This special issue of the History of Education Review is built around the themes of a joint conference of the Australian and New Zealand History of Education Society (ANZHES) and the Australian National Museum of Education (ANME) held in September 2017 at the University of Canberra. Along with the central theme of 'powerful narratives and compelling explanations' were four sub-themes: (a) education and its role in nation building, (b) narrative, explanation and interpretation, (c) museums and popular history and (d) biography and history. The selected papers for this special issue all address the central theme, and one or more of the sub-themes.