Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Why do so many history teachers avoid teaching the British Empire? What would happen if they're finally given the tools to engage with it properly?
LSE academics, Professor Tirthankar Roy, Professor Leigh Gardner and Professor Mohamed Saleh, and secondary school teachers from the Historical Association's Teacher Fellowship Programme explore how economic history can transform the way British history is taught in classrooms.
This conversation brings together LSE's expertise in economic history with the lived experience of secondary teachers, to unpack the barriers that prevent Empire from being taught and show how LSE Professors have helped educators to build confidence and create new resources that will change how British Empire is taught to UK high school students.
To learn more about teaching colonialism in the classroom, visit Research for the World: lse.ac.uk/research/research-for-the-world/race-equity/teaching-colonialism-classroom-evidence?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=cdfa_rftw_jul26
đ Teacher Fellowship Programme Teaching the Economic History of the British Empire:
history.org.uk/secondary/categories/872/module/8838/teacher-fellowship-programme-teaching-the-economi
This is a partnership between the London School of Economics and the Historical Association: history.org.uk
0:00 What schools get wrong about the British Empire
0:28 Why the British Empire is so hard to teach
2:17 Moving beyond myth: the case for economic history
3:46 Inside the LSE & Historical Association teacher fellowship
4:40 Translating academic research into classroom practice
5:21 Rethinking empire: globalisation, not just rule
5:55 The resource bank that's changing what gets taught
6:46 Impact in the classroom: student debates and personal stories
Why do so many history teachers avoid teaching the British Empire? What would happen if they're finally given the tools to engage with it properly?
LSE academics, Professor Tirthankar Roy, Professor Leigh Gardner and Professor Mohamed Saleh, and secondary school teachers from the Historical Association's Teacher Fellowship Programme explore how economic history can transform the way British history is taught in classrooms.
This conversation brings together LSE's expertise in economic history with the lived experience of secondary teachers, to unpack the barriers that prevent Empire from being taught and show how LSE Professors have helped educators to build confidence and create new resources that will change how British Empire is taught to UK high school students.
To learn more about teaching colonialism in the classroom, visit Research for the World: lse.ac.uk/research/research-for-the-world/race-equity/teaching-colonialism-classroom-evidence?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=cdfa_rftw_jul26
đ Teacher Fellowship Programme Teaching the Economic History of the British Empire:
history.org.uk/secondary/categories/872/module/8838/teacher-fellowship-programme-teaching-the-economi
This is a partnership between the London School of Economics and the Historical Association: history.org.uk
0:00 What schools get wrong about the British Empire
0:28 Why the British Empire is so hard to teach
2:17 Moving beyond myth: the case for economic history
3:46 Inside the LSE & Historical Association teacher fellowship
4:40 Translating academic research into classroom practice
5:21 Rethinking empire: globalisation, not just rule
5:55 The resource bank that's changing what gets taught
6:46 Impact in the classroom: student debates and personal stories
