Penney Clark

Professor

Office: Scarfe 1325

Phone: 604–822–3958

Research Interests
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Research Interests

  • Curriculum Studies Research
  • History Education and Historical Consciousness
  • History of Education
  • Pedagogy
  • Social Studies Education Research
  • The arts and history education
  • History of curriculum
  • Textbooks
  • History of educational publishing
Biography
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Biography

Dr. Penney Clark is Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy. Dr. Clark’s research interests centre on the production and provision of elementary-high school textbooks in historical contexts, the historical development of history and social studies curricula in Canada, and history teaching and learning. She has published widely in these areas. S) She has been awarded the Canadian History of Education Association Founders Prize (2012) (with co-authors Mona Gleason and Stephen Petrina) and again in 2022 (sole author). She has also been awarded the Canadian Association of Foundations in Education Publication Prize (2013) (with graduate student Wayne Knights). Her most recent major publication (with Alan Sears) is The Arts and the Teaching of History: Historical F(r)ictions (Palgrave MacMillan, 2020.)

She has served in multiple leadership roles in the department and beyond. Department roles include Deputy Head, Graduate Coordinator, Undergraduate Coordinator, and Social Studies Area Chair. Along with Dr. Mona Gleason, Dr. Clark completed a five-year term as co-editor of Historical Studies in Education/Revue d’histoire de l’éducation in 2020 and she currently serves on the Board of this journal. She served as President of the Canadian History of Education Association (CHEA) (2010-12), on the Council of the Bibliographical Society of Canada (2012-15) and is currently serving on the SSHRC Awards to Scholarly Publications (ASPP) Committee.

Dr. Clark is currently co-lead of the Curriculum and Resources cluster in the “Thinking Historically for Canada’s Future” project that was recently awarded a $2.5 million SSHRC Partnership Grant (2019-2026). This grant brings together various constituencies involved in history education including academic historians, history education scholars working in faculties of education, Indigenous scholars, graduate students and highly qualified personnel (HQP), museum educators, teachers, ministries of education, policy makers, and local, provincial and national history and heritage organizations to achieve the following goals and objectives:

  1. Map the terrain of history education in K–12;
  2. Ascertain to what extent history and social studies teaching helps students engage with the key issues or problems facing Canadian society today;
  3. Identify and develop evidenced-based practices in history teaching, learning, assessment, and resource development, and evaluate their efficacy in providing powerful and engaging learning experiences for students, particularly in terms of building trans-systemic understanding across knowledge systems;
  4. Cultivate communities of practice with pre and in-service teachers, that are grounded in theoretical and empirical research on history education pedagogy to promote engaged and critical historical thinking; and,
  5. Using findings that emerge from the research, make evidence-based policy recommendations for history curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment through proactive connections with ministries of education, faculties of education, museum educators, Indigenous organizations and stakeholders, publishers, other curriculum developers, and practicing teachers.

In 2008, Dr. Clark was awarded a $2.1 million Strategic Knowledge Cluster Grant from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The History Education Network/Histoire et Éducation en Réseau (THEN/HiER) (2008-2016) promotes the development and maintenance of a community of inquiry among the various constituencies involved in history education: academic historians; public historians in museums, archives and historic sites; practising teachers; researchers based in faculties of education; and curriculum policy makers. It aims to disseminate current Canadian and international research on history education out of the universities to broader communities of stakeholders; provide opportunities for engagement with, and critique of, this research, with the aim of bridging research and practice; and to promote new classroom research. This project collaboratively develops teacher resource materials and on-line museum-based activities for schools, as well as authentic approaches to assessment of students’ historical literacy. Co-Applicants: Margaret Conrad, Professor and CRC, University of New Brunswick; Kevin Kee, Associate Professor and CRC, Brock University; Jocelyn Létourneau, Professor and CRC, Laval; Stéphane Lévesque, Associate Professor, University of Ottawa; Ruth Sandwell, Associate Professor, OISE/UT; Peter Seixas, Professor and CRC, UBC; Amy von Heyking, Associate Professor, University of Lethbridge.

Dr. Clark serves on the following national and international editorial boards: International Advisory Board, Researching History Education, Wochenschau Verlag; Editorial Board, Historical Encounters, University of Newcastle, AU; Editorial Board, Historical Studies in Education/Revue d’histoire de l’éducation; Editorial Board, Scholarly Research and Communication; Editorial Board, Canadian Social Studies: Canada’s National Social Studies Journal.

In 2015, Dr. Clark received the Education’s 100 prize, an award given to 100 faculty alumni who were selected for their “dedication, impact and expertise as community leaders in their professional area.” Dr. Clark was the recipient of the Killam Teaching Prize in 2006 and the British Columbia Social Studies Teachers’ Association Innovator-0f-the-Year Award in 2008. She has taught in public schools in British Columbia and Alberta. She has taught both elementary and secondary social studies curriculum and instruction courses at the University of Alberta, Simon Fraser University, and the University of British Columbia. She worked as a social studies consultant for the Edmonton Public School District, where she developed a variety of materials for teacher use. She is co-author of three Canadian history textbooks and co-editor of Learning to Inquire in Social Studies: An Anthology for Elementary Teachers, 4th ed. (2021) and Learning to Inquire in History, Geography, and Social Studies: An Anthology for Secondary Teachers, 4th ed. (2020).

Presentations
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Conference Presentations

Invited Presentations

2024. Clark, P. Secondary school history in BC: A brief look at the state of things in 2024. Invited presentation to UBC Department of History, April 4 (in-person and virtual).

Debates in history education: Theoretical and empirical insights from a Canadian perspective. Paper presented at Teaching and learning history in the classroom. Some theoretical and empirical insights. Lucerne Institute for History Education and Memory Cultures (IGE), Lucerne, CH, February 22 (International).

2023. Clark, P., & Sears, A. Historical f(r)ictions: Negotiating the relationship between the arts and history. Presentation to the Institute of Education, University College, London, UK and international audience, June 13. (Virtual).

2022. Clark, P. One female academic’s journey through academia. Invited presentation to National Graduate Student Committee, Thinking Historically for Canada’s Future. SSHRC Partnership Project, April 20. (Virtual).

2015. Clark, P. SSHRC Connections Grant: Finding Franklin: New approaches to teaching Canadian history symposium, in panel, Lessons learned in the trenches: Funded research in the Social Sciences and Humanities. Invited by VP, Research and International Office, UBC, September 10.

History of Education. Coherence and a Common vision: The Mission of Educational Foundations in Canadian Teacher Education.
CAFE Plenary Session, Canadian Society for the Study of Education Conference, Ottawa, ON, May 31, 2015.

2014. With A. Sears. Historical frictions: History, art and pedagogy. Presentation at Remaking Confederation/Reimagining Canada, Association for Canadian Studies Conference, Charlottetown, PEI, November 22.

Keynote address. Clio in the Curriculum: Where Have We Been, Where Are We Now, and Where Do We Want to Go? Canadian History at the Crossroads Symposium. Canadian Museum of History/University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, September 19, 2014.

2013. How can we commemorate our past through a critical disciplinary history approach? Presentation to the Association for Canadian Studies Planning 150 Conference, The Canadian Museum of Civilization, Gatineau, QB, June 26.

2012 History of education and “passages to the future,” A Canadian approach to the foundations of education. Presentation to the Canadian Association for Foundations in Education, Canadian Society for the Study of Education Conference, Kitchener-Waterloo, ON, May 29.

Cliffs and chasms: History education in Canada. Video conference presentation to 100 students, Lakehead University, February 7.

2011. History or heritage: Which is it to be? Presentation to the Annual General Meeting, British Columbia Heritage Fairs Society, Vancouver, BC, October 22.

2010. What is the role of the British Columbia Historical Federation with respect to the history curriculum? Presentation to Advocacy Session, Annual General Meeting, British Columbia Historical Federation, Plaza 500 Hotel, Vancouver, BC, May 7.

The History Education Network/Histoire et éducation en réseau: Connections across constituencies. Association For Canadian Studies/Ontario History and Social Science Teachers’ Association Planning Conference, Lord Minto Suites, Ottawa, ON, March 26.

THEN/HiER: A major opportunity. Presentation to Benchmarks of Historical Thinking Project National Meeting: “A Big Step Forward: Historical Thinking in Provincial Curricula, Assessment and Professional Development,” Crowne Plaza Hotel, Toronto, ON, February 19.

2008 Using digital resources. User Panel. Presentation to “West Beyond the West: BC Digitization Symposium”, University of British Columbia Vancouver, BC, December 2. Summary of presentation is available at: http://symposium.westbeyondthewest.ca/programme.php.

Featured Speaker. The History Education Network/Histoire et Éducation en Réseau (THEN/HiER). Faculty of Education Donor Reception, Cecil Green House, May 14.

2007 Keynote address. Influences on history education in Canada: Past and present. National Forum on Canadian History. Canada’s National History Society, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, November 2.

2006 History education research in Canada: State of the art and future directions. The History Education Network Conference, Peter Wall Centre, UBC, Vancouver, BC, April 22.

2005 Plenary presentation. New approaches to teaching history. New frontiers in our history: 100 years of Alberta and Saskatchewan in Confederation—A national conference on teaching, learning and communicating the history of Canada, Association of Canadian Studies Conference, Edmonton, AB, October 28.

Paper Presentations at International, National, and Regional Conferences

2024. Karn, S., Clark, P., Llewellyn, K., Davies, M., & McGregor, H. A new way forward for the past: The state of history curriculum across Canada. Canadian Society for the Study of Education, Montreal, QC, June 16. (In-person.)

Clark P., Llewellyn, K., Davies, M., McGregor, H., Evans, R., & Karn, S. What can we learn from analyzing history curricula across Canada? Canadian Society for the Study of Education Pre-Conference and Thinking Historically for Canada’s Future AGM, Montreal, QC, June 12. (In-person)

2022. Clark, P. Imaginary heroines: Women as educators and women’s education in England in the late Georgian period as depicted in the novels of Jane Austen. Canadian History of Education Association Conference, October 15. Victoria, BC. (In-person)

Sears, A., & Clark, P.  “Picturing the colonial spirit.” 1000 Words in a Picture Session. Canadian History of Education Association Conference, October 13. Victoria, BC. (In-person).

2020. Clark P., & A. Sears. Historian as artist/Artist as historian. Historical Fiction, Fictional History, and Historical Reality International Conference. Faculty of Human and Social Sciences of the New University of Lisbon, Portugal, March 5. (Presentation by Clark)

2018. Clark, P. ‘Profligate and improvident’: The 1907 Morang textbook contract in Saskatchewan. Canadian History of Education Conference, Fredericton, NB, October 20.

Clark, P. “The most just of all educational legislation:” Provision of free textbooks in the province of Ontario, 1846-1951. Canadian Society for the Study of Education Conference, Regina SK, May 29.

2017. Clark, P., & Sears, A. Images of the past: What is the place of visual art in history pedagogy? Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies, Toronto, ON, May 28.

2016. Clark, P. Teaching nation? Canadian textbook publishing in a transnational time. Canadian History of Education Conference, Waterloo, ON, October 29.

Gemmell, K., & Clark, P.“The school book question is a farce’: Textbook provision in Nova Scotia, 1864-1944. Canadian Association for Foundations in Education, Calgary, AB, June 1. (Presentation by Clark)

Clark, P., & Sears. A. School history and fictional representations of the past: A double-edged sword. Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies, Calgary, AB, May 30. (Presentation by Clark)

2015. Clark P. Local Presses Meet Global Media Corporations: Canadian Educational Publishing and National Identity.
Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing (SHARP) Conference, Montréal, QC, July
9. (international)

Clark P. Copp Clark: Print & Capital in Educational Publishing, 1841-1963. Canadian Association for the Study of
Book Culture Conference, Ottawa, ON: June 2.

Clark, P., Levesque, S., & Sandwell. R. History education in Canada: It’s complicated. Contesting Canada’s Future: International Conference on the Study of Canada, Trent University, Peterborough, ON, May 22.

2014. Clark, P. Educational publishing in British Columbia: A Case study of nationalism and regionalism. Canadian History of Education Association Conference, Saskatoon, SK, October 26.

Clark, P. Visual metaphors: Curricula in action in BC, 1000 Words in a Picture session, Canadian History of Education Association Conference, Saskatoon, SK, October 23.

2013 Clark, P. “Hopes Betrayed:” The Politics of Textbook Publishing: Government Policies and Publisher Activism in
Canada, 1970-2013. History of Education Society Annual Conference, Exeter, UK, November 22, 2013.

Clark, P. “The Teacher is the keystone of the educational arch:” A century and a half of lifelong teacher education in Canada,” in panel, Becoming a history teacher in Canada: Sustaining practices in historical thinking and knowing, Canadian Association for Teacher Education, Canadian Society for the Study of Education Conference, Victoria, BC, June 5.

Clark, P. “Collegiate, hysterical, and so rabid in its politicizing:” The Association of Canadian Publishers and educational publishing in Canada, 1970-2012. American Educational Research Association Conference, Div. F (History and Historiography), San Francisco, CA, April 28.

2012 Clark, P. The terrain of history education. Canadian History of Education Association Conference, Vancouver, BC, October 20.

Clark, P. “Rival motorcycle gangs:” Internecine battles on the educational publisher front, 1970-1980. Canadian History of Education Association Conference, Vancouver, BC, October 19.

Clark, P. The battle for Canadian textbooks: Canadian educational publishers in crisis, 1970 to present. Society for the History of Authorship, Reading, and Publishing Conference, Dublin, Ireland, June 27.

Clark, P. “The brightest and most profitable star on the publishing horizon:” English-Canadian educational publishing in the postwar period. Canadian Society for the Study of Education Conference, Kitchener-Waterloo, ON, May 30.

Clark, P. A Canadian approach to foundations of education, Canadian Society for the Study of Education Conference, Kitchener-Waterloo, ON, May 29.

Clark, P. & Knights, W. “Fratricidal warfare”: English-Canadian textbook publishers take on the Americans, 1970-1980. American Educational Research Association, Division F (History and Historiography), Annual Conference, Vancouver, BC, April 17. (Paper presented by Clark.)

Clark, P. Dialogue across chasms. Race and Nation Symposium, American Educational Research Association, Teaching History SIG, Vancouver, BC, April 14.

2011 Clark, P. Regional textbook publishing in British Columbia: The rise and decline of Douglas & McIntyre (Educational), 1979-1989. Canadian Society for the Study of Education Conference, Fredericton, NB, May 31.

2009 Clark, P. The Eaton’s Department Store and the booksellers: A case-study of conflict over the Ontario Readers. Canadian Society for the Study of Education Conference, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, May 25.

Clark, P. & Knights, W. “Gringo operations:” Canadianizing the textbook: State building, nationalism, and capital, 1968-2008. American Educational Research Association Conference, San Diego, CA, April 16, 2009. (Paper presented by Clark.)

2008 Clark, P. “Unwholesome monopoly:” The Toronto Textbook Ring, 1883-1907. Society for the History of Authorship, Readers and Publishing, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK, June 27.

Seixas, P., & Clark, P. Obsolete Icons. Canadian Historical Association Conference, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, June 3. (Paper presented by Seixas.)

Clark, P. & Post, Y. “A natural outcome of free schools:” The Free-Textbook Branch in British Columbia. Canadian Society for the Study of Education Conference, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC. June 2.

Clark, P. “Great chorus of protest:” Textbook provision in Ontario, 1909. American Educational Research Association Conference, New York, March 24.

2007 Clark, P. “The most fundamental of all learning tools:” An historical investigation of textbook controversies in English Canada. Paper presented at Internationale Gesellschaft für Historische und Systematische Schulbuchforschung, European Conference on Educational Research, Network 17,Ypres, Belgium, October 5.

2006 Clark, P. George Ross and the Toronto textbook ring, 1883-1906. Canadian History of Education Association Conference, Ottawa, ON, October 27.

Clark, P. & Bryant, D. Teaching historical empathy with Canada: A People’s History. Association of Canadian Studies Conference, Vancouver, BC, October 20.(Paper presented by Clark.)

Clark, P. & Bryant, D. Teaching historical empathy: Aboriginal representations in Canada: A People’s History. Canadian Society for the Study of Education Conference, Toronto, ON, May 27. (Paper presented by Clark.)

2005 Clark, P. ‘Liberty of trade from the thraldom of the autocrats’: An historical examination of controversies over textbook provision in Ontario and British Columbia. Bibliographical Society of Canada Annual Conference, Halifax, NS, July 13.

Clark, P. ‘Somewhat of a disappointment’: The changing nature of the school textbook as material artefact, 1846-2005. Canadian Association for the Study of Book Culture Conference, London, ON, June 1.

Clark, P. & Cromer, M. ‘And won for empire, God and right’: A topography of heroes and empire in Canadian history textbooks. Canadian Society for the Study of Education Conference, London, ON, May 30.

Clark, P. ‘Simplicity and innocence’ or ‘veritable demons’? Images of Aboriginal people in textbook narratives of progress. BC Studies Conference, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC, April 30.

McKay, R., & Clark, P. Using literature to teach social studies: An aesthetic response. Hawaii International Conference on Education, January 5. (Paper presented by McKay)

2004 Clark, P. Representations of Aboriginal people in Canadian history textbooks: Outside the Euro-Settler narrative of progress. History of Education Society (UK) Conference, Dublin, Ireland, November 20.

Clark, P. ‘No greater obstacle to the advancement of education’: Schoolbooks as sites of controversy, 1840-1918. Canadian History of Education Association Conference, Calgary, AB, October 23.

Clark, P. Depictions of Aboriginal people in Canadian history textbooks: A post-colonial perspective. Canadian Society for the Study of Education Conference, Winnipeg, MB: May 31.

Clark, P. ‘Latent antagonism’: Changing portrayals of the United States in twentieth century Canadian Social Studies Textbooks. Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities, Honolulu, Hawaii, January 10.

2003 Clark, P. Changing portrayals of Aboriginal peoples in Canadian history textbooks. Paper presented at History Education and Political Reconciliation Symposium, Peter Wall Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, November 8.

Clark, P. “And I abide by my mother’s house:” Nationalism and bonds of empire in history, geography, and civics textbooks, inter-war years. Canadian Society for the Study of Education Conference, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, May 31.

Clark, P. “Stories of supreme gallantry:” Heroes and the teaching of virtue in textbooks in BC history classrooms. BC Studies Conference, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, May 3.

2002 Clark, P. “A nice little wife to make things pleasant:” Textbook portrayals of women. 150 Years of education in the Americas: Assessments and prospects. Canadian History of Education Association Conference, Quebec City, PQ, October 25.

Clark, P. & Seixas, P. Murals as monuments: Students’ ideas about depictions of ‘civilization’ in British Columbia. Canadian Society for the Study of Education Conference, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education/University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, May 28.

Clark, P. & Seixas, P. Murals as monuments: Students’ ideas about depictions of ‘civilization’ in British Columbia. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA, April 3.

2001 Clark, P. Using literature in the high school history classroom. Giving the Future a Past Conference. Winnipeg, MB, October 19.

Clark, P. & Seixas, P. Murals as Monuments: Students’ ideas about depictions of ‘civilization’ in British Columbia. Canadian Historical Consciousness in an International Context: Theoretical Frameworks, Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies Symposium, Vancouver, BC, August 27.

Publications
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Selected Publications

Scholarly Books

Clark, P., & Sears, A. (2020). The arts and the teaching of history: Historical f(r)ictions. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. (297 pages)

Book Review: https://canadian-social-studies-journal.educ.ualberta.ca/content/articles

Book Review: http://historicalstudiesineducation.ca/index.php/edu_hse-rhe/article/view/5095/5423

Clark, P. (Ed.). (2011). New possibilities for the past: Shaping history education in Canada. Vancouver, BC: UBC Press. (364 pages)

University Textbooks

Case, R., & Clark, P. (Eds.). (2021). Learning to inquire in social studies: An anthology for elementary teachers, 4th ed. Vancouver, BC: The Critical Thinking Consortium (358 pages)

Case, R., & Clark, P. (Eds.). (2020). Learning to inquire in history, geography, and social studies: An anthology for secondary teachers, 4th ed. Vancouver, BC: The Critical Thinking Consortium. (455 pages)

Case, R., & Clark, P. (Eds.). (2016). The anthology of social studies: Issues and strategies for secondary teachers, updated edition. Vancouver, BC: The Critical Thinking Consortium. (416 pages).

Case, R., & Clark, P. (Eds.). (2013). The anthology of social studies: Issues and strategies for elementary teachers, updated edition. Vancouver, BC: Pacific Educational Press. (349 pages)

Case, R., & Clark, P. (Eds.). (2008). The anthology of social studies: Issues and strategies for elementary teachers. Vancouver, BC: Pacific Educational Press. (373 pages)

Case, R., & Clark, P. (Eds.). (2008). The anthology of social studies: Issues and strategies for secondary teachers. Vancouver, BC: Pacific Educational Press. (419 pages)

Case, R., & Clark, P. (Eds.) (1997). The Canadian anthology of social studies: Issues and strategies for teachers. Burnaby, BC: Field Relations and Teacher In-Service Education. Faculty of Education, Simon Fraser University. (424 pages)

K-12 Textbooks

Arnold, P., Clark, P., & Westerlund, K. (2000). Canada revisited eight: Confederation, The development of western Canada, A changing society. Toronto: Nelson Canada. (390 pgs.)

Clark, P., Arnold, P., & McKay, R., with Soeteart, L. (1999). Canada revisited seven: New France, British North America, conflict and change. Toronto: Nelson Canada. (278 pgs.)

Clark, P., & McKay, R. (l992). Canada revisited: A social and political history of Canada to l911. Toronto: Nelson Canada. (286 pgs.)

Articles & Chapters

Llewellyn, K., Clark, P., Capó Garcia, R., & Clifford, S. (2024). Missing methods: A call for holistic analysis of history textbooks. London Review of Education, 22(1), 30. https://doi.org/10.14324/LRE.22.1.30

Clark, P., Llewellyn, R., Capo Garcia, R., & Clifford, S. (2024). Context matters in history textbook studies: A call to address the socio-political landscape of textbook production. Historical Encounters: A Journal of historical consciousness, historical encounters and history education. 11(1), 132-146. https://doi.org/10.52289/hej11.100.

Clark, P. (2022). “Improvident and profligate:” The Alexandra Readers controversy in Saskatchewan, 1908-1909. Journal of Canadian Studies/Revue d’études canadiennes, 56(2): 356-392. https://doi:10.3138/jcs-2021-0026. (open access)

Clark, P., & Gleason, M. (2022) Canadian History of Education Association/Revue d’ histoire de l’éducation (CHEA).Huerta, J.L.H., Cagnolati, A., & Paya, A. (Eds.), Connecting history of education: Redes globales de communicación y colaboración científicas (pp. 407-418). Valencia: tirant humanidades. (equal authorship)

Clark, P., Gemmell, K.M., & Gleason, M. (2022) Historical Studies in Education/Revue d’histoire de l’éducation(Canada), Huerta, J.L.H., Cagnolati, A., & Paya, A. (Eds.), Connecting history of education: Redes globales de communicación y colaboración científicas (pp. 223-245). Valencia: tirant humanidades. (equal authorship). This chapter is an updated version of the article, “Historical Studies in Education/Revue d’histoire de l’éducation – A Journal’s Journey from Past to Present,” published in Scholarly Research and Communication (2018).

Clark, P., & Sandwell, R. (2020). The History Education Network: An experiment in knowledge mobilization. In C. W. Berg & T. M. Christou (Eds.). Palgrave handbook of history and social studies education, 253-294. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Clark, P. (2019). “The most just of all educational legislation:” Provision of free textbooks in the province of Ontario, 1846-1967. Journal of Canadian Studies, 53(2): 392-422. DOI: 10.3138/jcs. 2018-0024. (Recipient of Canadian History of Education Association (CHEA) Founders’ Prize, 2018-2020.)

Clark, P. (2019) History education research in Canada: A late bloomer. M. Köster, H. Thüemann, & M. Zülsdorf-Kersting (Eds.). In Researching history education: International perspectives and disciplinary traditions, Second, completely revised and updated edition, 89-117. Frankfurt: Wochenschau Verlag.

Clark, P. (2018). History education debates: Canadian identity, historical thinking and historical consciousness. Arbor. Special issue, Identity, heritage and historical thinking. 194 (788), 1-12.

Clark, P., & von Heyking A. (2018). Back to school? Historians and the view from the classroom. Historical Studies in Education/Revue d’histoire de l’ éducation 30(1): 24-41.

Lévesque, S., & Clark, P. (2018). Historical thinking: Definitions and educational applications. S.A. Metzger, & L. McArthur Harris (Eds.). In The Wiley international handbook of history teaching and learning,119-142. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Clark, P., Gemmell, K., & Gleason, M. (2018). Historical Studies in Education/ Revue d’histoire de l’éducation  – A journal’s journey from past to present. Scholarly and Research Communication 9(1): 1-11.

Clark, P. (2017). “A grand old house”: Canadian educational publisher Copp Clark, 1841-2004. Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Canada, 55(1): 51-90.

Clark, P. (2017). “A business activity surrounded by a cultural environment:” Regional educational publishing, 1970-2015. BC Studies: The British Columbia Quarterly, 195(2):35-63.

Clark, P., & Gemmell, K.M. (2017). “The school book question is a farce:” Free textbook provision in Nova Scotia, 1864-1944, Acadiensis: Journal of the History of the Atlantic Region, 46(2): 59-87.

Clark, P., & Sears, A. (2017). Fiction, history and pedagogy: A double-edged sword. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 49(5):620-639. doi 10.1080/00220272.2016.1238108.

Clark, P., & L. LeVasseur. (2015). Deux points de vue sur l’enseignement de l’histoire au Canada. Revue Internationale d’Éducation, 69 (Fall): 123-133.

Clark, P., S. Lévesque & R. Sandwell. (2015). Dialogue across chasms: History and history education in Canada. In E. Erdmann and W. Hasberg (Eds.). History teacher education: Global interrelations (pp. 191-211), History education international series. Schwalbach/Ts: Wochenschau Verlag.

Clark, P., & A. Sears (2014). Historical frictions: History, art, and pedagogy. Canadian Issues/Themes Canadians (Fall): 18-23.

Clark, P. (2014). “The teacher is the keystone of the educational arch:” A century and a half of lifelong teacher education in Canada. Ruth Sandwell and Amy von Heyking (Eds.) Becoming a history teacher: Sustaining practices in historical thinking and knowing (pp. 30-59). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Clark, P., & W. Knights.  (2013). “Fratricidal warfare:” English-Canadian textbook publishers take on the Americans, 1970-1980. History of Education: Journal of the History of Education Society 42 (5): 598-621.

Clark, P. (2013). History of education and passages to the future. In T. Christou and S. Bulloch (Eds.). Foundations in teacher education: A Canadian perspective (pp. 30-45).  Polygraph 3. Canadian research in teacher education: A polygraph Series. Ottawa: Canadian Association for Teacher Education.  https://sites.google.com/site/cssecate/polygraph-book-series.

Clark, P. (2013) Clio in the curriculum: Vindicated at last. Canadian Issues (Summer): 42-46.

Clark, P. (2013). “A precarious enterprise”: A case study of western Canadian regional educational publishing, 1980-1989. Historical Studies in Education 25(1):1-29.

Clark, P., M. Gleason & S. Petrina. (2012). Preschools for science? The Child Study Centre at the University of British Columbia, 1960-1997. History of Education Quarterly 52(1): 29-61. (Recipient of Canadian History of Education Association (CHEA) Founders’ Prize, 2010-12.)

Clark, P., & W. Knights. (2011). “Gringo operations”: Nationalism and capital in Canadian educational publishing, 1970-1981, Journal of Canadian Studies, 45(2): 123-161. (Recipient of Publication Prize, Canadian Association of Foundations in Education (CAFE), 2010-12.)

Clark, P. (2011) Introduction. In P. Clark (Ed.). New possibilities for the past: Shaping history education in Canada (pp. 1-30). Vancouver, BC: UBC Press.

Seixas, P. & P. Clark. (2011). Obsolete icons and the teaching of history. In P. Clark (Ed.) New possibilities for the past: Shaping history education in Canada (pp. 282-301). Vancouver, BC: UBC Press.

Clark, P. (Ed.) (2011) British Columbia History: Journal of the British Columbia Historical Federation, 44(1). Theme issue on education.

Clark, P. & Y. Post. (2009). “A natural outcome of free schools:” The Free Text-Book Branch in British Columbia, 1908-1949. Historical Studies in Education, 21(2): 23-45.

Clark, P. (2009). “Great chorus of protest.” The Ontario booksellers’ response to the 1909 Eaton’s Readers. History of Education Journal (UK), 38(5): 681-703.

Clark, P. (2009). ‘The most fundamental of all learning tools’: An historical investigation of textbook controversies in English Canada. In Marc Depaepe & Angelo Van Gorp & (Eds.). Auf der Suche nach der wahren Art von Textbüchern 9, 123-142. Bad Heilbrunn: Klinkhardt. (Beiträge zur historischen und systematischen Schulbuchforschung, 7).

Clark, P. (2009). Bringing diverse groups together to enrich history education. Canadian Diversity/Canadienne Diversité 7(1), 69-72.

Clark, P. (2008). “Reckless extravagance and utter incompetence:” George Ross and the Toronto textbook ring, 1883-1907. Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Canada, 46(2): 185-235.

Clark, P. (2007). The rise and fall of textbook publishing in English Canada. In C. Gerson & J. Michon (Eds.). History of the book in Canada, 1918-1980 Vol. III (pp. 226-232, 538-539). Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Also: Clark, P. (2007). Essor et decline de l’édition scolaire au Canada anglais. In C. Gerson & J. Michon (Eds.). Histoire du livre et de l’imprimé au Canada, Vol. III (pp. 240-246). Montréal: Les presses de l’université de Montreal.

Clark, P. (2007). “Representations of Aboriginal Peoples in English Canadian history textbooks: Toward reconciliation.” In Elizabeth A. Cole (Ed.). Teaching the violent past: History education and reconciliation (pp. 81-120). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield and Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs.

Cromer, M., & Clark, P. (2007). Getting graphic with the past: Graphic novels and the teaching of history. Theory and Research in Social Education, 35(4): 574-591.

Clark, P. (2006). ‘Liberty of trade from the thraldom of the autocrats’: Provision of school textbooks in Ontario, 1850-1909. Canadian Journal of Education, 29(4): 1065-1096.
www.csse.ca/CJE/General.htm

Bryant, D., & Clark, P. (2006). Historical empathy and Canada: A People’s History. Canadian Journal of Education, 29(4): 1039-1064.

Clark, P. (2005). The publishing of schoolbooks in English. In Y. Lamonde, P. Lockhart Fleming, & F. Black (Eds.). History of the book in Canada, 1840-1918, Vol. II. (pp. 335-340, 543). Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Also: Clark, P. (2005). L’édition des manuels scolaires en anglais. In Y. Lamonde, P. Lockhart Fleming, & F. Black (Eds.). Histoire du livre et de l’imprimé au Canada, 1840-1918, Vol. II (pp. 352-357). Montreal: Université de Montreal Press.

Clark, P. (2005). “A nice little wife to make things pleasant:” Portrayals of women in social studies textbooks. McGill Journal of Education, 40(2): 241-265.

Clark, P. (2004). The historical context of social studies in English Canada. In A. Sears & I. Wright (Eds.). Challenges and prospects for Canadian social studies (pp. 17-37). Vancouver, BC: Pacific Educational Press.

Seixas, P., & P. Clark. (2004) Murals as monuments: Students’ ideas about depictions of civilization in British Columbia. American Journal of Education, 110(2): 146-171.(equal shared authorship).

Clark, P. (2002). Literature and Canadian history: A marriage made in heaven? Canadian Social Studies, 37(1). http://www.quasar.ualberta.ca/css/Css_37_1/index37_1.htm (20 pgs.)
Also on website of Saskatoon Public Library: http://www.umanitoba.ca/cm/index.html

More Publications

Sears, A., & Clark, P. Stop telling students to study STEM instead of humanities for the post-coronavirus world. The Conversation, September 28, 2020.

Book Reviews

Clark, P. (2020). Review of Constructing national identity in Canadian and Australian classrooms: The crown of education. History of Education Quarterly, 60(3): 436-439. https://doi.org/10.1017/heq.2020.33.

Clark, P. (2019). Review of Civil rights, culture wars: The fight over a Mississippi textbook by Charles W. Eagles. History of Education (UK), 48(3): 437-439. https://doi.org/10.1080/0046760X.2018.1489983.

Clark, P. (2018). Review of Arthur Mee: A biography by Keith Crawford. Historical Studies in Education/ Revue de l’Histoire d’education, 30(2): 154-156.

Clark, P. (2010). Review. Past into print: The publishing of history in Britain, 1850-1950. Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Canada, 48(1): 221-224.

Clark, P. (2008). Review of Creating citizens: History & identity in Alberta’s schools, 1905 to 1980. Canadian Historical Review, 89(1): 125-127.

Clark, P. (2008) Review of The life writings of Mary Baker McQuesten, Victorian matriarch. Canadian Social Studies, 41(1). www.quasar.ualberta.ca/css.

Research
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Research Projects

“Textbook Publishing in English-Canada: Politics and Culture Intertwined”

(Principal Investigator, Faculty of Education Explore Grant, 2021-2022, $7000).The intent of this grant is to fund GRA assistance to compile the findings of previous research, as well as to gather other primary source material, in order to publish a scholarly monograph that responds to the question: How did the place of the textbook as economic commodity interact with its role as curriculum instrument in English-Canada over the period 1846 to 2021?

“Thinking Historically for Canada’s Future”

(Co-Applicant, SSHRC Partnership Grant, 2019-2026, $2.5 million)
This grant will first map the terrain of K-12 history education in Canada. Using those findings, it will develop evidence-based practices in history teaching, learning, assessment, and resource development and evaluate their efficacy; cultivate communities of practice and make evidence-based policy recommendations.

“Nationalism, Regional Identities and Post 1960 Educational Publishing in Canada”

(Principal Investigator, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), Insight Grant, 2015-2023, $112,008)
This historical study asks: How have Canadian nationalism and regional identities, federal and provincial governments, American subsidiaries and multinationals in the Canadian marketplace, played a part in the emergence, rise/demise or sustenance of regional educational publishers in Canada since 1960?

“It pays to satisfy your customers:” The Firm of Copp Clark and Textbook Publishing in Canada, 1841-1963

(Principal Investigator, Faculty of Education Seed Grant, 2014-2015, $6951)
This study asks: What did Copp Clark contribute to the production and provision of K-12 textbooks over the period 1841-1963? How did it situate itself within a context of evolving political, cultural, and economic trends? How did it negotiate its place among other Canadian firms and foreign subsidiaries? What were the factors contributing to its demise? What is the nature of its legacy?

“Textbooks Must Reflect Canada:” An Historical Investigation of Post World War Two Textbook Publishing and English-Canadian Identity

(Principal Investigator, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), Standard Research Grant, 2009-2013, $96,002)
This historical study investigates textbook publication in English-Canada from 1946 to 2009. The major research question is: How have notions of Canadian nationhood been reflected in the politics and economics of English-Canadian textbook publishing in the postwar period?

The History Education Network/Histoire et education en réseau (THEN/HiER)

(Principal Applicant, with 7 co-applicants, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), Strategic Knowledge Clusters Grant, 2008-2015, $2.1 million).
This grant is intended to support knowledge mobilization across the various constituencies involved in history education.

“The Most Fundamental of all Learning Tools:” An Historical Investigation of School Textbook Production and Provision in Ontario and British Columbia, 1846-2005

(Principal Investigator, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), Standard Research Grant, 2006-2009, $100,200)
This project investigates school textbook production and provision in Ontario and British Columbia. The major research question is: How did the place of the textbook as economic commodity intersect with its role as curriculum instrument in Ontario and British Columbia over the period, 1846 to 2005?

“George Ross and the Toronto Textbook Ring, 1883-1906″

(Principal Investigator, Marie Tremaine Fellowship, Bibliographical Society of Canada, 2006, $2000)
This research investigates the strategies used by an oligopoly of publishing companies to maintain a position of control of textbook provision in Ontario during the period, 1883 to 1906; as well as the long term effects on textbook publishing and provision in the province.

A History of the UBC Child Study Centre, 1961-1997

(Principal Investigator, Large Humanities and Social Sciences Grant, UBC, Clark, Gleason and Petrina, 2005-2007, $6000)
This project examines the history of the UBC Child Study Centre in the context of patterns in the larger arena of education, gender, politics and psychology.

Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs: History Education and Reconciliation Project

(Principal Investigator, Carnegie Council Grant, 2003-2004, $3000 USD)
This case-study, which examines Canadian history textbooks over time and their changing portrayals of Canada’s Aboriginal people, is part of an international project on reconciliation involving a number of nations including Japan, Germany, Korea, Zimbabwe, and Kazakhstan.

The Development of Historical Empathy and Canada: A People’s History: Implications for History Teaching

(Principal Investigator, Small Humanities and Social Sciences Grant, UBC, 2002-2004, $3000)
Historical empathy plays a fundamental role in the historian’s task of constructing history from traces of the past. It is primarily intellectual rather than emotional, is evidence-based and involves understanding historical characters’ frames of reference. This project deconstructs selected episodes of the CBC/Radio-Canada video series to determine if its epic narrative approach is conducive to developing historical empathy as part of teaching for historical understanding in secondary school history classrooms.

Students
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Graduate Students Supervised

PhD Students Supervised

  • Ahmad, Gulzar (Current)
  • Alexander, Ian (Current)
  • Anderson, Stephanie
  • Cellars, Devon (Current)
  • Cromer, Michael (Co)
  • Egelund, Erin (EdD) (Co) (Current)
  • Fakirani, Alim (Current)
  • Gemmell, Katie
  • Gupta, Gunita (Co)(Current)
  • Kawamura, Naomi (Current)
  • McGregor, Heather (Co)
  • McKellar, Fiona (Co)(withdrew)
  • Webster, Matthew (withdrew)

For one doctoral student’s account, please see: 
https://www.grad.ubc.ca/campus-community/meet-our-students/fakirani-alim

For a second student’s account please see: https://www.grad.ubc.ca/campus-community/meet-our-students/alexander-ian

PhD Students Committees

  • Capó, Rafael (Current)
  • deZwart, Mary Leah
  • Gal, Maya (Current)
  • Gibson, Lindsay
  • Horton, Todd
  • Knights, Wayne
  • Peck, Carla
  • Shiu, Daniel
  • Sinner, Anita
  • Vanston, Deborah

MA Students Supervised

  • Bryant, Darren
  • Cunningham, Lindsay
  • Foo, Delia
  • Gemmell, Katie
  • Hophan, Phil
  • Leggett, Shannon (Co)
  • Mergens David (Co)
  • Miles, James
  • Moayeri, Maryam
  • Nwadike, Chijioke (Current)
  • Paget, Christine
  • Wallace, Katy

MA Students Committees

  • Burton, Shannon
  • Krieg, Liz
  • Loewen, Evelyn
  • Pedersen, Chris (external)
  • Perry- Whittingham, Michael
  • Wang, Bingie (external)
  • Wang, Joyce
  • Wheeler, Eileen
  • Yan-Ip, Chung

M.Ed. Students Supervised

  • Adjudani, Arash (Co)
  • Anderson, Leyan (Co)
  • Bartlett, Steven (Co)
  • Beaudry, Kelsey
  • Boddez, Lisa (Co)
  • Brogan, Chris
  • Clutchey, Corrie
  • Cooper, Hadia
  • Doman, Emily (Co)
  • Donnelly, Alyson
  • Finlayson, Suzanne (Co)
  • Fong, Jonross (Co)
  • Griffiths, D’Arcy (Co)
  • Hamilton, Jan
  • Im, Cheol
  • Kzanoski, Nicholas
  • Leoni, Chanin
  • Ludski, Melody
  • McKinley, Stephanie
  • Morrison, Paul
  • Nugent, Sean
  • Pershin, Elizabeth (Co)
  • Ridge, Christine
  • Romanyk, Michelle
  • Scharf-Way, Caitlin
  • Silber, Michael
  • Tolliday, Megan (Co)
  • Wild, Renee (Co) (Current)
Courses
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Courses Taught

Undergraduate

EDCP 332: Social Studies Curriculum and Pedagogy: Secondary

Graduate

EDCP 541: Problems in Historical Understanding

EDCP 564: Texts, Politics and Ideologies of Curriculum Development

EDCP 568: Curricula in Historical Context

View All Faculty
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