This article troubles the intersections, functions, and manifestations of order-words “social” and “with” as these relate to one social studies teacher’s pedagogy amid antagonistic polarization and politicization of teaching social studies. We engage with what it means to teach with-ness in the social of social studies, inspired by its relationship-creating underpinnings. Our article explores ontological and epistemological intersections between social’s interconnected with-ness against other, more exclusionary conceptualizations; how these manifest in social studies pedagogy; and how we create a more expansive and collective definition of “we” that transcends disciplinary, institutional, and material boundaries; promotes speculation, action, and possibility; and adheres to the interconnectedness with/in/beyond social studies classrooms.

The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) 2025 Primary Leaving Examination (PLE) release statement provides rich administrative data on candidature, participation, performance, and equity-related dimensions over the 2020–2025 period. This manuscript synthesises these data into an integrated analysis of trends in access, learning outcomes, and inclusion in Uganda’s primary education system, framed by the UNEB Chair’s remarks emphasising both “cause for celebration and cause for concern.” Candidature rose steadily to 817,883 in 2025, with 63.8% from Universal Primary Education (UPE) schools and a persistent pattern of more girls than boys reaching the end of the primary cycle. Absenteeism declined and stabilised at 1.3% in 2024–2025, despite expanding enrolment and recurring logistical constraints, reflecting the system's resilience, as highlighted by the Chair. Proficiency profiles indicate that fewer than one in five candidates attain higher-ability levels in any subject, with the majority concentrated in medium-ability bands. Subject-specific patterns are mixed: English shows improved performance relative to 2024, whereas Social Studies with Religious Education records a downturn. Divisional outcomes indicate an increased share of candidates in Division 1 and a higher absolute number of passes in 2025, suggesting modest gains in attainment at the top and middle of the distribution. Gender-disaggregated analyses reveal that boys continue to outperform girls in higher divisions and in Science, Social Studies, and Mathematics, even as girls constitute the majority of candidates. Participation among learners with special needs and among prison inmates increased over the period, signalling incremental progress toward more inclusive assessment, in line with the Chair’s call to “leave no learner behind.” The analysis underscores that while access and completion have expanded, persistent learning deficits, gendered achievement gaps, and uneven subject performance require targeted instructional support, gender-responsive interventions, and sustained investment in foundational learning to realise equitable, high-quality outcomes in Uganda’s basic education

This article develops a theoretical framework for understanding how organizational crises and public scandals in the welfare sector generate institutional trauma and reorganize collective memory among employees. Drawing upon the author's philosophical sociology, the analysis conceptualizes welfare institutions not as neutral bureaucracies, but as moral fields structured by symbolic hierarchies, socially sustained epistemic orders and historically sedimented categories of moral judgment. Institutional trauma is understood not as an aggregation of individual psychological injuries but as a socially mediated epistemic rupture – a breakdown in the taken-for-granted frameworks that make professional action intelligible and morally justified. The article proposes a multidimensional theoretical synthesis combining Durkheim’s account of collective representations and anomie, Mannheim’s conception of socially situated knowledge, Bourdieu’s field theory and Collins’s model of interaction ritual chains, supplemented by insights from the sociology of cultural trauma (Sztompka, 2000) and social memory studies (Halbwachs, 1992; Olick & Robbins, 1998). Conceptually, it argues that crises in welfare institutions disrupt three interwoven orders: (1) the moral order regulating expectations of care and responsibility, (2) the epistemic order that defines what counts as valid professional knowledge, and (3) the mnemonic order through which institutions remember and narrate their past. Empirically oriented illustrations are drawn from a purposively selected corpus of staff testimonies, internal documents, and public representations from documented crises in European welfare institutions. These materials are treated not as a representative sample but as analytically constructed narratives that illuminate recurring patterns of moral breakdown, epistemic disorientation, and reconstructive rituals of repair. The article concludes that institutional trauma is best understood as a collective condition in which moral, cognitive and mnemonic orders are simultaneously shaken, and that welfare institutions “heal” themselves – if at all – by reshaping their symbolic boundaries and mnemonic practices rather than simply by implementing new procedures.

Effects of computer-based multimedia testing on social studies undergraduates academic achievement and retention in environmental education

This study aims to reflect on data bias issues and propose a teaching case and assessment model for cultivating ‘flexible bias’. To this end, a project-based learning activity was designed by restructuring the 5th-grade social studies history unit to discover and generate data for lesser-known independence activists. The instructional design applied Park's (2023) model, enabling students to externalize ‘multiple representations’ and witness data bias within the class. Subsequently, by utilizing ‘Google Trends’ to visualize search volume gaps, students experienced ‘cognitive dissonance’. To resolve this, students acted as proactive data producers by creating Independence Hero Data and building a class database. Furthermore, this study proposes a ‘Bias Minimization Checklist’ for metacognitive reflection and an ‘Explainability-based Assessment Model’ using the think-aloud technique. The findings indicate that students strengthened their capacity to critically read data imbalances and developed digital citizenship by flexibly adjusting their biases. This study suggests that education in the AI era must expand toward reinforcing reflective capacities to understand the context behind data and address algorithmic bias.

Given that the production of digital offerings for schools by museums is currently an area of development, this article examines how teachers select, evaluate and use digital learning resources. The study is based on fourteen futures workshops with history and social studies teachers in secondary and upper secondary schools. The results show that teachers' practical appreciation of digital learning resources is closely linked to curriculum requirements and the ability to adapt the material to pupils' prior knowledge and special needs. Teachers value digital learning resources that address those aspects of historical thinking that are associated with primary source criticism and the understanding of continuity and change. While teachers' expectations of digital learning resources are based on available teaching materials, short formats and multimodality, they still expect multi-sensory experiences from museums and value museum visits. Moreover, teachers' agencies are limited by their perceived lack of time.

The purpose of this study was to determine how the implementation of the problem based-learning model in social studies learning in class VIII of SMP Negeri 27 Samarinda. The focus of this study is how the implementation of problem based-learning and the obstacles experienced in implementing the problem based-learning learning model in social studies learning. The research method used is a qualitative approach with a case study research type. The data collection techniques used by the researcher are observation, interviews with teachers and students and documentation. The results of the study showed that the implementation of the problem based-learning model in social studies learning in SMP Negeri 27 Samarinda went quite well. At the preparation stage, teachers prepared teaching modules, media and learning resources. The learning media used in problem based-learning learning were whiteboards and videos downloaded from the internet. The implementation of problem based-learning in SMP Negeri 27 Samarinda has several stages starting from opening learning and ending with learning evaluation. Evaluation of problem based-learning learning is an important aspect that aims to measure the effectiveness and impact of this learning model on student development. However, there are also obstacles faced by teachers such as lack of IT, mastery by both teachers and students, time constraints, student characteristics, and management of group dynamics.

ABSTRACT This article introduces and analyzes new, quantitative measures of inquiry-based and culturally responsive learning opportunities and finds that they are strongly related to students’ civic commitments, interest in diverse perspectives, and emotional engagement with their social studies classes. It draws on a unique panel dataset of public middle- and high-school students in Chicago (N = 41,880 students from 603 schools) conducted in 2022 and 2023. We also find that these learning opportunities are not distributed equally. For example, Latinx and Asian American youth report significantly lower levels of exposure to culturally responsive learning opportunities than Black youth. In addition, English language learners are less likely to receive inquiry-based instruction than other students. Differences such as these raise important questions as to why these inequalities exist and highlight the need for reform to ensure greater and more equitable access for all students.

Oxytocin is a contemporary tragedy based on real testimonies from Costa Rican women who have experienced obstetric violence. It emerged as an interdisciplinary artistic investigation and creation that seeks to highlight a form of systematic violence that is often normalized but leaves deep scars on the bodies and psyches of those who experience it. The project combines elements of theater, dance, visual arts, and social studies to denounce this violence from an intimate, poetic, and collective perspective.

ABSTRACT The materiality of war arrived in the Solomon Islands during the 1940s, as part of World War II, and it has never left. Although World War II is often imagined as a matter of the past, belonging to the European trenches, the materiality and the violence of the war far exceeds these narrow spatial and temporal limitations. In this paper, I draw on recent work from social anthropology, area studies, and science and technology studies related to the concept of reverberations to show how the violence of World War II persists in the everyday in the contemporary Solomon Islands. Focusing specifically on the violence enacted by explosive remnants of war (ERW), I show how abandoned and unexploded ordnance enacts a bodily violence that is reproductive of relations of gender, class, and ethnicity. What is more, I show how the bodily violence of ERW in the Solomon Islands is intertwined in an epistemic violence that devalues the bodies and lives of Solomon Islanders. Through these forms of violence, World War II continuously reverberates into the present.

Social Studies education occupies a strategic position in the Nigerian curriculum, particularly at the upper basic level, as it is instrumental in equipping learners with the knowledge, values, and attitudes necessary to function effectively in a democratic and interdependent society. This study investigated the role of pedagogical practices in shaping academic performance in Upper Basic Social Studies in Delta State. The study was guided by three research questions and three hypotheses and employed a descriptive survey design. The population comprised 49,796 Upper Basic 2 students in public secondary schools across Delta State. A sample of 300 students was selected using stratified sampling techniques to ensure fair representation across the senatorial districts. Data were collected using a researcher-designed structured questionnaire titled Pedagogical Practices and Academic Performance Questionnaire (PPAPQ), which covered dimensions of teacher-centred, learner-centred, and innovative instructional strategies, along with perceived academic performance. The instrument was subjected to content and face validation by experts in Social Science Education and Measurement and Evaluation at Delta State University, Abraka. Based on their recommendations, revisions were made to enhance item clarity and relevance. A pilot study was conducted using a sample of 50 Upper Basic students outside the study area, and the instrument yielded a Cronbach’s Alpha reliability coefficient of 0.82, indicating high internal consistency. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics such as independent t-tests, Pearson Product-Moment Correlation, and regression analysis at the 0.05 significance level. Findings revealed no significant difference in pedagogical practices between male and female Social Studies teachers. However, significant relationships were found between both teacher-centred and learner-centred pedagogical practices and students’ academic performance, as well as between the use of innovative teaching methods and academic performance. The study recommended that teachers should adopt a balanced blend of traditional and innovative instructional strategies, and that stakeholders support the effective implementation of diverse pedagogical methods to enhance academic outcomes in Social Studies. Overall, these findings advocate for a shift toward more student-focused and innovative educational practices that can improve learning experiences and outcomes.

ABSTRACT Drawing on a year-long study, this article explores the pedagogical practices of a U.S. secondary social studies teacher working with refugee-background students. Framed by Critical Refugee Studies, a theoretical approach that critiques dominant humanitarian, saviorist, and assimilationist discourses while centering refugees as active agents of political and social critique and as producers of their own epistemologies, this study examines how the teacher engages refugee-background students in his social studies classroom and how the ideas of Critical Refugee Studies are reflected in his instructional and pedagogical approaches. The findings highlight several key dimensions of his practice: foregrounding historical and contemporary forms of oppression and injustice relevant to refugee-background students’ lives; challenging colonial discourses and U.S. saviorism in global displacement and refugee production; and leveraging refugee-background students’ lived experiences and their historical and socio-cultural knowledge while foregrounding their agency and resilience. Ultimately, this study calls for a reimagining of refugee education that moves beyond discourses of trauma, victimization, and rescue-liberation and instead embraces more critical, empowering, and transformative pedagogies in secondary social studies classrooms.

Abstract The açaí ( Euterpe spp.) supply chain, emblematic of the Amazonian bioeconomy, has gained global prominence through narratives of sustainability and health promotion. This study aims to map and critically analyze the scientific literature on açaí and its relationship with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a focus on sustainability trends in Brazil and neighboring countries. Based on this analysis, the study identifies research gaps and future needs to guide the sustainable development of the açaí supply chain, focusing on public health, social determinants of health, and equity. 99 peer-reviewed articles (2010–2025) linking açaí to SDGs were selected. Research was predominantly concentrated on SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), addressed in 49% of the articles, followed by SDGs 12 and 15. Conversely, social and institutional SDGs—such as SDG 4 (Education), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 8 (Decent Work), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), SDG 16 (Governance), and SDG 17 (Partnerships)—were largely underrepresented. The top three research fields were food science and technology ( n = 27), environmental sciences ( n = 20), and engineering ( n = 20). This study analyzes how scientific research on the açaí ( Euterpe spp.) supply chain aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A systematic review was conducted following the PRISMA protocol, using Scopus and Web of Science as primary databases. Searches combined terms related to Euterpe species, sustainability, and value chains. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria—such as full-text availability and a citation density ≥ 4, complemented by a secondary search to capture low-citation social science studies—99 articles were selected for final analysis. Bibliometric mapping and qualitative synthesis revealed a strong concentration of publications addressing SDG 3 (Health and Well-being), followed by SDGs 12 and 15, while social and institutional dimensions (SDGs 4, 5, 8, 10, 16, and 17) remain significantly underrepresented. Around 26% of the environmental articles focused on agricultural and forest management, revealing a modest engagement with agroecological aspects. Although açaí has been widely praised for its nutritional and functional properties, including antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory compounds, the review also identifies critical gaps in labor conditions, gender inclusion, and equitable benefit-sharing. Furthermore, despite the abundance of biomass—seeds account for 85% of the fruit—integrated circular economy strategies remain scarce. This imbalance indicates a fragmented research landscape that privileges technological and environmental perspectives over governance, equity, and community livelihoods. The study’s limitations include disciplinary citation asymmetries, potential omission of region-specific or non-indexed studies, and restricted access to unavailable full texts. Despite these constraints, the review identifies key thematic trends, highlights gaps in socio-bioeconomic research, and proposes future directions for comparative studies involving Euterpe species across Andean–Amazonian countries and the Atlantic Forest biome. The findings contribute to advancing a more comprehensive sustainability agenda for the global açaí value chain.

In this article, the coauthors use the metaphor of breaking to search inward. Drawing on Black Crit and Black geographies as conceptual frameworks and critical race counterstorytelling methodologies they illuminate the ways that their pedagogical and curricular praxes locate, imagine, and create new possibilities in their pre-service Social Studies classrooms. In doing so, the authors introduce a conceptualization of what they have termed Black Hip Hop Social Studies Geographies. Black Hip Hop Social Studies Geographies are symbolic in that they symbolize a break from traditional Social Studies education and advance a praxis rooted in critical analyses of anti-Blackness, imagination of alternatives, and pedagogical and curricular ways to create new Social Studies realities for teachers and students. The authors conclude the article with implications for P-20 Social Studies education and research.

Historical perspective taking (HPT) stands out as an effective approach that strengthens individuals' social and political orientations, develops their moral judgments, and promotes responsible democratic citizenship. Recent research on contemporary history and social studies education shows that middle school students struggle to understand different perspectives when interpreting historical events. However, research on how students experience these difficulties is limited. In this study, we aimed to determine how the HPT process differs for 6th and 8th grade students by presenting a systematic comparison within the framework of HPT components and to develop recommendations on which pedagogical approaches may be more effective in history teaching depending on age. We conducted the study, designed as qualitative research, using a case study design. In the study, we used newspapers prepared by students to determine their HPT, standardized open-ended interview forms, and participant-observer notes as data collection tools. In analyzing the data, we made significant use of the components of the historical perspective-taking tool developed by Hartmann and Hasselhorn (2008). The results of the study show that age-related variables have a significant effect on HPT.

Depression is a common mental illness that can greatly impact an individual's ability to function when the condition is severe. With the proliferation of social media platforms, more and more studies have started to analyze users' social media data to detect their depression. However, most of the existing studies ignore information about users' cognitive distortions. In addition, these studies focus only on the semantic information of users' posts and ignore a variety of user-level information related to depression. To address these weaknesses, we propose a depression detection model fusing cognitive distortions and user-level information. On the one hand, the model captures potential multi-granularity cognitive distortion in formation in user text via a cognitive distortion encoder trained by a multi-granularity cognitive distortion learning method. In addition, we propose a post-level distortion aware mechanism to identify key cognitive distortion in formation related to the subjective cognition of users. On the other hand, the model fuses user-level information that is highly correlated with depression symptoms. It also dynamically identifies key post-level fusion information and multiple user-level information for different users through a multi-feature adaptive weighting method, which reduces noise from data irregularities. The results of the experiments show that the model achieves state-of-the-art performance on a public dataset. In addition, we discuss the impact of different cognitive distortion learning strategies and the importance of different user-level information in detecting depression through various experiments.

In this practitioner article, the authors explain how to foster political thinking in high school students by using three activities examining political artifacts from the Log Cabin Campaign used by the Whigs in the 1840 presidential election. A historical overview of the 1840 presidential election is provided offering historical context for the activities. A literature review describing the best practices advocated for in the C3 Framework, published by the National Council for the Social Studies, is included. The authors also share a review of Wayne Journell’s scholarship on political thinking and how it can be used to teach civics using the ideas highlighted in the C3 Framework. Each of the three activities described in the article focuses on different political artifacts from the Log Cabin Campaign used in the 1840 presidential election. A summative assessment allows students to use their political thinking skills by drawing on their analysis of the political artifacts. The authors provided the steps and resources needed to implement the activities.

This study explores the integration of digital pedagogical tools in Social Studies education in public secondary schools in Lipa City, Philippines, highlighting both their transformative potential and the challenges teachers face. Grounded in the global push for ICT in education and aligned with national policies such as the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 and the Philippine Professional Standards for Teachers, the research investigates how Social Studies teachers utilize technology to enrich classroom instruction. Using a quantitative-descriptive design, data were gathered from 50 purposively selected teachers through a validated survey instrument. The study examined demographic profiles, tool usage frequency, perceived challenges, and differences across teacher characteristics. Findings reveal that teachers predominantly employ basic tools such as PowerPoint presentations, videos, and digital images, which are consistently integrated into lessons to enhance visualization and content delivery. In contrast, advanced tools like gamification platforms and learning management systems are seldom used, reflecting gaps in digital proficiency, confidence, and institutional support. The most pressing challenge identified was limited internet connectivity, followed by a lack of hardware and difficulties in designing engaging digital activities. Statistical analysis further indicated significant differences in challenges across age groups, with younger teachers demonstrating greater adaptability than older cohorts. The study concludes that while Social Studies teachers are open to digital innovation, systemic barriers hinder deeper integration. It recommends strengthening ICT infrastructure, providing targeted professional development, and developing content-specific digital resources to ensure more inclusive, meaningful, and effective use of technology in Social Studies education. Key Words: Digital Pedagogical Tools, Social Studies Education, Teacher Challenges, Technology Integration, Professional Development, Gamification, Learning Management Systems, Digital Literacy.

Historic sites offer valuable opportunities for experiential learning but are often underused in social studies education. This practitioner study explored how secondary social studies teachers—including those who teach geography—and historic site supervisors from an upper Midwestern U.S. state prefer to collaborate and which informal learning resources they find most effective. Using survey data from 136 middle and high school teachers and interviews with eight historic site supervisors, the study found that teachers prefer brief, flexible pre- and post-visit lesson materials, such as 10–15-minute activities and videos. Both groups expressed strong interest in collaborating to develop student-centered learning experiences beyond the classroom. Teachers preferred electronic resource distribution and suggested summer institutes, online collaboration, and graduate credit as ways to incentivize the co-creation of materials. Site supervisors emphasized the importance of tailoring visits to student backgrounds and highlighted the role of educational outreach teams. The study concludes with practical recommendations for resource design and collaboration models, such as developing site-specific lesson materials and establishing teacher–supervisor summer institutes. These initiatives can strengthen partnerships between teachers and historic sites and support informal learning in social studies classrooms, particularly focusing on enhancing geoscience education.

This study was motivated by the low learning outcomes of students in Social Studies, particularly on natural disaster material in Grade IV of SDI Halibenaus. The purpose of this research was to describe the implementation of the Active Learning model in improving students’ learning outcomes. This study employed a qualitative approach using Classroom Action Research (CAR) conducted in two cycles, each consisting of planning, action, observation, and reflection stages. The research subjects were 17 fourth-grade students consisting of 10 boys and 7 girls. Data collection techniques included observation, tests, and documentation, while data analysis was carried out through data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. The results indicated an improvement in students’ learning outcomes in each cycle. The average score in Cycle I was 64.35% with a mastery level of 35.29%, which increased in Cycle II to 83.17% with a mastery level of 82.35%. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that the implementation of the Active Learning model is effective in improving students’ learning outcomes in Social Studies on natural disaster material for fourth-grade students at SDI Halibenaus.