What tactics are high school educators using to teach about socio-political changes in the past and present? Five educators in the province of Alberta (two women, three men; four urban, one rural; four White, one Arab; four without visible religious garb, one Muslim in hijab) explored content they considered to be "radical" and how they…

Research in early childhood and elementary social studies education has illuminated how teachers can use children's literature to explore issues of injustice, elevate hidden histories, and affirm students' identities. Integrating children's literature into social studies instruction not only supports literacy education aims but also promotes…

Learn how to enact justice-oriented pedagogy and foster students' critical engagement in today's history classroom. Over the past 2 decades, various scholars have rightfully argued that we need to teach students to "think like a historian" or "think like a democratic citizen." In this book, the authors advocate for cultivating…

This essay explores the institutionalized master narrative of public institutions and how the mandated policies enacted by public institutions impact social studies teachers when they are delivering instruction to their students. A socio-transformative constructivist framework guides the essay in order to affirm that knowledge is socially…

When John Lewis sought to change segregation laws in 1960 Nashville, Tennessee, he did so through nonviolent sit-ins. Throughout U.S. history, activists like John Lewis have turned to social change tactics outside of the institutions of democracy from which they have been largely excluded. However, social studies curricula rarely frame these…

This article traces how Mexican American Studies (MAS) scholar activists led and supported a statewide movement for MAS in Texas. As a Xicana feminist scholar activist, Saldan~a draws from her retrospective memory and personal archive of organizational notes, movement documents, personal testimonies before the State Board of Education, and photos,…

Teaching about LGBTQ+ concepts and history helps counter prejudice and creates a classroom environment that is supportive of all students.

Students often feel powerless. They feel like passive observers as the tapestry of the world is woven around them. Social studies teachers need to show students examples of individuals who have acted as agents of social change. By focusing on a historical figure's agency, students can see the ripple effects that people's actions can have over…

The Wake County Public School System (WCPSS), in the state of North Carolina, has gone through considerable recent effort to revise, support, and assess their seventh-grade social studies curriculum in an effort to serve three goals: comply with the Common Core State Standards (Common Core), comply with the North Carolina Essential Standards…

The contentious modern immigration debate in the United States is often void of historical context and thus filled with fallacious narratives. To confront this trend, social studies educators should place the issues of modern immigration within their proper historical framework. This paper looks at three primary themes educators can explore: the…

This qualitative case study examines how fifth graders and their teachers participated in critical literacy instruction grounded in systems thinking on the topic of slavery. Systems thinking seeks to discover relationships and patterns in diverse underlying systems; critical literacy examines everyday texts, focuses on social justice and change,…

Equality for all was the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and he knowingly laid the foundation for and inspired the first African-American President of the United States of America, Barack Hussein Obama, who also had the dream of "Change" for America. These men exhibited how working together can make dreams become reality. For the…

The primary purpose of this essay is to further understanding of the relationship between social education programs in public schools in the United States and the health of its democracy. A secondary purpose is to encourage reflection on the condition of democracy in other countries and the adequacy of social education programs in these countries…

The non-violent, tolerant, pacifistic and humanistic manner of Mahatma Gandhi is a globally recognized fact. UNESCO's foundation of Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development is one of the best examples that support this fact. In this study, it is aimed to present "Mahatma Gandhi", who is globally…

Motivated by the addition of a curriculum standard for active citizenship into New Jersey's social studies standards a group of educators and researchers set out to integrate an action research curriculum, based on a youth participatory action research (YPAR) model, into social studies classrooms. Adapting YPAR, with its promising blend of…