Book Review: A Critical Analysis of Race in the Social Studies Classroom: A Review of Doing Race in Social Studies Critical Perspectives

Abstract

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...

Critical What What? A Theoretical Systematic Review of 15 Years of Critical Race Theory Research in Social Studies Education, 2004–2019

“…However, the degree to which racism was presented as inconvenience as opposed to a structuring mechanism with material implications that prevent humanity from progressing is debatable (Leonardo, 2014). The often-benign projection of racism is evident in the research that focused on CRT’s critique of liberalism and colorblind ideology (Chandler, 2010; Choi, 2016; Crowley, 2013; Demoiny, 2017, 2018; Martell & Stevens, 2017a, 2017b, 2018) as mainly told through White preservice teachers’ dis-ease (Marshall et al, 2016) towards matters of race. The conclusions we draw here regarding how the centrality of racism is taken up as ideological is evident in 24 of the 59 studies (41%), which we themed as dealing with racial ideology and beliefs towards teaching and learning race.…”

“…The most popular focus amongst the articles analyzed was the teaching of race, as 23 of the articles analyzed maintained this focus. Of these articles, over half (12) examined how teachers engaged their students in topics of race and racism (Chandler, 2009; Ender, 2018; Griffin & James, 2018; Martell, 2013, 2016; Martell & Stevens, 2017a, 2017b, 2018; Masta, 2016; Noboa, 2013; Rodríguez, 2018, 2019); 5 articles offered conceptual/theoretical analyses for social studies teachers, teacher educators, and researchers (Chandler, 2010; Chandler & McKnight, 2009; Daniels, 2011; L. King, 2017; Lintner, 2004); 2 articles provided lesson plans for practitioners (Bolgatz & Crowley, 2015; Hawkman & Castro, 2017); 2 examined teacher educators who focus on race (Demoiny, 2018; Vasquez, 2018); 1 examined the experiences of teachers (Choi, 2016); and 1 article analyzed a schoolwide Black history program (Bery, 2014).…”

Elementary Preservice Teachers' Navigation of Racism and Whiteness through Inquiry with Historical Documentary Film

“…They concluded that the history of race and racism in the U.S. is overwhelmingly absent or glossed over in many textbooks in favor of narratives of racial progress, leaving social studies educators to determine if and how to supplement textbooks' narratives of race and racism. Their work suggested that if teaching materials are selected based on critical race theory principles such ascounter-storytelling, the social studies curriculum has tremendous opportunity to position students for examining historical racism and critiquing the prevalence of racism today (Chandler, 2010).…”

“…In this study, testimonial stories (Boler, 1997, 1999) were presented in the form of filmic counter-narratives of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. From a critical race theory perspective, counter-narratives demonstrate that racism is a systematic approach to oppression, central to everyday life in the U.S., and maintained as the norm through power and privilege held by the dominant group (Chandler, 2010). While Barton and Levstik's (2004) concept of perspective recognition has been widely implemented across social studies research, Boler's framework for empathy has not been used in elementary social studies education.…”

“…In contrast to multicultural education, critical race theory problematizes the deep-rooted history of racism in the U.S., including how historical representations of racism are completely absent or sanitized in the national social studies curriculum, popular teaching resources, and most classroom teaching (Brown & Brown, 2010; Howard, 2003; King et al, 2012; Ladson-Billings, 2003; Ladson-Billings & Tate 1995; Tyson, 2003). This void is disappointing yet foreseeable given that “Race in America, perhaps more than any other social or political issue, is one of the most hotly contested, debated, and discussed topics in our collective national dialog” (Chandler, 2010, p. 34). Howard (2003) asserted that critical race theory can and should be applied in social studies education given the entrenched position of race and racism in the curriculum juxtaposed with the mounting tensions surrounding racism in the U.S. public.…”