Realities and Possibilities: Critical Global Education in Wisconsin Elementary Social Studies Standards

Gerardo Joel Aponte-Safe,Hanadi Shatara

doi:10.31274/tcse.11480

Abstract

This study critically examines the Wisconsin Standards for Social Studies for elementary grades with the goal of understanding what global content is present and how teachers can engage these standards through a critical global perspective. We conducted a textual analysis of the standards using Subedi’s decolonizing frameworks and Andreotti’s critical global citizenship education. We found few explicit references to global topics in the early grades, and identified additional possibilities. We provide multiple examples to implement critical global perspectives in elementary social studies classrooms.

Highlights

The year 2020 has been characterized by a transformation of society in unprecedented ways
In conversation with critical global education literature (Andreotti, 2014; Subedi, 2013), we present and model this process by analyzing the Wisconsin Academic Standards for Social Studies (Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction [DPI], 2018) with a critical global perspective
We examined the Wisconsin Academic Standards for Social Studies to find explicit references to, and possibilities for, global education

Summary

Introduction

The year 2020 has been characterized by a transformation of society in unprecedented ways. As we continue to experience greater global interconnection through migration and communication technology, we must be increasingly aware of the need for a critical engagement of what it means for the world to be interconnected, for us here to connect and learn about/with those elsewhere, and the unequal ways we experience this global interconnection. These ideas are the foundation of a global perspective, which is composed of the knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes that we demonstrate towards the global--phenomena that transcend national boundaries. While many of us begin to think about differences from an early age, most of us are not exposed to critical perspectives in understanding ãAPONTE-SAFE & SHATARA

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Conclusion