Browsing by Subject "Social studies"
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Item Preservice teacher talk surrounding gender(2012-09) Engebretson, Kathryn EllerhoffThis dissertation examines the discourses around gender present among a cohort of preservice secondary social studies teachers (n=25) and how gender discourses manifested throughout their preparatory year with particular interest paid to their thoughts about curricula, schools, and students. Using ethnographic study design, the author presents three significant moments that occurred throughout their preparatory year, and, for three focal students, interviews which occurred in their first year of teaching. Data include transcripts of three class sessions, completed assignments, reflective journals, and interviews. Building upon Thornton's (1991) work on teachers as "curricular-instructional gatekeepers," the author explores what guided the curricular decision making for the participants and, for the focal students, what discourses they decided to make space for in their first classrooms. Because gender is socially constructed, it is important for future teachers to examine what has contributed to the construction of their own gendered identities in order for them to be able to see how they as individuals and as members of a larger group contribute to the greater society. Through feminist poststructural discourse analysis, the author finds multiple and competing discourses around the gendered topics of sexual violence and how the students expressed their own genders as connected to culture. Intersections of race and social class with gender and the presence of emotion were important in how the students talked about gender. Also found was the uneven follow-through of implementing practices learned in their teacher education coursework in their first classrooms, and the reluctance of two focal students to include Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) topics in their first classrooms. Additionally, the role of context is considered as essential to the students' decision whether to self-censor.Item Teachers think aloud about picture books for teaching social studies in the primary grades(2012-12) Harrington, Judith MarieSocial studies has long been relegated to the sidelines in the elementary grades. Teachers have often used children’s literature to teach social studies (e.g., Hicks, 1996; Hinde, 2005, 2009; Kent & Simpson, 2008) but there are concerns that this integration shortchanges social studies learning (e.g., Alleman & Brophy, 1993, 1994; Brophy, Alleman, & Knighton, 2007). This qualitative study involved teachers in the primary grades, thinking aloud as they read three picture books with social studies content; the emphasis was on the teachers’ planning processes so students were not present during the study. Participants included 27 experienced teachers from grades K-2, recruited from 14 suburban and rural schools located in a large metropolitan area in the upper Midwest. Verbal analysis (Chi, 1997) indicated that the participants perceived both social studies and literacy aspects related to each book; more attention was often paid to the social studies content than literacy development. This finding is contrary to research which found that elementary teachers (K-6) often focus on developing literacy skills more than social studies understanding when reading texts to teach social studies (Boyle-Baise, Hsu, Johnson, Serriere, & Stewart, 2008). The 27 participants utilized books for multiple purposes in order to address curriculum demands and time constraints: to teach literacy skills, to develop literary appreciation, and to foster content understanding. These findings have implications for publishers, curriculum planners, and teacher educators, as well as the teachers themselves. Given the resources and freedom to explore both literacy and content aspects of the literature they use in their class, teachers in the primary grades would be both willing and able to meaningfully address both.Item Teaching for transformation: the praxis of critical pedagogy in social studies education(2013-05) Boegeman, William StevenThis paper explores the theory-praxis gap in critical pedagogy as it relates to social studies education. The study uses a multiple-case study design to focus on the teaching practices of two high school social studies teachers, particularly on how defining aspects of critical pedagogy are reflected in their teaching. The data reveals several aspects of critical pedagogy that are present in the teaching practices of both teachers, but also reveals several opportunities where potential for critical pedagogy is not realized. The author makes several suggestions on how the "critical potential" in these specific instances could be realized, and what implication this study may have for future projects.