Addressing questions about representation, this book critically explores
the potential of different types of visual material to illuminate
historical studies. The contributions in this collection range from
explorations of picture schemes used in 19th century classrooms to
contemporary popular representations of schooling. Film and photographic
images are considered in specific contexts, presenting case studies
along with theoretical reflections about methods, values and the very
nature of historical studies. Images are examined in children's
literature, in the induction of history of education students, in the
recreation of past practices and in the promotion of government
policies. Visions of education are put alongside discussion of 'the
visual turn', its value to historians, its relations with questions
about the construction of knowledge and the archive. A range of
positions on the visual are represented in the collection. Without
presenting an orthodoxy the book aims to promote new awarenesses of this
important aspect of education history and the issues it raises.