“There’s no way we can teach all of this”: Factors that influence secondary history teachers’ content choices

Girard, Brian J.; Harris, Lauren McArthur; Mayger, Linda K.; Kessner, Taylor; Reid, Stephanie F.

doi:10.1080/00933104.2020.1855280

Cited by 16 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…When asked about their history/social studies instruction, these teachers conveyed professional freedom to make instructional decisions (Girard et al ., 2020) although these teachers reported teaching a common collection of concepts (Harris and Reynolds, 2018). This was unsurprising because they all taught in the same school district.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The possibilities of teaching the past: fifth grade teachers' instructional choices

Brugar

2023

SSRP

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PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore decision-making of elementary teachers (n = 5) specific to US/American history content and curricular resources. More specifically for this study, the author asks the following broad research question: When presented with a collection of social studies instructional resources, how do elementary teachers describe the choices they do make/may make?Design/methodology/approachIn this comparative case study, fifth-grade teachers were interviewed using verbal protocol methodology, they discussed their curriculum, teaching and instructional decisions as each was presented with history/social studies resources associated with newly adopted state standards.FindingsFindings indicate these elementary teachers have professional freedom to make instructional decisions in the ways they interpreted the standards, design instruction and select materials for social studies.Originality/valueThis study contributes to and extends the research in elementary social studies. Teachers' voices and decisions are presented as intellectual and pedagogical actions associated with teaching elementary school social studies.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…More recently, Girard et al. (2020) surveyed ( n = 260) and interviewed ( n = 23) secondary teachers about the factors which contribute to their decision making.…”

Section: Social Studies Teachers and Instructional Choicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The possibilities of teaching the past: fifth grade teachers' instructional choices

Brugar

2023

SSRP

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“…Teachers often use their state standards, online resources and district adopted pacing guides for guidance on what to teach (Girard et al, 2021). Our contextual definition for the current dominant narrative surrounding the women's suffrage movement was determined using several points of reference: (1) state standards from Missouri and Texas, (2) current Library of Congress online collections and (3) Women's History Museum online collections.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Teachers often use their state standards, online resources and district adopted pacing guides for guidance on what to teach (Girard et al. , 2021).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is not an exhaustive list, as this manuscript is not a comprehensive examination of every state's content standards and every online archival collection. However, we have chosen the state standards we currently use, as well as prominent online archives, because they are often the first-place teachers go to determine what content to teach (Girard et al. , 2021).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Widening the lens: towards a more inclusive suffrage story

Ellsworth

Burgard

2023

SSRP

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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to illuminate for teachers how the suffrage movement is centered in whiteness. The authors posit that this historical erasure is intentional, and teachers should actively find ways to counter that erasure. This paper positions teachers to ask critical questions of dominant narratives, and have students do the same.Design/methodology/approachGiven the existence of historical erasure and the absence of Black suffrage stories, the authors sought to build teachers' content base by conducting a historiography of the dominant narrative of the women's suffrage movement. They examined how state standards and popular online archival collections perpetuate the dominant narrative. They provide teachers with a rich content base and include primary sources they could use to teach this content to their students.FindingsUnsurprising, the Texas and Missouri state standards do little to advance the voices of underrepresented people, especially when it comes to the suffrage movement. Likewise, archival collections are limited by the choice of those who curated the collections. The article presents teachers with lesser known stories of the movement and accompanying primary sources.Practical implicationsTeachers cannot teach what they do not know. So the authors sought to build a teacher's content base so they could tell a more inclusive history. They want to help teachers identify dominant narratives and where historical erasure is happening, and commit to asking critical questions of those narratives and seek to diversity their histories.Originality/valueThis piece is original because much of this content is missing from current history classrooms. In addition, the primary sources and additional resources provided can strengthen a teacher's ability to teach about it.

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Historically restricted or historically empowered? Differences in access to historical content knowledge between low‐ and high‐SES pupils

Rosenlund,

Persson

2023

The Curriculum Journal

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In the study presented in this article, the aim is to further the understanding regarding the differences between pupils (aged 15–16) from schools with low or high socio‐economic status (SES), regarding the amount and diversity of content knowledge in history that they have acquired by the end of compulsory schooling. Following a definition of historical content knowledge, we situate the concept in relation to other aspects of the history school subject. This is done to visualize historical content knowledge's central role in more complex aspects of the subject. The empirical material used in the study is pupils' responses on both selected and constructed response items on the Swedish national test in history. In the study, a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches is used. The results show not only that pupils in low‐SES schools provide fewer examples of historical content knowledge. We can also establish that the historical content knowledge of pupils from high‐SES schools represents several perspectives while there are few perspectives present in the responses from pupils in low‐SES schools. The results are used to discuss how the differences between pupils in low‐ and high‐SES schools may affect their possibilities for educational success and active participation in society.

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“There’s no way we can teach all of this”: Factors that influence secondary history teachers’ content choices

Cited by 16 publications

References 51 publications

The possibilities of teaching the past: fifth grade teachers' instructional choices

The possibilities of teaching the past: fifth grade teachers' instructional choices

Widening the lens: towards a more inclusive suffrage story

Historically restricted or historically empowered? Differences in access to historical content knowledge between low‐ and high‐SES pupils

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