Social Studies Teacher Education Research Articles

The Marginalization of Elementary Social Studies in Teacher Education

This article examines the literature related to the marginalization of social studies through the lens of elementary social studies teacher education. This study presents the case of two different states wherein one state, Virginia, tests social studies in elementary schools and another state, North Carolina, where social studies is not tested until middle school. The data gathered from both states were originally analyzed to shed light on the question of testing's effect on teacher preparation and subsequent curriculum enactment. Data collected from the study suggest that factors such as field experiences, programs of study, and methods instruction impact teacher education in elementary social studies in more important ways than student testing.

The Marginalization of Elementary Social Studies in Teacher Education

This article examines the literature related to the marginalization of social studies through the lens of elementary social studies teacher education. This study presents the case of two different states wherein one state, Virginia, tests social studies in elementary schools and another state, North Carolina, where social studies is not tested until middle school. The data gathered from both states were originally analyzed to shed light on the question of testing's effect on teacher preparation and subsequent curriculum enactment. Data collected from the study suggest that factors such as field experiences, programs of study, and methods instruction impact teacher education in elementary social studies in more important ways than student testing.

Visionary leadership as an approach to social studies teacher preparation programmers’ reform: participants’ perspectives

The aim was to establish the views of the participants, in particular, professors, the supervisors, co-operating teachers, and student teachers of visionary leadership as an approach to social studies teacher preparation programmers’ reform in Jordan. The sample for this study included student teachers(n=18), professors(n=6), university supervisors(=3), and co-operating teachers(n=3)associated with social studies teacher education programmes in three universities. Data were collected using interviews. The semi-structured interview was used in the present study. The interview data were subject to analysis using a grounded theory approach. The result of the analysis provides a clear picture of the problems inherent in the current education and training programmes for social studies teachers in Jordanian institutions. These sorts of problems clearly exist in each component of the programme. In accordance with the current status of the programmes, visionary leadership was recommend as an approach to social studies teacher preparation programmers reform how and why managerial problems are affecting social studies teacher education in Jordan.

Explicit Goals, Implicit Values, and the Unintentional Stifling of Pluralism: An Examination of a Social Studies Teacher Education Vision Statement

The purpose of this article is to evaluate a social studies teacher education vision statement as it relates to Parker's (2003) “advanced” conception of citizenship education for democratic society. The vision statement, titled “Powerful Vision of Social Studies,” was created by a group of practicing teachers and teacher educators as part of a seminar focusing on the effective mentoring of beginning teachers. It represents an attempt by the participants to answer the question of what sort of social studies practice is worth mentoring beginning teachers for. Using constructs of the “culturally acceptable self” derived from recent work in cultural psychology to guide our analysis, it is argued that the vision statement could unintentionally constrain understandings of democracy rooted in pluralism by inadvertently reflecting taken-for-granted cultural beliefs held as middle-class European-American.

Social Studies Teacher Educators: A Survey of Attitudes Toward Religion in the Curriculum

Social Studies Teacher Educators: A Survey of Attitudes Toward Religion in the Curriculum

Bowling Together: Cultivating Communities of Practice in English and Social Studies Teacher Education

In his sociological study Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (2000), Robert Putnam argues that Americans need to “reconnect to one another” and, both metaphorically and literally, go bowling together (p. 28).

A Virtual Hall of Mirrors? Confronting the Digital Divide in Urban Social Studies Teacher Education

Reporting on a PT3 grant-funded technology initiative involving social studies preservice students at Teachers College, Columbia University, this article seeks to illumine the many-faceted “digital divide.” Data collected between 2000 and 2003 from preservice students and first-year alumni teaching in metropolitan New York City schools suggest how the digital divide is mirrored, even in a relatively resource-rich urban university. Learning to understand this complex reality led Program faculty to modify their initial plan for technology infusion; the result is a flexible, student-centered approach, which can be adapted by other urban teacher educators. Reflecting on this experience, the authors call for models, not just of “best” but also of “good enough” (i.e. replicable) practice in settings with significant resource constraints.

Social Studies Teacher Educators' Perceptions of Character Education

The increasing popularity of character education, coupled with state mandates and recommendations from national organizations, have heightened the perceived importance of preparing teachers for their role in the character development of students. The purpose of this study was to describe the perceptions of social studies teacher educators regarding common themes of contemporary character education, the scope of character education, and the importance of the inclusion of character education issues in a curriculum/methods course. The sample consisted of 298 members of the National Council for the Social Studies who indicated involvement in either elementary or secondary teacher preparation on their membership form. The data were collected by mailing a questionnaire to ail subjects and conducting follow-up telephone interviews with approximately ten percent of the respondents. The findings suggest support among social studies teacher educators for the themes of contemporary character education, for a broadly conceived scope for character education that includes social studies goals, and for including character education as a topic in a curriculum/methods course.

Adapting Problem-Based Learning to Social Studies Teacher Education

In this paper we describe how we have adapted Problem-Based Learning for use in Social Studies Teacher Education. The background of PBL as used in various professional Faculties, particularly medicine, is reviewed and a curricular justification offered. Specific difficulties experienced in adapting PBL to the circumstances of teacher education are examined taking into account the perspectives of both prospective teachers and teacher educators.

Developing Active Citizens: Community Service Learning in Social Studies Teacher Education

(1995). Developing Active Citizens: Community Service Learning in Social Studies Teacher Education. The Social Studies: Vol. 86, No. 3, pp. 122-128.

Trends in Social Studies Curricula and Graduation Competencies

Abstract Perhaps more than any other topic, graduation competencies have recently been the focus of both popular and professional literature about public schooling in America. This article reports questionnaire findings concerning the possible reduction of the breadth and scope of social studies programs in order to allow for more instructional time in the “basic” content areas contained on competency tests. The authors' survey of forty-eight members of the Council of State Social Studies Specialists led them to conclude that minimum competencies in language arts and mathematics are potentially competitive with social studies space and emphasis in the school curriculum and, consequently, that social studies teachers, chairpersons, supervisors, and teacher educators need to become more skilled in the translation of curriculum goals into performance criteria, the identification of competencies, the development and identification of appropriate tests and test items, and the interpretation of test results.