Purpose The purpose of this paper is to set out three dilemmas that challenge historians of education who write for both professional and academic audiences. It focuses on the example of using fiction as a source for understanding the informal education of girls in the twentieth century. It contributes to the debate over the purpose of history of education and the possibilities that intersecting and contested analytical frameworks might contribute to the development of the discipline. Design/methodology/approach The paper discusses the rules of engagement and the duties of a historian of education. It reforms current concerns into three dilemmas: audience, method and writing. It gives examples drawn from research into girls’ school stories between 1910 and 1960. It highlights three authors and stories set in Australia, England and an international school in order to explore what fiction offers in getting “inside” the classroom. Findings Developed from a conference keynote that explored intersecting and contested histories of education, the paper sets up as many questions as it provides answers but re-frames them to include the use of a genre that has been explored by historians of childhood and literature but less so by historians of education. Research limitations/implications The vast quantity of stories set in girls’ schools between 1910 and 1960 necessarily demands a selective reading. Authors may specialise in the genre or be general young people’s fiction authors. Reading such stories must necessarily be set against changing social, cultural and political contexts. This paper uses examples from the genre in order to explore ways forward but cannot include an exhaustive methodology for reasons of space. Practical implications This paper suggests fiction as a way of broadening the remit of history of education and acting as a bridge between related sub-disciplines such as history of childhood and youth, history and education. It raises practical implications for historians of education as they seek new approaches and understanding of the process of informal education outside the classroom. Social implications This paper suggests that the authors should take more seriously the impact of children’s reading for pleasure. Reception studies offer an insight into recognising the interaction that children have with their chosen reading. While the authors cannot research how children interacted historically with these stories in the mid-twentieth century, the authors can draw implications from the popularity of the genre and the significance of the legacy of the closed school community that has made series such as Harry Potter so successful with the current generation. Originality/value The marginal place of history of education within the disciplines of history and education is both challenging and full of possibilities. The paper draws on existing international debates and discusses future directions as well as the potential that girls’ school stories offer for research into gender and education.

中文翻译：

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学习规则：撰写和研究教育史上的学校故事

目的本文的目的是提出三个难题，这些难题挑战了为专业和学术读者写书的教育历史学家。它着重于利用小说作为理解二十世纪女孩非正式教育的例子。它有助于就教育历史的目的进行辩论，以及相交和有争议的分析框架可能有助于学科发展的可能性。设计/方法论/方法本文讨论了参与规则和教育史学家的职责。它将当前的担忧转化为三个难题：听众，方法和写作。它提供了一些从1910年到1960年之间对女校故事的研究中得出的例子。该书重点介绍了澳大利亚的三位作者和故事，英格兰和一所国际学校，目的是探索小说为“走进教室”提供了什么。从会议主题演讲中探索得出的发现，该主题探讨了相交和有争议的教育历史，本文提出了尽可能多的问题，提供了答案，但对它们进行了重新编排，以包括童年和文学史学家探索过的一种体裁的使用，但涉及的内容较少教育史学家也是如此。研究的局限性/启示1910年至1960年间，女子学校中的大量故事必定需要选择性地阅读。作者可以专门从事该类型，也可以是一般年轻人的小说作家。阅读此类故事必定要针对不断变化的社会，文化和政治环境。本文使用该类型的示例来探索前进的方向，但由于篇幅原因，不能包括详尽的方法论。实际的意义本文提出了小说，作为扩大教育历史范围的一种方式，并充当诸如儿童和青年史，历史和教育等相关子学科之间的桥梁。这对教育历史学家提出了现实的启示，因为他们寻求新的方法并了解课堂外非正式教育的过程。社会意义本文建议作者应更加重视儿童阅读乐趣的影响。接待研究为认识儿童与他们选择的阅读之间的互动提供了见识。尽管作者无法研究儿童在二十世纪中叶与这些故事的历史互动方式，但作者可以从这种类型的受欢迎程度以及封闭式学校社区的遗产的重要性（包括哈利·波特等在当前这一代取得成功。独创性/价值教育史在历史和教育学科中的边际地位既具有挑战性，又充满了可能性。该文件借鉴了现有的国际辩论，并讨论了未来的方向以及女孩的学校故事为性别和教育研究提供的潜力。作者可以从这种类型的受欢迎程度以及封闭式学校社区的遗产的重要性中汲取启示，封闭社区的遗产使诸如《哈利·波特》等系列在当代这一代如此成功。独创性/价值教育史在历史和教育学科中的边际地位既具有挑战性，又充满了可能性。本文利用现有的国际辩论，讨论了未来的方向以及女孩的学校故事为性别和教育研究提供的潜力。作者可以从这种类型的受欢迎程度以及封闭式学校社区的遗产的重要性中汲取启示，封闭社区的遗产使诸如《哈利·波特》等系列在当代这一代如此成功。独创性/价值教育史在历史和教育学科中的边际地位既具有挑战性，又充满了可能性。该文件借鉴了现有的国际辩论，并讨论了未来的方向以及女孩的学校故事为性别和教育研究提供的潜力。