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History conveys a sense of national identity and values. For this reason, history teaching is more contested than other school subjects; it is a topic for public debate and political scrutiny. History teaching has been a concern of the Council of Europe for over seven decades. 

This report examines the changing nature of the Council’s work in this area and considers the impact it has upon classroom practice. We show how the European Dimension in History Teaching has moved beyond its initial concern with maintaining objectivity and eliminating prejudice to become a far more political promotion of values that transcend and often implicitly criticise nations and borders.