Using historical thinking for analyzing the teaching and learning of secondary school history, this paper contributes to literature and debates on the pedagogical potential of museums in this endeavor. Despite the existence of museums and expansive literature on their historical significance in various world settings, there has not been much…

One justification given by social studies teachers for avoiding teaching or incorporating race into their lessons is the absence of race from textbooks. Given that textbooks continue to play a significant role in social studies instruction, the authors analyzed how Dr. Carter Godwin Woodson, a Black scholar of the early twentieth century,…

Artists have long addressed social injustices within popular music. As teachers consider how to deconstruct and teach the events of 2020 (and beyond) with an eye toward the future, we offer a novel pedagogical approach to incorporating music into the social studies classroom: the set-list. The set-list can be understood as containing temporal…

This paper considers questions of appropriateness when linking the Holocaust to students' experiences with bullying. The question is considered in the context of "universalist" and "particularist" views of the Holocaust and against the political landscape of both rising antisemitism in the U.S. and increasing state mandates for…

This article uses critical media literacy to approach themes of sexism and gender inequality depicted in the 2023 film "Barbie." Teachers cognizant of the need to address women's rights issues in American history often struggle to find resources that are accessible and meaningful for their students. Furthermore, the use of film in social…

The role of literacy in social studies education has been greatly elevated over the last decade. The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) models through the indicators of its C3 Framework how to strengthen K-12 students' disciplinary thinking, literacy, and argumentation skills in the four core social studies disciplines: civics,…

This paper examines data from a statewide survey of K-12 social studies teachers in one midwestern state regarding their perceptions on the ways in which they integrate issues of race and justice into their classes, or their reasons for not doing so in their role as Instructional Gatekeeper.

In the last three decades, history education has focused overwhelmingly on inquiry. In teacher education, the recent turn to "Core Practices" or "High-Leverage Practices" (HLPs) has been applied to history education. Despite the attractiveness of inquiry-oriented instruction, it is still absent from far too many history…

Social studies educators who applaud discourse-based approaches may benefit by adding research on argumentation to their conceptual toolkit. We make the case here for its value, in particular emphasizing that argumentation skill needs to develop, suggesting an apprenticeship model of this development and highlighting evidence supporting it.

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 study is a content analysis of K-12 U.S. history curriculum standards from 50 states regarding curricular re/presentation of Asian Americans. The guiding research questions are as follows: (1) What is the frequency of Asian American content covered in K-12 U.S. history standards from 50 states? (2) How do the standards depict Asian Americans…

During the COVID-19 pandemic, anti-Asian violence in the United States has risen significantly. Many Asian American students have been disproportionately harassed in schools and fear resuming in-person learning. Thus, educators must resist returning to the old normal. Instead, they can reimagine the pandemic as a portal to justice for Asian…

Situating NYC's Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) history curriculum initiative as part of the nationwide movement for K-12 ethnic studies, this article aims to explore perspectives and experiences of six Asian American and migrant elementary teachers regarding the new AAPI history curriculum initiative in NYC. Teachers' stories,…

Computational Thinking (CT) has recently been addressed as one of the key skills for the twenty-first century. Integrating CT into different subject areas of K-12 education is also now widely accepted to improve the quality of instruction. In that sense, it is important to enable educators and researchers to recognize how to integrate…

The Israel-Hamas crisis that started in October of 2023 has led to an increase in hate acts targeted at Jewish and Arab students. In response, the U.S. Department of Education sent a letter reminding educational leaders of their responsibilities to address this behavior. This paper offers examples of the kind of conduct educational leaders are…