Transcript Document

The Disappearing Social
Studies Curriculum:
What Cost to Democracy?
Margit E. McGuire, Ph.D.
Seattle University
Why teach social studies?
To prepare students for living in a democratic society
and interdependent world.
 To be informed and thoughtful
 To act politically
 To have moral and civic virtues such as concern
for others, social responsibility and the belief in
the capacity to make a difference.
Civic Mission of Schools, 2003
“Research suggests that students start to
develop social responsibility and interest in
politics before the aged of nine. The way they are
taught about social issues, ethics, and institutions
in elementary school matters a great deal for
their civic development.”
Civic Mission of Schools, p. 12
Knowledge of the
social world…
Name the three branches of the federal
government. (Executive, Judicial, Legislative) 41.2%

Name as many of the Three Stooges as you can. (Curly,
Larry, & Moe) 59.2%
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http://www.constitutioncenter.org/CitizenAction/CivicResearchResults/NCCTeens'P
oll.shtml
National Constitution Center, 1997 Poll
…and the trend continues
Decrease in Social Studies Instruction
James S. Leming, Lucien Ellington, & Mark Schug,
Social
Studies in Our Nation’s Schools, May 2006, p. 10
Social Studies in Our Nation’s
Schools, May 2006
James S. Leming, Lucien Ellington, & Mark
Schug
• Telephone survey conducted by
University of Connecticut’s Center for
Survey Research
• 1,051 randomly selected 2nd, 5th, and 8th
grade social studies teachers
The Washington State Council for the Social Studies, with assistance
from several other groups, this past fall conducted a survey on the status
of social studies education in the state. The primary goal of the survey
was to find out whether social studies education is on the decline,
as we have heard anecdotally, and if so, why.
• Of those who felt social studies has declined,
approximately 80% cited as the reason "state testing," "the
WASL," "No Child Left Behind," "focus on reading and math,"
or some other answer that could be categorized as "a result
of school reform." If we also included the comment "focus on
other subjects," this percentage would be even higher.
• Other reasons cited frequently for decline include the
integration of social studies with language arts, less funding
for professional development and materials, and lack of a
standardized SS curriculum in the district or state.
These findings are consistent with the national
survey and individual state surveys conducted
throughout the country.
What factors have contributed
to the decline of social studies
education?
Factor 1:
Testing
NCLB
 National testing
 State testing

Resulting in…
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Narrowing of the curriculum
More focus on low level knowledge
Fear and threats
Public education under attack
Factor 2:
Emphasis on Literacy
Literacy is the focus of the school
day
 Literacy is the focus of staff
development
 Resources are devoted to literacy

…and now mathematics
Factor 3:
Curriculum Integration at the
Expense of Social Studies
Published curriculum…
For example…
Open Court
Reading about the social world is
not the same as teaching social studies.
For example…
Open Court, Unit 4, (2002)
Theme: ÒMaking a New Nation.ÓThe text on is entitled
Topic: ÒThe Night the Revolution BeganÓ (page 310)
Comprehension focus questions:
 ÒWho was involved in the Boston Tea Party?Ó
 ÒWhy did colonists destroy the tea that had been imported by
Britain?Ó
TeacherÕsinstructions direct students to: visualize, make connections, and
summarize their reading.
Additional unit topics:
 ÒTheMidnight Ride of Paul RevereÓ
 ÒThe Declaration of IndependenceÓ
 ÒTheMaster Spy of Yorktow nÓ
 ÒShh! WeÕreWriting the ConstitutionÓ
 ÒWe, the People of the United StatesÓ
Examining Integration
Approaches…
Research on Science and
Literacy Integration at
UC Berkeley
Why Integration?
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Science provides an authentic and engaging context
for literacy learning, especially informational literacy.
Literacy learning can support students in learning
science.
Integration may strengthen the standing of science
in the school day.
Integration may be our only hope in a policy context
with a crowded curriculum and a distorted sense of
curricular values.
Retrieved January 21, 2007
http://www.literacyinstitute.org/speaker_handouts.php
P. David Pearson 7-12-06.ppt
Why Integration?
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Social studies provides an authentic and engaging
context for literacy learning, especially informational literacy.
Literacy learning can support students in learning social
studies.
Integration may strengthen the standing of social studies in
the school day…a curriculum fast disappearing from the
school day especially in the elementary school.
Using literacy skills to learn about the social world provides
authentic and meaningful application.
Acting politically, a hallmark of social studies, requires strong
literacy skills.
Social studies learning
Using the skills of literacy are
necessary for learners to
access the social world,
giving purpose and
meaning to the use of such
skills. They are not an end
in and of themselves.
For example, using the skills of
driving a car are important
but you also need to know
where you are going.
Factor 4:
The Quality of Early Social
Studies Education
Social studies at the early grades is superficial
at best and boring at worst or as Brophy and
Alleman claim “…trite, redundant, and unlikely
to help students accomplish significant
educational goals” (p.13).
Brophy & Alleman (2007). Powerful Social Studies for Elementary Students.
Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth
Factor 5:
Commitment to Teach
Social Studies
Teachers (especially primary teachers)
focus on literacy
 Administrators focus on literacy
 Staff development focuses on literacy
 You can’t teach what you don’t know
 Policy makers focus on literacy…and now math
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Factor 6:
The Quality of
Instruction…
• Preoccupation with
the WHAT to teach
Social studies at all levels
focuses on what to teach
National and State Standards
 Testing agendas
 Social Education Articles
 Scope and sequences
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• Too much to teach
In the context of standards and
testing, no one is willing to
challenge the issue of an
overcrowded curriculum…
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highly political
textbook traditions
resources to rethink how we teach social studies
• Less time to teach for
understanding
Teaching what matters most is
critically important for teaching for
understanding
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Enduring--value beyond the classroom
At the heart of the discipline not kibbles and bits
Needing uncoverage
Engaging to learners--especially for those we do
not want to leave behind
Wiggins and McTighe (1988).Understanding by Design, Alexandria, VI: ASCD
• Reduced creativity
Less experimentation with new ideas
and ways of teaching
 More standardized curriculum
--”one size fits all”
 Less attention to learning needs of
individual learners
 Less attention to engaging learners in
authentic learning
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What about children in
poverty?
Less opportunity to learn social studies
 Continued issues of school failure and dropout
 Disengagement from school
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Can we create dispositions towards
democracy and the belief in the
capacity to make a difference if we
deny these children access to social
studies education?
Bright Spots…
Storypath Strategy
A Powerful Narrative Structure
for Curriculum Integration:
The Storypath Strategy
The Storypath strategy uses the components of
story--scene, character and plot--to organize
curriculum into meaning and memorable learning
experiences.
It is more than reading a story, it is living the story
guided by the teacher as learners create the
scene, become the characters and solve the
problems presented through the plot.
“A clear and compelling narrative helps us find
meaning, not just scattered facts and abstract
ideas. Stories help us remember and make sense
of our lives and the lives around us….A story is not
a diversion; the best stories make our lives more
understandable and focused” (p. 48).
Wiggins, G & McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by design. Alexandria, VI: ASCD.
And others…
Bruner, J. (1990). Acts of meaning. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Egan, K. (2001). Imagination. in Turning the perspective: New outlooks on
education. Enschede: CIDREE/SLO
Egan, K. (1990). Romantic understanding: The development of rationality and
imagination, ages 8-15. New York: Routledge.
Downey, M. & Levstik, L. (1991). Teaching and learning history. In J. Shaver (Ed.).
Handbook of research on social studies teaching and learning (pp.400-410). New
York: Macmillan.
The Questioning Process
Problematizes content, encourages
substantive conversations
and
guides students’ thinking about
important concepts and values.
Episode I: Creating the Setting
The Setting for the Park
Episode 2: Creating the Characters
The Park Planners
Episode 3: Building Context
Investigating Plants for the Park
Episode 4: Building Context
A Place to Play
Episode 5 & 6: Critical Incidents
Graffiti in the
Park
Bullying in the
Park
Episode 7: Concluding Event
Dedicating the Park
Fair Go Model of Student
Engagement*
Centralizes
Student Engagement
…to enhance both
learning and social outcomes
students need to “buy into” the educational
experience
*http://www.psfp.nsw.edu.au/projects/index.html#Fair%20Go
Features of Engaging
Classrooms
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High cognitive, high affective and high operative
tasks
Quality instructional practices
“Insider classroom” interactions
In the Storypath students receive
messages that they are knowledgeable
and able, have classroom control, have a
place in the classroom, and their voice is
valued.
What cost to democracy
if social studies
disappears from the
curriculum?