Journal of Social Science Education (JSSE - Universität Bielefeld)
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Teaching and learning in integrated social studies: What knowledge is most important for students to acquire?
Get PDFTeaching shows patterns of different discourses of learning in varying degrees of integration
When grading is introduced, the subject knowledge discourse turns more dominant.
Students show greater engagement in higher degrees of integrated teaching directed by overarching curriculum objectives.
Macro policies direct the characteristics of the teaching, but there are variations in the strength with which different policies are implemented.
Purpose: The purpose is to analyse how teaching and learning take place in integrated social studies teaching in relation to various curriculum goals and what consequences the teaching has for students’ approaches to learning.
Design/methodology/approach:Ethnographic fieldwork is used in ten integrated thematic units conducted in four classes in four Swedish schools, with students in Years 5 and 6.
Findings: The grading in Year 6 contributes to the integrated teaching being more adapted and directed towards subject knowledge goals. Students are very committed and involved in higher degrees of integration and discourses of learning connected to overarching curriculum objectives and are more focused and performance-oriented when the subject knowledge discourse creates a dominant pattern.
Practical implications: Teaching in social studies should consist of the whole range of learning discourses, and how different knowledge conceptions can affect teaching and students’ learning should also be considere
Observing and interpreting quality in social science teaching
Get PDFQuality in social science teaching
Social science subject didactics
Social science teaching methodologies
Form, content, and goal (intended function) of social science teaching
Tool for observing and interpreting quality in social science teaching
Purpose: The purpose of the article is to contribute to a discussion about quality for social science teaching and in continuation hereof to develop a tool for social science classroom observation and interpretation, for both direct and video-based observation.
Design/methodology/approach: Classroom teaching is communication. Therefore, it is crucial that an analysis of quality of social science teaching includes a focus on communicative quality. The theoretical basis of the article is therefore threefold. 1) A Bakhtin-inspired communicative approach, 2) sociocultural ethnographic classroom research and 3) social science didactics / social science teaching discourse. Discourse is not only understood as language, but as language in context, which means that it’s not only communication as spoken words, utterances, but also communication as actions (doings) that count as disciplinary work.
Findings: It is concluded that communicative quality in social science teaching, and perhaps in teaching in general, can be observed as utterances in the classroom analysed for their coherence between form, content, and goal (intended function), which accordingly are the basic elements of an observation tool developed. When utterances are recurring and thus form patterns, they are called practices. The tool aims to keep focus on form, content, and goal (intended function) of the basic subject discourse, which functions as an underlying structuring of classroom communication. It is also concluded that the normative basis for social science teaching can be operationalized and thus serve as a guidance of interpretations of observations made in the classroom of the form and content of teaching.
Research limitations/implications. The tool is designed to focus specifically on social science quality. It is not a suggestion to disregard generic conditions in the teaching, and therefore the use of the tool presupposes that this is done in connection with a generic observational focus. The tool has not been tested on a large scale, and therefore it must be expected that it will have to be further developed during use
Economic models in German textbooks: An analysis of textbooks for teaching economics in upper secondary school
Get PDFUsing economic models in class should be accompanied by a reflection on the models.
The embedding of economic models in textbooks for upper secondary school varies greatly.
Most textbooks do not present the assumptions of economic models in a comprehensive way.
The majority of textbooks hardly include the use of models as analytical tools.
Central aspects of model reflection are not addressed in many textbooks.
Purpose: The study investigated how economic models are presented in textbooks for upper secondary school in Germany, and which forms of engagement are initiated by tasks related to the models.
Design/methodology/approach: The available textbooks for teaching economics in upper secondary school in Germany (n=47) were examined using a deductive qualitative content analysis according to Mayring (2015). The category scheme was developed on the basis of a target content concept for thinking in economic models in class.
Findings: On the one hand, central economic models are discussed in many textbooks. On the other hand, there are gaps in the presentations and tasks on models in many textbooks. This is especially true for the use of models as analytical tools, but also for model reflection
Netherlands: Education for democratic citizenship in Dutch schools: A bumpy road
No full textHighlights
Constitutional freedom of education affects democratic citizenship education policy.
Citizenship education legislation in 2006 and 2007 placed little demands on schools.
Legislation introduced in 2021 has further specified what is expected from schools.
Studies of citizenship education in practice are largely critical of the extent to which schools teach about, through and for democracy.
Purpose: This paper discusses developments in citizenship education policy and practice in the Netherlands, and outlines key challenges as faced by the different stakeholders involved.
Design/methodology/approach: Our discussion is based on existing research and policy documents in the Netherlands. The authors, from three Dutch universities, are experts in the field of research on citizenship education.
Findings: Promoting citizenship education in primary, secondary and vocational tertiary education in the Netherlands has been challenging, particularly in light of the constitutional freedom of education in the Netherlands. Five issues are discussed in this regard: the contents of CE legislation, the normative character of legal requirements, integration of CE legislation in national curriculum aims, clarifying expectations from schools in teaching CE, and teacher education and professionalization
Hong Kong: Understanding liberal studies in Hong Kong: Vehicle for civic education and its controversies
No full textHighlights:
Civic education in Hong Kong has never had the status of an independent subject in the educational system. It has always been fragmented as a cross-curriculum theme.
The historical developments of civic education curriculum can be summarized as follows: depoliticization for the most time under the British colonial government; politicization from the mid-1980s to 1997; and re-depoliticization after the sovereignty transfer in 1997.
Liberal Studies, containing elements of citizenship and political knowledge, was reintroduced in 2009 as a core subject and had been considered a vehicle subject for civic education.
The subject was compulsory in all senior secondary schools and in the university entrance examination.
Against the backdrop of mounting criticisms and allegations that Liberal Studies had caused youth activism in Hong Kong, the government completely reconstructed the subject in 2021.
Purpose: This country report aims to give an overview of civic education in Hong Kong as well as Liberal Studies, and to discern the reasons behind the reforms of the subject.
Approach: The analysis is based on government documents related to the subject’s curriculum and assessment, press releases and secondary sources. Regarding the controversies, it draws on numerous studies conducted by educators and scholars in Hong Kong.
Findings: The main finding is that there is no empirical evidence supporting the causal relationship between the subject and youth activism. It seems that the drastic reforms to Liberal Studies curriculum and assessment aim to further cultivate an uncritical national identity in the post-colonial Hong Kong
Using TV to teach? : Teaching Civics and Democratic Ideals Through The West Wing and House of Cards
Get PDFKeywords: classroom engagement, political interest, political knowledge, television drama
Highlights:
Combining television shows allows us to increase student interest and knowledge of politics
Use of only one show can increase either interest or knowledge, but not both.
Purpose: The typical Introduction to American Politics course has a plurality (if not majority) of students who take the course to satisfy a general education requirement rather than having a deep interest in the subject. It is also difficult because students lack interest and knowledge about the topic. Yet, many believe they know everything they need to in order to have opinions on the topic. This paper seeks a way to increase political interest and knowledge among students who are taking an introductory course.
Design/methodology/approach: Using two well-known television programs, The West Wing and House of Cards, the study tests whether students gain an interest in politics and learn more about the topic when a class incorporates clips from popular shows. The study consists of 4 semesters with different treatments to determine the effects of each show and when the shows are combined on student interest, knowledge, and perceived political engagement.
Findings: Students report being more interested in politics in a course that uses The West Wing because of its positive views toward American democracy. Yet, they are not necessarily more knowledgeable or feel that participation is important for doing well in courses. On the other hand, students in the House of Cards condition felt more knowledgeable about politics but were actually less interested in politics.
Research limitations/implications: This study was completed in a small, rural, and largely conservative liberal arts college in the United States. While the students accurately reflected the student body at the institution, they were not representative of college students overall
Linking theory and practice during a high school practicum: case study of preservice history teachers in Quebec
Get PDFWe need to understand how future teachers make sense of theory and practice during a didactics course and a practicum field experience.
Different assignments can show us how future teachers think about history teaching and teaching practices.
Theoretical links are superficial and relate to the nature of assignment even though future teachers demonstrate a progression in their view of teaching practices
We need to ensure greater coordination between partner schools
Different assignments foster different modes of reflection on practice and we must encourage this variety.
Purpose: This article presents a case study exploring how future teachers combine scientific knowledge and practical knowledge during a history didactics course and practicum field experience in history teaching in Quebec high schools.
Design: Through a thematic analysis of the written assignments submitted during the practicum and conceptual maps designed as part of the didactics course, links between theory and practice are highlighted.
Results: Future teachers’ referring to different types of knowledge depends on the expectations specified for each written assignment, and shows discourse with little critical distance. However, the concept maps show a more complex representation of teaching practices which can be explained by both the didactics course and the experiential and practical knowledge gained through the practicum.
Implications: This composite of experiences puts initial teacher training into perspective along a continuum that requires consolidating university expectations and varying school practices. Closer collaboration is needed between the different actors involved in both theoretical courses and practical training
Meta-reflexivity and epistemic cognition in social science teacher education
Get PDFKeywords: meta-reflexivity, epistemic reflexivity, epistemic cognition, reflective
practice, social science teacher education
Social science requires a meta-reflexive approach to teacher education
Social science teachers manage subject-specific reflective demands
Meta-reflexivity can be conceptualized using epistemic cognition frameworks
Epistemic cognition frameworks expand on social science education competence models
Epistemic cognition gives a new perspective on reflective practice in social science education
Purpose: This article argues that in social science teacher education general demands for teacher reflection overlap with subject-specific reflective demands. This calls for conceptual frameworks that account for an extended reflectivity, encompassing both teacher reflection and the subject-specific approach to representing controversial issues.
Approach: Concepts of reflective practice and meta-reflexivity in teacher education are presented, and a discussion is provided regarding the challenges inherent in teaching social sciences as a multidisciplinary subject. Furthermore, aspects of meta-reflectivity are identified in a German teacher competence framework (PKP). To enable a broader analysis, frameworks from the field of epistemic cognition are introduced.
Findings: Utilizing frameworks of epistemic cognition enables a detailed investigation of how social science teachers manage subject-specific challenges. Epistemic reflexivity offers a concept of teacher reflection that enables a new perspective on connecting theoretical reflection in pre-service teacher education programs with later reflective practice
Political education of young children: Teacher descriptions of social studies teaching for children in 1st- 4th grade in the norwegian primary school
Get PDFTeachers emphasise political aspects of the initial social studies education despite not being asked about them directly.
Teachers seems to focus on building a foundation for thinking and acting politically
Purpose: This study investigated the political aspects of 1st- to 4th-grade social studies education in Norwegian primary schools through qualitative interviews with 30 social studies teachers. The research examined how and to what extent politics is in focus in initial social studies education using the pre-political perspective as a theoretical starting point.
Findings: The political sphere is, to a large extent, focused on initial social studies education, in the form of either political actions or preparation – e.g. building a foundation on which pupils can think and act politically. Despite the fact that not all aspects of the political are equally emphasised in initial social studies education and often seem to tend towards harmony and common agreement, pupils have the potential to be politically orientated or socialised in initial social studies education