Enquiry: How can learning about Europe’s recent past help us to understand Europe today?

This series of lessons has been designed to support the teaching of recent 20th century history at Key Stage 3. This sequence of lessons will enable students to learn some of the historical context to the European Union and Britain’s relationship with the European Union today. It combines overview and depth, with a focus on how and why.

This enquiry explores the founding of the Western European post-war project in the context of a long search for political stability in the continent. It enables students to explain why the EEC was formed in 1957. It uses case studies of pan-European projects to identify what factors have tended to result in successful transnational cooperation. Finally, the focus is on why British people were (are!) so divided about the European Project.