“We Want to Learn”: Middle School Latino/a Students Discuss Social Studies Curriculum and Pedagogy

Abstract

This qualitative study examines the perceptions that Latino students have of middle school social studies. Twelve Latino/a middle school students provided written narratives recounting their experiences in social studies and participated in two semi-structured phenomenological interviews. Findings indicate that social studies teachers rely heavily upon "banking" pedagogy and the curriculum lacks cultural diversity. Students also perceived social studies as the ideal subject area in middle school to engage in global learning opportunities as well as discussion about current events. Latino/a students' experiences and subsequent perceptions of middle school social studies are consistent with theory and research pertaining to adolescent identity, cognitive, and psychosocial development. Findings from this investigation add to the extant canon of literature on students' perceptions of social studies and further emphasize the significance of social studies in meeting the needs of 21st century diverse learners. Lastly, the authors offer suggestions for practice and issue a call for research in the field of social studies education that is middle-level specific with implications as to how culturally responsive social studies fosters identity and psychosocial adolescent development for culturally and ethnically diverse students.

Rendering Latinas Invisible: The Underrepresentation of Latinas in K-12 History

“…The exclusionary practices of textbooks and curricula further marginalize students of color and reinforce the negative stereotypes of the larger society. Research has demonstrated that race matters in education and all students should be afforded opportunities to examine and critique the world around them (Banks, 2008;Busey, 2019;Busey & Russell, 2016;Epstein et al, 2011;Howard, 2003;Ladson-Billings, 2014;Martell, 2013;Santiago, 2017;Suh et al, 2015).…”

The Middle Social Studies Curriculum as a Site of Struggle for Social Justice in Education

“…This is not to say issues of equity, marginalization, and injustice are absent from the research agenda, but rather there lacks a substantive initiative to pair social justice with the social studies curriculum at the middle grades level. Not surprising, then, there is a relative dearth of academic research that examines social justice and the middle school social studies curriculum (Busey & Russell III, 2016). In lieu of more specialized research on middle school social studies curriculum, the rest of the section highlights adolescent's desire and ability to engage with social justice issues, discusses teachers' general inability to capitalize on this interest, and reviews major literature about social justice in social studies curriculum generally.…”

“…Young adolescents are developmentally capable of engaging with curriculum that is challenging, equitable, participatory, and attentive to unjust power relationships (Edwards, 2015;National Middle School Association [NMSA], 2010) and there is evidence that they crave such learning (Busey & Russell III, 2016;Chandler, 2016). In their research on middle school Latino's perceptions of Social Studies, Busey and Russell III (2016); find that students desire to learn about the world around them, their own and classmates' cultures, and relevant issues like gender, race, and class. For example, one student in the study explained:…”

“…In fact, unequal racial and power relations in the borderlands can be traced to deep processes of racialization that occurred before, during, and after the Mexican-American War and the signing of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (Monreal, 2018). However, despite adolescents' desire and ability to engage with relevant issues, and opportunities like those above to integrate contemporary social justice material into middle school social studies curriculum, research demonstrates that middle school teachers are largely unable or unwillingly to capitalize on these openings to transform the curriculum (Busey & Russell III, 2016;Conklin, 2010).…”

“…While the students expressed eagerness and excitement to learn about social studies for social justice, they were treated to a "banking-style" pedagogy as their teachers relied mainly upon rote memorization, direct instruction, and the regurgitation of information. Echoing Conklin's research (2010), Busey and Russell III (2016) argue that middle school social studies is "lost in translation" and "it is imperative that social studies educators marry disciplinary tenets for pedagogy and curriculum with that of adolescent development" (p. 15). Fittingly, broad frameworks for social justice and social studies are not developed for the middle school student as we see next.…”