This article examines how cultural and historical narratives influence the stories Alberta teachers tell about religion in their secondary social studies classrooms. The stories reveal the degree to which teachers are both thoughtful practitioners and shaped by their society. Study participants reflected this tension as the majority took religion…

In recent times, the Kenyan education sector has experienced increased cases of students' indiscipline in schools. However, the potential of homeschooling as a possible solution to such indiscipline has not been explored. Whereas critics of homeschooling posit that homeschooled children are inferior academically, proponents of this form of…

This article is drawn from a set of qualitative interviews and observations with practicing social studies teachers at three school sites, one public, one Catholic, and one Islamic, in a major metropolitan area of the United States of America, as they grapple with what it means to teach about religion in their social studies classrooms given the…

Discussions on immigration in the social studies classroom have often focused on the political ideologies that frame the debate. Often, the religious and ethical frameworks surrounding immigration are often overlooked. This article provides a rationale for exploring the teachings of the Christian scriptures in relation to immigration, particularly…

Primary school textbooks can provide space for learning about peace and inclusion but can also reinforce messages of inequality and division. This article describes a thematic analysis of South Sudan's textbooks for pupils in Grade 4 Social Studies, English, and Christian Religious Education. The analysis uses a conceptual framework that positions…

A multicultural society that equates Christian and humanist values with human rights denies pluralism, placing human rights culture at risk. We examine Norwegian education policy discourses, noting human rights as a key feature of national identity, said to underpin schooling. Education policy maintains distinctions between those who embody…

There has been very limited research on the possible role religion has in its influence on teacher choices, especially within a Social Science classroom. The purpose of this study was to examine how secondary Social Studies teachers explicitly and implicitly treat religion as a factor in the teaching of history and how their own affinity with/to a…

The purpose of this exploratory, descriptive study was to understand what and how students learn about the Holocaust in private Christian/Catholic middle and high schools. Christian schools have been criticized for putting more emphasis on teaching religion than on providing a quality education. A convenience sample of middle and secondary English…

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…

Judaism and Christianity, the religious traditions most influential on Western civilization, taught that the universe was created by the Word and that human beings were distinguished from all other animals by their use of words. What characterizes our age is a growing reliance on images as our words are being desymbolized. This desymbolization of…

This pilot study investigates the role of anxiety for early childhood pre-service social studies teachers as they learn methods to teach curriculum on slavery and associated issues such as racism or White privilege. The findings indicate that a variety of aspects cause pre-service teachers to experience anxiety around the thought of having to…

Critical race scholars have argued that curricular portrayals of the Civil Rights Movement are undermined by master narratives that legitimate the racial status quo. Although many scholars have critiqued Movement master narratives in social studies and society, few studies have examined Black students' interpretations of such representations and…

The purpose of this study was to examine how 22 elementary pre-service teachers (PSTs) planned and taught lessons on world religions to 7th-grade students. Pre- and post-lesson interview transcripts, lesson observations, as well as PST lesson plans and reflection journals served as data sources. Prior to teaching, the PSTs lacked adequate…

This article proposes that Christian Religious Education (CRE) today requires the practice of "organic hybridity" in fluid and shifting "diasporic spaces," the prerequisite for which is the recognition that "hybrid subjectivities" is characteristic of our current postmodern, postcolonial, transnational, globalized world. Toward this aim, CRE must…

Background: In many countries, working towards a truly inclusive national citizenship means deconstructing hegemonic structures that are deeply entrenched. Moving outside of the borders toward a global citizenship hints at giving up on what has been a long road toward multicultural citizenship. A balance between including and empowering diverse…