Capitalizing on the current movement in history education to nurture a set of shared methodologies and perspectives, this text looks to break down some of the obstacles to transnational understanding in history, focusing on pedagogy to embed democratic principles of inclusion, enquiry, multiple interpretations and freedom of expression. For countries where internal or external conflicts have featured in recent years, or for countries which have undergone considerable changes in the movement of populations in recent years, access to archival material history education is less likely to reinforce stereotypes especially in labelling or 'otherizing' attitudes to different countries or groups.

Four themes which are influencing the broadening of history education to a globalised community of practice run throughout Teaching History and the Changing Nation State:
- pedagogy, democracy and dialogue
- the nation - politics and transnational dimensions
- landmarks with questions
- shared histories, shared commemorations and re-evaluating past denials
The contributors use the same pedagogical language in a global debate about history teaching and learning to break down barriers to search for shared histories and mutual understanding. They explore contemporary topics, including:
- The Gallipoli Campaign in the WWI
- Transformative approaches to a school history curriculum
- The nature of federation