Democratic Education For Social Studies

In the first edition of this book published in 1988, Shirley Engle and I offered a broader and more democratic curriculum as an alternative to the persistent back-to-the-basics rhetoric of the ‘70s and ‘80s. This curriculum urged attention to democratic practices and curricula in the school if we wanted to improve the quality of citizen participation and strengthen this democracy. School practices during that period reflected a much lower priority for social studies. Fewer social studies offerings, fewer credits required for graduation and in many cases, the job descriptions of social studies curriculum coordinators were transformed by changing their roles to general curriculum consultants. The mentality that prevailed in the nation’s schools was “back to the basics” and the basics never included or even considered the importance of heightening the education of citizens. We certainly agree that citizens must be able to read, write and calculate but these abilities are not sufficient for effective citizenship in a democracy. This version of the original work appears at a time when young citizens, teachers and schools find themselves deluged by a proliferation of curriculum standards and concomitant mandatory testing. In the ‘90s, virtually all subject areas including United States history, geography, economic and civics developed curriculum standards, many funded by the federal government. Subsequently, the National Council for the Social Studies issued the Social Studies Curriculum Standards that received no federal support. Accountability, captured in the No Child Left Behind Act passed by Congress, has become a powerful, political imperative that has a substantial and disturbing influence on the curriculum, teaching and learning in the first decade of the 21st century.

In 1932 George Counts, in his speech "Dare the School Build a New Social Order?" explicitly challenged teachers to develop a democratic, socialistic society. In Democratic Social Education: Social Studies for Social Change Drs. Hursh and Ross take seriously the question of what social studies educators can do to help build a democratic society in the face of current antidemocratic impulses of greed, individualism and intolerance. The essays in this book respond to Counts' question in theoretical analyses of education and society, historical analyses of efforts since Counts' challenge, and practical analyses of classroom pedagogy and school organization. This volume provides researchers and teacher educators with ideas and descriptions of practice that challenge the taken-for-granted meanings of democracy, citizenship, culture, work, indoctrination, evaluation, standards and curriculum within the purposes of social education.

This book presents a vision of education for democracy built around promoting equity and social justice. In doing so, Camicia and Knowles challenge many of the common perspectives of democratic education, deliberation, and the common good. The authors have published widely on the topic of education for democracy. This book builds upon their work to assist practicing teachers, teacher educators, graduate students, and educational researchers in understanding the background of education for democracy, as well as new directions for the field. While one of the primary goals of public schools is to teach students how to build better communities, this goal is increasingly difficult given the degree of political polarization within societies. Recent events provide no shortage of challenges to democracy in the United States and beyond. Utilizing theory and research, Camicia and Knowles promote instructional methods that are responsive to changing cultural and political contexts. There is an increasing need to rethink democratic principles and how these principles might be supported in classrooms in order to teach for social justice. This requires a move away from often stated idealistic notions of deliberative democracy, toward a perspective of education for democracy that incorporates aspects of identity, interests, and inequitable power relations within society.

This antiquarian volume contains a comprehensive treatise on democracy and education, being an introduction to the 'philosophy of education'. Written in clear, concise language and full of interesting expositions and thought-provoking assertions, this volume will appeal to those with an interest in the role of education in society, and it would make for a great addition to collections of allied literature. The chapters of this book include: 'Education as a Necessity of Life'; 'Education as a Social Function'; 'Education as Direction'; 'Education as Growth'; 'Preparation, Unfolding, and Formal Discipline'; 'Education as Conservative and Progressive'; 'The Democratic Conception in Education'; 'Aims in Education', etcetera. We are republishing this vintage book now complete with a new prefatory biography of the author.

Provides practical applications of democratic teaching for classes in history/social studies education, multicultural and social justice education, community service and civic engagement, and education and public policy. We, the Students and Teachers shows history and social studies educators how to make school classrooms into democratic spaces for teaching and learning. The book offers practical strategies and lesson ideas for transforming democratic theory into instructional practice. It stresses the importance of students and teachers working together to create community and change. The book serves as an essential text for history and social studies teaching methods courses as well as professional development and inservice programs for history and social studies teachers at all grade levels. Robert W. Maloy is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies in the College of Education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is the coauthor of several books, including (with Ruth-Ellen Verock-O’Loughlin, Sharon A. Edwards, and Beverly P. Woolf) Transforming Learning with New Technologies, Second Edition. Irene S. LaRoche is a history and social studies teacher at Amherst Regional Middle School in Amherst, Massachusetts.

This collection of essays was derived from a meeting sponsored by the Center for Civic Education (California) and conducted by the Social Studies Development Center (Indiana). The meeting's central theme was education for democratic citizenship of prospective social studies teachers. Following an introduction, essays in the collection are: (1) "Why Should Civic Learning Be at the Core of Social Studies Teacher Education in the United States?" (R. F. Butts); (2) "Content at the Core of Education for Citizenship in a Democracy" (M. S. Branson); (3) "Components of Education for Democratic Citizenship in the Preparation of Social Studies Teachers" (J. J. Patrick and T. S. Vontz); (4) "Beyond the Methods Course: Civics as the Program Core in Elementary Teacher Education" (T. C. Mason and D. Y. Silva); (5) "Teaching to Public Controversy in a Democracy" (D. Hess); (6) "Teaching Teachers To Lead Discussions: Democratic Education in Content and Method" (W. C. Parker); (7) "Civic Intelligence and Liberal Intelligence in the History Education of Social Studies Teachers and Students" (L. R. Nelson and F. D. Drake); (8) "Using 'We the People...' Programs in Social Studies Teacher Education" (N. Haas); (9) "Democratic Teacher Education through Multicultural Service Learning" (M. Boyle-Baise); (10) "Education for Citizenship in a Democracy through Teacher Education: Examples from Australia" (M. Print); (11) "Education for Citizenship in a Democracy through Teacher Education: The Case of an American-Russian Partnership" (S. L. Schechter and C. S. White); and "Conclusion: Recommendations and Reactions." Appended are: "Civic Education: A Time of Challenge and Hope" (B. E. McClellan) and "Civic Education in Untroubled Times" (D. Warren). (BT)

This text moves both forward and backward in examining definitions of democracy, citizenship, work, social studies, and education. The contributors to this edited volume address social studies teaching at the elementary and secondary levels as well as social studies teacher education. They describe teaching as not only examining and changing classroom practices, but as engaging in contesting and reforming educational discourses, school structures and politics, and values in the wider society.

Educating for Critical Democratic Literacy educates pre and in-service elementary school teachers in teaching four key civics concepts through social studies and literacy integration. Written together by both literacy and social studies experts, it is based on a conceptual revision of the notions of civic education and critical literacy called "Critical Democratic Literacy" (CDL). The authors’ dual expertise allows them to effectively detail the applications of their knowledge for teachers, from lesson conception to implementation to assessment. Part I explains the theory and basic principles of CDL and provides background information on the role of democracy in education. Part II consists of four sample lessons designed using the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) C3 Framework and the Common Core State Standards for English/Language Arts (CSS ELA) standards. Part III includes a primer explaining the four civic concepts that frame the book. Fully aligned to both the CCSS ELA and NCSS C3 Framework, this timely resource provides future and current teachers with specific lessons and tools, as well as the skills to develop their own rigorous, integrated units of study.