The HTAI has a federal structure. History teachers in a local area may establish a branch which then seeks affiliation with the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the HTAI.

The CEC consists of the President, the Vice-President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, the editors of Stair, the webmaster, plus two delegates from each branch of the HTAI.

The CEC is the governing body of the HTAI. It meets several times a year to decide policy, to appoint people to represent HTAI on various bodies and, in conjunction with local branches, to organise in-service courses funded in part by the Department of Education and Skills.

The HTAI aims:

• to protect and foster the role of history within the Irish education system
• to encourage the better teaching of history by keeping Irish history teachers in contact with new developments in historical research and new approaches to history education
• to keep Irish history teachers in touch with international thinking on education through affiliation with EuroClio and other international bodies.