In this article, the authors construct an argument citing the need for a conversational community within the social studies profession. After noting the need for more research to aid in understanding the field of social education, they explore relevant attributes of a conversational community. Seeking to service, in part, the research need and apply the conversational community conception to the social studies profession, the authors develop three researchable questions related to conversational practice. In short, they asked 1) who speaks, 2) what are the topics of discourse, and 3) how is language used? The authors conclude that while a conversational community does exist, certain practices inhibit its full potential.

Flourishing relationships are at the core of teachers' work and effective pedagogy. This paper presents an exploratory case study of 59 secondary schoolteachers to investigate the role that gratitude may have in enhancing teacher–student relationships. Although the potential of gratitude has been gaining international attention in the areas of positive and social psychology, there have only been a few studies on the effect of teachers' gratitude. The paper presents a conceptual framework that postulates the meaning and significance of gratitude in this context and then describes a qualitative case study. Results indicate that gratitude impacted positively on the teachers, classroom and school environment.