ERIC EJ1150569: Are You Ready? Elementary Pre-Service Teachers' Perceptions about Discussing Race in Social Studies

2017·0.14 MB·English

by  ERIC

Research
Are You Ready?
Elementary Pre-Service Teachers’ Perceptions
about Discussing Race in Social Studies
Sara B. Demoiny
Introduction dialogue and who is being considered a What is lacking is research that directly in-
citizen” (p. 211). vestigates elementary pre-service teachers’
As elementary pre-service teachers
As students explore social studies beliefs about discussing race within social
prepare to enter the classroom for the first
themes, such as citizenship, the discus- studies instruction.
time, there are a multitude of decisions to
sion of race must be a component in this In addition, while research has examined
make. How will I manage the classroom?
conversation. Race has been a determining the preparation of social studies teachers
How do I help struggling students? How
factor in whether one has been permitted with regard to facilitating reflection about
do I plan for each discipline that I teach?
to become a citizen throughout U.S. history their beliefs and positionality, the research
What themes could be addressed through-
(Zinn, 1999), and although, at this point, does not provide explicit discussion of the
out the year? The topic of race in elemen-
citizenship may be attained regardless of strategies used by social studies teacher
tary social studies is not often among the
race, there remains a frustration that race educators to instruct pre-service teachers
common concerns of new teachers. I would
still governs whether one can receive the how to discuss race within the classroom
argue that questions about race should be
full benefits of citizenship if one is a person and social studies curriculum.
raised in elementary social studies teacher
of color (Brown, Crowley, & King, 2011; Considering the existing literature gaps
education in order to better prepare teach-
Howard, 2003). involving elementary pre-service teach-
ers to enter their classrooms.
Historically, the official social studies ers’ beliefs about race and social studies
In this study, I explore how elementary
curriculum has not included explicit stan- instruction, the primary purpose of my
pre-service teachers situate race within
dards that refer to issues of structural rac- study was to explore how elementary pre-
the social studies curriculum and how
ism and oppression in U.S. history (Brown, service teachers situate the importance of
prepared they feel about discussing race
2011; Fitchett, Starker, & Salyers, 2012). race within the social studies curriculum.
with their students in the context of a
This exclusion of race studies within the Secondly, I investigated my participants’
social studies lesson.
standards has allowed a perpetuation of a perceptions of their preparedness to dis-
Eurocentric master narrative of American cuss race within social studies lessons.
The Purpose of Social Studies
history that is taught throughout K-12 pub- The following research questions were
Social studies’ main purpose is to foster lic schools (Aldridge, 2006). In some cases, addressed in the study:
civic competence among students (Na- in-service and pre-service teachers have
1. How do elementary pre-service
tional Council for the Social Studies, 1994). worked to disrupt the official curriculum
teachers situate the importance
Developing a citizenry that will internal- to teach students to critically question the
of race within the social studies
ize and exhibit democratic ideals should master narrative often found within text-
curriculum?
be the goal for social studies teachers at books (Brown & Brown, 2011; Flynn, 2012;
all levels of public schools. Within social Howard, 2004; Salinas & Castro, 2010). 2. In what ways do elementary
studies, students learn about the birth Although examples of critical pedagogy pre-service teachers feel prepared
of our country’s democracy, the gradual exist within the literature, there is a lack of to discuss race in social studies
expansion of citizenship rights, and the research highlighting the struggle within lessons?
progression of civil rights. teacher education programs to effectively
Before students can become competent support students in reflection about issues As described above, a need exists within the
citizens, they must feel they are true of racism and privilege in our society and current research literature to explore these
citizens whose voice is as important as its influence on how one teaches (Crowley questions. In the following section, I offer
anyone else’s voice. Daniels (2011) stated & Smith, 2015; Dlamini, 2002; Fitchett et further rationale for locating this study
that “citizenship is an important underly- al., 2012; Gershon, Bilinovich, & Peel, 2010; within the current social studies climate
ing theme [in social studies], and it raises LaDuke, 2009). regarding issues of race and racism.
questions about who is present in the Most research that focuses on pre-ser-
vice social studies teachers’ preparation Literature Review
includes a critical inquiry of history, includ-
Sara B. Demoiny is a doctoral candidate Although the demographic make-up
ing race, but has mainly been conducted
in theory and practice in teacher education of the U.S. has never been monoethnic,
with secondary pre-service teacher partici-
at the School of Education the current population statistics portray
pants (Fitchett et al., 2012; Gershon et al.,
at the University of Tennessee, growing racial and ethnic diversity in the
2010; Segall & Garrett, 2013; Smith, 2000).
Knoxville, Tennessee. country. In student population data from
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Research
2012, approximately half of K-12 students students’ views of race, leading to more university. LaDuke engaged in an ethno-
were White while the other half were stu- equitable and democratic attitudes. graphic study of the course and found that
dents of color (National Center for Educa- the elementary pre-service teachers showed
tion Statistics, 2014). Population projections Challenges Faced by Teacher Educators resistance through silence or by ignoring
predict that the number of students of color specific conversations. They also showed
In order for elementary teachers to
will continue to rise while the White stu- resistance through colorblind discourses
teach race within their social studies les-
dent population decreases. As our nation’s and an unwillingness to view racism as
sons, they must understand the need to
population becomes increasingly diverse, it institutional. Finally, the pre-service teach-
do so and receive effective training within
is essential that the historical narrative of ers often struggled to be self-reflective in
their teacher education programs. Many
our country move away from a Eurocentric recognizing their own biases and racism.
teacher educators have experienced re-
perspective to one that allows multiple
sistance from pre-service teachers when
voices to be heard. Examples of In-Service Teacher Success
challenging them to reflect on their own
In contrast to the diversity of the stu-
biases and to recognize sociohistorical and Overall, teacher educators struggle to
dent population, an overwhelming major-
institutional racism in society. prepare pre-service teachers to recognize
ity of K-12 public school teachers are White
In one research study, a social studies the inherent racism within society and
females (National Center for Education
teacher educator challenged his secondary schools. This resistance affects the way that
Statistics, 2012). This fact highlights the
social studies methods students to consider race is addressed in the curriculum and
need for teacher education programs to
how race intersected with the social stud- within K-12 classrooms. Yet, despite the too
prepare their pre-service teachers, who
ies content and the student population in often discouraging research, there are a few
are mainly White, to teach in multi-racial
their practicum settings (Gershon et al., examples of in-service teachers who have
classrooms.
2010). The students pushed back each included race in their elementary social
Elementary school teachers usually
time there was a question posed about studies instruction. Bolgatz (2007) worked
teach several disciplines to one class, in-
race. Gershon et al. describe how students with a racially diverse fourth grade class
cluding social studies. Social studies is the
often complained that they had already in an urban setting. She collaborated with
primary discipline charged with preparing
“covered” race in previous classes, claimed the classroom teacher to create activities
students to become active citizens who will
they were uncomfortable to participate in that focused on race as part of the histori-
uphold the principles of our democratic so-
race discussions, or even complained that cal narrative of the U.S. In one instance she
ciety (NCSS, 1994). Part of this effort must
they were “tired of being blamed for the race discussed how the use of roleplay helped the
involve instruction about the multiplicity
problems” (p. 34). This is an example of the students understand various racial perspec-
of cultures and races within the U.S.
common resistance social studies teacher tives of an historical event.
Towards this end Balfour (2001) asked,
educators face when addressing race within Additionally, Yenika-Agbaw (1997),
“What could be more democratic than
the social studies curriculum with mainly shared with teachers three different ways
conversation among citizens about issues
White pre-service teachers. to read a picture book with students. Yeni-
of national importance? What matter is in
Segall and Garrett’s (2013) study of sec- ka-Agbaw used Patricia McKissack’s book
greater need of honest, thoughtful atten-
ondary social studies pre-service teachers Christmas in the Big House, Christmas in
tion than the ongoing significance of race
showed how resistance to the concept of the Quarters, which is about the stark dif-
in American public life?” (p. 1). Although
institutional racism takes place through ferences between what Christmas was like
Balfour posed these questions 15 years ago,
colorblind discourse. In their study, five in a plantation house compared to slave
they remain pertinent today as seen in the
White secondary social studies pre-service quarters. The book was read three ways,
inequitable policing practices in Ferguson,
teachers viewed the film When the Levies through the lens of narrative, postcolonial,
Missouri (U.S. Department of Justice,
Broke by Spike Lee. After viewing the film, and critical multicultural storytelling.
2015) and Chicago (Police Accountability
the researchers conducted individual inter- Through these readings, Yenika-Agbaw
Task Force, 2016) and in activism, like the
views with each participant. The research- scaffolded the process for students to rec-
Black Lives Matter protests, which are a
ers found that a pattern occurred where ognize the naturalized influence of racism
consistent part of daily life.
the pre-service teachers often avoided or in America’s history.
One question that arises is—at what
acted ignorant of race as a main component Throughout current literature, it is
point should race be included in the cur-
of the Hurricane Katrina government apparent that pre-service teachers have
riculum? There is often resistance discuss-
response. Segall and Garrett concluded struggled to recognize the importance of
ing race with elementary school children
that the participants worked to maintain personally reflecting upon race and one’s
because some teachers feel the children
a colorblind perspective throughout watch- position of power as a teacher, as well as
are too young to handle such conversations
ing and discussing the film. the necessity to include race as part of the
(Winkler, 2009). Other teachers maintain
The examples of teacher preparation social studies curriculum. Although there
that young children are colorblind and
research noted above are specific to social are practical examples of how in-service
the act of talking about race may actually
studies education courses with secondary teachers incorporate race into elementary
encourage racist attitudes. Yet research
social studies pre-service teachers. Another social studies lessons, it is unclear how
has shown that children as young as 3-to-5
study conducted by LaDuke (2009) was set social studies teacher educators prepare
years old have already begun to create ra-
within a multicultural education course that pre-service teachers to do so once they
cial categories and that they act upon the
included elementary pre-service teachers. have affirmed the need for it. I used the
stereotypes assigned to these categories
Resistance by pre-service teachers taking current literature as a foundation for the
(Hirschfeld, 2008). Elementary educators
secondary social studies methods courses development of my study while employing
have the opportunity to facilitate discus-
was also experienced in this multicultural critical race theory to frame my research
sions about race that could help form
education course taught at a large public questions and study design.
MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION
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Research
Theoretical Framework 2004). As educators tell a master narra- the following semester. Through criterion-
tive based on White domination, it soon based sampling (deMarrias, 2004), an
My interest in this research study stems
becomes received as a story of common invitation was extended to students in two
from my personal experience. I was once an
sense where Whites are privileged in the elementary social studies methods courses
elementary pre-service teacher who attend-
actions and the telling of history. By using at a large Research-1-level state university
ed a traditional teacher education program
the lens of critical race theory, I challenge in the Southeast.
in a rural, mainly White, private university.
this narrative with the desire to disrupt I introduced the study to approximately
When I entered an urban, middle school
this status quo and power imbalance. 40 potential participants, and all students
social studies classroom, I had never asked
confidentially responded to the invita-
questions about race and social studies, nor
Methodology tion. From the two classes, five students
had I been encouraged to do so within my
expressed interest in participation, and
teacher education program. In order to understand pre-service
four of those pre-service teachers followed
At this point, I am working as an ad- teachers’ beliefs about race and social
through to complete the interview. Each
junct professor encouraging pre-service studies and their preparedness to discuss
interview took place at the university
teachers to consider their personal biases race with students, I conducted a qualita-
where the participants were enrolled. Each
and positionality before entering the edu- tive interview study (Hatch, 2002). This
interview was audio-recorded.
cation field. I encourage my students to qualitative method allowed me to “see [el-
think about the effects of race and racism ementary pre-service teachers], and their
Character Sketches of Participants
in our society and how this should affect interpretations, perceptions, meanings,
All four participants identified as White
their instruction. and understandings, as the primary data
and female, demographies which represent
sources” (Mason, 2002, p. 56).
Critical Race Theory As I interpreted my participants’ repre- the typical American public school teacher
(National Council for Education Statistics,
sentations of their beliefs and perceptions,
My experiences, which include the goal
2012). Each participant had a unique
I recognized that my own interpretation
of becoming a teacher educator and re-
story, yet two themes arose from the data:
would be a second layer of representation.
searcher, mold my theoretical perspective.
participants who had diverse background
Merriam (1995) describes this ontological
I designed this research study through
experience and participants who had little
view of interpretation in the following way,
a critical race lens. Critical race theory
diversity in their background. See Table 1
“Thus, there are interpretations of reality;
(CRT) takes an ontological perspective of
for a presentation of the differences and
in a sense the researcher offers his or her in-
“historical realism” stating that reality is
similarities in the participants.
terpretation of someone else’s interpretation
shaped by power structures of race socio-
As described in Table 1, Adrienne and
of reality” (p. 54). As a researcher, I sought
historically constructed by the dominant
Renee experienced little diversity in their
to share the stories these participants had
class (Guba & Lincoln, 2005, p. 195). The
childhood and adolescence. Both partici-
entrusted to me, yet the interpretation of
foundations of CRT arose in legal stud-
pants grew up in small Southeastern towns.
their stories will always be affected by my
ies when scholars were frustrated with
Adrienne’s school was in a suburban setting
own as well as my readers’ subjectivity.
the slow progress of racial equality even
that she describes as having some racial
after the Civil Rights Movement (Delgado
diversity with African American and White
Interview Method
& Stefancic, 2001). Ladson-Billings and
students, and Renee’s elementary public
Tate (1995) introduced CRT into the field In desiring to share the realities of
school experience was in a rural setting
of education as a way to center race when my participants’ beliefs about race in the
with a mainly White student population. For
analyzing educational policies and school- elementary social studies curriculum, I
both middle school and high school, Renee
ing practices. conducted 30-60 minute semi-structured
attended a Christian private school with an
One of the foundational tenets of CRT is interviews. This interview format allowed
all-White student body. Adrienne stated she
that racism is a common, permanent part for open-ended questions about the partici-
had experienced some racial diversity within
of U.S. society (Ladson-Billings, 1998). This pants’ backgrounds, their personal beliefs
her extended family which lived in an urban
view encouraged me to focus this study on about the discipline of social studies, how
area in the Midwest.
how pre-service teachers treat race within race fits into this discipline, and their
Part of Adrienne’s story included the
elementary social studies. Additionally, perceptions of how prepared they felt to
fact that she has extended family members
CRT scholars challenge the slow, often discuss race with elementary students in
who had been victims of violence in this
stunted, work of liberalism by calling for the context of social studies lessons.
urban setting, which contributed to why
radical, structural action (Ladson-Billings, I created an interview guide with
Adrienne views large cities as “scary.” Last
1998). At the end of this article, I propose drafted open-ended questions that allowed
year, Renee sought out work experience
implications for social studies teacher me to be consistent with the questioning
in an inner-city after-school program that
education that require action and change during interviews while also affording me
served mainly African American students.
at the structural level. the opportunity to ask specific follow-up
She described her first few weeks in this
As one reflects upon the inclusion of questions in order to more fully under-
setting as a true “culture shock,” explain-
race as an integral part of social studies stand each participant’s story (see the
ing that she could not believe how different
education, it is important to realize that interview guide in Appendix A).
the culture was at this school, which is in
this inclusion is fundamentally an issue of
the same district as the elementary school
power. Historically, social studies instruc- Participant Selection
she attended as a child. Both Adrienne and
tion, particularly history instruction, has
The participants in the study were el- Renee had relatively little experience with
been a metaphor of the White power and
ementary pre-service teachers who were racial diversity in their home and school
privilege existing in U.S. society (Urieta,
preparing to begin their internship year settings as children and adolescents.
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Research
In comparison, the other two partici- Data Analysis Findings
pants, Isabelle and Carla, had opportunities
Data analysis was a fluid, yet systematic The data analysis resulted in four main
to experience racial diversity throughout
process. After interviewing each participant, findings:
their childhood. Isabelle moved several
I wrote field notes recording my thoughts
times and lived in rural and urban areas on (1) Participant background experience
and impressions of the interview. Once the
the West Coast, as well as in the Midwest with family and schooling affected
interview data collection was complete, I
and Southeast. She has always had many the degree to which they recognize
employed descriptive, values, and versus
friends of other races. During the interview, the need to include race within the
coding in the first cycle of coding analysis
Isabelle described her friendships in detail. social studies curriculum and their
(Saldana, 2013). Descriptive coding allowed
In one example she remembered spending comfort level in doing so.
me to describe the participants’ comments
the night with a Nigerian friend in elemen-
as they pertained to the research questions. (2) Participants had a tension
tary school and learning how the friend
The values coding specifically helped me between wanting to teach about race
used a tongue scraper. Although Carla
focus on the beliefs, attitudes, and values in social studies while not knowing
always lived in one place, she grew up in a
shared by participants in regard to their exactly how to respond to concerns
large urban city and attended a school that
personal beliefs about race and social stud- or controversy that may arise from
she described as “multicultural” with high
ies. After reviewing the interviews, it was their instruction.
racial diversity. Carla also shared that she
apparent that each participant experienced
always had many African American friends (3) Participants provided a range of
some level of tension between her beliefs
throughout childhood and that this was the instructional strategies of varying
and how to translate those beliefs into
norm at her school. quality which they plan to use to
action within the classroom. Therefore, I
During both interviews, Isabelle and incorporate race into social studies
completed a final first cycle coding using
Carla discussed times when they had lessons.
versus coding. Versus coding allowed me to
recognized systemic racism during their
adolescence and how their awareness of succinctly describe the tension participants (4) Participants were unable to
these discriminatory practices continues to felt as they shared their stories. provide specific ways in which they
grow. Isabelle recalled a school she attended Throughout the first cycle coding were directly taught how to discuss
in Texas where the student population was process I engaged in memo writing. The race in the K-5 classroom within their
mainly Latino and White with a small num- purpose of memo writing is to “provide a social studies methods courses.
space to become actively engaged in your
ber of African American students. She be-
materials, to develop your ideas, and to In the following subsections, I provide
lieved that the African American students
fine-tune your subsequent data-gather- evidence for each finding as well as
were consistently disciplined more harshly
ing, and to engage in critical reflexivity” connections to relevant literature.
than the other students in the school.
(Charmaz, 2014, p. 162-163). The analyti-
During Carla’s interview, she described
cal memos provided me the opportunity to Finding 1:
the current realignment of the school district
make links between participant responses Effect of Background Experience
which she attended. The city is restructuring
and to stay abreast of whether my subjec-
school district lines with the intention of pro- Educational research portrays the gen-
tivity was becoming a part of my sense-
tecting national rankings of its high perform- eralization that pre-service teachers’ per-
making process (Peshkin, 1998).
ing schools (mainly White, upper class) from sonal background experience with diversity
After the first cycle coding, I began a
the low-performing schools (mainly African greatly affects their awareness of racism in
process of focused coding in order to make
American, lower class). Carla was angry society and their willingness to address is-
connections between my first cycle codes
about the restructuring and recognized it sues of race in the classroom (LaDuke, 2009;
and to move toward categories (Charmaz,
as a form of racism. Skerrett, 2008; Sleeter, 1992; Smith, 2000;
2014). In the following section, I present
Further differences in background Whipp, 2013). As previously discussed, Adri-
findings that portray how the participants
experience emerged as I began analyzing enne and Renee had little experience with
situated race within the social studies cur-
the data. These differences appeared to racial diversity in their background while
riculum and how they perceived their level
affect the participants’ beliefs about the Carla and Isabelle had greater exposure to
of preparedness to engage elementary stu-
importance of including race within the racial diversity during their childhood and
dents in discussions of race within social
elementary social studies curriculum. adolescence. Each of the study participants
studies lessons.
claimed that race should be a part of the
Table 1
Participant Background Experiences
Participant Race Geographic Area of Childhood School Experience Desired Teaching Location
Adrienne White Small Town, Southeast Suburban; Public Suburban, mainly White
Renee White Rural Community, Southeast Rural; Public, Religious Private Rural County
Isabelle White Rural, Urban; South, Midwest, Rural, Suburban, Urban; Urban District
West Coast Homeschool, Public, Private
Carla White Urban, Midwest Diverse Suburban; Public Large City
Note: All names are pseudonyms to protect the privacy of the study participants.
MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION
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Research
social studies curriculum, and they each Renee was even more tentative at times Several participants made allusions to
expressed a willingness to include race in during the interview. When reflecting upon parental concerns over the inclusion of race
their future instruction. her perceived preparedness, she said, “I within social studies. The participants as-
Differences arose around the degree to don’t know if I feel prepared at all.” sumed parents would disagree with these
which participants felt it was important The level of confidence participants felt types of social studies lessons. Carla de-
to include race within social studies and about including race within social studies scribed the tension as a “delicate balance”
the amount of comfort they felt in carrying lessons mirrored the participants’ experi- between respecting the parents’ role and
out this type of instruction. For instance, ences with racial discussions in their K-12 authority with their child and simultane-
Adrienne said that she thought “race needs social studies classrooms. Carla, who was ously remembering “it is still your job [as
to be touched on.” On the other hand, steadfast in her desire to include race in the a teacher] to make your students aware
Carla was confident and determined that classroom, recalled a specific experience in a of other people and things in the world.”
race was a topic that should be addressed diverse seventh grade class where her social As the participants described this tension
within social studies. studies teacher often challenged students in detail, they knew that discussing race
In her response to a question about to take different racial perspectives. Carla within the elementary classroom would
whether race should be in the social studies also experienced university classes where probably be viewed as controversial, but
curriculum, Carla exuberantly said, current topics of race, like the Trayvon they were unprepared in knowing how
Martin case, were debated in class. In con- to deal with concerns from parents with
I definitely think so. I think that [race] is a
trast, when asked about any social studies regard to the inclusion of race in the social
huge part that makes up a lot of obviously
the history that surrounds where we are, experience where race was a focus, Adri- studies curriculum.
and also a lot of tension that can exist in enne responded, “I don’t really remember The fear and uncertainty described by
communities. anything besides [a] college class which my study participants illustrates a broader
was about Appalachian history.” tension shared among most social studies
The determination and feeling of respon-
The participants had different percep- teachers as they consider including contro-
sibility to discuss race within the elementa-
tions about the need to include race within versial topics in the classroom. In a 2007
ry social studies setting was what struck me
the elementary social studies curriculum position statement, the National Council
as a stark difference between the two sets
and their comfort level in doing so through for the Social Studies asserted the need
of participants. The participants who expe-
lessons and class discussions. The partici- for students to study controversial issues.
rienced racial diversity in their childhood
pants’ background experiences seemed to The position stated that students should
and adolescence were much more insistent
impact their personal views about race “study relevant social problems” and that
in including race within the curriculum
and social studies, which further adds they should recognize that “differing view-
than the two participants with little racial
to the existing literature about how pre- points are valuable and a normal part of
diversity in their backgrounds.
service teachers’ backgrounds affect their social discourse” (para. 7).
This finding is similar to what Whipp
willingness to address issues of racism and Despite this call for a study of contro-
(2013) discovered with recent graduates
privilege within the K-12 classroom setting versial topics, which include issues of race,
from a social justice-oriented teacher edu-
(LaDuke, 2009; Smith, 2000; Segall & Gar- there is a widespread fear among educators
cation program. The first-year teachers in
rett, 2013; Sleeter, 1992; Whipp, 2013). about including controversial topics within
that study who demonstrated a focus on
the curriculum and facilitating discus-
challenging the structural as well as in-
Finding 2: sions about these topics (Byford, Lennon,
dividual social justice issues within their
Want Versus How & Russell, 2009; Misco & Patterson, 2007;
schools also shared the commonality of
Patterson, 2010). Byford et al. surveyed
having many cross-cultural experiences While the participants expressed some
high school social studies teachers and
in their lives before entering the teacher measure of willingness to include race
discovered that the teachers believed the
education program. within the social studies curriculum, they
study of controversial topics was important
In my study, in relation to the partici- described tension over how to carry this
in the development of civic competence
pants’ perceived need to include race within out. There was a constant struggle between
among students, but they feared student
the social studies curriculum, there was also feeling the need to encourage their elemen-
disruption during discussion and possible
a difference in the comfort level the partici- tary students to be accepting of others and
consequences that could jeopardize their
pants felt with the inclusion of race. Isabelle to understand how racism affects society
job security. Patterson (2010) reported
was confident in her ability to manage race historically and currently, while at the
that one main reason teachers avoided
discussions with students. She claimed, same time feeling that they were unable
controversial topics was that they were
to state their personal opinions about race
When students will ask me about [race], it not prepared to teach them in their teacher
to their students. They did not want to in-
doesn’t scare me. I don’t shy away from it. I education program.
doctrinate their students or challenge their
try to be very deliberate about addressing The pre-service elementary teachers in
students’ families’ beliefs. This tension was
it appropriately. my study contemplated the need to discuss
apparent as Isabelle explained, “You want
issues of race and racism in their future
In contrast, Adrienne was fearful of the to teach [the students] like, life is better
classrooms, but they were anxious about
way discussions could unravel and feel out as a community, but you also don’t want
the response that students, parents, and
of control. She described this fear saying, to brainwash ‘em . . . you also don’t want
school administrators would have to such
it to be like propaganda.” Adrienne echoed
I don’t want there to be like a lot of instruction. In some ways, this finding
this sentiment saying, “You can’t state your
conversation; I wouldn’t want little kids
may allude to the lack of specificity within
to ask bad questions that they don’t mean opinions whatsoever or else [the students]
social studies methods courses about how
to be bad or anything, so it would be more may go home and tell their parents that,
to responsibly include race within the K-5
like a direct teaching lesson. then the parents will get mad.”
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Research
classroom. Regardless of the reason, the At the time of this interview, there was In addition to the social studies meth-
participants’ feelings are not surprising a reinvigorated debate about flying the ods course, Carla was enrolled in a course
since previous studies have shown the Confederate flag as a response to a mass about teaching social studies with film.
same tension among pre-service teachers shooting at an historically Black church in She specifically discussed watching films
(Misco & Patterson, 2007) as well as teach- Charleston, South Carolina. Isabelle indi- that depicted “White teachers . . . as the
ers already in the field (Byford et al., 2009; cated that she would address this debate White hats” in urban classrooms. This
Patterson, 2010). with students by having them conduct class discussion was helpful to Carla as
research into the history and purpose of she began to reflect on her desire to teach
Finding 3: the Confederate flag. She would use ques- in an urban setting and to grapple with
Range of Quality in Instructional Examples tioning to encourage students to examine the thought that she “want[s] to go into
the historical meaning of the Confederate a multi-urban classroom and change the
During the interviews, I asked partici-
flag and its connotation and connections world.” Obviously, the discussion that took
pants to pretend they were already in their
to different groups of U.S. citizens today. place in Carla’s social studies film class
own elementary classroom and had the op-
The difference in the level of develop- is important, helping her reflect on her
portunity to include race within social stud-
ment of these lesson examples may relate positionality with future students, but she
ies lessons. I asked them to share examples
to the comfort level the participants felt never made the connection to using film as
of how they would do so. All the participants
based upon their background experience as a specific strategy for discussing race with
were able to provide examples, but some
discussed under “Finding 1,” but the range elementary students.
were quite vague while others were more
of depth may also refer to the participants’ Exploring a topic outside the social
detailed. As the participants answered the
historical racial content knowledge and studies teacher education courses, Isa-
question, it was evident again that they
their varied experiences in elementary belle discussed how to use picture books
were drawing from their personal experi-
social studies methods courses. to address issues of race. She had taken a
ence in a K-12 setting as well as from a few
Participants will struggle to think of reading education course where much of
teacher education courses where they could
a way to include race within social stud- the focus was on multicultural literature.
apply particular instructional strategies to
ies lessons if they personally have little Isabelle made the connection to using
the topic of race.
understanding of how race has played out historical picture books to discuss racism
The examples of instructional strategy
historically in the U.S. Additionally, the in U.S. history.
ranged in quality and level of develop-
participants will have difficulty develop- Finally, Renee described talking about
ment. In a less developed response, Renee
ing lesson activities that include race if “diversity” in terms of socioeconomic status
discussed the importance of using multiple
they never experienced such issues within in some of her previous teacher preparation
perspectives in the classroom. She planned
their own K-12 social studies educational courses. When Renee discussed her ideas
on “taking events that are mostly told like
settings or have never seen them modeled about teaching race in the classroom, she
in the curriculum from like a White man’s
in social studies methods courses. said, “I am really going off of my own experi-
perspective and like finding a different
ences learning social studies.” She did not
viewpoint from that.” However, as Renee
Finding 4: provide any examples of learning about race
continued her explanation, she used an
Lack of Modeling in her social studies methods course.
example of a White person’s perspective
Although the participants had varied
from the time when Martin Luther King, The final theme, lack of modeling, has
experiences within their social studies
Jr. led the fight for civil rights. been alluded to throughout each of the
methods courses, no one shared explicit
Although the use of multiple perspec- previous findings. Participants were un-
ways in which they saw lessons about
tives is ideal when discussing race in social able to describe ways in which they were
race modeled by social studies teacher
studies (Berson, Bennett, & Dobson, 2009), explicitly instructed about how to teach
educators. I found that the participants’
Renee did not have the historical racial race within elementary social studies.
background experiences affected the degree
content knowledge to provide a specific All of the participants were then in el-
of importance they placed on including race
example that would give voice to a person ementary social studies methods courses,
in the social studies curriculum as well as
of color. The master narrative often told which I believe should have provided them
their comfort level in doing so.
in social studies is that of the White voice, with an opportunity to see social studies
The participants felt tension between
and Renee did not recognize that a main teacher educators discuss how to include
wanting to teach about race in the class-
purpose of including multiple perspectives race within the curriculum.
room and not knowing how to address any
is to infuse marginalized voices into the They each shared examples of lessons in
challenges they might experience from the
curriculum. their methods courses that touched the pe-
inclusion of race in their lessons. As they
Other participants were able to share riphery of race and racism or on topics that
described how they may try to include
a more developed plan for incorporating could subsume race, but no one provided
race in social studies lessons, there were
race in their social studies lessons. Isa- a specific recollection of being taught how
stark differences in their ability to pro-
belle focused her instructional strategies to focus directly on race in an elementary
vide a well-developed explanation about
on the use of picture books. In a recent social studies lesson.
how they would plan and conduct these
social studies methods course assignment, Isabelle and Adrienne shared that
lessons. In the end, none of the partici-
Isabelle had created a unit plan in which they had talked about the facilitation of
pants had experienced explicit modeling
she chose to focus on the Civil Rights controversial topics in their social studies
that showed them how to discuss race in
Movement. She chose the books Martin’s methods course, but their descriptions of
elementary social studies within their
Big Words and The Other Side of the Fence these lessons seemed to encompass many
social studies methods courses.
to use with students as a way to discuss types of controversial topics that could be
issues of racism during this time period. encountered in social studies but not race.
MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION
30
Research
Limitations of the Study cation programs cannot control the types I believe my study points to the need for
of background experiences pre-service further investigation into the specific strat-
The findings in this research are the
teachers bring with them to the program, egies that social science teacher educators
interpreted realities that my four study
they can require intentional field place- might use to encourage their pre-service
participants shared with me. Although the
ment in racially diverse classrooms, which teachers to discuss race within the social
purpose of my study was not to provide
has also been mentioned as an implication studies curriculum.
a generalizable finding or theory for all
in previous pre-service teacher studies Many factors may play a role in explain-
elementary pre-service teachers, I still
(Whipp, 2013; Wiggins, Follo, & Eberly, ing the lack of literature about how teacher
recognize that there were a relatively small
2007). Teacher education programs can educators prepare elementary pre-service
number of participants in this study. Natu-
walk alongside pre-service teachers as they teachers to incorporate race within social
rally, if other pre-service teachers in the
have cross-racial experiences and provide studies content. In the current assess-
social studies methods courses had chosen
structured reflection that helps support ment and standards climate, elementary
to participate, the findings could have been
greater understanding and awareness social studies has been mitigated to an
expanded further and perhaps modified.
among pre-service teachers. optional part of many elementary school
When using an interview method, the
When specifically considering social curriculums (Center on Education Policy,
researcher is representing the stories
studies teacher education, I believe this 2007). Additionally, with the adoption of
shared by the participants. As the re-
study points to the importance of the kind Common Core Standards, social studies
searcher, I know that my subjectivity plays
of racial content knowledge students need teacher educators may now focus more
a role in how I analyzed the data (Hatch,
to develop in social studies teacher educa- on reading and writing than on the social
2002; Peshkin, 1998). For example, my per-
tion, to the lack of literature in the field studies content in their methods courses.
sonal background experience was similar
about race and elementary social studies, Even within the community of social
to a couple of the participants, which made
and to the need for explicit modeling of studies teacher educators who focus their
me feel like I understood their current
race lessons within elementary social research on race, there is little attention
positions more deeply but also caused me
studies methods courses. Only one of the given to the elementary classroom. Bolgatz
to be critical of their lack of recognition of
four participants in this study could recall (2007) discussed role-play as a useful tech-
racism within schools and the curriculum.
a time in K-12 social studies classes where nique to explore multiple racial perspec-
I wanted to insert my professional and
a teacher facilitated a lesson or discussion tives, and a few authors have shared how
personal growth into their current under-
involving race. to use critical literacy to highlight race in
standings and positions. Throughout the
In previous research, Brown (2011) ex- social studies lessons (Bolgatz, 2005; Wolk,
analysis process, I tried to maintain an
plained that one main reason pre-service 2003; Yenika-Agbaw, 1997).
awareness of how my subjectivity might
teachers push back from discussing race, In the recent work Doing Race in Social
have skewed my perceptions of the data
racism, and privilege in teacher education Studies: Critical Perspectives (Chandler,
by using analytical memo writing, but
courses is that they do not have historical 2015), the authors introduced new, inno-
ultimately, I know it is impossible to be
content knowledge about the influence of vative ways to consider and teach about
truly objective in qualitative research.
race in our country’s history. Chandler race through a critical race lens, but none
A final limitation to consider is that I
(2015) similarly called for Racial-Peda- of the chapters portrays an elementary
had one encounter with each of the partici-
gogical-Content Knowledge (RPCK) to be classroom context. Thus a gap remains in
pants. Although it is valid to conduct studies
a part of social studies teacher education. the literature about preparing elementary
where participants are only interviewed
He insisted that pre-service teachers need pre-service teachers to infuse race into so-
once, I believe that this study could have
to “have content knowledge (in the social cial studies instruction. Future study could
been further developed by interviewing
science disciplines), pedagogical content involve interviewing social science teacher
these participants again after they began
knowledge, and a working racial knowl- educators to explore if they provide explicit
their internship experience, possibly after
edge of how race operates within social instruction regarding the inclusion of race
they attempted to teach a social studies
science” (Chandler, 2015, p. 5). within the elementary social studies cur-
lesson where they incorporated race as a
Current and future social studies riculum, and if so, how they instruct their
component of their instruction. Additional
teacher educators should consider what it pre-service teachers to do this work.
interviews could have afforded further snip-
would look like to develop RPCK with so-
pets of the participants’ experience, thus
cial studies pre-service teachers, including Conclusion
providing a better understanding of their
future elementary teachers. If pre-service
beliefs and preparedness in discussing race This research study investigated
teachers were involved in an ongoing de-
within the social studies curriculum. elementary pre-service teachers’ beliefs
velopment of RPCK they would not only
about the importance of including race
better understand issues of race and rac-
Implications for Teacher Education within the social studies curriculum and
ism throughout historical events, but they
their perceptions of how prepared they
Despite the limitations described above, would have the skills to teach about race
felt to teach lessons about race to their
I believe this study offers implications that to K-12 students.
elementary students within a social
deserve to be discussed in teacher educa- In order for Chandler (2015) and col-
studies context. In order to investigate
tion, particularly in social studies teacher leagues in the field to expand RPCK in
the research questions, I conducted an
education. In the first finding, participants’ general, especially with an elementary
interview study (Hatch, 2002) with four
background experience appeared to influ- teacher focus, there will need to be a con-
elementary pre-service teachers enrolled
ence the way the participants viewed the certed effort to deepen this academic dia-
in a social studies methods course.
inclusion of race in the elementary social logue by developing literature about race
The findings point to the influence that
studies curriculum. Although teacher edu- and elementary social studies instruction.
WINTER 2017
31
Research
participant background experience has on from http://www.socialstudies.org/positions/ school students discuss racism and White
the degree to which the participants’ desired powerfulandpurposeful privilege. Middle Grades Research Journal,
and felt comfortable discussing race within Bolgatz, J. (2007). More than Rosa Parks: Criti- 7(2), 95-110.
cal multicultural social studies in a fourth Gershon, W. S., Bilinovich, C., & Peel, A. (2010).
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the participants struggled with wanting
Bolgatz, J. (2005). Revolutionary talk: Elemen- Wrestling through discomfort together. Ca-
to teach about race with their elementary
tary teacher and students discuss race in nadian Social Studies, 44(1), 29-37.
students while having uncertainty about a social studies class. Social Studies, 96(6), Guba, E. G., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2005). Paradigmatic
the challenges they might face as a result 259-264. controversies, contradictions, and emerging
of this type of instruction. The participants Brown, A.L., Crowley, R. M., & King, L. J. (2011). confluences. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln
varied in their ability to describe how they Black civitas: An examination of Carter (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp.
would actually incorporate race into their Woodson’s contributions to teaching about 191-216). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
race, citizenship, and the Black soldier. Hirschfeld, L. A. (2008). Children’s developing
social studies lessons, and finally, the par-
Theory and Research in Social Education, conceptions of race. In S. M. Quintana & C.
ticipants were unable to share an example
39(2), 278-299. McKown (Eds.), Handbook of race, racism,
of how they were taught to teach about race
Brown, K. D., & Brown, A.L. (2011). Teaching and the developing child (pp. 37-54). Hobo-
to elementary students during their social K-8 students about race: African Americans, ken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
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In essence, the purpose of situating race U.S. Multicultural Education, 19(1), 9-13. in education settings. Albany, NY: State
in the social studies curriculum is to chal- Brown, K. D. (2011). Breaking the cycle of Sisy- University of New York Press.
lenge the power differentials historically phus: Social education and the acquisition of Holliday, A. (2007). Doing and writing qualita-
critical sociocultural knowledge about race tive research (2nd ed.). London, UK: Sage.
and currently in our society in order to
and racism in the United States. The Social Howard, T. (2004). “Does race really matter?”
give voice to the silenced voices in Ameri-
Studies, 102, 249-255. Secondary students’ constructions of racial
can schools and society. In this study, the
Byford, J., Lennon, S., & Williams, R. B. (2009). dialogue in the social studies. Theory & Re-
participants all recognized a need for the Teaching controversial issues in the social search in Social Education, 32(4), 484-502.
inclusion of race in the social studies cur- studies: A research study of high school Howard, T. (2003). The need for racial dialogue
riculum, yet they were at different levels teachers. Clearing House: A Journal of in the social studies. In G. Ladson-Billings
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changes, and challenges: Curriculum and tion Age Publishing.
Social science teacher educators should
instruction in the NCLB era. Washington Ladson-Billings, G. (2003). Lies my teacher still
consider these findings as they assess their
DC: J. McMurrer. tells: Developing a critical race perspective
beliefs about race within the elementary Charmaz, K. (2014). Constructing grounded toward the social studies. In G. Ladson-Bill-
social studies curriculum and design their theory (2nd ed.). London, UK: Sage. ings (Ed.), Critical race theory perspectives
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elementary pre-service teachers. As aca- ness and social studies teacher education: curriculum (1-11). Greenwich, CT: Informa-
demic scholars, social studies teacher edu- Tensions in the pedagogical task. Teaching tion Age Publishing.
Education, 26(2), 160-178. Ladson-Billings, G. (1998). Just what is critical
cators have the opportunity to build upon
Daniels, E. A. (2011). Racial silences: Explor- race theory and what’s it doing in a nice
the limited research available involving
ing and incorporating critical frameworks field like education? International Journal
race and elementary social studies. There
in the social studies. The Social Studies, of Qualitative Studies in Education, 11(1),
remains a need for social studies teacher 102, 211-220. 7-24.
educators to share how they respond to the deMarrais, K. (2004). Qualitative interview Ladson-Billings, G., & Tate, W. F. (1995). Toward
recognition that race should be a part of studies: Learning through experience. In K. a critical race theory of education. Teachers
elementary social studies curriculum and deMarrais & S. Lapan (Eds.), Foundations College Record, 97(1), 47-68.
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NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. and reactions to multicultural education
Delgado, A. D., & Stefancic, J. (2001). Critical course content. Multicultural Education,
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Appendix A
Interview Guide
How do elementary pre-service teachers situate the importance of race within the social studies curriculum?
How well-prepared do elementary pre-service teachers feel about discussing race in social studies lessons?
1. Tell me a little bit about yourself and how you came to the teaching program at this university. (prompt for where student is from, family
structure, SES)
2. Why have you chosen elementary education as your career?
3. What do you think is the purpose of social studies instruction?
4. Why do you think social studies should be taught to elementary school students?
5. What are the main concepts that you feel should be taught in elementary social studies?
6. Do discussions of race have a place in the social studies curriculum? Why or why not?
7. How do you define “race”?
8. Tell me about your experience learning social studies when you were in a K-12 setting.
a. Do you recall a time when race was a part of a social studies lesson?
i. If yes, please tell me about this lesson. What did you think as a student? How did you feel?
ii. If no, why do you think race was not a part of discussion in your social studies classes?
9. As a student who will begin an internship in the fall, how prepared do you feel to discuss race within social studies lessons? Prompt reasoning.
10. Tell me about any teacher education course where professors have addressed discussing race with elementary students.
11. In thinking about the elementary social studies curriculum, what do you think it would look like to discuss race with your students in the
coming year?
a. How does planning this type of activity make you feel? Why?
b. What types of questions come to mind when you consider discussing race in social studies lessons?
c. How do you think your student population will influence the inclusion of race into your social studies curriculum?
12. How do you identify your ethnicity? How do you identify your race?
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