In this article, the author talks about the proper place of theory in educational history and shares his comments on the essays by Eileen Tamura, Carolyn Eick, and Roland Coloma. Eileen Tamura's positing of most educational historians as practitioners of narrative history is surely on the mark. She invites historians of education to investigate…

Literature must be used cautiously as evidence in social-historical research, but it can provide important information if the literature used is chosen carefully. Tressell's book, "The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists," is used as an example which can provide information about literacy among the English working class of the early…

Describes the difficulties that historians have in determining the truth about any historical event or issue. Contends that new areas of historical research, such as women's history, minority history, and radical history have diversified the concept of truth. Provides three sources of standards for truth to guide future historians. (CFR)