This book aims to provide a comprehensive picture of history education in Canada by framing it with historical context, grounding  it in classroom practice, and presenting different contexts and problems in which it is considered. In the Introduction, Penney Clark places history education in Canada as a fallen discipline currently on the rise again, in addition to outlining the Historical Thinking Concepts as well as what is meant by history teachers, history educators, and historians. The book is divided into five parts, highlighting first the debates and differing perspectives on history education in Canada, and second, some different ways in which historical thinking is viewed. The third part discusses the role and presence of historical thinking in school classrooms, while the fourth part focuses on non-classroom contexts: online environments, museums, and public arenas. Finally, the book addresses some different perspectives on historical thinking and its relationship to citizenship, drawing out tensions, research findings, and future considerations.

Part 1, “History Education: Contested Terrain,” features four chapters. In chapter 1, Margaret Conrad presents Canadian views of the purpose of history and the study of history, those of the public as well as those of historians. Ken Osborne discusses in chapter 2 the factors that have influenced the provincial history curricula, pointing out two purposes, citizenship education and historical thinking, that have emerged and continue today. Chapter 3, by Jocelyn Létourneau, looks at the current, and contested, history and citizenship curriculum in Québec.  Michael Marker writes in chapter 4 that the aboriginal perspective on history education can be understood in terms of four themes, describing each of these and contrasting them with the Western perspectives that pervade curricula.

Orientations toward Historical Thinking” is Part 2, which features three chapters. In chapter 5, Stéphane Lévesque provides a detailed description of the historical thinking concepts, emphasizing the importance of students learning to think critically about history. In chapter 6, Peter Seixas explains how to assess for historical thinking, offering four parts of an approach that can be applied at different levels of understanding. Kent den Heyer argues in chapter 7 that the discipline-based approach to historical thinking fails to consider students’ subjective understandings of history, and suggests a new orientation to historical thinking centered on a more focal consideration of ethics.

Part 3, “Classroom Contexts for Historical Thinking,” has four chapters. In chapter 8,  Amy von Heyking reviews the research on historical thinking as well as detailing her own research in the field, recommending that students not be assessed solely by their age, that they be provided many opportunities to do history, and that using family histories can be an effective way to engage students in history. In chapter 9, Tom Morton argues that a sophisticated system of administration and cooperation, which takes into account the necessity of teacher cooperation, must be in place in order that the research on historical thinking translates to good practice. In chapter 10, Gerald Friesen discusses effective history education at the university level, advocating for two things: teachers must engage students’ imaginations in doing history, and they must also teach them that the concepts we use to do history are not static and eternal, but constantly being revised and changed. Chapter 11 also deals with history education at the university level, discussing faculties of history and faculties of education, where Ruth Sandwell suggests there is a disconnect between how historians do history and how teachers are taught to do history, that needs to be remedied if teachers are to teach history effectively.

Part 4, “Other Contexts for Historical Thinking,” has three chapters. Viviane Gosselin discusses in chapter 12 to what degree museums can engage the public in critical historical inquiry, suggesting a more reciprocal relationship in order to facilitate greater learning from exhibits. Chapter 13 is written by Kevin Kee and Nicki Darbyson, who present digital learning as a way that students who underachieve in other areas can use technology skills that they already possess to engage in historical inquiry. Peter Seixas and Penny Clark share in chapter 14 evidence of  high school students’ historical reasoning in the public sphere, stating that the students’ limited ability to understand the historical contexts of controversial events suggests a need for more opportunities for students to engage with public concerns.

The final section of the book is Part 5, “Perspectives on Historical Thinking.” In chapter 15, Carla Peck suggests that the research on students’ fluid, complex conceptions of ethnic identity indicates a need for teachers and researchers to acknowledge these in their approach to teaching and research, particularly in relation to students’ conceptions of historical significance. Marc-André Éthier and David Lefrançois address the Québec curriculum in chapter 16, analyzing the way it is taught and the supporting resources for teaching it, as well as addressing the implications for founding citizenship education in a historical context if examined uncritically. Finally, in chapter 17, Alan Sears discusses the relationship between historical thinking and citizenship education that Osborne raised in chapter 2, suggesting that the two are not at odds, but rather, support each other’s aims.