Secondary Social Studies Teachers Research Articles

A Complex Mix of Confidence, Uncertainty, and Struggle: Korean Secondary Social Studies Teachers’ Perspectives and Practice on Multiculturalism

This study examines perspectives and practices regarding multiculturalism among 20 secondary social studies teachers in South Korea. Utilizing semi-structured interviews and critical discourse analysis, the study seeks to capture how teachers’ understandings of multiculturalism (Damunhwa in Korean) and its practice are influenced by curriculum changes, interactions with Damunhwa students, school duties, and personal experiences. The study finds that teachers know curriculum changes clearly, have little understanding of Damunhwa students, and experience discrepancies between high intellectual recognition of multiculturalism and their own ingrained biases.

Visiting the secondary social studies curriculum in perilous times

In such perilous times and unabated marginalization, it is pivotal to pay a visit to the secondary social studies curriculum. This article will decipher the status of the implementation and academic location of secondary social studies in the emergency curriculum (MELCs). Through a careful examination of the Most Essential Learning Competencies (MELCs), developed self-learning modules (SLM), and field notes collected from the curriculum gatekeepers (secondary social studies teachers), the researcher was able to generate exhaustive and perplexing findings in remote teaching-learning of social studies.

The Use of Music to Connect the Past, Present, and Future

Artists have long addressed social injustices within popular music. As teachers consider how to deconstruct and teach the events of 2020 (and beyond) with an eye toward the future, we offer a novel pedagogical approach to incorporating music into the social studies classroom: the set-list. The set-list can be understood as containing temporal conditions insofar that all traditional demarcations of time (e.g., past, present, and future) are implicated in its construction. Extending the concept of the set-list into education holds excellent potential for teachers and students seeking to develop a more complex perspective about criticality and social in/justice. Our set-list example originates from years-long conversations around our experiences as former secondary social studies teachers, current teacher educators, fathers, spouses, and individuals living in the United States. Music encourages students to recognize how the past, present, and future are intertwined in learning history. While the official social studies curriculum does not include music as an approach to learning history in the social studies classroom, using a student-generated set-list starts transforming the world within the context of social justice.

Teaching the US 2018 midterm elections: a survey of secondary social studies teachers

ABSTRACT The goal of this study was to identify teacher-reported practices related to teaching the 2018 US Midterm Elections and contemporary social and policy issues. In particular, we sought to identify factors that helped explain why teachers were or were not engaging students in the midterm elections and related contemporary issues and what contextual factors may influence their teaching of these contemporary events. We also examined how the teachers’ political views and those of the school community, personal political engagement and engagement with current events were associated with teaching the midterms. Respondents to our online survey, conducted using a regionally stratified sample in late 2018, include 813 US secondary social studies teachers from 48 states. We found that teachers who identified shared goals with colleagues and administrators and who reported having autonomy over their curriculum and teaching said they engaged students in the election and issues regardless of the political context. We also found that teachers in more politically competitive states reported developing skills, norms and classroom contexts conducive for engaging in controversial issues. These findings are important given the rise in populism, partisanship and social stratification in the US and globally.

중등 사회과 교사의 창의교육 실천 양상과 교사 전문성 함양에 대한 사례연구

본 연구의 목적은 중등 사회과 교사의 창의교육 수업 경험과 이를 통한 교사 전문성 함양을 질적으로 탐구하여 사회과 수업에서 창의교육의 현장 적합성을 높이는 방안을 모색하는 것이다. 서울 소재 E 사범대학의 창의교육 거점센터 협력교원인 중등 사회과 교사 4명이 동일한 창의교육 수업을 실시한 사례를 대상으로, 이들의 창의교육 경험과 실천 양상이 교실 안팎의 환경에 따라 어떻게 다양화되는지, 교사전문성 함양에 어떠한 영향을 미치는지를 탐색하였다. 분석 결과, 학생의 배경지식과 사전 경험, 교사의 지위와 역할, 교과내 · 교과간 협력 가능성과 분위기, 실행 시기의 네 가지 교실 안팎 환경 요인이 창의교육의 실천 양상과 질을 다양화하였다. 창의교육 실천 경험은 이들 교사의 교수학습법 역량, (교과)교육과정 이해, 학생 이해 및 공감력이라는 세 가지 측면의 교사 전문성 함양에 긍정적으로 작용한 것으로 드러났다. 본 연구의 결과는 중등 사회과 수업 현장에서의 창의교육 실천 가능성 및 현장 적합성을 높이는 방안과 교사교육에 대한 시사점을 제공한다.

Social Studies Teacher Perceptions of News Source Credibility

Politically tumultuous times have created a problematic space for teachers who include the news in their classrooms. Few studies have explored perceptions of news credibility among secondary social studies teachers, the educators most likely to regularly incorporate news media into their classrooms. We investigated teachers’ operational definitions of credibility and the relationships between political ideology and assessments of news source credibility. Most teachers in this study used either static or dynamic definitions to describe news media sources’ credibility. Further, teachers’ conceptualizations of credibility and perceived ideological differences with news sources were associated with how credible teachers found each source. These results indicate potential inconsistencies in how news credibility is defined and possible political bias in which sources social studies teachers use as exemplars of credibility.

Differential effects of state testing policies and school characteristics on social studies educators’ gate-keeping autonomy: A multilevel model

ABSTRACTUsing data on secondary school social studies teachers (n = 6,702) from the Survey of the Status of Social Studies (S4), a multilevel model, and an Item Response Theory (IRT) analysis, this study examined the associations of state testing policy and school characteristics on secondary social studies teachers’ instructional autonomy as it relates to various state testing policies. Through multi-level analysis, this study suggests several key conclusions that have implications for policy and practice related to social studies teaching and learning. First, teachers who work in low-income, high minority schools report lower levels of autonomy than those in high-income, low minority schools. Second, the existence of state-mandated social studies tests and sanctions against low-performing schools are related to lower levels of teachers’ instructional autonomy. Finally, teachers who work in high minority schools perceive lower levels of autonomy when they teach in states that punish underperforming schools based on test results relative to those in states that do not. We suggest that policy-makers should reconsider the way state-mandated tests evaluate teachers, schools, and students in order to allow teachers to hold ample instructional autonomy and implement quality ambitious social studies education, especially in low-income, high-minority schools.

Culturally sustaining social studies teachers: Understanding models of practice

There is scant research that documents models of culturally sustaining pedagogy, especially within social studies education. The researchers used a qualitative multiple-case study to better understand the practices of 10 self-identifying culturally sustaining secondary social studies teachers. They found that the teachers' practices were grouped into three different models: exchanging, discovering, and challenging. The teachers' approaches to culturally sustaining pedagogy were influenced by their school contexts and their students' backgrounds. Yet, there were shared characteristics across the teachers, including drawing on the students' local communities, developing students’ sociopolitical consciousness, and providing activities that helped sustain dynamic community practices.

Role retreatism of social studies teacher-coaches: An unequal balancing act

The current study explores role retreatism in secondary social studies teachers who coach athletics. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which social studies teacher-coaches retreat towards coaching and reasons for such prioritization. A case study relying primarily on interview and document data was conducted which included three secondary social studies teachers who coach football in the southeastern United States. Results indicate that participants prioritized coaching over teaching to cope with role conflict. The study further highlights the unequal rewards system in American schools, which promotes athletics over academics.

Scaffolding Student Understanding in Small-Group Work: Students’ Uptake of Teacher Support in Subsequent Small-Group Interaction

Providing contingent or adaptive support (i.e., scaffolding) is effective. Yet it is unclear how it promotes students’ learning. In this mixed-methods study, we investigated to what extent the effect of contingent support for students’ learning is mediated by the extent to which students take up teachers’ support in subsequent small-group work. We define contingent support as support that contains adapted levels of teacher control or regulation based on the learner’s level of understanding. To explore the research question, we analyzed all interactions from 35 lessons of 7 secondary social studies teachers and 7 small groups of students. Logistic multilevel mediation analyses showed that the likelihood of students formulating accurate answers during small-group work was higher when students applied the teacher’s support in subsequent small-group work (as opposed to ignoring that support). However, the contingency of a teacher’s support did not affect students’ uptake or the accuracy of their answers. Additional qualitative analyses showed that students’ uptake of contingent support was sometimes hampered by untimely fading of the support. Moreover, we found that contingent support that was then gradually faded was the most effective in fostering students’ uptake of a teacher’s support.

How secondary social studies teachers define literacy and implement literacy teaching strategies: A qualitative research study

Educational standards have changed rapidly and drastically in the past several years, including an increased focus on literacy within the social studies. Using data from a four-month qualitative study, this article examines how seven secondary social studies teachers talked about and defined literacy, and how those perspectives informed their pedagogical choices. The enquiry is a response to two areas: first, the many and varied definitions of literacy found in the literature (for example, content area literacy, multiliteracies and media literacy); and second, the added attention given to disciplinary literacy in the widely adopted Common Core State Standards. We found these teachers had four common elements when talking about and defining literacy: (1) reading comprehension; (2) writing fluidity; (3) skills; and (4) vocabulary. Additionally, we discovered that teachers discussed using four kinds of literacy teaching strategies: (1) content area reading strategies; (2) disciplinary reading strategies; (3) writing strategies; and (4) dialogue strategies. However, we determined that the teachers' theoretical understanding of literacy had only minor influence on their pedagogical choices. Instead, we found overarching assessments such as an end-of-course, advanced placement or state-wide reading exam had greater influence on the pedagogical choices the teachers made. The findings suggest that the effort to expand literacy instruction into the disciplines is still a work in progress, which falls in the hands of teacher educators and professional development providers.

Secondary Social Studies Teachers’ Experiences Planning and Implementing Inquiry Using the Inquiry Design Model

While the use of inquiry-based instruction has been encouraged for many years, it continues to be the exception rather than the norm. The publication of the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework, as well as the Inquiry Design Model that provides structure for its implementation, offer support for teachers to use inquiry in their social studies classrooms. This phenomenological study used semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and document analyses to explore three secondary social studies teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge as they planned and implemented inquiries. Findings indicate that teachers found a structured method of designing inquiries useful and that their approaches to planning and implementing those inquiries varied with individual context and personal pedagogical stances. There is no one-size-fits-all inquiry, even when teachers used the same support tool.

Rethinking place, boundaries, and local history in social studies teacher education

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report on a qualitative study that examined how pre-service teachers (PSTs) used mobile technology and experiential learning to critically examine the processes that shape places over time. During Summer course work that occurred prior to beginning their field experience and student teaching, participants explored neighborhoods and public spaces, and researched the history as well as contemporary issues relevant to the places in which their future students live, play, work, shop, and go to school. The use of social media as a forum for sharing and reflecting upon their experiences provided opportunity to critique neoliberal and race-based public policies, as well as support reflection on the relationships between geography and teaching about social (in)justice in the social studies. Findings inform the work of teacher educators who seek to help teacher candidates think more deeply about how spatial contexts inform culturally sustaining and critically minded pedagogy in the social studies.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative study included pre- and post-surveys and two one-on-one interviews between research participants and the researcher. Data were also gathered through the use of posts made by participants to a shared social media account. Interested in the interactive process of subjects and their surroundings, symbolic interactionism provided the methodological framework for this study.FindingsInvolvement in the study provided PSTs with new ways of thinking about how places are shaped over time and the importance of incorporating local intersections of geography and injustice in the classroom. Through experiential learning, PSTs developed a critical understanding of how place relates to who they teach, moved away from deficit thinking about people and places, and, as evidenced in the examples shared, approached lesson planning as place-relevant and culturally sustaining social studies educators.Originality/valueThe majority of students enrolled in teacher education courses in the USA remains white and it is well documented that most possess few cultural and geographic ties to the schools and students they work with as PSTs. Interested in the intersection of race, place, and teacher education, this paper discusses research conducted with 12 pre-service secondary social studies teachers (PSTs) who were enrolled in an eight-week Summer seminar course that preceded their Fall field experience and Spring student teaching placements to learn how they interpret their movement through spaces and their understanding of how geography, race, and agency intersect and impact students.

Problem-Based Learning and the Training of Secondary Social Studies Teachers: A Case Study of Candidate Perceptions during their Field Experience

Problem-Based Learning and the Training of Secondary Social Studies Teachers: A Case Study of Candidate Perceptions during their Field Experience

Problems and Prospects of Geographic Education among Secondary Social Studies Teachers Based on the Questionnaire Survey in Minnesota, U.S.A.

Problems and Prospects of Geographic Education among Secondary Social Studies Teachers Based on the Questionnaire Survey in Minnesota, U.S.A.

Preservice preparation and other potential influences on in-service beliefs and practices: A tale of two secondary social studies teachers

Presented here are the cases of two secondary social studies teachers who were participants in a larger research endeavor designed to examine the enduring effects of a preservice teacher preparation program rooted in problem-based historical inquiry (PBHI) on their in-service beliefs and practices. The study was designed to revisit graduates of this teacher preparation program after they completed their induction into the profession. The two teachers selected for closer examination in this piece had relatively similar preservice teacher experiences and taught in the same city school system. Findings indicate that the preservice program continued to impact both to some extent. However, their current beliefs about social studies teaching and their typical classroom practices differed greatly. Evidence suggests that these differences may be attributed to their personal dispositions and their conceptions of the role of the teacher.

Social Harmony and Diversity: The Affordances and Constraints of Harmony as an Educational Goal

Background/Context There is a pressing need to consider how citizens should live together, especially in societies that are increasingly ethnically and politically diverse. Even though multicultural education is constructed very differently and serves very different purposes in different national contexts, relatively little attention has been paid to how education systems of countries such as China, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates give greater emphasis to the concepts of harmony and social cohesion. Purpose/Objective This study explores some of the ways in which multicultural education is defined and conceptualized in East Asian countries. This paper draws on the case study of Singapore to interrogate the concept of harmony, investigate the implications of the state incorporating this concept as an educational goal for the public education system, and examine teachers’ understandings of multicultural education. Research Design The study adhered to the qualitative case study design. The data consisted primarily of semistructured individual interviews with 24 Singapore secondary social studies teachers, as well as relevant curricular and political documents such as the national Social Studies curriculum, political speeches, and official government publications. Guided by the literature, the interviewers asked questions to surface the participants’ understandings of the definition, purposes, and practices of multicultural education. Subsequently, the interviewers used follow-up questions to probe further and elicit additional description of how the teachers arrived at these understandings. The data analysis, shaped largely by the constant comparative method, was data-driven and inductive. Conclusions/Recommendations By illustrating some of the affordances and constraints of incorporating harmony as an educational goal, this study offers multicultural education scholars and teacher educators an opportunity to better understand some of the ways in which multicultural education is conceptualized in East Asian countries with strong Confucian traditions. The findings from this study suggest that a focus on harmony as an educational goal may help facilitate a move away from programs that emphasize the development of individual students’ social and political competencies towards programs and policies designed to promote communal trust and social cohesion. Finally, this study illustrates some of the challenges teachers face when balancing the goals of building trust and harmony within society and interrogating entrenched interests, institutional inequality, and unequal power relations.

Layering Intermediate and Disciplinary Literacy Work: Lessons Learned From a Secondary Social Studies Teacher Team

AbstractSecondary teachers nationwide are encouraged by the Common Core State Standards and recent research to enact disciplinary literacy instruction. However, little is known about how teachers make sense of teaching disciplinary literacy skills to adolescents. To what extent might adolescents still need the kinds of foundational support provided by what Shanahan and Shanahan called intermediate strategy instruction, or instruction in general reading comprehension strategies? In this article, the authors describe findings from a disciplinary literacy project in which a group of high school social studies teachers (and the authors) discovered that a complex layering of intermediate and disciplinary literacy work was required to meet students’ needs. Implications for teams of teachers wishing to explore this tension and keep their focus on helping students access and communicate content material are shared.

Resistance and Retreat: Preparing Preservice Secondary Social Studies Teachers to Teach Reading

This case study analyzes how adolescents' out-of-school literacy practices were integrated and utilized in a secondary Social Studies methods course. The specific focus of this study is to analyze preservice teachers' responses to this approach, their efforts to integrate reading instruction in their planning and classroom practices and why it is important for secondary Social Studies educators to engage with and honor adolescents' personal literacies.

Making Them Fit: Examining Teacher Support for Student Questioning

Social studies research has long advocated inquiry as a desired instructional practice, but the increasing emphasis on the role students’ questions should play in inquiry requires research into what social studies teachers can do to elevate the place of student questioning in classrooms. This study examined the attitudes and actions of two secondary social studies teachers who self-identified as advocates of student questioning and who desired to incorporate more student questioning into their instruction. This study used qualitative research methods and generated data through multiple interviews and classroom observations with each participant along with content analysis of classroom materials. Findings suggest that even though the participants approached student questioning in unique ways, they shared a need for curricular control, often triggered by the pressures of standardized assessments, which influenced how they incorporated student questioning into their classrooms. This study provides valuable insight into the promise of student questioning and factors that must be addressed if teachers are to incorporate student questioning in ways that foster meaningful inquiry.