Speaking of the past in social studies

Journal of Social Studies Research, Spring 1999 by Correai, Stephen T

The 20th anniversary of the Foundations of Social Studies "Special Interest Group" (SIG) of The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) was celebrated in November of 1997. With the publication of Bulletin 8, the Foundations SIG has disseminated over twenty years of research devoted to increasing understanding of the origins of the social studies.

Interest in the origins and evolution of the social studies, as determined by membership in the Foundations of the Social Studies SIG, is almost exclusively the domain of higher education The driving force of those studying the foundations of social studies reinforces the thesis forwarded by Leming (1989) in The Two Cultures of Social Studies. In The Two Cultures of Social Studies, Leming states, "there exists in social studies a persistent abyss which separates the teaching lives of practicing classroom teachers from the research interests and methods class preparation of future social studies teachers" (p. 404). Presently, interest in social studies foundations is demonstrative of a distinct area of a difference between these two cultures.

In order for the study of social studies foundations to have a place in the preparation of social studies teachers, this gap between practitioners and those in higher education must be bridged. If this difference is ignored, the potential value of social studies foundations to pre-service teachers will be lost, and an understanding of the origins of the field will remain the province of the university professor and, in all likelihood, be viewed by many as useless theory. This paper argues that the study of social studies foundations belongs in a teacher-training program, and can serve as a bridge from the college classroom to actual classroom teaching.

Contemporary Confusion

Professional educators at all levels in a myriad of ways understand the term social studies. Engle and Ochoa posit that the social studies has at least six distinct practicing traditions, ranging from citizenship education to the study of individual social sciences. The vital question of what is the definition of social studies remains for all teachers in the field. Why have most reform efforts in the last 10 years chosen not to include social studies? In the place of social studies are the disciplines of history and geography. These questions, and many more, are only a sample of some of tlle challenges facing both social studies and beginning teachers striving to understand the field.

If the above questions are posed to a group of pre-service teachers, it is unlikely that any substantive answers will emerge. Regardless of one's level of experience, by exploring such contemporary and historical questions any social studies professional will be well on his or her way to better understanding and teaching in the social studies field. Students preparing to be social studies teachers have the dubious distinction of taking only one or two teaching methods classes in an area labeled social studies. While biology, math, and foreign language teachers, to name a few, have taken numerous classes in their content areas, social studies teachers select classes from a variety of courses in the humanities and social sciences. Given this background, it is not surprising that pre-service teachers have little or no conceptualization of their own certification area.

Renewed Interest in Foundations

In the last quarter century, scholarly interest in the origins of the social studies has markedly increased. Since 1975, numerous special editions of journals, dissertations, articles, papers and even a published book have emerged examining the history of social studies. This relatively new interest in the history of social studies may be traced to many factors. They include: (a) increased calls for abandonment of social studies, (b) a recognition of the historical nature of social studies practitioners, (c) an untapped and unexplored area of historical research, (d) a recognition that the last of the "Masters" of social studies, such as Edgar Wesley, Paul Hanna and Shirley Engle were dying, (e) 1991 saw the re-release of the seminal report Social Studies in Secondary Education on its 75th anniversary, (f) 1996, the 75h anniversary of the birth of the NCSS, saw the publication of a special edition of Social Education devoted to the origins of the Social Studies, and finally, (g) a core group of researchers with similar interests came together to explore and disseminate their historical studies.

The roots of social studies are rich and varied. Many of the seminal names in American education have had a significant role in early conceptualizations and development of social studies curricula. These names include John Dewey, James Harvey Robinson Harold Rugg, George Counts, and Paul Hanna. Social studies has always had, at best, an uneasy alliance among groups vying for control or inclusion in the curriculum Over the past nine decades, social studies has served many masters, most concurrently. During its years of curricular evolution, social studies has been associated with citizenship education, social education, civic competence, history education, critical thinking, and recently has been a venue for AIDS education. Because social studies and the NCSS have been open to input from many diverse groups, they both have been criticized for being unresponsive to the dogmatic demands of special interest groups (Hertzberg, 1981; Jenness, 1990).