Evidence-informed collaborative inquiry is central to the improvement of teaching and learning for diverse students. This research investigated the impact of a professional learning intervention on the improvement of social studies teachers' practice, and their students' learning. Data were gathered from 26 primary and secondary teachers before,…

Digital history refers to "the study of the past using a variety of electronically reproduced primary source texts, images, and artifacts as well as the constructed narratives, accounts, or presentations that result from digital historical inquiry." Access to digitized primary sources can promote active instruction in historical thinking. A…

This study examined the attitudes of high school social studies teachers toward the training they received to teach English language learners (ELLs) in their social studies classrooms. This issue is important because the number of ELLs in American schools increases each year and high school social studies classes are the one place for ELLs to…

Despite persistent questions about the nature and purpose of social studies education in the United States, there exists general agreement that social studies should be about democratic citizenship. But much depends on how individuals view democracy, and the extent to which they think it has been, or could be, realized through education. This…

In this case study, part of a larger study of the Prospect School Teacher Education Program, the author investigates the processes of descriptive inquiry by exploring a moment in their evolution and their effect on the learning of one teacher educator and his students ("interns") as they investigated the teaching of social studies. She also…

Scholarship on immigrant integration often examines immigrant characteristics and the host society's contexts of reception. This article explores how teachers fit within this framework by presenting findings on teachers' preferences to teach immigrant-origin youth who are classified as "English learners" (ELs) within separate content courses known…

This qualitative study investigates three Singapore teachers' conceptions of diversity and discrimination, as well as their perceptions of inequality and social structures. The results suggest that Singaporean teachers' perceptions are not only reflective of multicultural principles culled from personal dispositions or experiences, but are also…

Data driven decision making emphasizes the importance of the teacher using objective sources of information in developing the social studies curriculum. Too frequently, decisions of teachers have been made based on routine and outdated methods of teaching. Valid and reliable tests used to secure results from pupil learning make for better…

Interpersonal self efficacy scale which is developed by Brouser and Tomic (2002) and modified for Turkish by Capri and Kan (2006) is applied to 262 pre-service teachers studying in 1st-4th grades of social studies department in the Faculty of Education at Nigde University together with a personal information form. The scale is proved highly valid…

Research in the cognition and learning sciences has demonstrated that the human brain contains basic structures whose functions are to perform a variety of specific spatial reasoning tasks and that children are capable of learning basic spatial concepts at an early age. There has been a call from within geography to recognize research on spatial…

In many elementary classrooms, Thanksgiving is celebrated by donning homemade Pilgrim hats, grocery bag vests, and colorful construction-paper headdresses, as students join together to reenact the "first" Thanksgiving with a mock feast. Students compose journal entries on the topic, "what I am thankful for." These typical Thanksgiving activities,…

As LGBTQ issues gain prominence in political and social arenas directly related to social studies teaching, the field of social studies can no longer remain silent. The author argues that we need to move beyond marginal programs and an emphasis on anti-bullying measures to examine the heteronormative structures that school students in sexuality.…

In a three-year study, the authors explore students' understandings and experiences of citizenship at two high school sites in Regina, Saskatchewan. Specifically, the authors consider the possibility that social location mediates the extent to which the official social studies curriculum is able to produce students as "good" citizens.…

The cornerstone of sound social studies pedagogy is the ability of teachers to use materials that spur students to think critically, reflect honestly, and to participate purposefully and passionately. This article illustrates how elementary teachers can use select children's literature that prompts students to think critically about their…

Many artists visit national parks to draw, paint and take photographs of some of the most amazing scenery on earth. Raw nature is one of the greatest inspirations to an artist, and artists can be credited for helping inspire the government to create the National Park System. This article features Thomas Moran (1837-1926), one of the artists who…