Purpose The United States of America continues to have a social studies problem. Social studies knowledge and skills have been on the decline in recent years (National Center for Education Statistics, 2023). This should not be a surprise given that elementary social studies has been marginalized over the last 30 years (e.g. Doornbos et al., 2025; Houser, 1995). This lack of social studies content knowledge and skills could be impacting all citizens' ability, especially the most vulnerable, to exercise their constitutional rights to participate in our democratic society. In response to these concerns, we built a pilot study to investigate practicing elementary teachers' (n = 74) efficacy, beliefs and teaching of social studies in four states. Design/methodology/approach Participants completed the Social Studies Efficacy and Beliefs Scale (SSEBS), which was adapted by the researchers from the T-STEM Science Scale Personal Science Teaching Efficacy Scale. Findings Despite moderate to high self-efficacy, the researchers found that participants faced significant obstacles (e.g. time, resources, support) to teach social studies. Participants who expressed they did not have enough instructional time to teach social studies expressed a desire to increase instructional time because of social studies' societal importance. Social implications This research contributes to the discourse on elementary social studies instruction and how to advocate for more social studies at the elementary level. Originality/value The researchers' construction of an efficacy scale for elementary social studies and their investigation of elementary teacher's efficacy contributes to the field studying the marginalization of social studies because it provides a new lens for measuring what elementary teachers are doing, can do and want to do in their classrooms.
Purpose This lesson using The Walk by Winsome Bingham is intended to aid elementary students in cultivating citizenship mentors who model social change in their own areas. Students use the text to bridge the gap in seeing themselves as active citizens now as students and being molded into adult citizens. They can realize in both phases, they can impact their local communities. Students work together throughout the lesson to recognize fellow citizens and their contributions to their world through the active demonstrations of specific democratic ideals. While students engage in asking and answering questions posed to them and by them, they collaboratively explore individual leadership and activism and identify core civic ideals demonstrated in action by specific leader mentors. Design/methodology/approach Students construct their own knowledge regarding citizenship and the active demonstration of democratic ideals as they think critically, engage with classmates and community members, and demonstrate cross-curricular and social studies content knowledge and skills. The text serves as a catalyst to bridge students' ideas of activism in one area, like voting, to other examples historically and contemporarily of local leadership resulting in change. Findings Students engage in this lesson actively as they learn through connections to text, historical people and events, and current examples of community leadership. Students contemplate and discuss ideas like duties of citizenship and citizen leadership, as well as identify leader mentors they might learn from in their local area. Students expand ideas of community activism as they seek tangible examples in their contemporary world. They explore texts, make connections and create digital and audio accounts of first-hand accounts of individual activism. Originality/value In this lesson, elementary students are allowed the choice and the freedom to grapple with big ideas of what it means to be an active citizen, how to identify appropriate leader-mentors to watch and emulate, and how their own demonstration of leadership now and in the future serves as examples to other citizens and can create lasting change by leading through example. They will work together within and outside the classroom to note where opportunities for engagement in community and with others can occur. Students can begin to see themselves in current roles of active citizenship as they interview community leaders about their journeys from student-citizens to adult citizens active in demonstrating democratic ideals.
Purpose This practitioner paper provides instructional strategies and resources to supplement the content of America Redux: Visual Stories from our Dynamic History. This text and accompanying lesson provide critical perspectives on U.S history that challenge dominant narratives in high school social studies classrooms, particularly those that downplay or ignore the prevalence of White supremacy. The pedagogical approaches offered are meant to aid teachers in scaffolding and synthesizing the many counternarratives provided in American Redux. Design/methodology/approach An Inquiry Design Model has been developed to support inquiry-based instruction on the text and to extend learning about its themes. The compelling and supporting questions ask students to evaluate the influence of White supremacy in U.S. history through the investigation of counternarratives provided in America Redux. The lesson begins with a teacher-led activity about the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the consequences of the Lost Cause myth, which includes guiding questions created to illuminate revisionist history. Findings The instructional approaches in this paper are aligned with NCSS standards and position statements, the C3 Framework, and the Southern Poverty Law Center's Social Justice Standards. The lesson asks students to examine bias and contextualize historical viewpoints, which is central to themes of continuity and change, dimensions of power, and perspective-taking. Originality/value The curated resources in this practice proposal offer students diverse perspectives on US history that challenge the influence of White supremacy on dominant historical narratives. Topics include nativism, immigration policies, Hawaii's colonization, the contamination of the Navajo Nation land, convict leasing, redlining, and the United Farm Workers.
Purpose This article is a part of a larger study which focused on the educational experiences that contributed to social studies teachers' racial lens, consciousness development and how this understanding may impact their curricular decisions. Since educators have received their education in a system focused on white normativity, they can struggle to even be aware of the racial lens they may subconsciously pass onto their students. This research is the first step of this work by focusing on how secondary social studies teachers' racial lenses could contribute to their curricular decision-making. There were nine participants in total from three regions within the United States. All nine engaged in three semi-structured phenomenological interviews; interview one is the focus of this article. During this interview, participants discussed their educational backgrounds and how they learned about race within their educations and upbringing. The conclusions of this interview included a need for educators to critically assess their racial optics, which have resulted partially from how they learned about race and racial conflict in their American history courses and partially from their upbringing and experiences. This will determine if they are also (unintentionally) perpetuating white social studies to the detriment of their student's learning. Design/methodology/approach This study employs a critical phenomenological design using semi-structured, three-part interviews with nine secondary US history teachers across three regions. This article focuses on the first interview, examining participants' educational experiences learning about race. Data were supplemented with reflective journals and a nationwide survey to support triangulation. Analysis involved memo-writing, a priori and emergent coding, and multiple coding cycles using NVivo. The approach prioritizes participants' lived experiences and meaning-making processes regarding racial consciousness development. Findings Findings indicate that participants' racial lenses were shaped primarily by three factors: formal education, professional development and personal experiences. Most reported limited and white-centered racial narratives in secondary education, with more diverse perspectives introduced in higher education. Professional development on race varied widely in presence and effectiveness. Persona exposure to racial diversity significantly influenced awareness and growth. Overall, participants demonstrated increased racial consciousness over time, though inconsistently, highlighting gaps in early educational experiences. Research limitations/implications The small, non-random sample limits generalizability, and the predominance of white participants may narrow perspectives. Reliance on retrospective self-reporting introduces potential recall bias. The study does not assess the direct impact of teachers' racial lenses on student outcomes. Future research should examine how teachers' perspectives translate into classroom practice and influence students' racial understanding. Expanding participant diversity and incorporating classroom observations or student data would strengthen validity. Practical implications Teacher preparation programs should incorporate structured opportunities for critical self-reflection on racial identity and prior learning. Beyond adding diverse content, programs must help educators interrogate how their racial lenses shape curricular decisions. Professional development should move from awareness to actionable strategies for implementation. Schools and districts should provide sustained, meaningful training on culturally responsive teaching and support teachers in translating theory into practice within their classrooms. Social implications The study highlights how white-centered historical narratives persist across generations through education, potentially reinforcing societal racial inequities. By shaping how students understand history and race, teachers play a critical role in either perpetuating or disrupting these patterns. Increasing educators' racial consciousness may contribute to more inclusive curricula and improved civic discourse. Ultimately, addressing these dynamics in education may support broader efforts toward racial equity and social cohesion. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by applying a critical phenomenological lens to examine how secondary social studies teachers develop racial consciousness through their lived educational experiences. Unlike prior research focused primarily on pedagogy or outcomes, this study centers the formative processes shaping teachers' racial lenses across schooling, professional development and personal contexts. By triangulating interviews, journals and survey data, it offers nuanced insight into how “white social studies” may be reproduced or disrupted, providing an empirical foundation for rethinking teacher education and curricular decision-making.
PurposeIn this case study, the authors examined how pre-service teachers understood and challenged economic myths at various conceptual levels and within teacher education, professional development and in-service teaching. Interrogated myths included those related to market structures, philosophy and analytical tools. Design/methodology/approachCase study research. FindingsFirst, the authors found that providing tools of social analysis led to an increased ability to identify and articulate the socioeconomic myths and limitations in the standards. Second, participants who were taught the skills of critique in prior coursework (e.g. critical historical inquiry) and those who identified the need to teach social studies for justice and articulated a willingness to teach critically were more likely to observe and critique economic myths and their inclusion in standards. Third, the intervention had little impact on the participants' pedagogy despite increased willingness and demonstrated ability to critique limited economic myths and narratives. Practical implicationsTeacher educators can help preservice teachers develop their critical economics toolbox, given the nature of economics standards and the paucity of critical economic teacher practitioner literature. Additional study is needed to better understand the interrelationships between identity, critical consciousness, justice-oriented teacher preparation and economic education. Originality/valueResearch on economic narratives and class has been limited in social studies, as has the ideological impact of economic narratives on pedagogy, and how social studies teachers navigate the social relations of production in teaching and learning based on these understandings. This article works at the intersection of these ideas in social studies teacher education.
PurposeThis study investigates whether historically structured board game (HSBG) simulations can foster historical empathy and moral reasoning when teaching the Northern Ireland Troubles – a contested history largely absent from formal curricula. It examines participant perceptions of simulation appropriateness, the relationship between empathy and moral justification and how demographic factors shape engagement with politically sensitive historical content. Design/methodology/approachNon-experimental cross-sectional survey design recruiting 65 participants through gaming forums. Self-report questionnaire measured familiarity with the Troubles, attitudes towards simulation pedagogy, faction role preferences and moral reasoning using Likert scales. Quantitative analysis employed descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations and chi-square tests to examine relationships between participant characteristics and attitudes towards violence, empathy and simulation appropriateness. FindingsParticipants demonstrated an “empathy gap” – the capacity to empathise with violent actors (87.7%) while resisting moral justification of violence (32.3%). Strong support emerged for simulation-based approaches (87.7% endorsement), though uncertainty persisted regarding mechanisms fostering empathy. Role selection correlated with violence justification attitudes: IRA and Nationalist faction choices showed significant positive correlations with greater willingness to justify political violence, revealing how factional perspectives shape moral reasoning. Research limitations/implicationsSevere demographic homogeneity (92.3% male, predominantly middle-aged Western gamers) limits generalisability beyond hobbyist populations. Convenience sampling through gaming forums introduces self-selection bias favouring game-based learning proponents. Absence of qualitative data prevents understanding reasoning processes underlying quantitative patterns. Small Irish subsample (<5%) underrepresents voices most directly affected by the Troubles. Survey measured attitudes rather than actual learning outcomes, preventing causal claims about simulation effectiveness. Practical implicationsEducators must provide substantial pre-game scaffolding (historical context, explicit learning objectives, ethical boundary-setting) rather than treating HSBGs as standalone interventions. Active facilitation during gameplay proves essential for monitoring emotional responses and prompting ethical reflection. Post-game debriefing transforms raw experience into reflective understanding through structured discussion and perspective-taking assessments. Implementation requires trauma-informed approaches acknowledging proximity effects in communities directly affected by conflict. Social implicationsSimulation-based pedagogy offers structured approaches for addressing contested histories systematically excluded from formal education despite significance in national narratives. By creating safe spaces for perspective-taking across factional boundaries, HSBGs may support reconciliation efforts in post-conflict societies. However, ideological transparency demands explicit acknowledgment that simulations constitute authored interpretations rather than neutral historical representations, requiring critical engagement with embedded values and design choices. Originality/valueFirst empirical study examining perceptions of simulating the Troubles specifically, addressing complete absence of research on teaching this conflict through game-based approaches. Introduces “historical empathy gap” construct operationalising distinction between affective empathy and moral justification. Contributes to underexplored area of analogue HSBGs while educational technology research privileges digital simulations, demonstrating face-to-face formats' distinctive affordances for contested history pedagogy.
PurposeThe purpose of this article is to help educators understand the affordances of backmatter in historical fiction to facilitate more engaged history/social studies experiences for young readers. Since backmatter often includes important historical information and context to augment the main story of any historical fiction book, it stands to reason that the backmatter may be important to integrating ELA and social studies when teaching historical fiction. Design/methodology/approachThe researchers analyzed the backmatter of all 24 books in the I Survived series for recurring features and created instructional activities that can also apply to historical fiction titles. FindingsBackmatter can create opportunities for deep historical and critical thinking. In order to do this well, it is essential for readers not to simply rely on the narrative but to understand a story's context – both the historical context and the evidence the author used to craft their narrative. This paper offers a number of activities that can be adapted across titles beyond the I Survived series to provide teachers with pathways to such instruction to help their students be more critical consumers of historical fiction. Originality/valueEducators struggle with operationalizing backmatter in their classrooms due to a lack of guidance in best utilizing these potential instructional materials. This paper fills a need for teacher resources and education in elementary history/social studies.
PurposeTo examine how preservice social studies teachers (PSTs) in one US teacher-education program understand and engage with global citizenship education (GCE), and to consider how institutional and political conditions shape those understandings. Design/methodology/approachA qualitative case study of four PSTs interning in high schools in a politically restrictive US state. Data included semi-structured interviews, program documents and analytic memos. Researchers transcribed interviews, then analyzed through line-by-line open coding followed by deductive and inductive coding informed by Pashby et al.’s neoliberal–liberal–critical orientations and methodological/epistemological/ontological lenses. Member checking enhances credibility. FindingsParticipants consistently valued diversity and mutual respect and invoked a shared human experience, reflecting predominantly liberal orientations to GCE. They framed GCE through disciplinary content (history, civics, geography) and acknowledged controversy in vague terms. Explicit attention to activism, structural inequities or critical social justice was largely absent, and participants reported little formal preparation for GCE. Evidence suggests the state policy climate and a social science–oriented curriculum channel PSTs toward depoliticized, content-centric views of GCE. Implications include embedding GCE within disciplinary methods courses and providing structured opportunities to develop critical, justice-oriented practices. Originality/valueAddresses a gap by focusing on PSTs rather than in-service teachers or students and by situating their perspectives within a politically contentious context. The study links policy climate and curriculum organization to depoliticized conceptualizations of GCE and integrates typological and onto-epistemological lenses to generate actionable recommendations for teacher education.
PurposeThis paper discusses how the responsibilities of air quality were taught through a lens of citizen science and civic action-taking. Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative case study examined how one secondary social studies teacher guided a social action project around responsibilities for local air quality. FindingsFindings involved three topics: (1) Students saw their community's air quality as a subject worthy of their investigation, (2) Students gathered authentic data through community experts and their own photojournalism and (3) Students produced authentic social action projects that recommended action to mitigate air pollution or adapt to it. Originality/valueThis study offers insights into how schools can become places of transformative thinking. It also models how students can experiment with becoming public intellectuals. It provides understanding about the role of cognitive load theory when integrating new technologies into the classroom. It also offers insights about how students can make decisions about topics (like air pollution) that call for global citizenship thinking.
PurposeThis paper argues for greater intentionality in the design of field trips within K-12 education, particularly in urging attention to cultural responsiveness and anti-bias curriculum. Such experiences deepen student learning, support and affirm identity, and promote empathy. Design/methodology/approachDrawing from experiential learning theory and anti-bias education, the paper focuses on the critical field trip phases of preparation and reflection. Further introduced are strategies to mediate field trips themselves, focusing on inclusive curriculum design, teacher-site collaboration and alternative technologies, such as virtual exchanges. FindingsThe paper concludes that culturally responsive field trips can shift from isolated enrichment activities to transformative educational experiences that improve academic outcomes and foster lifelong critical thinking habits. Such experiences are most effective when motivated by sustained engagement. Research limitations/implicationsThe paper integrates a wide body of research; empirical findings are not otherwise presented. However, the paper identifies future research directions, from teacher preparation to the long-term impacts of experiential learning on student development. Practical implicationsModels discussed here may be readily implemented by educators, particularly around anti-bias standards. Practical recommendations range from partnering more closely with inclusive institutions to developing pre- and post-visit activities. The paper also expands on alternative field trip models, including virtual (global) and hyperlocal experiences. Originality/valueCollaborative commitments between social studies teachers and site-based staff can lead to a transformative – and more continuous – experience.
Purpose This study examines the representation of LGBTQ+ history in two A.P. U.S. History textbooks to reveal how the discourse perpetuates and challenges the othering of LGBTQ+ histories. Design/methodology/approach Using critical and discourse-historical analysis, this study examines two editions of a textbook, focusing on representations of the historical events at the Stonewall Inn. The analysis explores how discourse in these texts either celebrates or silences LGBTQ+ history. Findings Analysis of the two editions shows that while discourse affirms LGBTQ+ activism, it also sustains exclusion through omission of content, highlighting the persistent need for more inclusive and accurate historical narratives. Originality/value This study contributes to textbook analysis and queer scholarship in education by highlighting the importance of language in shaping historical narratives. It underscores the need for inclusive curricula that reflect the diverse experiences and contributions of LGBTQ+ individuals, promoting a more equitable understanding of history.
The purpose of this paper, a notable trade book lesson plan, is to pair National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) notable trade books with a new strategy, C-OPTIC, to encourage critical visual literacy of picture book illustrations with elementary students. The approach of this notable trade book lesson plan is to pair two notable trade books together, a book that is well known to many teachers with a book that is newer and invites critical reflection. Then, together, students evaluate these books using a critical strategy, C-OPTIC. This lesson encourages teachers to move beyond surface-level discussions of “making the world more beautiful” and instead foster conversations about justice, belonging and voice. By using books recognized by NCSS for their value to social studies education, this pairing shows how we can meet curricular goals while also honoring students’ curiosity and capacity for critical thinking. When paired with care, two very different texts can spark a shared exploration and critical reflection. This lesson provides a framework for teachers to revisit familiar texts with a critical lens while amplifying contemporary stories that reflect a broader, more just vision of social studies education.
