Journal of Social Science Education (JSSE - Universität Bielefeld)
Not a member yet
830 research outputs found
Sort by
A Dominant Narrative in Economics?: Preservice Teachers and Pluralism in a Social Studies Methods Class
Get PDFPurpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate one effort to challenge the problematic assumptions of the dominant narrative of neoclassical economics within a teacher preparation program that focuses on addressing dominant narratives throughout the social studies curriculum.Design/methodology/approach: Utilizing a theoretical framework that intersects Pedagogical Content Knowledge and pluralist economics, this study consists of a general interpretive study conducted in a master’s plus certification social studies methods course. Data was collected from several class sessions, including observational and artifact data, as well as semi-structured interviews with participants after the conclusion of the class.Findings: Preservice teachers were able to spell out a dominant narrative in economics that exposed the effect of the narrative, but rarely critiqued its epistemology. Second, the fluctuations in content and curricular knowledge as well as the broader challenge of explaining pluralism in a relevant way meant the observed pedagogical content knowledge in economics was devoid of pluralist content.Research limitations/implications: Implications from this study include the need to explicitly critique the epistemological foundations of neoclassical theory, the value of an appreciative stances toward preservice teacher content knowledge, and the need to strategically integrate pluralism into economics methods courses.
Influence of Economics Teachers’ Personality on Secondary School Students’ Classroom Perfor-mance in Public Secondary Schools in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State
Get PDFPurpose: The study investigated the influence of Economics teachers’ personality on students’ classroom performance in Public Secondary Schools in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State, Nigeria.Design: The study adopted Ex-post facto research design. The sample consisted of 19 teachers randomly selected out of thirty one and their SS2 Economics students numbering 326. An observational schedule titled Economics teachers’ personality test (ETP) was the instrument for data collection. The academic records (grades) of the Students were collected from the 19 teachers. One research questions was answered using mean and standard deviation and four null hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance using t- test and ANOVA.Findings: The findings revealed that teachers’ gender had no effect on the classroom performance of the students. However, teachers teaching experience, qualifications, interpersonal relationship with students, knowledge of subject matter, and attitude of the teacher had influence on students’ classroom performance. It was recommended that only teachers with relevant teaching qualifications in Economics should be employed to teach the course in Secondary schools. Also, teachers should be given proper incentives that will make them remain in their job so as to gain experience as they grow in the profession
Politics as Shaping: An Approximation to Students’ Metaphorical Understanding
Get PDFPurpose: Teaching social science might benefit from using students’ metaphorical understanding. Metaphors help people to better understand abstract concepts by breaking them down into more familiar ones. This essay attempts to approximate students’ metaphors of politics to improve social science education’s efforts in shaping politically mature citizens.
Method: Taking three single interviews with students attending senior classes in high schools in Hamburg, Germany, this paper analyses metaphors they use to describe politics. It categorizes them and puts them into a larger context in the form of systematic metaphors providing an approximation to the students’ metaphorical understanding.
Findings: The findings suggest that students understand politics as shaping society, participation as passing upwards people’s interests, governance as guidance, and human life as the foundation for society. However, more research is necessary, such as analysing more students’ metaphors or using issue-related drawings.
Practical implications: Teachers can use these findings to initialize a conceptual reconstruction. They could ask students to draw a Grafiz using the terms suggested above and having a better access to students’ metaphorical understanding of a topic. That helps the teacher to select appropriate material for their teaching units
The Rise and Fall of Citizenship and Human Rights Education in Turkey
Get PDFPurpose: This article shows the effects of competing political forces on citizenship education in Turkey during the period of commitment to European Union (EU) accession (1999-2005).Methodology: It draws on textbooks, archival documents and interviews. Whilst Turkey had a history of civic education to promote a secular national ethos and identity, the post-Cold War democratisation movement encouraged the Turkish government in 1995 to attempt to internationalise civics by adding human rights themes.Findings: This effort occurred at a time when the hegemony of the secular nationalist establishment was challenged by the electoral rise of an Islamist party. Although Citizenship and Human Rights course suited the purposes of the secular nationalist establishment, after the EU recognised Turkey as a candidate in 1999, a new political Islamist government, elected in 2002, chose first to align the course with its ideology and later decided to repeal it. By exploring the evolution of the curriculum in a crucial period in which political power was switching from the ideology of secular nationalism to that of religious (Islamist) nationalism, the present study illustrates ways in which external and internal influences may affect citizenship education. In particular, it contributes to debates over the role of international agencies in curriculum change in citizenship education.
Citizenship Education in Italian Textbooks. How Much Space is There for Europe and Active Citizenship?
Get PDFPurpose: In this article we investigated how the Italian school curricula incorporated European and national recommendations concerning European and Citizenship education, analysing how much and which kind of space is devoted to Europe and active citizenship in Italian high school textbooks.Design/methodology/approach: We selected a sample of bestseller textbooks of different disciplines (History and English as a Second Language) for secondary (lyceum and technical) school students (18 years old), including books explicitly designed for citizenship education, and analysed them using a mixed methods approach (quantitative analysis, and thematic content analysis). Findings: We argue that the current European recommendations on citizenship education are far from being incorporated in the architecture and the contents of textbooks used in Italian secondary schools. We identified some shortcomings which should be addressed to increase the capacity of textbooks to form young European citizen.Practical implications: The opportunities that the EU offers to young people to practice active citizenship and supporting the acquisition of critical and reflective skills beyond formal knowledge deserve more attention
Different Expectations in Civic Education: A Comparison of Upper-Secondary School Textbooks in Sweden
Get PDFPurpose: The aim of the article is to examine civic education in Sweden with regard to equality, by comparing curricula and textbooks for social studies in different tracks in upper-secondary school.Method: The study is based on qualitative text analysis, with quantitative features. The analysis maps themes cover-ed, the extent and depth of thematic coverage, and amount of emphasis on conceptual understanding and analytical training.Findings: The results point to some similarities between the tracks; limited attention is given to democratic values and civic engagement, apart from voting. Clear differences are found in amount of information and complexity. The most basic textbooks target the vocational track, while (some of) the textbooks for the academic track have an elaborated focus on complex conceptual understanding and analytical training.Practical implications: The findings indicate different expectations in civic education. Vocational students receive more limited opportunities to develop civic abilities, which might negatively affect the exercise of citizenship and increase political inequality.
“The market deals out profits and losses” – How Standard Economic Textbooks Promote Uncritical Thinking in Metaphors
Get PDFPurpose: Cognitive Linguistics has repeatedly pointed out the major significance of metaphors. In particular, metaphors are highly effective in the context of political and economic discourse. We analyze the as yet ignored use of metaphors in standard economic textbooks as exemplified by Paul A. Samuelson and N. Gregory Mankiw. The following will focus on the metaphorical semantic context surrounding the abstract concept of „the market“.Design: Using textual analysis and drawing from Conceptual Metaphor Theory the authors examine how the concept of „the market“ is introduced as an abstract and primarily empty concept, (re-)interpreted with the help of entity metaphors, personifications and orientational metaphors, and linked to ideological and political value judgments. In addition the analysis illustrates how the use of metaphors in textbooks is not made transparent, nor is a critical reflection of the metaphorical rhetoric encouraged.Findings: In conclusion, based on their own teaching experience, the authors, addressing both teachers and students, outline possibilities of promoting the critical and conscious use of metaphors, not only in textbooks but also in public discourse
