Despite the increasing emphasis on social studies in Early Childhood Education, there has been a serious paucity of empirical studies on how culturally and linguistically diverse children develop their emergent understanding on their identities and citizenships in different racial and cultural surroundings. The main purpose of this article is to…

Social studies educators have long advocated using history and the social sciences for the development of citizens. However, vigorous debate continues over what kinds of citizens are needed and who should decide. Where does this leave us as social studies teachers and scholars? And where does it leave our students? In this paper, I argue that…

Students learned to perform first-person presentation to display information researched through an inquiry process. Teachers helped students learn inquiry during instructional time. Teachers, parents, and guardians worked together to support student learning in a high poverty and low educational attainment Appalachian community. The character the…

This article explores how middle school students envision their communities through an in-depth community mapping project. The research explores the extent of students' sense of their community while prompting them to define what community means and whether it is valued by students. The project also seeks to understand students' sense of belonging…

Political history lends itself to traditional patterns of teaching and learning in social studies such as students memorizing facts presented in lectures or textbooks. This article presents a recurring activity structure for teaching U.S. political history--Consensus Circle Presidential Rating (CCPR)--which requires students to read across…

Culturally and linguistically relevant citizenship education (CLRCE) seeks to address and challenge the limitations of traditional, normative notions of citizenship for Latinx, newcomer, K-12 youth. This paper uses a comparative case study approach to examine the questions: To what extent does the CLRCE framework apply to multi-ethnic and…

The United States has a lengthy history of welcoming immigrants from throughout the world and ultimately naturalizing and conferring citizenship to them. Yet, a number of indigenous and people of color never consented to citizenship and many still do not wish to have it. This article explores the role of citizenship as a tool to not only…

Freedom of expression is the core political ideal undergirding American democracy and recent attacks on freedom of speech are a direct threat to the liberties and rights guaranteed in the United States Constitution. Freedom of expression is essential for participatory democracy, scientific progress, individualism, and civic education in K-12…

This article explores the racial prerequisite cases, which were dubious court decisions that attempted to rationalize pseudo-"scientific evidence" and "common knowledge" as reasons for who could and could not be considered for, and who was ultimately denied, U.S. citizenship. These cases are historical antecedents of the…

Deep social studies-based engagement is critical in early childhood to provide a foundation for later learning and increasingly mature understandings. Skills and attitudes necessary for active citizenship should be fostered in prekindergarten "in a way which is appealing and pleasurable (Casey, DiCarlo, & Sheldon, 2019, p. 1)". The…

In this study, we reflected on the process of designing and implementing a civics curriculum model focused on increasing upper-grade secondary students' involvement in local civic activity. We prioritized examining the challenges and possibilities of institutionalizing partnerships between teachers, students, community leaders, and local…

This study present findings related to students' community and political engagement and activism after participation in an action civics institute. The institute, iEngage, is a weeklong summer experience for rising fifth through rising ninth graders that utilizes the action civics inquiry cycle to foster civic skills and cultivate participation…

Hull-House was a unique social experiment by which Jane Addams realized her egalitarian vision for a shared civic life. Facing soaring social problems of the early twentieth century, Hull-House's most important mission was to help new immigrants learn the rule of self-government and become successful drivers of it. Hull-House was an unusual group…