Teaching about economic crises in history lessons helps develop students' critical thinking skills, resilience and understanding of democracy is a core finding of the "Economic crises in history teaching" report by the Council of Europe Observatory on History Teaching in Europe. This conclusion is based on analyses how 17 countries address economic crises in school curricula, textbooks and classrooms.
Highlights of the report
This second thematic report explores how students learn about the causes and consequences of events from ancient times, through the Great Depression to the 2008 global financial crisis - and how these lessons contribute to civic education and voter empowerment.
The report showed that economic crises are part of national history curricula in all 17 countries studied, while in 16 they are a compulsory topic. The Great Depression remains the most widely taught example, often serving as a gateway to discuss social inequality, political instability and democratic responses.
Teachers report that the topic helps students connect economics, politics and society, fostering analytical and critical-thinking skills. However, more interdisciplinary approaches and adequate educational resources to explore the human and social impact of crises are needed.
The report highlights how learning about past crises helps students resist scapegoating narratives and extremism and prepares them to more acutely evaluate today's economic and political situation.
A tool for democratic security
The report underlines that teaching economic crises through history promotes essential competences defined in the Council of Europe's Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture - including empathy, openness to others, cooperation, and tolerance of ambiguity.
"At this moment of increasing inequality, social division and polarisation, the focus of this year's conference on economic crises is very timely, and I welcome the Observatory's comprehensive thematic report on the subject," said Deputy Secretary General Bjørn Berge , of the Council of Europe. "Crises in public finances and national currencies, and rising inflation have caused economic instability in numerous European countries. This has been closely linked to rising social inequality, xenophobia and the questioning of our political institutions' ability to deliver what people expect and hope for. This report also clearly demonstrates that learning history contributes to young people's ability to appreciate complexity and resist the lure of simple narratives."
This very much aligns with the Council of Europe's consultation process towards a New Democratic Pact for Europe, which is the organisation's collective response with partners to the frustration caused by democratic backsliding, disinformation and authoritarianism. Promoting such better critical thinking in the political sphere, among other creative solutions, is important for helping reinforce the foundations of democracy, promoting democratic engagement and bolstering democratic security.
Presentation of the report
The report will be presented during "History at all costs?": the Observatory's fifth annual conference on 17 October at its plenary session. The report's findings will be discussed with an audience composed of politicians, academics and a large number of students from across Europe. The aim is an open exchange on how history education can better prepare young people to face contemporary challenges.
The Observatory on History Teaching in Europe is an Enlarged Partial Agreement of the Council of Europe*, established in 2020. It promotes quality history education as a foundation for democratic culture. This is the Observatory's second thematic report, following its 2023 study on "Pandemics and natural disasters in history teaching."
* Observatory's member states (19): Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Cyprus, France, Georgia, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Portugal, North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Türkiye, Ukraine. Observer states (1): Republic of Moldova.
Watch the the Observatory's video on its key findings
