Authors discuss the relationship between social studies education and patriotism. The authors share two lesson plans (one elementary and one secondary) that examine the racialized and politicized experiences of three professional athletes, Gabby Douglas, Colin Kaepernick, and Megan Rapinoe. Drawing on tenets of critical race media literacy and…

National right-wing media and their viewers are alleging that critical race theory (CRT) is "infecting" public school classrooms, fueling an assault on how schools should discuss race, racism, and our nation's history. This turmoil over curriculum and teaching "sensitive" topics is deeply upsetting to teachers. Principals can…

We live in a society where standard accents are highly valued. Generally, people who speak with a Standard English accent are seen through a positive lens linguistically; those whose English is accented are stigmatized. Accent discrimination affects linguistic minorities from diverse linguistic and ethnic backgrounds, including foreign-accented…

African American high school students' erudition of Black history, including the events and individuals who afforded them freedoms, enhances their informed decision making and impacts them as citizens. The purpose of this article is to detail how African American high school students engage in critical discourse regarding how historical events…

This study investigated whether a country's policy context for immigrant integration was related to native adolescents' attitudes towards ethnic minorities in European countries, using data from the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study. We found that students in a country with more inclusive and multiculturalist policies for…

In this essay, Nicole Mirra and Antero Garcia explore how young people from six demographically distinct communities across the United States understand the social and political issues affecting their lives, engage in storytelling and dialogue across differences, and collaboratively imagine humanizing and hopeful civic futures. Drawing from…

The purpose of this paper was to determine if high school democratic climates influence Black youth participation in sociopolitical groups using critical race theory as a lens. It was hypothesized that Black youth would be less likely to participate in sociopolitical groups due to perceived lack of support. It was also hypothesized that Black and…

This study explores how two high school English language arts (ELA) teachers leveraged disciplinary literacy practices in their classrooms to help students explore their identities as citizens and imagine a more just and equitable democratic society. Using a figured worlds framework, the study articulates a sociocritical approach to civic literacy…

The democratic practice of representative government in the United States is supposed to represent and protect its citizens. Since the United States abolished legalized slavery with the 13th Amendment in 1865, individual states have made many attempts to impede the civil rights and voting rights of African American citizens. Several pieces of…

Sociopolitical consciousness refers to an individual's ability to critically analyze the political, economic, and social forces shaping society and one's status in it. A growing body of scholarship reports that high levels of sociopolitical consciousness are predictive in marginalized adolescents of a number of key outcomes including resilience…

High school dropout has been associated with negative outcomes, including increased rates of unemployment, incarceration, and mortality. Dropout rates vary significantly depending on individual and environmental factors. The purpose of our study was to use an ecological perspective to concurrently explore student- and school-level predictors…

Drawing from a 2.4-year ethnography with Korean Early Study Abroad (ESA, pre-college-aged study abroad) students in Toronto high schools, I examine the intersections among race, class, language, culture and citizenship (including immigrant status) in the identity construction and language learning of these students. Conceptualising race as a…

The field of social studies is unique and complex. It is challenged by the differing perspectives related to the definition, goals, content, and purpose of social studies. Contemporary Social Studies: An Essential Reader discusses the contemporary issues surrounding social studies education today. Contemporary Social Studies: An Essential Reader…

Eick explores the history of a comprehensive high school from the world views of its assorted student body, confronting issues of race, ethnicity, class, gender, nationality, and religion. Her case study examines the continuities and differences in student relationships over five decades. While she discusses the "dark side" of the high school…

In a world that is, on the one hand, determined to sustain distinct national and group identities and, on the other hand, becoming increasingly globalized, interconnected and interdependent, social studies educators are regularly faced with the challenge of supporting diversity, creating a unified national community, and promoting global…