ERIC Number: EJ1454168
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: N/A
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: EISSN-1528-5804
Liberty Bells, Flags, and Monuments, Oh My: Teaching Citizenship through American Symbols with TeachersPayTeachers
Abigail Stebbins; Stephanie Schroeder; Seunghoon Han
Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education (CITE Journal), v24 n3 2024
This article shares a critical content analysis of 36 highly rated curricular units found on the website TeachersPayTeachers.com (TpT) focused on the teaching of American symbols. Lessons and curricular resources focused on American symbols, such as the United States Flag, Statue of Liberty, and Liberty Bell, remain prominent in the elementary curriculum. Often, these lessons ignore and further marginalize groups that have been historically excluded in the United States. Findings indicate that the symbols chosen to represent the United States fail to capture the expansive history of the nation, exclude historically marginalized groups, and promote a whitewashed, monocultural, exclusively positive vision of citizenship in the United States. Moreover, the transmission-based pedagogy embedded in the TpT resources fail to offer students opportunities to inquire about or consider points of contradiction and complexity regarding patriotism and citizenship. The article concludes with implications of findings and recommendations for research and practice.
Descriptors: Citizenship Education, Elementary School Curriculum, United States History, Units of Study, Disadvantaged, Minority Groups, Visual Aids, Heritage Education, Web Sites, Teaching Methods, Lesson Plans, Educational Resources, Inclusion, Civics, Social Studies, Primary Sources, Educational Quality, Curriculum Evaluation, Disproportionate Representation, Racial Differences
Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education. P.O. Box 719, Waynesville, NC 28786. Fax: 828-246-9557; Web site: https://citejournal.org/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A