Studies Methods Course Research Articles

Pre-service teachers engage young children in equity work

ABSTRACT All too often pre-service teachers are not well prepared to discuss issues of racism, oppression and bias with their future students. Teacher educators can prepare their students for this work by developing projects that focus on addressing equity and racial justice. This article describes one such project in which a group of twenty early childhood education students in a social studies methods course along with first and second grade children worked together on a project designed to help them engage with issues of racial inequity. In this semester long exploration of the life of racial justice activist Modjeska Simkins the pre-service teachers utilized justice-orientated teaching to build, integrate, and enact curriculum around issues of social justice. The pre-service teachers reported gaining confidence in using this pedagogy to engender an understanding of equity, address issues of societal inequities, and work with their future students in confronting these issues. The article contains a description of the teaching model and its application to guide teacher educators to become familiar with justice-orientated teaching and embark on efforts to engage in such practices in their own courses.

Negotiating teacher positionality: Preservice teachers confront assumptions through collaborative book clubs in a social studies methods course

This case study explores the use of collaborative book clubs and word sorts to influence teacher positionality in an undergraduate social studies methods course for pre-service teachers. Drawing upon existing literature that suggests the effectiveness of dialogue as a means of navigating prior beliefs and the benefits of collaborative spaces for teachers to engage in collegial discussions, the study utilized books surrounding socio-political themes and educational inequalities to prompt conversation among participants. Results of the study suggest that dialogic and collaborative activities like word sorts and book clubs provide productive opportunities for pre-service teachers to (re)negotiate their positionalities and grapple with their existing assumptions as they learn and co-construct meaning from and with one another. At the same time, the pre-service teachers’ perceptions of privilege and identity seem to remain somewhat unexamined and the teachers remain hesitant about the practical reality of working to dismantle inequalities in their own classrooms.

Thinking with theory in a civil rights center

PurposeThe purpose of this theoretical paper is to propose that museums can be useful sites in intervening the theory–practice divide in teacher education. The authors draw from their visit to the Center for Civil and Human Rights (CCHR or Center hereafter) to explore the potential of a local museum as a powerful intervention in the preservice teacher education theory/practice divide.Design/methodology/approachThe authors’ theoretical framework draws off of “thinking with theory,” a method of using concepts to make sense of data by “plugging” a concept “into” data (Jackson and Mazzei, 2011). The authors believe that everyone, even their preservice teachers think with theories in an attempt to make sense of information and events. In their social studies methods courses, the authors offer readings, texts, videos and experiences that present ideas and concepts that are new to their preservice teachers in order to expose underlying theories that frame worldviews.FindingsThe authors provide four “snapshots” or findings. These include: heroification and villainification, White–Black binary and messianic meta-narratives, empathy and simulation and critical Black patriotism. Each of these snapshots is grounded in theories from scholars in the field of social studies, demonstrating one way to put theory to work.Originality/valueAs the aforementioned snapshots show, the authors found a place like CCHR that can serve as important space to think with theory and deconstruct presented narratives. The authors “plugged” concepts from social studies scholarship “into” the narratives presented at the CCHR. Specifically, the authors used villainification (van Kessel and Crowley, 2017), AsianCrit (Chang, 1993), Black Patriotism (Busey and Walker, 2017) and messianic narratives and martyrdom (Alridge, 2006).

A Transdisciplinary Approach to Teacher Preparation: Providing Equitable Access for All Students to Learn Social Studies Content, Skills, and Processes

Contextualized in the critical pedagogies of universal design for learning (UDL) and social justice education, our study aimed to equip teacher candidates (TCs) to provide students with equitable access to learning social studies content knowledge, skills, and processes as a way to equally empower all students to be civically engaged, and thus to disrupt the social reproduction of empowering privileged students and disempowering marginalized ones in the public schools. An earlier study indicated that our TCs did not transfer or generalize the UDL framework from foundation courses to subsequent classes or in practice. This case study describes how and in what ways elementary education faculty used a transdisciplinary approach, integrating the UDL framework taught in the foundation’s course into a social studies methods course to facilitate TCs’ continued learning and application of theory into practice. The results of this case study suggest that TCs that TCs had not yet internalized the UDL framework or critical consciousness and that these must be intentionally transferred and generalized to new coursework by the faculty on a consistent, ongoing basis.

Building Professional Competencies Through a Service Learning ‘Gallery Walk’ in Primary School Teacher Education

This article reports on a service learning project in a South African primary school teacher education programme, as experiential and practice-based pedagogy in a social studies methods course. We aimed to broaden understanding of service learning as a form of non-placement work-integrated learning for the development of teacher professional competencies. Student teachers drew on topics in the middle school social studies curriculum and incorporated Indigenous geographical elements with local community history in the design of a service learning ‘gallery walk’ for Grade 5 learners. Using a generic qualitative design, data were generated from students’ and teachers’ reflective journals, lesson plans, photographs and video recordings. It was analysed for common content themes and prominent discourse markers of students’ developing professional knowledge and competencies. The findings provide evidence of deepened student learning, particularly on the influence of context and curriculum differentiation and how their struggles with group work enabled the development of collaboration and co-operation required by professionals. In addition, the service learning prompted changing notions of citizenship and reciprocity of learning.

Preparing elementary pre-service teachers for social studies integration in an alternative field placement

As social studies receives less instructional time in elementary classrooms, elementary pre-service teachers (PSTs) observe little social studies instruction in their field placements. Social studies integration is one way to counteract the devaluation of social studies in elementary schools. This multiple case study examines the extent to which nine elementary PSTs were able to integrate social studies into lessons during an alternative field placement, an integratedSTEM camp. The findings show variance across and within participants in their ability to integrate social studies in a quality way. Implications for elementary social studies methods course instructors are discussed.

Examining pre-service teachers’ preparedness and perceptions about teaching controversial issues in social studies

This study explored pre-service teachers' (N = 37) perceptions about teaching controversial global and local topics. Additionally, it examined participants’ level of preparedness, motivation and perceived hindrances to teaching controversial issues. To do so, the study used a interpretive phenomenological approach (IPA). Data from written reflections and semi-structured interviews showed 80 percent of participants lacked exposure to college work that examined controversial issues prior to taking Social Studies Methods course. However, after taking the course, participants were able to identify controversial topics, but they still displayed limited critical awareness and conceptualization of teaching controversial issues. Other findings pointed to the benefits of teaching controversial topics in a planned and intentional manner.

Muddying the Waters: Studying Teaching for Social Justice in the Midst of Uncertainty

ABSTRACTIn light of societal pluralism, diverse visions exist for social justice. In this sense, uncertainty is a marker of social justice education and research. This article shares insights into how we came to ask a question about teaching for social justice through cross-cultural collaborative self-study. Eight New Zealand pre-service teachers participated in semi-structured interviews in which they reflected on their six-week social studies methods course. Drawing on pedagogical moments that the pre-service teachers saw as being significant, this article explores the generative and ambiguous ways in which the course ‘muddied the waters’ of their unfolding conceptions and practices of social justice education. The article describes how coming to know ‘teaching for social justice’ through the eyes of these pre-service teachers provided a reflexive surface for our self-study and has shaped its trajectory. In contrast to our initial desire for greater certainty, placing the uncertainties of social justice at the forefront of our practice has become central to our inquiry.

Examining preservice teachers’ thinking about teaching first grade economics through inquiry

PurposeIn recent years, the field of social studies education has seen renewed interest in using inquiry to teach intradisciplinary concepts and skills. However, prospective primary grade teachers may have few (if any) opportunities to observe classroom teachers modeling inquiry during field placements. Methods courses provide fitting contexts in which to introduce preservice teachers (PSTs) to inquiry as a basis for intellectually challenging, meaningful social studies instruction. The purpose of this paper is to utilize a published inquiry curriculum developed for the New York Social Studies Toolkit (NYSST) Project as a tool to explore PSTs’ thinking about teaching first grade economics.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative study utilized focus groups with two groups of early childhood PSTs enrolled in a social studies methods course (n=28). Secondary data sources included PSTs’ handwritten comments on hard copies of the inquiry curriculum and the researcher’s analytic memos.FindingsIn the process of critiquing curriculum during focus group interviews, PSTs concentrated on the proposed tasks, evaluated those tasks for their potential to affect children’s understanding, and suggested new activities that would promote more active student engagement. Participants recognized the significance of children’s prior knowledge and were sensitive to students’ family values, although they underestimated young children’s capacity for robust discussion and intellectually challenging content.Originality/valueThis study is unique in its use of a published NYSST Project inquiry to explore how PSTs make sense of new curriculum. Its attention to PST education for primary grades contributes to elementary social studies literature. Additionally, this study addresses a general concern in teacher education about the need for PSTs to develop skills in interpreting and adapting curriculum materials. Findings suggest that engaging PSTs in discussions about social studies curriculum can help teacher educators identify latent learning goals for their courses that may be overlooked or assumed unnecessary.

Perceptions and practices of U.S. pre-service special education teachers on teaching social studies instruction in inclusive classrooms

ABSTRACT In the most recent reauthorization of the seminal U.S. special education law, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA), reaffirmed that students with disabilities should be taught in their least restrictive environment. This environment has progressively been seen as the general education classroom. The push for inclusion has resulted in a heightened sense of collaboration and co-teaching practices between general and special educators. Within general education settings, inclusion asks that special educators assume a more active, unified and participatory role in the design and delivery of content-based instruction. This study surveyed 179 preservice special education teachers through questionnaires regarding their practices and perceptions of teaching social studies in inclusive settings. The results indicate that preservice students lacked a cogent definition of social studies as well as exposure to effective instructional practices. Both deficits contributed to a general lack of confidence in their ability to teach social studies in general education settings. It was therefore recommended that preservice special educators take a social studies methods course which supports field-based exposure to co-planning and co-teaching collaborative opportunities.

The pre-service practicum experience and inquiry-oriented pedagogy: Evidence from student teachers׳ lesson planning

This paper addresses whether, how, and to what extent social studies student teachers who have been introduced to inquiry-oriented teaching (as manifest in the National Council for the Social Studies C3 Framework) in their secondary social studies methods course incorporate this approach into the planning for their practicum experience. Based on analysis of lesson plans used in the practicum and follow-up interviews with a small subset of student teachers, this paper analyzes the factors that promote or inhibit use of this approach to teaching in their practicum experience. Results indicate the C3-oriented teaching approach, as taught in the methods course, did appear in the student teachers’ lesson plans. A small subset of student teachers used the framework competently while two smaller subsets were less adept in their application. The degree of application was affected by student teachers’ perceptions of their school placements and students’ needs.

Using technology-enhanced cases in teacher education: An exploratory study in a social studies methods course

The purpose of this case study was to gain insight into pre-service teachers' and an instructor's perceptions and experiences on their uses of technology-enhanced cases in a teaching methods course. Findings demonstrate two different reactions from pre-service teachers. The majority of them valued case discussions with co-construction of knowledge as useful and meaningful, but a few also perceived the cases as meaningless and disengaged from the discussions. The study also provides insight into how the instructor's case-based instruction mediated such differences and used the cases as a means of closing the gap between the methods course and field experience.

Social studies teacher educators who do race work

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore how 11 social studies teacher educators (SSTEs) incorporated race into their social studies methods courses. It examines the instructional practices of the SSTEs using racial-pedagogical-content-knowledge (RPCK) as an analytical framework.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is a qualitative interview study. The data sources included two 40–90 min semi-structured interviews per participant, methods course syllabi and reading lists, and university documents such as departmental mission statements and program course requirements. Data were analyzed using three cycles of coding: descriptive coding, focused coding and analytic generalizations.FindingsThe paper illustrates how the SSTEs incorporated race into their social studies methods courses through developing counter-narrative content knowledge, modeling the application of critical race theory tenets through pedagogical content knowledge, and cultivating a working racial knowledge among pre-service teachers.Originality/valueThis paper extends the literature of the RPCK framework through illustrating many ways each component of RPCK can be applied within a social studies methods course.

A Dominant Narrative in Economics?: Preservice Teachers and Pluralism in a Social Studies Methods Class.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate one effort to challenge the problematic assumptions of the dominant narrative of neoclassical economics within a teacher preparation program that focuses on addressing dominant narratives throughout the social studies curriculum. Design/methodology/approach: Utilizing a theoretical framework that intersects Pedagogical Content Knowledge and pluralist economics, this study consists of a general interpretive study conducted in a master’s plus certification social studies methods course. Data was collected from several class sessions, including observational and artifact data, as well as semi-structured interviews with participants after the conclusion of the class. Findings: Preservice teachers were able to spell out a dominant narrative in economics that exposed the effect of the narrative, but rarely critiqued its epistemology. Second, the fluctuations in content and curricular knowledge as well as the broader challenge of explaining pluralism in a relevant way meant the observed pedagogical content knowledge in economics was devoid of pluralist content. Research limitations/implications: Implications from this study include the need to explicitly critique the epistemological foundations of neoclassical theory, the value of an appreciative stances toward preservice teacher content knowledge, and the need to strategically integrate pluralism into economics methods courses.

Immersed in the struggle: confronting whiteness in a sea of whiteness

This paper explores white pre-service teachers’ understandings of racism by focusing on their understanding of one moment in a field-based social studies methods course. Using interview and journal data from two pre-service teachers, this qualitative study brings a nuanced perspective to the response of these two pre-service teachers to the racist statements of a small group of middle school students. Analysis of the data revealed that the participants’ white racial knowledge, based on their own lived experience, was complex and contradictory and revealed a struggle to articulate their understanding of racism. The author concludes by considering how teacher education can help PSTs in understanding white racial knowledge.

Meeting the demands of the C3 framework in elementary social studies methods

PurposeIn both elementary schools and elementary teacher education programs, social studies is marginalized while standards require increasingly more ambitious reasoning, reading, and writing in social studies than has historically been documented in American elementary schools. The purpose of this paper is to explain the challenges that elementary social studies teacher educators face in preparing elementary school teachers to facilitate the kind of ambitious social studies envisioned in the NCSS’s C3 Framework and advocate an approach to successfully address these challenges.Design/methodology/approachThis paper articulates a targeted and ambitious approach to elementary social studies teacher education. The authors describe five recommendations from the teacher education literature for supporting preservice teachers in learning disciplinary-oriented social studies teaching, recommendations that guided the redesign of the social studies methods course. The authors then highlight key aspects of the redesigned methods course and demonstrate how the authors engaged the challenges inherent in the work of elementary social studies teacher education.FindingsAlthough this paper is not arranged in such a way as to substantiate empirical findings, the purpose of the paper is to demonstrate an approach to elementary social studies education aligned with extant literature on preparing teachers to engage in reform teaching practices, specifically those disciplinary oriented practices suggested in NCSS’s C3 Framework. As such, the paper should be read as a perspective on practice.Research limitations/implicationsThe type of disciplinary-oriented approach described here is increasingly under investigation in secondary teacher education research and similar approaches are under investigation in elementary math and science education research. To the authors’ knowledge, the approach is novel in elementary social studies education. Furthermore, the authors believe it offers a direction for researchers interested in gaps in the literature related to practice based teacher education and disciplinary-oriented social studies teacher education.Practical implicationsThe approach described here offers specific guidance and resources for teacher educators who are struggling with the challenges of the contemporary social studies education landscape and/or who wish to focus methods courses in disciplinary ways.Social implicationsResearch in social studied education has demonstrated that when students are exposed to disciplinary practices in social studies, their literacy skills improve and they learn analytical skills that support their development as citizens (consumption of media, participation in public discourse, ability to discern arguments).Originality/valueAs noted above, the approach described here is novel in elementary social studies education. Combining a disciplinary approach with a practice-based frame in elementary social studies represents an opportunity for empirical research and offers new approaches to the practice of teacher education and early career professional development.

The battle for rap: problems and possibilities in teacher education

This qualitative study examined preservice teachers’ (PSTs’) ideas and beliefs regarding the use of rap for instructional purposes in P-12 classrooms, and the ways in which they proposed to use rap in the teaching of middle and high school social studies. Participants included the instructor of a social studies methods course, and thirteen PSTs enrolled in the course. The findings suggest that PSTs view rap as a phenomenon that must be approached in a careful manner, and that is best suited to content areas other than social studies. The findings also suggest that PSTs’ proposed uses of rap represent P-12 education as an uncritical, teacher-centric endeavor which serves to perpetuate the status quo.

The three R’s: reading, (W)Riting, and researching through multi-genre project

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how the authors, two teacher educators, planned for and guided 23 students (teacher candidates) through a multi-genre historical inquiry experience, integrating instruction on the Inquiry Arc and writing process, during a co-taught literacy and social studies methods course. The authors describe the ways in which the students demonstrated both active and passive participation and resistance to this process/project, and the related implications.Design/methodology/approachUsing an action research approach, this paper reports analysis and interpretation of lesson plans, course materials, debriefing notes, field notes, student response notebooks and intermediate and final inquiry project artifacts.FindingsAll students demonstrated gains in content knowledge through their products, oral presentations, group discussions, or conferences with the authors; and all gained experience with the Inquiry Arc and process writing. Many students saw the benefits of collaboration and social construction of knowledge as they moved toward more central participation.Practical implicationsInstructors cannot mandate full participation in any task, but can influence the conditions (i.e. pedagogy, task, scaffolding) to increase the possibility of positive peer interactions and learning.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the knowledge of teaching and learning innovation in teacher preparation coursework.

Preparing Elementary Teacher Candidates to Use Global Content: An Action Research Study

Globalization is a powerful force that will shape the future world in which our children will live. To prepare our students for the world, we need to prepare their teachers. To be effective in the new global environment, teachers need broader sets of knowledge and skills than have previously been required. We designed this action research study to examine our teacher candidates’ use of global education content to support our ability to develop their knowledge, skills, and attitudes toward its use. The following research questions focus the study: How do elementary education teacher candidates utilize global content within integrated unit plans? How can the elementary social studies methods course prepare teacher candidates to use global content? The findings reveal teacher candidates’ integration of global content was strongest in the areas of foundational-knowledge-level dimensions with few examples of higher-level application, cross-cultural experiences, or action-oriented learning tasks. Secondly, global education content requiring a critical perspective was minimal or nonexistent in the teacher candidates’ planning. We discuss these two concerns and present action steps to build teacher candidates’ capacity for developing higher levels of global content into their instructional unit planning.

False Echoes of the Past: Using Visual Art to Teach Critical Thinking about History

ABSTRACTIn this article, we explain how the Discipline-based Art Education Model (DBAE) represents an instructional tool to disturb teacher candidates and elementary students' commonly held notions of US history, motivate research into historical events, and revise understandings of historical topics so that they begin seeing how the past has shaped the present social environment. We describe a social studies methods course assignment that requires candidates' exploration of common history myths and development of lessons about accurate historical information. Finally, we provide two examples of lessons developed through the assignment to teach revisionist historical accounts using the DBAE.