About

History Teacher Educators’ Network (HTEN)

The History Teacher Educators’ Network (HTEN) is the professional representative body for all educators who specialise in History teacher education development.  It is underpinned by a common desire to make history education inspiring and to promote sophisticated understandings of the discipline of history by engaging with the most recent research and practice-based developments within the history community. HTEN aims to provide a voice for the sector and offer support and guidance for those working with history teachers as teacher-educators, mentors, and coaches, signposting and connecting members to opportunities and resources.

HTEN’s origins and revival

HTEN was originally established in 1991 with the intention of representing and supporting history ITE interests across the four UK nations at both primary and secondary level. The pandemic provided fertile ground for the reinvigoration of HTEN when a small group of university-based teacher educators began meeting online, discovering new ways for HTEN to connect teacher educators to provide mutual support.

Purpose

Our purpose is threefold: 

   i.        To provide a community and voice for history teacher educators, creating connections with each other and with other interested groups; offering support and guidance for those working with history teachers and signposting and connecting members to opportunities and resources.

  ii.        To create opportunities for history teacher educators to be research informed and provide opportunities to share and develop good practice for those working in history teacher education and professional development.

iii.        To support the development of our members’ research roles; utilising the wealth of experience in our community to support and mentor ITE leaders and those with early research interests to start researching

Activities

We host two half-day, online conferences each year. Previously these have included presentations from Arthur Chapman, Carla van Boxtel, Helen McCord, Sundeep Lidher and Súsanna Margrét Gestsdóttir. HTEN members value these regular and accessible opportunities to connect, and our intention is to continue with our online conferences, whilst also looking for opportunities to meet in person. HTEN members supported the ITE strand at the recent HA Conference, where we were able to meet for the first time in some years in person.

Our aim is also to provide a space for specific support and development groups for history teacher educators under the HTEN banner. Primary colleagues have utilised HTEN’s relaunch to strengthen connections between primary history educators. An HTEN Decolonising and Diversifying the Curriculum working group has also been established.

Membership

Membership of HTEN is open to all those working with and have responsibility for history teacher education whether in ITE or CPD at a HEI, a SCITT, as a history lead in a MAT or at local authority level and in heritage, museum and CPD providing organisations. Our aim is to represent educators working in History Teacher and therefore we are always glad to welcome new members. Membership is predominantly, but not exclusively confined to, those working in the UK - if you are reading this from outside the UK please do not be deterred, you are also very welcome to join us!

For more information joining HTEN please email:  d.ingledew@herts.ac.uk