A framework for critical emotional engagement in history education

The authors draw on critical feminist and sociocultural theories of emotions, research on the significance of emotions in history education, and existing approaches to teaching about emotions in school contexts to develop a framework for critical emotional engagement in history education. The Critical Emotional Engagement (CEE) framework presents opportunities for teachers to reflect on how they engage emotions in their classrooms, and to adjust their instructional planning and teaching to support students' understanding of emotions as powerful social practices that shape their understanding of the past and present. The CEE framework provides an approach for scaffolding students' engagement with emotions, guiding teachers to address emotions regularly in their instruction, not only when controversial or difficult issues are being addressed. The authors emphasize the importance of making explicit the emotional norms being taught through the history curriculum, fostering students' critical capacities to engage with and understand the sociocultural practices embedded in their learning.