Kuwaiti Teachers' Satisfaction with the Social Studies Curriculum and Their Performance in the Classroom

This study investigated Kuwaiti teachers' satisfaction with the structure of the social studies curriculum and their performance in the classroom. It aimed to answer two main questions through a twenty-two-item questionnaire applied to a sample of 132 social studies teachers. The results have shown moderate satisfaction in this regard among those teachers. There were no effects of teacher gender, experience, or various school districts on the satisfaction of social studies teachers and their performance in the classroom. The researcher called for reevaluating the curriculum by its developers to pinpoint and rid it of the causes that obstruct higher teachers' satisfaction and performance, mainly its inadequacy to students' interests, needs, skills, creativity, individual differences, and practical learning activities, and up-to-date teaching methods. Received: 9 September 2021 / Accepted: 5 December 2021 / Published: 3 January 2022

Transcending the ethically silent space of New Zealand’s social studies curriculum

<p>This is a largely theoretical thesis about social studies education in New Zealand. Its aim is to consider how learners’ ‘ethical decision-making and action’ (to paraphrase the curriculum) could be better supported by proposing a broad theoretical orientation to this curriculum requirement. It argues that although ethics is central to learners’ lives and to the purposes of social studies education, this has hitherto been minimally communicated and elucidated through New Zealand curriculum documentation. It takes the view that while providing pedagogical guidance to teachers is urgent and vital, theoretical considerations should be a first priority. The thesis begins by offering a partly stipulative definition for ethics and foregrounds the complexities of ethical decision-making and action in our everyday lives and in academic ethics. It then considers the relationship between ethics and the purposes of social studies education, and uses a form of content analysis to describe the curricular meanings that have been implicitly ascribed to ethics over time. It explores how the present New Zealand social studies curriculum is framed theoretically and what could be possible within this framing to better support learners to navigate in their ethical worlds. Three adjustments to the curriculum’s framing are proposed: social studies as issues-based education, as counter-socialisation, and as engagement with the philosophy of ethics. These are defended as a matter of social justice, and on the basis of their contribution to a range of social studies outcomes. The thesis then considers the theoretical underpinnings of these proposed adjustments in greater depth. It explores whether an ethically reflexive orientation would better support social studies learners’ ethical decision-making and action, through three analytic moves: charting reflexivity’s tropes in the social sciences and social theory literature, developing an understanding of ethical reflexivity, and questioning the work this concept could do in social studies education. The thesis argues that an ethically reflexive orientation is a theoretical space in the literature worthy of attention, not least because it maps onto the contemporary ethical space in which learners find themselves. The considerable challenges ahead for such an orientation are readily acknowledged, but the thesis finds within the literature, and from the perspectives of a small group of social studies teachers and learners, some optimism that a reflexive orientation could transcend the ethically silent space of New Zealand social studies education.</p>

Transcending the ethically silent space of New Zealand’s social studies curriculum

<p>This is a largely theoretical thesis about social studies education in New Zealand. Its aim is to consider how learners’ ‘ethical decision-making and action’ (to paraphrase the curriculum) could be better supported by proposing a broad theoretical orientation to this curriculum requirement. It argues that although ethics is central to learners’ lives and to the purposes of social studies education, this has hitherto been minimally communicated and elucidated through New Zealand curriculum documentation. It takes the view that while providing pedagogical guidance to teachers is urgent and vital, theoretical considerations should be a first priority. The thesis begins by offering a partly stipulative definition for ethics and foregrounds the complexities of ethical decision-making and action in our everyday lives and in academic ethics. It then considers the relationship between ethics and the purposes of social studies education, and uses a form of content analysis to describe the curricular meanings that have been implicitly ascribed to ethics over time. It explores how the present New Zealand social studies curriculum is framed theoretically and what could be possible within this framing to better support learners to navigate in their ethical worlds. Three adjustments to the curriculum’s framing are proposed: social studies as issues-based education, as counter-socialisation, and as engagement with the philosophy of ethics. These are defended as a matter of social justice, and on the basis of their contribution to a range of social studies outcomes. The thesis then considers the theoretical underpinnings of these proposed adjustments in greater depth. It explores whether an ethically reflexive orientation would better support social studies learners’ ethical decision-making and action, through three analytic moves: charting reflexivity’s tropes in the social sciences and social theory literature, developing an understanding of ethical reflexivity, and questioning the work this concept could do in social studies education. The thesis argues that an ethically reflexive orientation is a theoretical space in the literature worthy of attention, not least because it maps onto the contemporary ethical space in which learners find themselves. The considerable challenges ahead for such an orientation are readily acknowledged, but the thesis finds within the literature, and from the perspectives of a small group of social studies teachers and learners, some optimism that a reflexive orientation could transcend the ethically silent space of New Zealand social studies education.</p>

An Exploratory Case Study of Citizenship Education in the Social Studies Curriculum of the Solomon Islands

<p>This exploratory case study stems from the belief that teaching appropriate values to develop good and active citizens will improve the chaotic situation of the Solomon Islands. However, while this intention seems commendable, little thought has been given to the nature of Citizenship Education needed in a Solomon Islands context. A concern therefore, is that the curriculum reform agenda will ignore or marginalise the conceptualisation and contextual understanding of Citizenship Education to the extent that the Social Studies curriculum might not end up reflecting a contextually balanced approach to citizenship. In substantiating the concern, this case study research explores the perspectives of education stakeholders in the Solomon Islands on Citizenship Education in the Social Studies curriculum. The study examines the knowledge, values, and skills of Citizenship Education that are relevant and contextual to Solomon Islands. It investigates more fully the linkages between the Social Studies curriculum and Citizenship Education. The study scrutinises the conceptualisations of Citizenship Education in a Solomon Islands context and their implications on the curriculum. The research also explores the extent to which the Social Studies curriculum educates students about themselves, their diverse neighbours, and how to live as good and active citizens in a complex and dynamic national social environment. Using a case study involving 21 Solomon Islands participants (education officials, teachers and students), the study recommends the inclusion of contextually relevant values of rights and responsibilities, moral and social values, national identity and social cohesion in the Social Studies curriculum. Recommendations for further research are also offered.</p>

An Exploratory Case Study of Citizenship Education in the Social Studies Curriculum of the Solomon Islands

<p>This exploratory case study stems from the belief that teaching appropriate values to develop good and active citizens will improve the chaotic situation of the Solomon Islands. However, while this intention seems commendable, little thought has been given to the nature of Citizenship Education needed in a Solomon Islands context. A concern therefore, is that the curriculum reform agenda will ignore or marginalise the conceptualisation and contextual understanding of Citizenship Education to the extent that the Social Studies curriculum might not end up reflecting a contextually balanced approach to citizenship. In substantiating the concern, this case study research explores the perspectives of education stakeholders in the Solomon Islands on Citizenship Education in the Social Studies curriculum. The study examines the knowledge, values, and skills of Citizenship Education that are relevant and contextual to Solomon Islands. It investigates more fully the linkages between the Social Studies curriculum and Citizenship Education. The study scrutinises the conceptualisations of Citizenship Education in a Solomon Islands context and their implications on the curriculum. The research also explores the extent to which the Social Studies curriculum educates students about themselves, their diverse neighbours, and how to live as good and active citizens in a complex and dynamic national social environment. Using a case study involving 21 Solomon Islands participants (education officials, teachers and students), the study recommends the inclusion of contextually relevant values of rights and responsibilities, moral and social values, national identity and social cohesion in the Social Studies curriculum. Recommendations for further research are also offered.</p>

Transforming social studies curriculum to integrate a social justice framework

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to empower teachers to engage in a process of curricular transformation to integrate a social justice framework, even if it means starting with small steps.Design/methodology/approachThe authors present a set of guiding principles on which social studies teachers can draw to transform their curriculum to embody a social justice framework within and across units of historical inquiry. The principles are anchored in an example historical unit, the Chicago Haymarket Affair of 1886, and an analogous contemporary sub-unit, The Exonerated Five (formerly The Central Park Five incident of 1989).FindingsThe guiding principles represent an accessible approach educators can flexibly apply to their process of curricular transformation. The authors provide a balanced approach of emphasizing the need for educators to restructure social studies curriculum with the feasibility of this process at larger or smaller scales according to educators' readiness for change.Originality/valueThe authors outline a process to empower teachers to change the status quo of their social studies teaching, at a scale determined by the teacher. The authors provide a practical, concrete set of guiding principles for educators to make changes that represent social justice integration aligned with existing social studies curriculum and standards. The authors encourage teachers to reflect on their readiness for and progress toward transforming their curriculum to integrate a social justice framework.