This paper presents a broad overview of education through history, focusing on understanding key moments of change. The purpose of exploring educational changes through history is to identify the drivers of large-scale educational change and reflect on what implications this might have for promoting similar types of systemic educational change today.
We begin by introducing an analytical approach that acknowledges the interconnectedness between major societal shifts and changes in the educational landscape. Thereafter, societal changes and associated educational impacts are discussed according to six major historical periods in the timeline: early societies and antiquity, postclassical society, early modern period, the 19th century, the contemporary period, and recent events. Throughout history and across regions and countries, many educational changes have occurred. This paper does not document every change; instead, it highlights key transformations that enable analysis of how change unfolds.
