Women in Canadian History Education Guide
This guide complements provincial and territorial curricula in middle and high school history and social science classes. The historical thinking framework developed by Dr. Peter S eixas and the Historical Thinking Project has inspired classroom activities to promote research and analysis, engage critical thinking, promote communication skills, and explore ethical questions.
Women have played a crucialroleinthe story of the past and how it shapes the present, but o fficial histories often overlooked women's contributions. Until recently, history textbooks were usually written by and about men. Those accounts tended to minimize the place of women and girls in the national narrative, instead focusing on men’s public roles, particularly in wars and politics. Family histories were more inclusive, presenting women’s diverse roles. Today, historians are starting to recover the complicated reality in which both women and men have shaped human history. Women’s history seeks to write women back into the parts of the narrative from which they have been omitted, with the goal of telling a more complete story. Women and girls were(and are) agents of change, and ignoring their role leaves history biased, incomplete, and misleading.