What Should Be the Purposes of History Education?

The debates about purposes of history education resonate strongly among researchers and academics. Furthermore, it stretches beyond its theoretical field. The question of purposes of history education is of great importance to curriculum writers and classroom practitioners for practical reasons. With this in mind, the aim of this paper is to examine the question against the background of the two general British contemporary theories of education. While the theory of flourishing life encourages the development of personal autonomy, allowing individuals to make successful choices in their life, the theory of powerful knowledge is emphasising the importance of traditional academic knowledge for individual success and its impact on social equality.