Inaugural lecture Johannes Westberg: Theory and History of Education

Why and in which ways have European education systems emerged? These questions are central to Johannes Westberg's research. On June 2, he will talk more about it during his inaugural lecture at the Academy Building.

According to Johannes Westberg, if we want to better understand the current situation in education, we cannot avoid looking at the past. Whether it is about learning outcomes, student well-being or teaching methods, the past can help us do better in the future. "Historical research provides us with important information about both our recent and more distant past. This can help us combat both unintended misunderstandings and intentional lies about our education history."

Educational Expansion

On June 2, Westberg will talk more about his research during his inaugural lecture titled ‘Why history matters in educational research: reflections from the intersection of the social sciences and the humanities’. Using examples from his own research, such as that of 19th century classroom practices, the harassment of early 20th century female teachers and marketization processes in 21th century early childhood education, he will discuss the relevance of historical research today.

Future

In the coming years, Westberg hopes to make the research field of ‘theory and history of education’ more popular in the Netherlands. "Compared to other European countries, history of education is a relatively small research field in the Netherlands. With my experience in promoting this field in Scandinavia, through networks, workshops, conferences, and a couple of sizable research grants, I will continue to promote historical research in education here as well. The work we do in both our research unit Education in Culture and the Dutch Expertise Center in Theory and History of Education and Psychology will play a key role in this."

More information

• Registration
• Livestream inaugural lecture

• Research unit Education in Culture