The Strengths and Limitations of Wikipedia in Teaching History of Education

Abstract

Wikipedia is one of the most commonly used resources by university students, often as a reference and source to write essays and assignments. This article aims to analyse Wikipedia’s strengths and limitations in teaching history of education, based on reference bibliography. It provides a critical examination of Wikipedia’s role in the context of public history and public uses of history. In turn, it looks at didactic experiences with Wikipedia and, more specifically, those undertaken by historians or individuals with history training. Finally, it sets out a case study looking at students’ use of Wikipedia at the University of the Balearic Islands on history of education subjects.