In this article, the authors tackle the tension between a fact-based civics test and inquiry-based teaching and learning. The authors begin with a short history on the civics test and the new standards in Kentucky before turning their attention to one approach to the civics test using an Inquiry Design Model (IDM) inquiry--"Does the civics…

Teacher educators have an obligation to prepare preservice teachers with the skills and dispositions necessary to promote a socially just world. Yet the results of this study uncovered that the majority of elementary preservice teachers in a national sample (N = 846) have a simplistic perception of good citizenship consistent with what Westheimer…

Law-related education is an educational program designed to educate citizens about the law, legal processes, and principles fundamental to a democracy. According to the Center for Prevention of School Violence, school resource officers fulfill essentially three roles in schools: (1) as law enforcement officers, (2) as law-related counselors, and…

The goal of Kentucky social studies education is to help students become contributing, participating, and knowledgeable citizens. To achieve this goal, students must know, understand, and apply the content and concepts of the various sub-disciplines of social studies (government and civics, history, geography, economics, culture and society). This…