Judging on their looks: Understanding pre-service social studies teachers׳ conceptions of historical agency and gender

Abstract

The present naturalistic study examined the historical thinking of thirteen pre-service social studies teachers as they used historical agency as lens to investigate the Second Wave feminist movement. Existing literature reflects the ways in which students understand historical agency, but has yet to examine its use as a conceptual tool to dissect controversial issues in history, such as feminism. Data included teacher candidates׳ responses to a survey questionnaire, researcher notes from teacher candidates׳ participation in a historical thinking exercise, teacher candidates׳ responses to follow-up questions after the historical thinking exercise, and a small subset of partner interviews. Results indicated pre-service teachers not only rely upon narratives of individual agency and progress, but also see instructional value in using historical photographs to spark secondary students’ civic action. Furthermore, teacher candidates struggled to unravel their own constructs of gender away from their interpretation of the agency of men and women in the past. The consideration of pre-service teachers’ historical thinking and its connection to their teacher purpose and rationale provides insight into finding new ways to support teacher candidates as they struggle to open up the gate to a more inclusive history curriculum.