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The quote "Black lives matter, all lives matter, well cops lives matter too, so why don't we just drop the qualifier and say that lives matter and take that to the bank," was stated by Harris County, Texas Sheriff Ron Hickman after the slaying of a suburban Houston sheriff officer. Race has been a critical topic of interest for centuries. It has heightened in recent years due to current events in places such as New York City, Cleveland, Baltimore, and other cities across America. These events are the root cause for the formation of the black lives matter movement. Ideally, the social studies classroom is the opportune environment where topics about racism should be systematically discussed. However, the social studies field has inadequately incorporated discussions of racial discourse into the curriculum. Doing Race In Social Studies Critical Perspectives effectively examines how social studies educators grapple with teaching race in K-12 settings.Unending racial injustices are evolving into normalized acts of crime that are becoming "matter of fact," everyday conversations among society. Critical Race Theory Perspectives on Social Studies-The Profession, Policies, and Curriculum, edited by Gloria Ladson-Billings, primarily discuss three main areas that are the focal point of this book. These topics include omitting significant historical events pertaining to African Americans and other minority groups in U.S. history textbooks, the profession's continual failure to employ a culturally diverse teacher population, and the lack of inclusiveness concerning race in the curriculum (Billings-Ladson, 2003). In addition to Ladson-Billings' analysis on race, Theory & Research in Social Education published several articles relating to race, racism, and race relations in social studies. These articles examine how social studies educators and researchers confront race from angles such as qualitative studies, integrating other disciplines into social studies, and the pedagogic framework of race and ethnic identity (Branch, 2004;Howard, 2004;Pang & Valle, 2004). Additionally, an article from the Journal of Social Studies Research examines the unequal ratio from students of color to teachers of color (Busey & Waters, 2015). Prentice Chandler and the authors in Doing Race In Social Studies Critical Perspectives also provide an excellent spin-off to the research on race and race relations in social studies.Prentice Chandler's pedagogical background in race relations exudes his dedication of incorporating discussions of race in the classroom and utilizing this knowledge outside of the classroom. Chandler's edited book discusses how race has been silenced for many years in social studies classrooms across America; this silence is confined not only to K-12 settings, but is present on college and university campuses as well. Critical Race Theory illuminates how social studies educators can approach the topic of race with their students in a systematic and organized fashion as it is unwise to think that teachers can simply walk into t...

PurposeThis research study focuses on fifth-grade African American students who attend an all-Black charter school whose administration and teachers are committed to providing Black history instruction throughout the year. To fulfill the school's mission, the teachers integrate additional resources into the curriculum that includes lessons and activities about Black history. Therefore, the study sought to answer the following question: How does learning Black history throughout the school year impact African American fifth-grade students' self-esteem and positive self-image? The authors examined student work, conducted observations and listened as the participants engaged in critical discussions about race and racism.Design/methodology/approachWay to Go (WTG) is a K-12 public charter school located in an urban mid-size city in Florida, with a 100% Black student population; all WTG students receive scholarships and free lunch. The 15 participants in this study self-identified as African American fifth-grade students. The authors conducted a qualitative research study that included 13 observations, an analysis of five student work samples and a focus group interview with seven students. They used interpretative phenomenology to gather African American fifth-grade students' experiences and their interpretations of these experiences (Moustakas, 1994) while acquiring information about Black history.FindingsThe themes that emerged are it's time to go, unsung heroes and Black history is exciting. In the first theme, they learned why Blacks migrated from the South to northern cities and understood why it was time for them to go. Next, they explored the history of unsung Blacks who inspired them to think about a variety of careers to pursue. Finally, they were excited to learn Black history because they understood the importance of learning this history in order to grapple with current events, and they recognized that knowledge of this history would improve their self-worth and life choices.Originality/valueWTG charter school exemplifies what schools should attain for regarding the teaching of Black history. Since elementary school provides the foundation for learning, it is the best time to teach African American students about self-esteem and what it means to be proud of their Blackness. The fifth-graders in this study exemplified how African American students take pride in their history and have a positive sense of self-worth when taught Black history. Black history lessons and activities such as the ones utilized in WTG school will benefit African American students and contribute to their success as students.

Purpose Over the last 40 years, K-12 education has seen a continuous and significant increase in the amount of mandated standardized testing. This rise in standardized testing has led many in the field to question the extent to which these tests are affecting students, teachers and schools. The purpose of this paper is to explore the results of a social studies standardized test, specifically, the Florida Civics End-of-Course assessment. Design/methodology/approach Researchers used population data for seventh grade students and aggregated countywide proficiency rates from 2013–2016 for comparative statistical measures. Descriptive statistics and regression analyses were utilized to identify emerging trends using mean proficiency percentages when accounting for race, gender and socioeconomic status. Findings Initial findings indicated disparity within each subgroup (R2=0.511 (2013–2014), 0.500 (2014–2015) and 0.456 (2015–2016)). Following an analysis of the results, the conclusion and implications discuss the influence of standardized testing in social studies education. Originality/value This is a large-scale project that has never been done.