This research analyzes the contribution of learning the history of early independence in fostering a philosophical understanding of nationhood. The research questions are: 1) What kinds of philosophical understanding of nationhood are perceived as pro-Islamism and pro-secularism by high school students? 2) How is nationalist behavior expressed as…

This article draws on qualitative case studies of student-centered classroom activities to consider how pedagogy and classroom climate interact with students' emotional experiences in the classroom. Findings suggest that teachers' beliefs about the purpose of classroom discussion influence their attendance to students' emotions in a way that…

In this collection, scholars from the United States, Canada, and Australia examine the concepts of villainification and anti-villainification in social studies curriculum and popular culture, as well as within broader sociocultural contexts. Villainification is the process of identifying an individual or a small group of individuals as the sole…

There are multiple benefits to women's history, including identifying women's experiences as historically significant and recognizing the variety of perspectives of historical actors. Engaging students with resources on women's history requires teachers to be prepared to deal with students' misconceptions and feelings about gender and feminism.…

In most places in the world, teachers might be concerned that skateboarding will take students out of school rather than keep them in. Outside Afghanistan, skateboarding has long had an aura of rebellion. Rose and Strike labeled skateboarding as "dangerous" and "rebellious." Atencio, Beal, and Wilson call attention to its…

High school social studies teachers play an important role in fostering the civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions that students need to thrive after graduation. These efforts can also help counter Truth Decay--the diminishing role of facts and analysis in American public life. Although several factors, such as state standards and assessments,…

This article describes a study that took place in Saskatchewan, Canada, during 2013-2014. Ten practicing high school social studies teachers who self-identified as Christian answered an unsolicited invitation to participate in a qualitative study about the ways in which they think about social justice. Almost evenly split between Catholic and…

The author argues that in order to create space for authentic multicultural engagement in the face of Eurocentric norms, teachers should form discussion groups that follow five basic guidelines: engage, don't enrage; be comfortable with negative emotion; watch for and change unproductive language; talk about everything; and engage in classroom…

The author explores significant points of intersection between foundational tenets of the social studies and the lessons learned by students in the Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) at one Midwestern high school. He suggests new ways social studies researchers and teachers might conceptualize the ideas and themes promoted in GSAs and apply them directly…

This study aims at identifying the values function, its relationship with sustainable development, and the extent of taking in to consideration the national education book for Jordanian tenth graders in the years 2004-2010. This study will attempt to answer the following questions: what is the values function that should be followed in the social…

This qualitative study examines Civics teachers' perceptions of working with immigrant students in a new gateway state. By analyzing collective case studies of six teachers in central North Carolina, from different types of schools and with different professional backgrounds, this study is positioned to make recommendations for social studies…

This study examines six US social studies teachers' beliefs and curricular decisions that impact their teaching about Asia. Using interview data, the study seeks to understand the forces that influence what, how, and when teachers teach about Asia in their secondary classes, if and how they position Asians as "others", and what bearing…

Notwithstanding all the studies and data on schooling today, one has to go back more than a decade--to the 1998 Public Agenda study "A Lot to Be Thankful For"--for a serious attempt to examine what parents think public schools should teach children about citizenship. The annual Phi Delta Kappan/Gallup poll on schooling has not asked…

Aging is often thought of as an essentially biological process and therefore a matter for the natural sciences, but that notion constitutes a very narrow view of aging. The longevity revolution of the past century and how it affects each individual and all societies can only be understood if we also draw on the social sciences. When the young…

The purpose of this project was to gain a better understanding of dimensions of trust and inter-relationships between those dimensions during the adolescent years. Drawing from survey data collected at the beginning and end of a semester in eighty middle- and high-school social studies classes, relationships were assessed between: social trust,…