Never the two shall meet? Connecting historical and democratic consciousness in Canadian K-12 history textbooks

This article explores the intersections of historical and democratic consciousness in education, drawing on data from a study of history textbooks in Canada. We conducted a holistic analysis of 18 history textbooks published between 1994 and 2021, authorised for use at the elementary/middle school or secondary level in each provincial jurisdiction within Canada. The findings demonstrate that while many textbooks make assumptions that knowing more about the past leads to the creation of better citizens, historical and democratic consciousness are not fully developed and are largely disconnected from one another. We also found significant differences in the presence and articulation of historical and democratic consciousness between the oldest and more recently published textbooks, with more recent textbooks engaging with history in ways that promote the development of both historical and democratic consciousness. If we are to support students in becoming historically informed civic leaders in the present and into the future, we argue that all history textbooks authorised for use in Canada must pay greater attention to the connections between historical and democratic consciousness.