Abstract
Educational standards have changed rapidly and drastically in the past several years, including an increased focus on literacy within the social studies. Using data from a four-month qualitative study, this article examines how seven secondary social studies teachers talked about and defined literacy, and how those perspectives informed their pedagogical choices. The enquiry is a response to two areas: first, the many and varied definitions of literacy found in the literature (for example, content area literacy, multiliteracies and media literacy); and second, the added attention given to disciplinary literacy in the widely adopted Common Core State Standards. We found these teachers had four common elements when talking about and defining literacy: (1) reading comprehension; (2) writing fluidity; (3) skills; and (4) vocabulary. Additionally, we discovered that teachers discussed using four kinds of literacy teaching strategies: (1) content area reading strategies; (2) disciplinary reading strategies; (3) writing strategies; and (4) dialogue strategies. However, we determined that the teachers' theoretical understanding of literacy had only minor influence on their pedagogical choices. Instead, we found overarching assessments such as an end-of-course, advanced placement or state-wide reading exam had greater influence on the pedagogical choices the teachers made. The findings suggest that the effort to expand literacy instruction into the disciplines is still a work in progress, which falls in the hands of teacher educators and professional development providers.
Highlights
The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS, 1994: n.p.), the leading social studies organization in the United States, defines social studies as ‘the integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence’
This was perhaps stated best by Mark: ‘I constantly say to my students, the importance of reading is not necessarily for enjoyment; the importance of reading and literacy is to obtain understanding and to relay that understanding.’
Five of the teachers expressed that students need to be able to read the textbook for understanding; two of the teachers wanted students to read more about current events and more secondary sources; and all the teachers mentioned or used primary sources
Summary
The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS, 1994: n.p.), the leading social studies organization in the United States, defines social studies as ‘the integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence’. A white, female teacher who teaches sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade social studies courses. She has been teaching for four years. After about 12 years working in other fields, she returned to college to earn a post-bach in education. Since beginning her teaching career, she had earned a master’s degree in literacy and language. She teaches in a school with a 24 per cent low-income student population, and a majority white student population (72 per cent)
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