Teaching Social Studies in an Era of Divisiveness

Teaching Social Studies in an Era of Divisiveness PDF Author: Wayne Journell
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
ISBN: 9781475821352
Category : Social sciences
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Teaching controversial social issues can be a daunting, and oftentimes terrifying, prospect for social studies teachers. In many ways, this fear is warranted given the politically polarized nature of American society in the 21st century. However, effective social studies instruction requires that students begin to grapple with difficult issues in tolerant ways. The chapters in this book, many of which are written by leading scholars within the field of social studies education, cover a range of 21st century social issues, including politically volatile issues such as gun control, marriage equality, the Black Lives Matter movement, and immigration. This book offers both a theoretical justification for engaging students with controversial social issues and practical suggestions for how to successfully implement discussions of these types of issues in K-12 classroom settings.

Teaching Social Studies in an Era of Divisiveness

Teaching Social Studies in an Era of Divisiveness PDF Author: Wayne Journell
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
ISBN: 9781475821352
Category : Social sciences
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
Teaching controversial social issues can be a daunting, and oftentimes terrifying, prospect for social studies teachers. In many ways, this fear is warranted given the politically polarized nature of American society in the 21st century. However, effective social studies instruction requires that students begin to grapple with difficult issues in tolerant ways. The chapters in this book, many of which are written by leading scholars within the field of social studies education, cover a range of 21st century social issues, including politically volatile issues such as gun control, marriage equality, the Black Lives Matter movement, and immigration. This book offers both a theoretical justification for engaging students with controversial social issues and practical suggestions for how to successfully implement discussions of these types of issues in K-12 classroom settings.

Handbook on Teaching Social Issues

Handbook on Teaching Social Issues PDF Author: Ronald W. Evans
Publisher: IAP
ISBN: 1648025668
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 403

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Book Description
The Handbook on Teaching Social Issues, 2nd edition, provides teachers and teacher educators with a comprehensive guide to teaching social issues in the classroom. This second edition re-frames the teaching of social issues with a dedicated emphasis on issues of social justice. It raises the potential for a new and stronger focus on social issues instruction in schools. Contributors include many of the leading experts in the field of social studies education. Issues-centered social studies is an approach to teaching history, government, geography, economics and other subject related courses through a focus on persistent social issues. The emphasis is on problematic questions that need to be addressed and investigated in-depth to increase social understanding, active participation, and social progress. Questions or issues may address problems of the past, present, or future, and involve disagreement over facts, definitions, values, and beliefs arising in the study of any of the social studies disciplines, or other aspects of human affairs. The authors and editor believe that this approach should be at the heart of social studies instruction in schools. ENDORSEMENTS "At a time when even the world’s most stable democracies are backsliding towards autocratic rule, Ronald Evans has pulled together an essential guide for teachers who want to do something about it. The 2nd edition of the Handbook on Teaching Social Issues is a brilliant and timely collection that should be the constant companion for teachers across the disciplines." Joel Westheimer University Research Chair in Democracy and Education University of Ottawa "The Handbook on Teaching Social Issues (2nd edition) is a fantastic resource for teachers, teacher educators, and professional development specialists who are interested in ensuring that social issues are at the center of the curriculum. The chapters are focused on the most important contemporary thinking about what social issues are, why they are so important for young people to learn about, and what research indicates are the most effective pedagogical approaches. The wide-ranging theoretical and practical expertise of the editor and all of the chapter authors account for why this handbook makes such an exceptional contribution to our understanding of how and why the social issues approach is so important and stimulating." Diana Hess Dean, UW-Madison School of Education Karen A. Falk Distinguished Chair of Education "Democracy, both as a form of governance and a reservoir of principles and practices, faces an existential threat. The Handbook on Teaching Social Issues is a perfectly-timed and wonderfully engaging exploration of what lies at the heart of social studies curriculum: social inquiry for democratic life. The authors provide conceptual frames, classroom strategies and deep insights about the complex and utterly crucial work of education for democratic citizenship. Education like that conceptualized and described in this volume is a curative so needed at this critical moment. Ron Evans and his colleagues have delivered, assembling an outstanding set of contributions to the field. The Handbook underscores John Dewey's now-haunting invocation that democracy must be renewed with each generation and an education worthy of its name is the handmaiden of democratic rebirth." William Gaudelli Dean and Professor Lehigh University "This volume is so timely and relevant for democratic education. Instead of retreating to separate ideological corners, the authors in this handbook invite us to engage in deliberative discourse that requires civic reasoning and often requires us to meet in a place that serves us all." Gloria Ladson-Billings, Professor Emerita Department of Curriculum & Instruction University of Wisconsin President, National Academy of Education Fellow, AERA, AAAS, and Hagler Institute @ Texas A&M "At the heart of our divisive political and social climate is the need to understand and provide clarity over polarizing concepts. Historically, confusion and resistance has hindered the nation's growth as a democratic nation. Typically, the most vulnerable in our society has suffered the most from our unwillingness to reconceptualize society. The Handbook on Teaching Social Issues, 2nd edition, is a good step in helping social studies educators, students, and laypersons realize a new society that focuses on equity. With over 30 chapters, Ronald Evans and his colleagues' centered inquiry, critical thinking, controversy, and action to challenge ideologies and connect social studies to student's lives and the real world. The first edition helped me as a young social studies teacher; I am excited to use the 2nd edition with my teacher education students!" LaGarrett King Isabella Wade Lyda and Paul Lyda Professor of Education Founding Director, CARTER Center for K-12 Black history education University of Missouri "Ronald Evans has curated a collection of informative contributions that will serve as an indispensable resource for social studies educators committed to engaging their students in the thoughtful examination of social issues. The Handbook on Teaching Social Issues, 2nd edition, articulates the historical, definitional, and conceptual foundations of social issues education. It offers clear presentations of general guidelines for unit planning, discussion methods, and assessment. It identifies specific teaching strategies, resources, and sample lessons for investigating a range of persistent and contemporary social issues on the elementary, middle, and secondary levels through the social studies disciplines. Updated with perspectives on education for social justice that have emerged since the first edition, this edition effectively situates social issues education in the contemporary sociopolitical milieu. The Handbook on Teaching Social Issues, is a timely, accessible, and practical guide to involving students in a vital facet of citizenship in a democracy." William G. Wraga, Professor Dean’s Office Mary Frances Early College of Education University of Georgia "The Handbook on Teaching Social Issues, 2nd edition is a long-awaited, welcome, and timely volume. It is apparent that the foundational tenets of the first edition have served social studies professionals well over the past 25 years, given the growth of social issues scholarship showcased in this new edition. Notable is the re-framing and presentation here of scholarship through a social justice lens. I appreciate the offering of unique tools on an array of specific, critical topics that fill gaps in our pedagogical content knowledge. This volume will sit right alongside my dog-eared 1996 edition and fortify many methods courses, theses, and dissertations to come. Sincere thanks to the editor and authors for what I am certain will be an enduring, catalyzing contribution." Nancy C. Patterson Professor of Education Social Studies Content Area Coordinator Bowling Green State University "The Handbook on Teaching Social Issues is a tool that every informed social studies educator should have in their instructional repertoire. Helping students understand how to investigate and take action against problems is essential to developing a better world. The articles in this handbook provide explanations and reasonings behind issues-centered education as well as strategies to employ at every age level of learning. I look forward to using this edition with the K-12 social studies teachers in my district in order to better prepare our students for future learning and living." Kelli Hutt, Social Studies Curriculum Facilitator Dallas Center-Grimes CSD Grimes, Iowa "Ron Evans has chosen an appropriate time to create a companion publication to the first Handbook on Teaching Social Issues published in 1996. During the last few years, social studies teachers have been confronted by student inquiries on a plethora of historical and contemporary issues that implores for the implementation of an interdisciplinary approach to the teaching of anthropology, economics, geography, government, history, sociology, and psychology in order for students to make sense of the world around them and develop their own voices. This demands a student centered focus in the classroom where problematic questions must be addressed and investigated in depth in order to increase social understanding and active participation toward social progress. This volume provides crucial upgrades to the original handbook including a greater emphasis on teaching issues in the elementary grades, the inclusion of issues pertaining to human rights, genocide and sustainability to be addressed in the secondary grades, and addressing issues related to disabilities." Mark Previte, Associate Professor of Secondary Education University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown Chair, NCSS Issues Centered Education Community

Teaching Politics in Secondary Education

Teaching Politics in Secondary Education PDF Author: Wayne Journell
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438467710
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 236

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Book Description
Winner of the 2018 Exemplary Research in Social Studies Award presented by the National Council for the Social Studies Many social studies teachers report feeling apprehensive about discussing potentially volatile topics in the classroom, because they fear that administrators and parents might accuse them of attempting to indoctrinate their students. Wayne Journell tackles the controversial nature of teaching politics, addressing commonly raised concerns such as how to frame divisive political issues, whether teachers should disclose their personal political beliefs to students, and how to handle political topics that become intertwined with socially sensitive topics such as race, gender, and religion. Journell discusses how classrooms can become spaces for tolerant political discourse in an increasingly politically polarized American society. In order to explore this, Journell analyzes data that include studies of high school civics/government teachers during the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections and how they integrated television programs, technology, and social media into their teaching. The book also includes a three-year study of preservice middle and secondary social studies teachers' political knowledge and a content analysis of CNN Student News.

Democracy at a Crossroads

Democracy at a Crossroads PDF Author: Gregory L. Samuels
Publisher: IAP
ISBN: 1641137185
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 261

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Book Description
At a time of questionable civility in American politics, democratic education appears to be at a crossroads. As we consider how to best explore democracy and foster a more civically-engaged populace in the current socio-political context, it is critical to examine what frames our educational systems, policies, and practices and shapes our civic identity. While teachers struggle with decreased instructional time for social studies and the demands of standardized tests, the social sciences are often pushed to the margins. Reflecting on how to negotiate local, state, national, and global tensions related to policy and practice, educators work to do what is best to equip students to foster democratic citizenship and ideals. Social sciences educators are uniquely positioned to embrace a journey that upholds democratic ideals of equality, freedom, and justice, while simultaneously critiquing inequity and injustice in schools and our society. The contributors to this volume situate a variety of discussions within the context of the crossroads and explore how to negotiate, translate, and reconceptualize our own beliefs and positionings in ways that positively influence and empower students, teachers, teacher educators, and education policy makers. Studies are presented related to civic education, cross-cultural interpretations, emotional citizenship, international economics, and race-consciousness, as well as those that discuss how to challenge dominant narratives and negotiate educational policies and practices.

Social Studies Teacher Education

Social Studies Teacher Education PDF Author: Christopher C. Martell
Publisher: IAP
ISBN: 1641130482
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 245

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Book Description
Over the past decade, the world has experienced a major economic collapse, the increasing racial inequity and high-profile police killings of unarmed Black and Brown people, the persistence of global terrorism, a large-scale refugee crisis, and the negative impacts of global warming. In reaction to social instability, there are growing populist movements in the United States and across the world, which present major challenges for democracy. Concurrently, there has been a rise of grassroots political movements focused on increasing equity in relation to race, gender, class, sexual orientation, and religion. The role of social studies teachers in preparing the next generation of democratic citizens has never been more important, and the call for more social studies teacher educators to help teachers address these critical issues only gets louder. This volume examines how teacher educators are (or are not) supporting beginning and experienced social studies teachers in such turbulent times, and it offers suggestions for moving the field forward by better educating teachers to address growing local, national, and global concerns. In their chapters, authors in social studies education present research with implications for practice related to the following topics: race, gender, sexual orientation, immigration, religion, disciplinary literacy, global civics, and social justice. This book is guided by the following overarching questions: What can the research tell us about preparing and developing social studies teachers for an increasingly complex, interconnected, and rapidly changing world? How can we educate social studies teachers to “teach against the grain” (Cochran-Smith, 1991, 2001b), centering their work on social justice, social change, and social responsibility?

Race Lessons

Race Lessons PDF Author: Prentice T. Chandler
Publisher: IAP
ISBN: 1681238926
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 475

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Book Description
In a follow up to the book, Doing Race in Social Studies (2015), this new volume addresses practical considerations of teaching about race within the context of history, geography, government, economics, and the behavioral sciences.

Teaching Honesty in a Populist Era

Teaching Honesty in a Populist Era PDF Author: Sarah M. Stitzlein
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197775888
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 171

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Book Description
Teaching Honesty in a Populist Era asserts that honesty is an important component in a healthy democracy and yet very few schools overtly teach it. This book describes what honesty is, how it is connected to truth, why both are important to and at risk in democracies today, and how we should teach them in schools.

Unpacking Fake News

Unpacking Fake News PDF Author: Wayne Journell
Publisher: Teachers College Press
ISBN: 0807777587
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 177

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Book Description
Since the 2016 presidential election, the term fake news has become part of the national discourse. Although some have appropriated the term for political purposes, actual fake news represents an inherent threat to American democracy given the ease through which it is consumed and shared via social media. This book is one of the first of its kind to address the implications of fake news for the K–12 classroom. It explores what fake news is, why students are susceptible to believing it, and how they can learn to identify it. Leading civic education scholars use a psychoanalytic lens to unpack why fake news is effective and to show educators how they can teach their students to be critical consumers of the political media they encounter. The authors also link these ideas to the broader task of civic education and critical engagement in the democratic process. “Inside this book you will find descriptions of simple lessons practiced by experts that can help make students more critical news consumers.” —From the Foreword by Rebecca Klein, HuffPost “One of the notable strengths of this book is its emphasis on concrete approaches to help students protect themselves and the larger democracy from the insidious influence of fake news.” —Diana Hess, University of Wisconsin–Madison “This book is both an important contribution to social studies education and a timely response to the demands of our current political moment.” —John Rogers, Institute for Democracy, Education, and Access, UCLA

More Like Life Itself

More Like Life Itself PDF Author: Cory Wright-Maley
Publisher: IAP
ISBN: 1641133228
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 323

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Book Description
John Dewey wrote in multiple places that education should be an experience of the content and processes of life itself. Too often, social studies is taught in a way that tells students about real-life, but fails to engage them in the process of life for which Dewey advocated. The core purpose of simulations is to reflect the processes, events, and phenomena expressed in a variety of real-life domains. They engage students in these reflections of real life meaningfully, as active agents who have the power to make decisions that impact the direction of events and that lead to both intended and unintended consequences. Because of the nature of simulations, students who participate in them are able to build their capacities to think in complex and critical ways. Today, despite the growing evidence that simulations have an important role to play in the teaching of social studies, they remain an underutilized and undervalued approach to the discipline. One of the key obstacles to their widespread adoption is the limited availability of training resources available to social studies teachers. Teachers need support to develop a new vision of social studies teaching and learning coupled with practical guidance necessary to implement simulations effectively. This volume provides teachers with both. When teachers are able to weave simulations effectively into the fabric of social studies teaching and learning, they help to promote social studies experiences that are both powerful and purposeful. They offer students an experience of the discipline that is, indeed, More Like Life Itself.

Insurgent Social Studies

Insurgent Social Studies PDF Author: Natasha Hakimali Merchant
Publisher: Myers Education Press
ISBN: 1975504577
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 294

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Book Description
A 2023 SPE Outstanding Book Award Winner Social studies education over its hundred-year history has often focused on predominantly white and male narratives. This has not only been detrimental to the increasingly diverse population of the U.S., but it has also meant that social studies as a field of scholarship has systematically excluded and marginalized the voices, teaching, and research of women, scholars of color, queer scholars, and scholars whose politics challenge the dominant traditions of history, geography, economics, and civics education. Insurgent Social Studies intervenes in the field of social studies education by highlighting those whose work has often been deemed “too radical.” Insurgent Social Studies is essential reading to all researchers and practitioners in social studies, and is perfect as an adopted text in the social studies curriculum at Colleges of Education. Perfect for courses such as: Foundations of Education │ Social Studies Methods │ Multicultural Education │ Critical Studies of Education │ Culturally Relevant Pedagogy │ Social Education