The purpose of the paper is to examine potential reasons for the lack of influence that reflective inquiry has had on social studies theory and to suggest an alternative perspective. The first two sections of the paper discuss the reasons for reflective inquiry's failure to impact on practice and include: (1) the interpretation of the inquiry model itself, which entails contradicting conceptions of Dewey's model such as the technical/procedural approach that has become rarefied with the steps of inquiry themselves emphasized over the process; and (2) the generally traditional practices of preservice teacher education, which hinge on the premise that teacher educators, while advocating reflective inquiry, do not practice this approach by example and do not furnish a laboratory where such practice is modeled, experienced, and reflected upon. The third section of the paper advocates the need to adopt a critical theory perspective in social studies education by exploring what a preservice program based on a critical theory of education might contain, emphasize, and encourage. Three strategies of critical discourse (focusing on the social construction of knowledge and the nature of social life; emphasizing analytical skills instead of technical proficiency; and highlighting generic theories of teaching with an examination of personal theories of action resulting from beliefs and past experiences) and implications for teacher education are discussed. The paper concludes that proper preservice courses can be translated into good teaching practices. A three-page list of references is included. (TRS)