Company Men

Abstract

In this comparative, longitudinal case study, the author investigates the two different pathways that have been most strongly advocated for certifying middle school social studies teachers: the specialized middle school and subject-specific secondary pathways. Drawing on classroom observations, interviews, documents, teacher and student work samples, and surveys, this article compares the learning and practice of 2 seventh-grade social studies teachers across time. Both teachers learned key principles and practices from their respective teacher education programs but ultimately taught in ways that often demanded little of young adolescents intellectually. The findings suggest that teacher educators preparing social studies teachers for the middle grades need to look not only at the opportunities they provide for teachers to learn about young adolescents, social studies teaching purposes, and social studies teaching strategies but also at the implementation and integration of these learning opportunities.