Examining resources for and about social justice in senior social studies

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 10-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Perreau
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Studies

An Ongoing Journey to Foster Urban Students' Online “Public Voices”

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Lawrence ◽  
Joe O'Brien
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
New York City ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Studies ◽  
Digital Tools ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
8Th Grade ◽  
Civic Skills ◽  
Curricular Alignment ◽  
Selection Of

Digital participatory media offer urban social studies teachers a unique opportunity to foster students' civic skills and public voice while enhancing their understanding of social justice within a democratic society. This article addresses the continuation of a New York City 8th grade U.S. history teacher's journey to use digital tools to foster his students' collaborative and communication skills and to help them learn social justice oriented content. While doing so, he overcame challenges related to technology integration, curricular alignment, selection of appropriate digital tools, and the need to cultivate his students' online academic norms. In doing so, he confronted Livingston's query about whether the use of technology necessitates a “fundamental transformation in learning infrastructure” and the need “to rethink the relations between pedagogy and society, teacher and pupil, and knowledge and participation” (2012, p. 8). He ended this part of his journey with these new challenges: how to enable his students to become navigators of their learning; ways to align the curriculum with his students' thinking; and, managing a dynamic instructional support system guided by his students' learning. His goal is “to forge a bridge between [his students'] media production and civic engagement' (Kahne, Lee, & Feezell, 2012).

An Ongoing Journey to Foster Urban Students' Online “Public Voices”

2018 ◽  
pp. 219-233
Author(s):  
Nick Lawrence ◽  
Joe O'Brien
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Studies ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
Instructional Support ◽  
Digital Tools ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
8Th Grade ◽  
Civic Skills ◽  
Curricular Alignment

Digital participatory media offer urban social studies teachers a unique opportunity to foster students' civic skills and public voice while enhancing their understanding of social justice within a democratic society. This article addresses the continuation of a New York City 8th grade U.S. history teacher's journey to use digital tools to foster his students' collaborative and communication skills and to help them learn social justice oriented content. While doing so, he overcame challenges related to technology integration, curricular alignment, selection of appropriate digital tools, and the need to cultivate his students' online academic norms. In doing so, he confronted Livingston's query about whether the use of technology necessitates a “fundamental transformation in learning infrastructure” and the need “to rethink the relations between pedagogy and society, teacher and pupil, and knowledge and participation” (2012, p. 8). He ended this part of his journey with these new challenges: how to enable his students to become navigators of their learning; ways to align the curriculum with his students' thinking; and, managing a dynamic instructional support system guided by his students' learning. His goal is “to forge a bridge between [his students'] media production and civic engagement' (Kahne, Lee, & Feezell, 2012).

Digital Storytelling to Enhance Social Studies Content Knowledge, Explore Multiple Perspectives, and Advocate for Social Justice

2021 ◽  
pp. 235-256
Author(s):  
Lindsay Yearta ◽  
Katie Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Social Studies ◽  
Digital Storytelling ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Integrative Approach ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Counter Narratives ◽  
Historical Accounts

In this chapter, the authors discuss how digital storytelling expands traditional storytelling options to serve as an integrative approach to (1) deepen student understanding of social studies content, (2) learn history through multiple perspectives, and (3) seek social justice through civics engagement. Most stories told about our history tend to focus on the dominant narrative which portrays an inaccurate depiction of events and individuals. When students move beyond the “single story” of the dominant narrative to explore multiple perspectives, voices, and historical accounts through counter narratives, they develop essential critical thinking skills to help them not only deepen their understanding of content in social studies but to encourage them to actively engage as democratic citizens seeking social justice for a better world.

Is it “just” planning? Exploring the integration of social justice education in an elementary language arts methods course thematic unit

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karyn A. Allee-Herndon ◽  
Annemarie B. Kaczmarczyk ◽  
Rebecca Buchanan
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Elementary Education ◽  
Social Studies ◽  
Language Arts ◽  
Teacher Development ◽  
Social Justice Education ◽  
Methods Course ◽  
Inclusive Practices ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine undergraduate elementary education teacher candidates’ abilities to successfully integrate social justice teaching into their interdisciplinary ELA and social studies thematic units. The projects were analyzed to determine the extent to which, if any, social justice education has been addressed. Design/methodology/approach This study used purposive sampling of two sections of an elementary writing methods course. Students were grouped into Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) to design an integrated thematic English Language Arts (ELA), Social Studies and Social Justice unit. At the conclusion of their project, components of their units were analyzed using the Social Justice Continuum of Teacher Development. Findings Overall, the results indicate that candidates were likely to plan for inclusive practices in their instructional units. There was significant attention across units to inclusive materials and content, but there was very little attention to critical or transformative practices in planning. This likely indicates candidates’ awareness about the need for diverse content but tells us little about their ability to critically analyze the power structures themselves that contribute to the need for inclusive practices. Originality/value Before classroom teachers can be expected to engage in critical conversations in their own classrooms, the experiences they have within their preparation programs need to be considered. These findings indicate more explicit work must be done to support candidates in their ability to critically analyze hegemonic power structures and to engage their students in learning experiences that move beyond using diverse resources into teaching advocacy strategies to students.

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