Suchergebnisse

Understanding social studies programs at science, technology, mathematics and engineering (STEM) schools is becoming increasingly important as the number of STEM schools grows. This study undertook a qualitative investigation into social studies programs at two STEM high schools. Interviews from social studies teachers, principals, and students were transcribed, coded, and analyzed. Additional data was collected through observation and document analysis. Findings highlighted social studies teachers' perceptions that a strong social studies curriculum is essential to STEM education; the opportunities of interdisciplinary and technology integration afforded to social studies STEM teachers; and some of the challenges of teaching social studies in a STEM school. The researcher discusses the implications of these findings for stakeholders in the social studies to ensure citizens are equipped with the needed skill, knowledge, and dispositions to compete in a global and multicultural age.

As world leaders strengthen their nuclear arsenals, and fears of global nuclear proliferation increase, social studies teachers must be prepared to help learners investigate the devastating consequences on human life and property associated with their use. This manuscript presents an ethnological study of six atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. Participants completed a qualitative questionnaire describing their experiences during World War II, and making recommendations to U.S. social studies teachers when teaching about the dropping of the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. Data was analyzed to identify patterns and themes, and two categories emerged related to our research question. Findings suggest participants support U.S. teachers imparting global perspectives that speak directly to the destructive power of the atomic bomb and its impact on humans and the environment for years to come. This includes a movement away from using the social studies curriculum to point fingers of historic blame in the use of atomic weapons, and towards empowering learners to become agents of change in actualizing a nuclear free and peaceful world. We discuss the implications of this study's findings in social studies and global education.

This qualitative case study draws on interview and focus group data from six Civics teachers. As global education scholars assert, local, national, and global "levels of citizenship" do not occur in a vacuum, instead, each level is invariably connected to one another. Teachers in this study, however, placed different priorities on the levels – prioritizing the national, minimizing the local, and marginalizing the global. Participants also used different teaching strategies in order to teach the different levels: emphasizing knowledge acquisition and values transmission at the national level and more active civic behaviors at the local level.

All too often tragedy and disaster strike the world around us, and when they do, people often are left speechless and powerless. In schools, there is no subject as uniquely situated to helping children develop an understanding of social events as the social studies; as history is filled with instances of loss, tragedy, and death (i.e. war, conflict, natural disasters, etc.). During these difficult times, teachers often encounter important questions from inquisitive children on these challenging topics. This manuscript discusses how an elementary social studies teacher leveraged the assets of children's literature to assist her students in learning to grapple with the death of their beloved classroom pet. Parents and educators are provided literary resources and strategies to assist students in grappling with the concepts of loss or death.