In the elementary years, social studies is an essential subject, critical to young learners' academic success and well-being. The success of our democracy depends on equitable access to this vital learning for all students. Social studies must be taught in every classroom starting in PreK so learners can develop into civically knowledgeable,…

Although inquiry-based instruction has been a centerpiece of progressive visions of social studies education almost since its inception as a school subject a century ago, teachers often struggle to conceptualize it in ways that make true inquiry possible for their students. In this essay I suggest that social educators strengthen their connection…

The annual presidential address is traditionally an opportunity for the leader of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) to discuss the state of social studies and to provide insight about its direction. Central to these addresses have been reflections on the purpose of the social studies, which NCSS states is "… to help young…

A comprehensive social studies education provides the foundation for an appreciation of democracy, an understanding of the responsibilities and rights that come with participating in a republican form of government, and the knowledge and skills to be informed, responsible, and active global citizens. As students participate in their social studies…

This article focuses on analysing the relations between expressions of historical consciousness and democracy as featured in the 2020 Norwegian Curriculum for Social Studies. In compulsory school in Norway, History is no longer a subject with a specific syllabus. However, there is a fundamental historical perspective running through the…

This qualitative, phenomenological study examined the experiences of public high school social studies teachers in 11 U.S. states in teaching democratic principles in their classes since the 2016 presidential election. The study utilized semi-structured interview questions and inductive analysis to assess teacher experiences, including instances…

The main purpose of this research is to comparatively examine the views of social studies teacher candidates in Turkey and the USA towards war and peace, and to reveal the similarities and differences. In parallel with the increasing violence and wars in the world, literacy of peace has become a concept that attracts more and more attention. Each…

This study explores a group of social studies teachers' conceptions of citizenship by taking into consideration the country's increasingly authoritarian political culture. It offers an analysis of semi-structured interviews carried out with 20 teachers working at state middle schools in a relatively secular city. The study found that the majority…

This work focuses on facilitating upper elementary students' media literacy skills development. Students engage in authentic techniques to recognize and verify media content and sources. Relevant background topics follow this structure: (a) introduction including literature review and purpose, (b) brief history of fake news, (c) impacts of…

Early purposes of education in the United States concentrated on preparing young citizens to understand democratic principles in order to participate in their democratic communities. Today elementary instruction has contracted in response to years of high stakes accountability measures. Social studies has not been a focus of federal accountability…

Democracy is increasingly being challenged, by disengagement and by anti-pluralist movements (Levitsky and Ziblatt in How Democracies Die: What History Reveals About Our Future, Viking, New York, 2018; Wikforss in "Därför demokrati. Om kunskapen och folkstyret" [Because of this, democracy. On knowledge and people's rule] Fri Tanke, 2021;…

Historians of social studies and race have focused overwhelmingly on formal educational settings, textbooks, and curriculum, thereby overlooking the informal educational spaces valued by African Americans. This study examines civic education in informal settings by considering the educational programs of Black voluntary organizations. Hundreds of…

This paper provides an overview of the problematic state of Philippine democracy that has long been attributed to the nation's history of colonial rule, widespread poverty and inequality, oligarchic structures, and dysfunctional institutions. It focuses on the role of education and Social Studies Education, specifically, in cultivating in Filipino…

In this longitudinal interpretative case study, researchers examined the beliefs and practices related to democratic citizenship and critical multiculturalism of five beginning social studies teachers from their teacher preparation through their fourth year in the classroom. Using Banks's typology of citizenship as a theoretical framework, they…

Since the beginning of public education in the United States, there has been a strong tradition of viewing schools as the mechanism for preparing young people for their role as citizens in a democratic society. Moreover, citizenship education has held a foundational place in social studies classrooms. However, despite this central focus of social…