We Can't Teach What We Don't Know: White Teachers, Multiracial Schools

Howard, Gary R.

doi:10.2307/2696237

Cited by 132 publications

(41 citation statements)

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“…This approach to studying history would ‘challenge the authority that has traditionally allowed skin color and the shape of the face to exercise over culture (Hollinger, 1997, p. 569).’ Yet ‘there is little evidence that U.S. teachers are prepared to help students participate in the type of debate described by Hollinger,’ thereby limiting the kinds of curricular choices that teachers are likely to make (Levstik, 2000, p. 285). This quantitative study is thus grounded in the idea that the curricular decisions of teachers – and especially White teachers in multiracial schools (Howard, 2006) – related to race and racism in United States history is an essential area of focus for social studies education research.…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teachers’ curricular choices when teaching histories of oppressed people: Capturing the U.S. Civil Rights Movement

Swalwell

Pellegrino

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2015

The Journal of Social Studies Research

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This paper investigates what choices teachers made and what rationales they offered related to the inclusion and exclusion of primary source photographs for a hypothetical unit about the U.S. Civil Rights Movement in order to better understand teachers’ curricular decision-making as it relates to representing the histories of oppressed people. Elementary and secondary social studies/history teachers from three different in-service and pre-service cohorts ( n=62) selected and discarded images from a bank of 25 famous and lesser-known photographs. Their decisions and explanations were coded for emergent themes. Findings reveal that these teachers tended to be guided by criteria both technical (how they might teach using a particular photograph) and philosophical (why they might teach about a particular photograph), with narrow definitions of what they deemed relevant and appropriate for their students. Their choices constructed a sanitized narrative of the Civil Rights Movement that largely avoided a discussion of racism.

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Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teachers’ curricular choices when teaching histories of oppressed people: Capturing the U.S. Civil Rights Movement

Swalwell

Pellegrino

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2015

The Journal of Social Studies Research

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“…Teachers reported autonomous instructional decisions that did not align with curriculum standards. Concurrently, we infer that data affirm teachers’ propensity to avoid controversial issues (Hess, 2006, 2009) and race (Howard, 2006).…”

Section: Interpretations and Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 57%

Instructional Practices of Elementary Social Studies Teachers in North and South Carolina

Heafner

Lipscomb

Fitchett

2014

The Journal of Social Studies Research

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Using data from the Survey of the Status of Social Studies ( S4), this article describes the instructional decisions and practices of elementary teachers in two neighboring states, one where social studies is tested and another where it is not. We define students’ opportunity to learn within these states as a composite of three variables: time allocations for social studies (teacher reported instructional time), methods for teaching social studies (teacher reported instructional strategies), and content focus (teacher reported content emphases and state-mandated curriculum standards). Our guiding research question for this study was: To what extent do teachers’ perceptions of elementary school social studies instructional practices and content vary between two states with different testing policies for social studies? Initial findings revealed notable differences that could not be explained by testing policies alone. Therefore, we conducted an exploratory content analysis of the elementary social studies curricula in these neighboring states. We uncovered curricular differences that suggest that state standards influence teachers’ decisions in both what and how they choose to teach social studies. However, there were curriculum differences that did not align with S4 instructional methods and content focus output. Thus, we concluded that other factors apart from the curriculum guide teachers’ decision-making. Results provided evidence that students have different opportunities to learn based on (1) state testing policies in social studies, (2) curriculum content, (3) how social studies is delivered (e.g., stand-alone versus integration), and (4) time allocated to social studies. We concluded that these variables constrict or expand students’ opportunity to learn social studies and may influence teachers’ pedagogical and content choices in elementary social studies.

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“…I employed a theoretical framework of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (CRP) (Ladson-Billings, 1994, 1995 to examine how USTs reflected upon their curricular engagement and the extent to which the enactment of this engagement resulted in culturally responsive teaching. Many of the challenges of negotiating curriculum fall under the larger umbrella of anti-biased education (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2020), multicultural education (Cochran-Smith, 2004;Gollnick & Chinn, 2017;G. R. Howard, 1999;T.…”

Section: Review Of Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Culturally relevant teachers also view themselves as advocates. Many scholars studying teacher education for social justice believe that activism should be a contributing factor to the field (Cochran-Smith, 2004;G. R. Howard, 1999;Ladson-Billings, 2014).…”

Section: Review Of Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Embracing to Creating Curriculum: Levels of Engagement Among Student Teachers

Fife-Demski

2021

Journal of Education

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This qualitative study explored the experiences, and specifically the challenges, of white elementary student teachers in an urban setting. One of the most interesting findings from this study involved the varied levels of engagement with the school curriculum. Although every Urban Student Teacher (UST) embraced the curriculum, data showed multiple levels of involvement defined as critiquing, tinkering, and creating. While challenging, USTs who created units of study found ownership of the curriculum satisfying. The aim, then, is for teacher educators to encourage student teachers to embrace challenges that come with teaching and view them as a way to learn.

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We Can't Teach What We Don't Know: White Teachers, Multiracial Schools

Cited by 132 publications

References 0 publications

Teachers’ curricular choices when teaching histories of oppressed people: Capturing the U.S. Civil Rights Movement

Teachers’ curricular choices when teaching histories of oppressed people: Capturing the U.S. Civil Rights Movement

Instructional Practices of Elementary Social Studies Teachers in North and South Carolina

Embracing to Creating Curriculum: Levels of Engagement Among Student Teachers

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