Equality for all was the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and he knowingly laid the foundation for and inspired the first African-American President of the United States of America, Barack Hussein Obama, who also had the dream of "Change" for America. These men exhibited how working together can make dreams become reality. For the…

The Trolley Problem as defined in this paper is a series, or continuation, of increasingly difficult ethical riddles successfully implemented in a classroom environment to spur complex, critical thinking and dialogue. The activity is designed upon the scenario of a runaway train with different and challenging choices, segueing neatly into group…

Acquisitions on history and historical topics constitute an important section of Social Studies curricula. Such a curricula which is prepared on the basis of a constructivist approach should be applied within the light of accurately chosen methods. Performing social studies course, one of main objectives of which is to train active citizens by…

The objective of this study is to improve the situation of the general education curriculum in Saudi Arabia, in line with global aspirations in this area and a proposal to implement international education issues in general education curricula. The study was centered on answering the following questions: What is the reality of issues of…

This article examines conflicts that have unfolded over the past 75 years regarding the separation of church and state in American public education. Through discussion of the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses as articulated in the First Amendment to the "US Constitution," as well as influential court cases that have set legal…

Teachers regularly evaluate children's literature for literary quality and age-appropriate information. Today's picture books address issues such as world population, homelessness, climate change, and other socially important themes, but when faced with social studies lessons on sensitive topics such as war and its reality, elementary teachers may…

As the Latin@ population continues to grow in the United States, it is imperative that social studies teachers are aware of the rich history and sociocultural complexities of Latin@ identity. In particular, there is a large population of Latin@s of African descent throughout Latin America, the Caribbean, and North America. However, Afro-Latin@s…

This article introduces the social studies field to Dorothy Heatchote's Mantle of Expert (MOE). MOE is a dramatic inquiry approach used in several subject areas and can work at all levels in the social studies curriculum. The authors go into the development of using this approach in an elementary and middle teacher education program. After sharing…

Oral history is a type of history arising from using the memories of people and listening to what they narrate. Oral history is a kind of history established around people. It introduces life into the history, and extends its scope. It selects its heroes among the majority of people who have not been known up to that time not only among the…

As teachers, it is important that we grapple with the reality that schools, teachers, and the larger social institutions that impact us are never neutral. Scholars explain that the starting place for teachers who want to enact practices for social justice and to disrupt harmful "single stories" is to read LGBTQ titles and consider how…

The visual arts and media historically employed by teachers as a corollary to "traditional" social education can play a more vital role in promoting critical inquiry among students. The use of short films like "The Flying Man" (2013), a 2013 motion picture which depicts an almost mythic vigilante in a realistic world, can help…

Google and other online search engines can provide immediate answers to empirical questions about history. However, this immediacy may undermine higher-level historical reasoning and student engagement in historical research. It is important that teachers continue to develop strategies that support students' active engagement with online…

With the proliferation of standards and accountability systems in education, questions about how they function and intersect with broader patterns of institutional relations await investigation. The existing literature in social studies education is replete with studies that frame teachers' expertise for managing how instruction unfolds in the…

This study aimed to replicate findings that demonstrated impact on students' reading comprehension and social studies content learning. Using a randomized control trial, intervention, and outcome measures, this study was replicated in 85 8th-grade social studies classes with 19 teachers. Teachers were provided professional development on…

This study aimed to replicate findings that demonstrated impact on students' reading comprehension and social studies content learning. Using a randomized control trial, intervention, and outcome measures, this study was replicated in 85 8th-grade social studies classes with 19 teachers. Teachers were provided professional development on…