During the 2024-2025 school year, the state of South Dakota will implement a curriculum inspired by the conservative Hillsdale College model. South Dakota teachers will need to expand their content coverage without the benefit of additional instructional time; find ways to teach young students content that is developmentally inappropriate; base…

Teaching about religion in public schools is a complicated and nuanced topic. Though religious illiteracy has been named as a widespread concern throughout the United States, little research has been conducted that critically analyzes what teachers are asked to cover. Preservice teachers often confess they do not understand what they are and are…

The marginalization of social studies has led to many questions about how elementary teachers include social studies in their curriculum. Using a survey distributed to Texas teachers, this study explores the instructional strategies, integration emphasis, and content area instructional time utilized in the elementary classroom. Through a…

The study aimed to evaluate what the underlying reasons were for the low level of interest among lower secondary school pupils in the social studies course. The phenomenology was adopted in the research. The study group of the research consisted of academics, teachers, and parents of lower secondary school pupils. Pareto analysis was used to…

Developing civic competence among learners is the business of any social studies teacher. The overall success of any social studies teaching depends, in great measure, on the ability of teachers to approach controversial public issues (CPI) in the spirit of critical inquiry. However, previous studies suggest that the teaching of CPI is affected by…

This dissertation examines the pedagogical decision making processes of eight social studies teachers in West Virginia who taught about race and racism during the 2021-2022 school year. Teaching about racism and issues of race has become highly politicized, but social studies educators remain uniquely poised to have meaningful discussions about…

Until the beginning of the 21st century, the Tulsa Race Massacre was omitted mainly from the social studies curriculum and state-mandated standards in the United States. However, the featured lesson provides a valuable springboard to explore the historical perspectives and injustices against the Black community in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on May 31, 1921.…

Objectives: In this Paper, I examine how high school social studies content standards in the United States address fundamental concepts of American governance, particularly the concept of democracy. Methods: I conducted a qualitative textual analysis of government/civics content standards from all 50 states, Washington DC, and the Advanced…

In this study, I used a critical analysis approach to identify and examine the perpetrator- and victim-centered perspectives within the Holocaust narrative of the "2019 South Carolina Social Studies College- and Career-Ready Standards." Given the recent revision of the standards, I compared the 2019 standards to the "2011 South…

Within post-conflict and conflict-affected settings, as a national identity is contested, shaped, negotiated, and re-negotiated, history and social studies education can serve to develop a sense of unity among a nation's citizens and a shared vision for the future (Bekerman & Zembylas, 2011; Korostelina, 2019). At the same time, history and…

The authors argue that with the continued marginalization of social studies in the elementary classroom, integration has become a popular and effective method for the inclusion of social studies content in the daily curriculum. Using controversial issues, they highlight a model for this integration with a focus on children's literature.

Effective social studies education involves inquiry into and discussions of controversial social and political issues and difficult topics. In the current polarized political climate, exemplified by the emergence of divisive concepts legislation, the ability of social justice-oriented social studies teachers to provide highly effective instruction…

As democracies have deteriorated worldwide, understanding preservice teachers' perceptions regarding teaching about the 2020 US presidential election helps teacher educators better guide them to make informed and intentional pedagogical decisions for democratic education. Through a survey study, we found that early childhood and elementary…

In Georgia, the recent "Protect Students First Act," or GA HB 1084, states that curricula and training programs should refrain from judging others based on race or advocate for divisive concepts such as "One race is inherently superior to another race," or that "the United States of America is fundamentally racist."…

Trauma studies scholars emphasize naming or acknowledging trauma to promote healing. In response to the recent political and curricular whiplash in the Commonwealth of Virginia, this paper investigates the prevalence and nature of traumagenic events in Virginia's social studies standards. Data analysis suggests that conceptual insights from trauma…