With all these considerations in mind, the Assembly calls
on member States of the Council of Europe to undertake a strategic
policy review aiming to incorporate the Council of Europe’s “Quality
history education in the 21st century – Principles and guidelines”
and the Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture
throughout their education policies, and in particular:
7.1 concerning curricula, to:
7.1.1 introduce education for democratic citizenship as a distinct
compulsory subject and incorporate competences for democratic culture
in other relevant subjects, such as history teaching, during all
stages of formal education;
7.1.2 provide for more flexibility of history curricula to enable
teachers to develop a learner-centred and competence-based approach
alongside chronological and knowledge-based teaching;
7.1.3 allow sufficient space and time to properly study the
complexities and implications of the history of the 19th and 20th
centuries, aiming to deepen students’ understanding of the challenges
of the present time, including as regards sensitive history and
remembrance;
7.1.4 include in history curricula the study of different forms
of totalitarian regime as well as other violent ideological movements
which have devastated Europe in the 20th and 21st centuries, as
serious violations of human rights that people in Europe have suffered,
with a particular focus on the ways in which distorted historical
interpretations can be deployed to justify acts of aggression in
the present day;
7.2 concerning methodologies, to:
7.2.1 stimulate
critical thinking through learning how to evaluate historical sources
and make well-informed judgments;
7.2.2 develop a human rights-based analysis of historical events,
multiperspectivity in history education and critical consideration
of different standpoints;
7.2.3 foster interactive pedagogies and co-operative learning
in small groups, acknowledging cultural differences and multiple
identities among learners in a class;
7.3 concerning measures to create a supportive and enabling
environment for teachers and learners, to:
7.3.1 include
the competences for democratic culture in teacher education and
vocational training, multiply teachers’ opportunities for professional
exchange and development, and provide a range of different teaching
resources and guidance – including the Council of Europe’s “Quality
history education in the 21st century” guiding principles – and
make them available in local languages;
7.3.2 guarantee free access to virtual learning environments
and open educational resources;
7.3.3 promote collaborative learning projects, for instance
to facilitate contacts between students and survivors of totalitarian
regimes and violent ideological movements, or victims of terrorist
groups, and transnational networking and co-operation in the field
of education for democratic culture and history teaching;
7.4 concerning synergies between formal and non-formal education,
to:
7.4.1 facilitate partnerships between schools, cultural
institutions and other relevant stakeholders, such as sites of remembrance,
museums, archives, civil society, artists and associations of victims
of terrorist groups, to co-create history lessons; this requires
time and financial resources for visits and joint projects, as well
as training and curricular support for teachers to prepare for the
wider historical context this will involve;
7.4.2 grant funding and autonomy to museums and remembrance
sites to develop as safe learning spaces for democracy, co-creating
educational projects based on thorough academic research, a human
rights-based analysis and multiple perspectives, aiming inter alia to foster intergenerational
dialogue within local communities and offer visitors fresh perspectives
and a more nuanced understanding of the past.
