Abstract
Teachers serve as gatekeepers to the implementation of curriculum in their classroom (Thornton, 2005). Their beliefs about a topic and the wider political environment can influence what they teach. To this end, our goal was to investigate whom preservice teachers identify as heroes and why, which heroes should be included in the curriculum, and how this might influence instruction of the NCSS theme Individual Development and Identity. This study was an exploratory study using the qualitative methods of an open-ended survey and focus group. We were guided by the research question: How do preservice elementary teachers conceptualize heroes? The participants were elementary preservice teachers in their final semester prior to teacher internship. We surveyed participants to determine their perceptions of heroes. We conducted a follow up focus group with five participants. The participants conceptualized heroes as serving a pedagogical function. We learned that these preservice teachers had a balanced concept of heroes and considered heroes valuable to the school curriculum. They saw heroes as role models for students to imitate. Of interest to the study of heroes in the social studies curriculum, these preservice teachers were able to overcome the barrier of the flawed hero. Rather than shifting away from teaching heroes and focusing on heroic actions as Barton and Levstik (2004) recommend, they were able to keep the curricular gate open (Thornton, 2005) to teaching heroes by developing the concept of the gray hero.
Highlights
The stated goal of social studies in the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) is to “promote civic competence” (NCSS, 2010, p. 2)
The participants’ responses placed them within the theoretical and pedagogical mindset of Plutarch, Campbell (1949/2008, 1991), and Hoge (2002), who each either advocated for or used heroes as models and anti-models in the development of the individual and maturation. What does this mean for teaching individual development and identity? As stated above, the participants clearly saw that heroes serve a pedagogical function
Our findings represent the understanding of how these preservice teachers would implement instruction of heroes and hero stories in the social studies classroom to support the NCSS Theme Individual Development and Identity
Summary
The stated goal of social studies in the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) is to “promote civic competence” (NCSS, 2010, p. 2). When NCSS published the National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies in 1994 and updated them in 2010, they organized the curriculum into ten themes. The theme we are concerned with is Individual Development and Identity. The NCSS standards state that, “Through this theme, students examine the factors that influence an individual’s personal identity, development, and actions” When we think of civic competence, it is usually in the sense of existing institutions that individuals are learning about in their society or community. We should consider how young people learn to develop an identity within that society, how they move from dependency to independence, and how they transition from childhood to adulthood
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