Intensive Document-Based Instruction in a Social Studies Methods Course and Student Teachers' Attitudes and Practice in Subsequent Field Experiences

Abstract

This article examines the socialization of student teachers in secondary history classrooms. Specifically, the article examines student teachers' responses to a history-intensive social studies methods course and their subsequent uses of document-based instruction. The analysis, grounded in data collected from interviews, lesson plans, and written reflections, supported previous research regarding student teachers' active participation in their socialization process. The findings also provide further insights into the complex relationship between teacher education and student teachers' beliefs and practices. The article ends with a discussion of ways in which methods coursework might be designed to better enable student teachers to introduce document-based instruction into existing secondary history classrooms.