This case study analyzes the experiences of two first-year American (U.S.) social studies teachers, Sam and Libby, working aboard. Over the course of the year, these two teachers developed an understanding of place and themselves as global educators. Using place-based theory (Sobel, 1994) and drawing on case study methodology, the research…

According to many educators, textbooks will eventually be replaced by digital versions. Today's teachers, school administrators, and education policy makers are often digitally disconnected or at best digital immigrants, individuals who were born before the existence of digital technology and adopted it later in life. Unfortunately, when…

Although many English language learners (ELLs) in the United States have knowledge gaps that make it hard for them to master high-level content and skills, ELLs also often have background knowledge relevant to school learning that teachers neglect to access, this author argues. In the Common Core era, with ELLs being the fastest growing population…

This paper conducts an affirmative reading of key constructs of pedagogy, ethics, culture and justice put forth in the texts of Roger Simon. Rereading these texts with, against and across the trajectory of one thinker's thought, the article generates new possibilities for pedagogy in global and contemporary times. The paper demonstrates that…

By examining teacher interviews and student survey data through the lens of multiculturalism and post-colonialism, this study investigates how the USA is taught in secondary school social studies in South Korea. Specifically, the study examines the teachers' goals, the representation of the USA in Korean textbooks and its influence on the…

This collaborative self-study article explores experiences teaching a cross-curricular undergraduate course that aimed to integrate social studies and science. The course differs from other compulsory components of the teacher candidates' program of study in that it concentrates on disciplinary structure, as opposed to methods, and it treats two…

Can reading a book about a boy and a hen in Ghana make a difference to fifth graders in their Michigan community? Indeed, it can, and in myriad ways. At a suburban elementary school in Michigan, the authors introduced fifth graders to economic concepts in a project-based learning (PBL) unit. They began by reading aloud and discussing the picture…

Social studies emerged at the core of the American common school in the mid-nineteenth century amid the rise of the urban immigrant receiving center. These two forces together resulted in the heightened importance of schools in transforming immigrant students into American citizens. Today, U.S. schools often serve as a social and educational nexus…

Civic learning for all students seems like a reasonable and important aim for all schools to achieve. If we believe that the future of our American democracy depends on a citizenry that is informed, engaged, and responsible, what better place to create future citizens than in schools? The Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools…

How something begins can matter a lot, especially for young adults. "The circumstances under which a person enters a profession is predictive of how that person will view the profession for the rest of his or her life." The goal is for that view to be positive and long lasting for social studies educators. Can more be done to support…

"Plan B: Mobilizing to Save Civilization," has much to offer nearly any social studies classroom from 9th grade to college levels. The film is based on Lester R. Brown's book by the same name and is the 12th episode in the Journey to Planet Earth public television series. The film illustrates the complexity of climate change and its connections to…

In the previous issue of "Social Education," this column looked at the upcoming elections from a more general point of view and recommended websites that examined presidential election history, voting laws, and the origins of the Electoral College and how it works. In this column, the author focuses specifically on this year's presidential battle…

During World War II, human rights violations against women took on gargantuan proportions of indescribable horror. The Japanese military engaged in the systematic abduction of women from China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, and other nations and confined them to military installations in Japanese-occupied territories to serve…

Is sniffing at the front door of a private home by a trained narcotics detection dog a Fourth Amendment search requiring probable cause? Is a "drug dog" somehow like a manmade technology, such as a thermal imaging device? These were a couple of the questions recently presented to the U.S. Supreme Court during arguments in "Florida v. Jardines."…

There are many approaches that schools could take to prepare and encourage young people to vote. These approaches may be less dramatic than linking registration to graduation, but they are more comprehensive and likely even more effective in the long term. In this article, the author encourages educators, particularly the social studies community,…