Applying the world-changing through social action protocol with young adult literature

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 361-376
Author(s):  
A. Suzie Henning ◽  
Shelly Shaffer
Keyword(s):  
Young Adult ◽  
Social Studies ◽  
School Violence ◽  
Social Action ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Secondary Social Studies ◽  
The World ◽  
Thematic Units

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe a protocol for developing students into social actors using young adult (YA) literature in social studies. The world-changing through social action protocol (WSAP) utilizes five recursive steps (P2TripleS): problem posing, problem history, systems thinking, solutions thinking and social action. WSAP is designed to provide secondary social studies teachers with tools to create thematic units, activities and discussions about difficult current issues, such as school violence, bullying, death, or suicide. The purpose of WSAP is to help teachers incorporate strategies to encourage civic action for social justice. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, WSAP is applied to the YA novel Violent Ends (Hutchinson et al., 2015), which describes a school shooting and its effects from multiple perspectives. Findings This paper discusses the use of the theoretical framework, WSAP and its five recursive steps (P2TripleS). The protocol developed is a helpful tool for teachers to integrate ELA and Social Studies curriculum in a student-centered, project-based environment while addressing the C3 and Common Core State Standards. The protocol is applied to the YA novel, Violent Ends (Hutchinson et al., 2015) and includes questions and strategies that guide teachers and students to critically think about democratic action and gun violence. Practical implications The specific steps of the WSAP protocol will be demonstrated with Violent Ends, providing example activities from this book for practitioners. Originality/value This paper is the first to apply the WSAP with a YA text.

“Women know how to get things done”: narrative of an intersectional movement

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Elizabeth Vickery
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Social Studies ◽  
African American Women ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
American Women ◽  
Know How ◽  
Civil Rights Organizations ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how African-American women, both individually and collectively, were subjected to both racism and sexism when participating within civil rights organizations. Design/methodology/approach Because of the intersection of their identities as both African and American women, their experiences participating and organizing within multiple movements were shaped by racism and patriarchy that left them outside of the realm of leadership. Findings A discussion on the importance of teaching social studies through an intersectional lens that personifies individuals and communities traditionally silenced within the social studies curriculum follows. Originality/value The aim is to teach students to adopt a more inclusive and complex view of the world.

Gender discourse in the social studies curriculum: an international literature review

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-194
Author(s):  
Molly D. Siebert
Keyword(s):  
Social Studies ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Comparative Education ◽  
Women And Gender ◽  
Social Studies Curriculum ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Gender Discourse ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
And Gender

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore research on the inclusion of women and discourses on gender in the social studies curriculum, with the goal of promoting gender equality.Design/methodology/approachTo gauge how issues on gender are being taken up in classrooms around the world, the process started by exploring Compare, Comparative Education, Comparative Education Review and International Journal of Educational Development. Initially, studies related to the social studies curriculum were examined. The research then expanded beyond the social sciences and these journals. The next level of research used a mixture of the key search terms “inclusion,” “gender discourse,” “women,” “gender equality” and “curriculum.” Studies conducted around the world were examined to broaden the understanding of global research on women and gender discourses in the curriculum.FindingsAlthough progress is evident, reform measures are necessary to ameliorate the inclusion of women and gender discourses in the curriculum. Implementing these strategies in social studies education may be effective steps to achieve gender equality: (1) consistently encourage students to critique power structures and systems of oppression; (2) include the exploration of gender fluidity, masculinity and the fluidity of masculinity in the curriculum; (3) examine intersectional identities such as race, gender and sexuality; and (4) utilize teacher education programs and professional development as key sites to help educators improve the amount of and approach to gender discourse in the classroom.Originality/valueAfter reviewing these studies, the combined findings offer potential steps to achieve gender equality.

Interactive co-teaching strategies: developing effective partnerships

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 260-269
Author(s):  
Carolyn Casale ◽  
Stephanie Thomas
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Teacher Education ◽  
Social Studies ◽  
High School Teachers ◽  
University Education ◽  
Education Faculty ◽  
School Teachers ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Teacher Education Faculty

Purpose The purpose of this study is to understand how to develop closer partnership ties among university education faculty and local high school teachers. This study consisted of a university-based teacher education faculty and a high school social studies teacher co-teaching controversial topics using interactive student-centered approaches at a high school in the southeastern United States. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative design included data sources from lesson plans, student assignments and the co-teacher’s reflection process. The theoretical frame integrates reflective practice, culturally relevant teaching and Zeichner’s hybrid space. Findings The findings of this research identified best practices for an effective co-teaching partnership between university-based teacher education faculty and social studies high school teachers. Originality/value The significance and practical implications are to develop partnerships to promote effective teaching.

Exploring exemplars in elementary teacher education

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Asher Dobrick ◽  
Laura Fattal
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Studies ◽  
Elementary Teacher ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Elementary Teacher Education ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Arts ◽  
The World

PurposeEducators who teach for social justice connect what and how they teach in the classroom directly to humanity’s critical problems. Teacher education at the elementary level must center such themes of social justice in order to prepare today’s teachers to lead their students in developing an understanding of how to make the world a better place to live. The paper aims to discuss this issue.Design/methodology/approachThis paper presents three case studies of exemplary, pre-service teacher-created lessons that integrate the arts, social studies, and language arts around themes of social justice. Teacher-candidates envisioned, planned and taught effective, engaging, standards-based learning experiences that began with children’s literature and led to artistic expression.FindingsThrough lessons like these, teacher-candidates learned to meet arts, social studies, and literacy standards while building the skills and attitudes their students need as “citizens of the world.”Research limitations/implicationsElementary teacher education programs can help teacher-candidates to prepare for the challenge of teaching for social justice by integrating the arts with core academic areas, including social studies.Practical implicationsThis integrated model suitably serves our current, mathematics- and literacy-focused, assessment-saturated school system. Pre-service teachers learn to plan and teach integrated learning activities. They learn practical ways to infuse the arts in both their field experience and future classrooms.Social implicationsWhen the arts are central in education, students benefit in numerous important ways, developing critical and creative thinking skills, empathy, self-awareness, and the ability to collaborate with others productively. The arts, essential to humanity since the dawn of civilization, thus serve as a natural focal point for education for social justice.Originality/valueThe innovative methods involved in this study, in which subject areas throughout the elementary teacher education program are integrated in one meaningful, practical, applied lesson on social justice, represent a practical, original, and valuable way to enhance teacher education programs’ focus on social justice.

Pedagogical conditions that promote historical empathy with “The Elizabeth Jennings Project”

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Perrotta
Keyword(s):  
Social Studies ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Source Analysis ◽  
National Council ◽  
Case Study Methodology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Historical Empathy ◽  
Secondary Social Studies ◽  
Historical Figure ◽  
Historical Figures

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine whether or not the implementation of an instructional unit about an underrepresented historical figure, specifically Elizabeth Jennings, titled “The Elizabeth Jennings Project” (EJP) creates conditions conducive for middle and secondary social studies students to demonstrate historical empathy. Design/methodology/approach A case study methodology was selected for this study because the researcher implemented the EJP at one school with a small sample size of participants to assess which pedagogical factors, if any, fostered historical empathy through analysis of an underrepresented historical figure among middle and secondary social studies students. Findings Major findings highlight that active learning pedagogies, such as in-class debate, were effective strategies that promote historical empathy when middle and secondary students examined documents about an underrepresented historical figure. Analysis of the implementation of “The EJP” provides insights about how historical empathy pedagogies can connect to national standards and initiatives such as the Common Core Standards for History/Social Studies and the National Council for the Social Studies College, Career, and Civic Life Framework for middle and secondary social studies. Originality/value Historical empathy refers to deep inquiry in which intellectual and affective responses to content are shaped through source analysis of the actions, motives, perspectives and beliefs of people in the past. Although there are several studies that address pedagogies that promote historical empathy through examinations of famous historical figures, there is limited research concerning whether students display historical empathy by investigating underrepresented historical figures such as Elizabeth Jennings.

Supporting English learners in secondary social studies classrooms through collaboration

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-260
Author(s):  
Anthony Pellegrino ◽  
Clara Lee Brown
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Social Studies ◽  
General Education ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Student Population ◽  
Informational Texts ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Resource Teachers ◽  
Secondary Social Studies

PurposeThe number of English learners (ELs) has increased dramatically in the public schools across the nation. In 2000, 3.8 m students, or approximately 8% of the US public school student population, were identified as ELs. In 2016, the number reached 4.9 m or 9.6% of the general student population. In some states, the rise in the EL population has been even more pronounced. Their increased presence in content classes poses opportunities as well as great challenges for teachers. As these learners are learning fundamental language skills, they are also responsible for learning content and skills associated with various disciplines. In social studies, it includes developing a foundational understanding of US history, geography and government, while also developing the ability to comprehend, analyze and evaluate complex informational texts, which include contextualized language, low-incidence concepts and discrete facts.Design/methodology/approachOne way schools are adapting practice for ELs is through collaboration between general education and EL resource teachers. This article reports findings from interviews with a high school social studies teacher and an English as a second language (ESL) colleague.FindingsThe collaboration between these two teachers illustrated how specific strategies thoughtfully designed, yet sensibly implemented, can help teachers feel effective and empowered in their social studies classes. Their story also highlighted ways they have worked together in spite of the system confines.Originality/valueTogether, the authors hope their experiences inform teachers, teacher educators and school leaders about the importance of adapting practices for ELs in social studies and the power of collaboration to make those efforts successful.

Critical literacies on the university campus

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-63
Author(s):  
Ashley S. Boyd ◽  
Janine J. Darragh
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Young Adult ◽  
Social Action ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
College Campuses ◽  
Secondary Classrooms ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Awareness Campaigns ◽  
Critical Literacies ◽  
Action Projects

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how preservice teachers conceive of and implement social actions on their college campuses related to a chosen social problem developed in a young adult novel and to examine how social action projects develop teacher candidates’ critical literacies. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative exploratory multiple case study (Stake, 2005) investigated 70 pre-service teachers on two college campuses over two semesters as they engaged in social action projects. The researchers engaged in layers of open and thematic coding through the theoretical lens of critical literacies. Findings Preservice teachers engaged in a range of direct and indirect action and, as a result, experienced varying levels of self-efficacy and impact. While most felt their endeavors were successful, those who conducted awareness campaigns noted an inability to measure the effects they had on their communities. Their development of critical literacies through social action was evidenced in the partnerships across campus they established as well as their levels of engagement with peers and local officials. Originality/value While the results of conducting social action with youth in secondary classrooms are well established in the literature, lesser well known are ways to engage preservice teachers in such endeavors. This study illustrates not only how teacher candidates can engage in social action as aligned with young adult literature but also offers insights gained from those processes.

Secondary teacher candidates’ experiences teaching about religion within a history curriculum

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 180-191
Author(s):  
Sarah B. Brooks
Keyword(s):  
Social Studies ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Phenomenological Approach ◽  
National Council ◽  
World Religions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
History Curriculum ◽  
Secondary Social Studies ◽  
Social Studies Teacher ◽  
Teaching About Religion

Purpose The National Council for the Social Studies (2014, 2017) has called for increased attention to religion in social studies curriculum. A small but growing body of research has examined the preparation of social studies teacher candidates to teach about world religions, but critical questions remain. The purpose of this paper is to explore the question: what is the experience of the secondary social studies teacher candidate as he/she teaches about religion in a high school, world history course? Design/methodology/approach This study employed a phenomenological approach to examine the experiences of six teacher candidates as they endeavored to teach about world religions through a two-semester, intensive internship. Findings Findings, drawn from individual interviews with the candidates, suggest that their efforts to teach about religion were marked by fears, worries and concerns. Additionally, candidates understood their personal religious identities and experiences as significant influences on their experience teaching about religion. Finally, candidates experienced several features of their internship as key supports in their efforts to teach about religion. Originality/value This paper concludes with a series of recommendations for strengthening the preparation of social studies teacher candidates to teach about religion in public school settings.

Boatmen, Wastrels, and Demons: Figures of Literature

CounterText ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simona Sawhney
Keyword(s):  
Social Studies ◽  
World Literature ◽  
Literary Texts ◽  
Sanskrit Text ◽  
Modern Democracy ◽  
Political Debates ◽  
The World ◽  
National Literatures

Engaging some of the questions opened by Ranjan Ghosh's and J. Hillis Miller's book Thinking Literature Across Continents (2016), this essay begins by returning to Aijaz Ahmad's earlier invocation of World Literature as a project that, like the proletariat itself, must stand in an antithetical relation to the capitalism that produced it. It asks: is there an essential link between a certain idea of literature and a figure of the world? If we try to broach this link through Derrida's enigmatic and repeated reflections on the secret – a secret ‘shared’ by both literature and democracy – how would we grasp Derrida's insistence on the ‘Latinity’ of literature? The groundlessness of reading that we confront most vividly in our encounter with fictional texts is both intensified, and in a way, clarified, by new readings and questions posed by the emergence of new reading publics. The essay contends that rather than being taught as representatives of national literatures, literary texts in ‘World Literature’ courses should be read as sites where serious historical and political debates are staged – debates which, while being local, are the bearers of universal significance. Such readings can only take place if World Literature strengthens its connections with the disciplines Miller calls, in the book, Social Studies. Paying particular attention to the Hindi writer Premchand's last story ‘Kafan’, and a brief section from the Sanskrit text the Natyashastra, it argues that struggles over representation, over the staging of minoritised figures, are integral to fiction and precede the thinking of modern democracy.

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