History is one of the few school subjects commonly mandated in education systems throughout the world. Furthermore, the use of history textbooks to support student learning is an almost universally accepted practice. However, the widespread international presence of the humble history textbook should not disguise its ideological and cultural potency. Indeed, essential to understanding the power and importance of history textbooks is to appreciate that in any given culture they typically exist as the keepers of ideas, values and knowledge. No matter how neutral history textbooks may appear, they are ideologically important, because they often seek to inject the youth with a shared set of values, national ethos and an incontrovertible sense of political orthodoxy. Textbooks stand as cultural artefacts that embody a range of issues associated with ideology, politics and values which in themselves function at a variety of different levels of power, status and influence. Embedded in history textbooks are narratives and stories that nation states choose to tell about themselves and their relations with other nations. Typically, they represent a core of cultural knowledge which future generations are expected both to assimilate and support.
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