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This exploratory mixed-methods study considers what motivates pre-service social studies teachers to pursue a career in teaching, and the extent to which those motivations are connected to a desire to promote democratic citizenship. We seek to put pre-service social studies teachers' motivations into a broader context by comparing them to those of pre-service teachers in other certification areas. Using surveys and open-ended responses, we analyzed the motivational factors of 218 pre-service teachers using the FIT-Choice Scale and Westheimer and Kahne's categories of citizen-types. Our findings suggest that being civically motivated is not a phenomenon unique to social studies teachers. However, participants' responses to the open-ended prompts suggest a greater likelihood of pre-service social studies teachers articulating a more nuanced vision of "good" citizenship than their peers in other certification areas. Our findings offer implications that extend beyond social studies teacher education to the structure of teacher education programs more generally.

This study examined the relationship among pre-service teachers' (PSTs) values, certification area of choice and perceptions of future career commitments and aspirations. Values were measured through the personal utility value items on the FIT-Choice scale and what we are calling 'civic mindedness', a construct we validated as part of this study. Results from a structural equation model allowed us to confirm our three hypotheses: (1) the civic mindedness variable is a valid construct; (2) civic mindedness positively predicts future career commitments and aspirations; and (3) civic mindedness mediated the relationship among certain PSTs' certification choices and their future career commitments and aspirations, except their perceptions of how long they plan to persist in the field. Findings from this study suggest that teacher education programmes should consider assessing PSTs' level of civic mindedness, emphasizing PSTs' future commitments and aspirations in the field.

Despite widespread focus on literacy and math at the expense of other subjects, citizenship and environmental education have an important role in American public education. Citizenship and environmental education are broadly tasked with helping students develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to shepherd the body politic and natural world, respectively, into the future. For educators and administrators concerned with instructional efficiency, educational farm visits offer one means of pairing these two approaches into a unified learning experience. This paper presents findings from a qualitative case study analysis of two such programs, incorporating interviews with and observations of visiting students, teachers, and parents. The authors argue that sustainable citizenship—a typically European conception of citizenship that stresses the natural as well as the national world—is an important outcome of these types of educational experiences. ; Temple University. College of Education and Human Development ; Teaching and Learning

This qualitative study examined how and under what conditions pre-service social studies teachers reported transformations to their controversial issues pedagogy. This study began in 2011 and was situated in a pre-service social studies seminar at a graduate school of education in the United States. Data collection occurred in five different seminars and lasted three years. Afterwards, the authors met intermittently between 2014 and 2016 to establish findings. The study examined preservice social studies teachers' responses to classes that utilized videotaped instruction of an experienced practitioner's lessons about controversial free speech and terrorism. The following question guided data collection: "How, and under what conditions, do pre-service social studies teachers report transformations to their controversial issues pedagogy when viewing videos of an experienced teacher?" The theoretical framework drew upon enlightened political engagement, and data was derived from the written reflections of pre-service social studies teachers in five different seminars. Findings emphasized that the pre-service social studies teachers were most likely to report pedagogical transformations when reflecting with a peer and when they were free to choose their analytical focus. Also, they were most likely to contextualize these pedagogical transformations within the observed teacher's classroom, a phenomenon we called 'transposing'. Implications of this study identify issues about how to teach for pedagogical transformations in controversial issues instruction. ; Temple University. College of Education and Human Development ; Teaching and Learning

Focusing on episodes of student-generated and -sustained talk during document-based disciplinary history discussions, this study explored what teacher candidates prioritize and value about social studies discussions, and how these priorities align with their actions and goals as facilitators. Using a complex systems-based model, we investigated candidates' goals as they planned for, facilitated, and reflected upon student sensemaking relative to three common orientations for social studies discussions: disciplinary history, participatory civics, and critical literacy. Findings revealed that candidates employed elements from all three orientations, yet without clear alignment to any particular approach. This misalignment reflected tensions between candidates' stated goals, beliefs about student engagement, and instructional decisions. We draw implications for teacher education to support candidates in developing coherent practices for discussion facilitation that align with their instructional visions and sociocultural contexts.

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