For over a century, social studies educators have drawn upon the works of philosopher John Dewey to justify an interdisciplinary vision for the field. This manuscript explores the…
Abstract
For over a century, social studies educators have drawn upon the works of philosopher John Dewey to justify an interdisciplinary vision for the field. This manuscript explores the intellectual context that engendered Dewey’s pedagogical vision, outlines how and why Dewey organized his interdisciplinary curriculum at the University of Chicago Laboratory School, and traces how Dewey expanded his pedagogy in the 1920s and 1930s to include the interdisciplinary study of social and political issues in the classroom. The author argues that Dewey’s interdisciplinary pedagogy is best appreciated through a developmental and contingent framework.
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Elana Tiemann and Thomas D. Fallace
This action research project traces how a teacher used images of cultural universals as part of a kindergarten social studies curriculum to help her students develop temporal…
Abstract
This action research project traces how a teacher used images of cultural universals as part of a kindergarten social studies curriculum to help her students develop temporal distinctions between past and present. Students were introduced to the general idea of what cultural universals were, and then they studied two different periods of history using cultural universals. After clearing up some initial misconceptions, the majority of the students were able to make at least a dichotomous distinction between past and present, and many students were able to make additional temporal distinctions among periods of the past.
Lindsay D’Adamo and Thomas Fallace
This action research study explores how the multigenre research project develops historical empathy, or historical perspective taking skills, in a class of 22 fourth grade…
Abstract
This action research study explores how the multigenre research project develops historical empathy, or historical perspective taking skills, in a class of 22 fourth grade students. Much of the research in these areas focuses on the high school and university level. However, this study explored the degree to which upper elementary students were able to recognize historical perspectives, and whether the multigenre project format was conducive to developing this particular skill. The students in the study selected a historical topic from a list of historical subjects, then researched this topic, and displayed what they learned through multiple genres. The action researcher found that the multigenre research project increased students’ understanding of the differences in historical perspectives.
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This article discusses the underlying teaching framework of relational cultural theory (RCT), as well as additional teaching practices used within a doctoral-level…
Abstract
Purpose
This article discusses the underlying teaching framework of relational cultural theory (RCT), as well as additional teaching practices used within a doctoral-level, interdisciplinary social studies course on critical social justice. Areas for future development are identified.
Design/methodology/approach
A research-engaged, conceptual report on practice was used to identify and integrate relevant scholarship for the purpose of formulating and analyzing teaching practices for this type of course, and to iteratively identify possible directions for future development.
Findings
RCT is a generative, underlying teaching framework for the interdisciplinary social study of critical social justice. Additional teaching practices including a community agreement to guide challenging discussions; participant-led presencing activities at the outset of classes; and, co-creation by participants of the content topics can be fruitfully embedded within RCT. Potential future development could include team-based, community-engaged, experiential term projects aimed at further deepening interdisciplinarity and civic engagement skills.
Practical implications
Practical guidance is provided on the use of RCT, community agreements, co-creation, presencing activities and Indigenous land acknowledgments or contemplations on Indigenous works.
Social implications
RCT can be used across different educational levels or contexts. Practices of co-creation, presencing and contemplation of Indigenous works are receiving increased consideration in diverse contexts. However, conventional grading procedures can be inconsistent with critical social justice, suggesting the need for research-engaged policy review.
Originality/value
This article responds to recent scholarly calls for discussion of teaching practices in the interdisciplinary, social study of critical social justice in post-secondary education.
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Michelle D. Cude, Ashley Taylor Jaffee, Philip David Dillard, John Hulsey and Alison Sandman
This case study investigated how a collaborative, interdisciplinary partnership supported pre-service teachers’ approach to integrating content and pedagogy in coursework and…
Abstract
This case study investigated how a collaborative, interdisciplinary partnership supported pre-service teachers’ approach to integrating content and pedagogy in coursework and field-based experiences at a large, public university. The collaboration involved articulating shared goals and objectives, planning and teaching co-requisite courses, and sharing a vision of shaping future social studies teachers. The research questions that framed this study were: What elements contributed to a successful collaborative, interdisciplinary partnership? How did faculty involved in the collaboration conceptualize supporting pre-service teachers’ development of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK)? The voices of the faculty members involved in this collaboration are highlighted to illustrate how they conceptualized meeting the needs of pre-service social studies teachers. Findings included identifying the constraints and benefits of partnerships as well as contributing factors to a successful interdisciplinary partnership. Identifying the evolving definition and role of PCK in the training of future social studies teachers is also addressed.
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Sarah Drake Brown and Richard L. Hughes
The purpose of this paper is to examine three high school teachers’ beliefs about how their understanding of historiography influences their teaching.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine three high school teachers’ beliefs about how their understanding of historiography influences their teaching.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors engaged in a qualitative multiple-case study based on semi-structured interviews and artifact analysis.
Findings
The analysis describes the teachers’ understanding of historiography in relation to ideas about historical perspective-taking, textbook use, the incorporation of primary sources in the classroom, and tensions between teaching content and teaching skills. The study concludes that while undergraduate exposure to historiography is potentially useful and can help history teachers manage the complexity of the profession, drawing upon historiographical understandings in order to recognize the construction of historical narratives in the classroom remains a persistent challenge.
Originality/value
Much of the work addressing the potential role of historiographical understanding for teachers has focused on teacher preparation and the ideas held by teaching candidates. This research emphasizes experienced teachers’ beliefs about the role that historiography plays in their teaching.
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Sue Ellen Henry and Kathleen Knight Abowitz
In this chapter, we read Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me (2015) against Dewey’s Democracy and Education (1916) to glean insight into how Deweyan transactionalism can…
Abstract
In this chapter, we read Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me (2015) against Dewey’s Democracy and Education (1916) to glean insight into how Deweyan transactionalism can help theorize greater democratic participation for the corporeally disenfranchised, that is, those persons who experience sociocultural and/or political marginalization due to the racialized status of their bodies. We argue that transactionalism carries promise to help interrupt current, systemic practice that negatively reifies Black bodies and reasserts Black bodies as central, full participants in democratic action. An analysis of transactionalism as interpreted from Democracy and Education and other Deweyan writings is followed by an analysis of Coates’ memoir, Between the World and Me, focusing on his experiential understanding of how Black bodies exist in educational institutions. We conclude the chapter with possibilities for an embodied ideal of democracy, and some educational practices that can follow from it.
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Paul G. Fitchett and Phillip J. Vanfossen
In this paper, we outline the rationale for developing the Survey of the Status of Social Studies (S4). The instrument contains items for analyzing the organizational structure…
Abstract
In this paper, we outline the rationale for developing the Survey of the Status of Social Studies (S4). The instrument contains items for analyzing the organizational structure, instructional decision-making, professional attitudes, and demographics of social studies teachers. Nationally-inclusive data generated from this survey analysis were used to examine the technical and theoretical validity of the instrument. Incorporating factor analysis, findings suggest constructs embedded within S4 related to social studies pedagogy, content emphases, and technology-use that reflect extant theory. As such, the S4 and accompanying nationwide data set offer social educators a valuable resource for fostering professional development and policy.
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This paper is grounded on the premise that effective educators base lessons on rich and intriguing content which is relevant to students’ lives, implement the content using…
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This paper is grounded on the premise that effective educators base lessons on rich and intriguing content which is relevant to students’ lives, implement the content using engaging and age-appropriate methodology, and measure students’ learning through authentic assessments. In order to support practicing teachers’ effective implementation of best practice methodology and assessment, educational researchers investigate the interconnections between content, methodology, and assessment. As technology facilitates teaching methodologies and learning assessments, meaningful activities such as students’ original political cartooning should be examined, detailed, and adapted. In this article, the methodological suggestions for, and adaptations of, students’ original political cartoons guide educators who seek to enable students’ creative and critical expressions of understandings about complex historical content.