Teacher Certification in Fifty States: History/Social Science Component

Abstract

IN NOVEMBER, 1982, a group of historians, social studies professionals, school teachers and representatives of interested professional associations met in Boston to discuss the status of history in the schools.' The Conference on the Status of History in the Schools, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, was sponsored by the Special Interest Group for History Teachers (SIGHT) of the National Council for the Social Studies. The purpose of the meeting was to share information about the teaching of history and to consider methods for collecting data about the status of history in the nation's schools. One of the central concerns on the agenda was what constitutes minimum requirements in history set forth by the fifty states for teacher certification? Initially, the focus of participants was limited to the certification of secondary social studies teachers, but the discussion quickly expanded to include requirements for elementary teachers who share with their secondary colleagues the responsibility for history and social studies instruction. The general perception of a serious recent decline in the time and emphasis assigned to social studies in the elementary schools raised fears that the status of history and social sciences in the preparation of elementary