Research on history instruction and learning is emerging as an exciting new field of inquiry. The editors prepared this volume because the field is at an important moment in its development -- a stage where there is research of sufficient depth and breadth to warrant a collection of representative pieces. The field of research on history teaching and learning connects with both traditional research on social studies and with recent cognitive analyses of domains such as mathematics and physics. However, the newer research goes beyond these activities as well. Where traditional research approaches to social studies instruction and learning have focused on curriculum, they have avoided the study of purely disciplinary features, the textual components of history and the concomitant demands, as well as the nature of various learners. Where recent cognitive analyses of mathematics and physics have dealt with misconceptions and knowledge construction, they have avoided topics such as