An analysis of the presentation of Sikhism in social studies textbooks

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 238-253
Author(s):  
Sean Colbert-Lewis ◽  
Drinda E. Benge
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Social Studies ◽  
Critical Pedagogy ◽  
Middle Grades ◽  
National Council ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Religious Literacy ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Studies Textbooks

Purpose The increase of Islamophobia-inspired hate crimes toward Sikh Americans led the Sikh Coalition of America and the National Council for the Social Studies to request social studies educators to conduct a content analysis on the presentation of Sikhism in social studies textbooks. The Sikh Coalition hopes to use the findings of such research to encourage more appropriate inclusion about the religion in textbooks by the leading publishing companies and as a legitimate social studies subject of instruction in the state standards for all 50 states. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach The incorporation of critical pedagogy, as a tool of critical multiculturalism, serves as the theoretical design of this study. Content analysis serves as the method of research for this study. The authors also employed an online survey to determine the scope of religious literacy of the pre-service teachers with regard to Sikhism before the conducting of content analysis of social studies textbooks for the presentation of Sikhism. Findings The current presentation of Sikhism in social studies textbooks has the potential to help fuel the Islamophobia that Sikh Americans now face. The authors found that the pre-service teachers possess little religious literacy regarding Sikhism. Furthermore, from the content analyses, the authors found that a total of 21 out of the sample of 32 textbooks (5 elementary, 11 middle grades and 16 high school) mention Sikhism. Eight textbooks include a mention of the origins of Sikhism. Nine textbooks misidentify the religion as a blending of Hinduism and Islam. Nine textbooks mention the religion in relation to the assassination of Indira Gandhi. Research limitations/implications The originality of this research led the authors to find that the very limited and inaccurate information we found present in the most-used textbooks for elementary, middle grades and high school social studies made the employing of inferential statistics like correlation difficult. Also, the authors found from the literature that research addressing Islamophobia in the classroom has centered on the role of licensed teachers only. The research gives a model to how pre-service teachers may address Islamophobia in the classroom and also gain religious literacy regarding Sikhism. Practical implications The rise of Islamophobia-inspired violence toward students of South Asian descent has led to the call to address this matter. The research introduces a method to how social studies education professors may help engage their pre-service teachers in proactively addressing Islamophobia. Social studies professors have a responsibility to help promote social justice through critical pedagogy that explores the religious literacy of their pre-service teachers beyond Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism. Social implications The Sikh Coalition, by telephone, has formally acknowledged to the authors that the textbook research has been the most extensive they have received since making their joint request with the National Council for the Social Studies. They have used the research to successfully convince the state education boards of Texas and recently Tennessee to adopt the inclusion of Sikhism in social studies content. More Americans, at a young age, need to learn about Sikh culture, so they are less likely to develop prejudicial ideas about Sikh Americans and commit violent acts of religious-based discrimination. Originality/value The research is extremely rare. To date, no one else in the country has conducted research on the presentation of Sikhism in textbooks to the extent that the authors have. The authors hope that the research will encourage more dialogue and further research. The authors hope that the research will help prevent further acts of religious-based violence toward followers of the world’s sixth largest religion.

Elementary classroom libraries and social studies trade books

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-27
Author(s):  
Tracey S. Hodges ◽  
Katherine Landau Wright ◽  
Julianne M. Coleman ◽  
Holly Hilboldt Swain ◽  
Claire Schweiker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Studies ◽  
Elementary Classroom ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
National Council ◽  
Trade Books ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
Classroom Libraries ◽  
K 12

Purpose Standards and policy changes in K-12 education have created the unintended consequence of reducing instructional time spent on social studies content. This limited time devoted to social studies presumably has led to more integrated social studies and literacy instruction. The purpose of this paper is to document the types of high-quality social studies children’s books found in classroom libraries across five states. Design/methodology/approach In the present mixed methods study, the researchers utilized a database of 60 classroom libraries across five states to identify which high-quality trade books, defined by the National Council for the Social Studies, were present. The researchers document trends in both frequencies of books and social studies content across decades, classrooms, grade levels and states from 1972 to 2015. Findings The findings indicate that National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) Notable Trade Books for Young People texts are largely missing from the elementary classroom libraries the researchers sampled. Of the 5,544 unique titles included on the NCSS lists from 1972 to 2015, 453 were located in the US classroom libraries database, representing 8.17 percent of books found on the notable lists. Originality/value Before teachers can take steps toward integrating social studies and literacy, they need easy access to high-quality social studies texts. Many high-quality trade books are recommended each year for exposing students to social studies content; however, the researchers found limited numbers of these books in classroom libraries. The researchers recommend the lists be circulated to a wider audience to inform more teachers about these texts.

iCurator

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 310-324
Author(s):  
Andrea Watson-Canning
Keyword(s):  
Social Studies ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Visual Literacy ◽  
Lesson Plan ◽  
Constructivist Learning ◽  
The Internet ◽  
National Council ◽  
Historical Understanding ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide secondary social studies practitioners with a research-based adaptable lesson plan aligned with the National Council for the Social Studies Thematic Strands and its C3 Framework incorporating the digitized collection of the National Gallery of Art and Visual Thinking Strategies to foster historical understanding through a student-driven process of online gallery curation. Design/methodology/approach The author describes the connections between constructivist learning and technology integration in the classroom, linking technological, visual, and social studies literacy. The internet mediates student experience. It is both text-based and image-saturated; therefore, it is important for students to develop fluency with the written word and visual literacy. To remain technologically relevant, teachers must harness the potential of the internet to aid students with the development of their analytic and evaluative skills. The paper outlines an adaptable method for incorporating technology and art into social studies classroom practice in order to build visual literacy, historical understanding, and skills in evidence-based research. Findings The National Council for the Social Studies has outlined various analytic, communicative, and evaluative skills that students should acquire for social studies literacy. This paper provides insight as to how utilizing digitized collections of artwork has the potential to engage students in active, constructivist learning in order to acquire social studies literacy. Originality/value The paper is of value to secondary practitioners who wish to incorporate visual art, technology, and constructivist learning techniques in their classrooms.

scholarly journals Poetry in the Social Studies Textbooks in Turkey

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-62
Author(s):  
Bulent Tarman ◽  
Emin Kılınç
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Social Studies ◽  
Visual Communication ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Four Seasons ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Studies Textbooks ◽  
5Th Grade ◽  
Theoretical Issues

The purpose of this paper is to examine social studies textbooks to investigate the use of poetry in the social studies textbooks in Turkey. This paper also examines whose poets have been represented in the textbooks. The authors applied content analysis to evaluate social studies textbooks. Content analysis is a research method that uses a set of procedures to make valid inferences from text. It is also described as a method of analyzing written, verbal or visual communication messages. Content analysis allows the researcher to test theoretical issues to enhance understanding of the data. The results showed that very few poems were used in the social studies textbooks. The finding of the study revealed that poems in the 4th grade textbooks relate to topics that were interest to students the nature and humanism. Poem about Şavşat, described the beauty of Turkish homeland in the four seasons. Vetch Field poem in the 5th grade social studies textbook, described a bride who has to work in the field. This poem seems to be written for girls since the language indicates ‘girls’ several times. It emphasizes how hard to be a bride in the vetch field. Remaining poems were used to promote students’ patriotic values. These poems emphasizes flag, homeland, heroism etc.

A study of elementary teacher’s perspectives on professional development for social studies

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Perrotta
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Native American ◽  
Elementary Teachers ◽  
Social Studies ◽  
National Council ◽  
Colleges Of Education ◽  
Case Study Methodology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Studies Instruction

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to ascertain perspectives from pre-service and in-service elementary teachers about challenges they face when teaching social studies, and how their participation in a content-based professional development opportunity can support their preparedness for social studies instruction. Five speakers who were experts in topics such as Native American history, historical preservation, women's history and the Constitution were featured at this workshop.Design/methodology/approachCase study methodology with both descriptive and explanatory data collection and analysis methods, which were inclusive of surveys and focus group sessions, was implemented. The National Council for the Social Studies (2017) Powerful and Authentic Social Studies framework was applied in order to examine whether elementary in-service and pre-service teachers participation in this content-focused professional development impacted their preparedness to teach social studies.FindingsMajor findings show that content-specific professional development can support pre-service and in-service elementary teachers' preparation to teach social studies through analysis of historical topics and contemporary issues, as well as mitigate challenges with regard to limited time dedicated to social studies instruction.Originality/valueIn light of the Senate's debate on passing the Educating for Democracy Act concerning funding for civics and history education, the originality of this study highlights the continued need for scholarship on how partnerships between colleges of education, school districts and local educational agencies to provide content-focused professional development can support elementary teachers' ambitious social studies instruction, which can foster greater understandings of historical content and civic participation in democratic society.

Teaching and talking about religion: strategies for teacher educators

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-179
Author(s):  
Kimberly R. Logan ◽  
James M.M. Hartwick
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Social Studies ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Legal Issues ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Religious Literacy ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Studies Teacher ◽  
Social Studies Teacher Education ◽  
Teaching About Religion

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to outline arguments for addressing religion in social studies teacher education, including strategies teacher educators might use on how and why pre-service teachers should incorporate teaching about religion in their classes. Topics addressed are: issues surrounding pre-service teachers’ religious identities; teaching pre-service teachers about legal issues associated with religion in public school classrooms (e.g. teaching about religion vs teaching for religion, First Amendment rights and constraints); teacher education’s role in developing religious knowledge and the influence of religion in the disciplines that comprise the social studies; and an overview of strategies and resources that teacher educators can use with their pre-service teachers. Design/methodology/approach This paper provides a literature review and arguments for addressing religion in social studies teacher education. A lesson plan and resources for teacher educators are also provided. Findings Teaching and talking about religion can no longer be marginalized or ignored within social studies teacher education. Whether it be the importance of pre-service teachers’ religious identities, legal issues related to public schooling or the influence of religion across the social studies disciplines – religion matters to social studies teacher education. As the current social, political and cultural realities attest, the influence of religion appears to be more and more significant in our interconnected and interdependent world. Originality/value Religious literacy is a key part of civic competence and if social studies is viewed as a way to help prepare a more informed citizenry – and a way to teach and promote dialogue across difference – then social studies teacher educators must find a way to include religion in their courses. By doing so, teacher educators encourage pre-service teachers to examine how religious identity may influence their teaching, and also help develop religious literacy and an understanding of how religion is integral to the various social studies disciplines. Ultimately, this important and often ignored work in teacher education may foster cultural understandings that will lead to a more informed and respectful society.

Beatrix Potter and Her Paint Box lesson plan

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 232-242
Author(s):  
Margaret Angel Bestwick
Keyword(s):  
Social Studies ◽  
Lesson Plan ◽  
Role Play ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
Individual Development ◽  
Second Grade ◽  
National Council ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Her Family ◽  
The Social

Purpose Beatrix Potter and Her Paint Box (McPhail, 2015) is a tranquil biography primarily focusing on the childhood of Beatrix Potter. This lesson plan, based in the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) C3 Framework, allows second-grade learners to explore the life of Beatrix Potter through this biography and to make connections to his or her own life. Learners move through four stages of inquiry in the C3 Framework. They examine the dust jacket and dual-image book cover for clues about the life of Beatrix Potter. Next, they engage in a read-aloud of the biography during which learners construct knowledge about the life of Beatrix Potter. Learners then create puppets and role play the life of Ms Potter. The lesson concludes with learners making comparisons between their own and Ms Potter’s life. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach This is a lesson plan that is intended for second grade students. The duration of the lesson is approximately 90 minutes in length. The lesson utilizes the Whole Book Approach (WBA). The WBA is “an intentional, inquiry-based approach to reading aloud that puts art and design [and children’s responses to them] at the center of the storytime experience” (Lambert et al., 2015, p. 81). During the lesson, the teacher utilizes the WBA through asking open-ended questions as she/he reads aloud. The students and the teacher co-construct meaning through a dialogue about the text and images within the text. The lesson also includes the Role-Playing Characters to Understand Them Better (adapted) approach. This fiction reading strategy is adapted for informational text, a biography, for this lesson. Rather than role-playing a character, students role-play real people: Beatrix Potter & her family, and themselves. Serravallo (2015) writes about this strategy, “Sometimes the best way to get to know our characters is to stand in their shoes-to do what they do, say what they say, and act how they act. With a partner[…] Using puppets or props, act out the scene. Try to talk in the voice of the character, and move the puppet just like the character would. When you finish creating the scene, stop and talk about what you think about the characters” (p. 172). Students will create paper puppets and role-play events from Beatrix Potter’s life as depicted in the biography. Students use a puppet of themselves to talk with Beatrix about how the student's life is similar to and different from Beatrix’s life. McPhail, D. (2015), Beatrix Potter and Her Paint Box, New York, Henry Holt and Co.; National Council for the Social Studies Notable Trade Book for Young People (2016); JLG Category – Genre: Nonfiction, Lexile Level: AD790L, Elementary Grades K-2, ISBN: 9780805091700 (Junior Library Guild, 2016); the duration of the lesson is approximately 90 minutes: second grade. Findings Little Beatrix Potter loved art. At an early age, she received her mother’s paint box. Beatrix Potter spent hours painting things she loved, like the animals she kept as pets. Her family traveled from their home in London to spend Summers in the country. She loved it there. She spent her time painting her surroundings. When she was older she learned of a young boy who was ill, and confined to bed. So, she wrote him a story and drew illustrations for the story. This story was later published as her first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Beatrix Potter went on to publish many other animal tales that became popular across the world and beloved for generations. Originality/value This lesson plan is aligned with the NCSS theme number 10, individual development and identity.

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