PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIAL STUDIES EDUCATION

The Philosophy of Social Studies Education

Abby Cook
EDT 417

PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIAL STUDIES EDUCATION

Introduction
Before taking this course, social studies education had a completely different
meaning to me. Throughout the course of my life I have taken a number of history,
geography, politics, religion, and psychology classes, in which I considered to be social
studies education. Those are all stems of social studies education; they make up the
curriculum as a whole. Social studies education consists of a plethora of subjects, but all
are responsible for helping students make informed and reasoned decisions (NCSS,
1994). This course showed me that the three main features of social studies education are:
justice, morality, and law. All three of these work together to creates students into moral,
democratic citizens of society. The purpose of social studies education is citizenship
education (Misco). Social studies is so much more than learning about historical dates
and time periods, it is teaching students how to become well rounded citizens who play a
part in society.

Marginalizing in Social Studies Education

In our education system today, the emphasis on passing standardized tests is so
strong that social studies and science education tends to be put to the side. The emphasis
is put on reading, writing, and math and there tends to be a negative attitude about social
studies education as a whole. Teachers tend to look past the subject and misunderstand it
as a whole. Since the components of social studies are so hard to measure, they are left
out from testing. Also, it is a subject that changes depending what region you are in, some
things are more applicable to others. Whereas for math and language arts the content is
generally the same across the country, making it easier for there to be one nationwide

PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIAL STUDIES EDUCATION

test. In order for teachers to implement social studies education, they first need to change
their view on it, and make it positive. When they conceive it as negative, their thoughts
on it may influence their students and cause them to think poorly about it as well. Instead
of thinking of it as a burden, they can think of creative ways to bring it into their
classroom and make it enjoyable for their students to learn about. This relates back to a
phrase Dr. Misco discussed in class, the catch-as-catch-can method. Meaning that
teachers should do anything that they need to do in order to have their students be
successful or to reach their goal. Teachers should look at social studies education as an
opportunity to develop their students into ethical citizens.

Citizenship Education
Citizenship education is defined as being the sole purpose of social studies
education. Citizenship is defined as being vested with rights, privileges, and duties of a
citizen (Dictionary.com). Educators are responsible for teaching their students how to
actively participate in society. This is done through creating a curriculum that is a
combination of three qualities: justice, morality, and law. The ideas of morality influence
how we view justice and how laws are established. When teaching your students about
these three qualities, you are teaching them to be personally responsible for everything
they do. When focusing in on the primary levels, there are certain aspects that teachers
should focus in on. The first is teaching your students deliberation; how to properly
discuss with their peers as well as developing decision-making skills (Parker, 2012,
Social Studies in Elementary Education, p.84). When you teach your students how to
properly discuss their feelings, they will learn to resolve issues in a more democratic way.

PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIAL STUDIES EDUCATION

Also Parker discusses how learning how to discuss issues among the classroom will
prevent violence from happening, and will lead to wise actions taking place (Parker,
2012, Social Studies in Elementary Education, p.85). Teaching students at a young age
how to resolve conflict in an appropriate manner will prepare them for real like scenarios
down the road, and they will use their prior learned skills to act in a democratic way.
Creating a healthy classroom environment where everyone feels comfortable speaking
their opinion, and acting as an active citizen shows students how they should later act in
society. Giving your students classroom jobs every week makes them feel responsible as
well as doing something to contribute. If there is ever a problem that occurs in your
classroom community, then you will demonstrate to your students how to work together
through using reflective thinking and problem solving (Parker, 2012, Social Studies in
Elementary Education, p.104). Through the process of teaching your students public
values such as respect, they will then use these public values to create personal values.
Teachers should never force their values on their students; we live in a democratic
society where everyone has the right to their own values. When students create their own
personal values, they reflect their personal preferences, and how they choose to live their
everyday life Parker, 2012, Social Studies in Elementary Education, p.108). Being a role
model on how to act as a well functioning citizen in a democratic society shows your
students how they should act, which leads to the development of their personal values.
Citizenship education is all about teaching your students how to include justice, morality,
and law in their personal values, which then leads to them acting as a functioning citizen
in our democratic society.

PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIAL STUDIES EDUCATION

Moral Education
Moral education is education that extends beyond just teaching content. It is about
teaching students how to make conscious, reasonable decisions. Students at the primary
grade level need opportunities to explore themselves and be able to decide what they
think is right and moral. Introducing diverse topics to children that they have never
discussed before may lead to them being more open-minded. Learning about other
cultures and societies besides their own may show them that there is more ways to do
things than just one, their own. Dewey states, Education is very much a process of
forming dispositions or attitudes and habits of mind, which are both intellectual and
emotional (Misco and Shiveley, 2010, Seeing the Forest Through the Trees, p. 122).
Social studies is all about keeping your students current and educating them about how to
decide what is correct in their opinion. It is also about teaching students to be
responsible for their actions as well as being accountable. As teacher, we want to help
them decide what they are going to do to make a positive impact on society. This leads
into teaching them which is more important: the intention of a good deed or the outcome
of the moral task. Students need to learn that good deeds should not be done for the
satisfaction of their own needs, rather they should do the deed simply because someone
else is benefiting from it. Moral education should open students minds and allow them to
decide for themselves what is right and what they believe to be true.

Curriculum in Social Studies Education

The social studies curriculum is composed of different courses that are broken
down into different units. The typical preconceived notion of social studies is that is

PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIAL STUDIES EDUCATION

focuses on history, culture, politics or government. It reality, all of these aspects of social
studies contribute to the subject as a whole. Each social studies course is broken down
into units, and all of the lessons within are interconnected. All parts of social studies
education are responsible for making students aware that they have a role in their
community and their role matters. Also, each component helps them become: better
problem solvers, gives them cultural understanding, promote reflective thinking, and
gives them an overall awareness. The curriculum is composed of knowledge, skills, and
dispositions that all work together to promote success among students. Peter Hlebowitsh
(2005) defined the social studies curriculum as, The deliberate, thoughtful and conscious
design of the totality of the school experience in the interest of producing an educational
effect (The Teaching Professor, Moving From Courses to a Curriculum, Vol. 30, No.1).
Social studies consist of three styles of teaching it: citizenship transmission, social
science, and reflective thinking. Citizenship transmission is taught through PowerPoints,
readings and lectures. The teachers of point of view also heavily influence this style of
teaching. The next orientation is social science, which is when students are taught to
become mini historians. They read documents and narratives with the goal that they
will develop skills of professionalism. Lastly, social studies education often promotes
reflective thinking among students. Dewey explains that reflective thinking is considering
any belief or form of knowledge while looking into the grounds that support it and the
further conclusions to which it tends (Dewey, 1933). It is important to have students
recognize that what we think we know may or may not be true. By having students
participate in reflective thinking, allows them to think about what they have always
thought to be true, compared to what the social studies curriculum is teaching them. The

PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIAL STUDIES EDUCATION

social studies curriculum is designed to educate students on much more than content, but
about their moral and ethical beliefs.

Importance of Global Perspective

When teaching social studies education, there should be a strong emphasis on
teaching global perspective. For many students, the classroom is the only place where
they hear about things happening around the world, so it is important to keep them
current. There are five key dimensions that work together to create a global perspective,
which I will implement in my future classroom. First is the perspective consciousness,
which means that you should make students aware that their perspective on the world is
just one of many. It is extremely important to make students aware they have the right to
have their own perspective, but they must recognize and respect others. Second is State
of Planet awareness, which are things that are happening around the world. In class we
discussed that out of all five, schools do a great job with this dimension. They help
students recognize ways to improve their environment, and ultimately helping make the
world a better place. Next, is teaching cross-cultural awareness. This dimension is based
on understanding other cultures while comparing their differences to one another. This is
one that I find extremely important and relevant because I believe students should
develop a respect for other cultures, not just for their own. It is important to show them
the way other people live and function in order for them to reflectively think about the
way they live as well. The last to interrelate and are knowledge of global dynamics and
awareness of human choices. These two influence students to recognize the choices they
make and ultimately how they influence others around them. The phrase interconnectivity

PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIAL STUDIES EDUCATION

is also associated with these dimensions because it means to study how different cultures
and societies are connected together. Banks (2004) stated that global education should
inform students how societies work together to function, as well as helping clarify any
misconceptions students have about different nations. Once they are taught different
global perspective they will then be able to identify themselves in the world community.
(Banks, 2004, Teaching for Social Justice, Diversity, and Citizenship in a Global Word,
p.300). Teachers should encourage students to critically think about why things are the
way they are and how they can make positive changes in the future. It is important to
teach students global perspective because students must learn how other societies and
people think and function in order to appreciate their own perspective.

Teaching Controversial Issues

It is important as a teacher to go the extra mile and make your lessons engaging
and enjoyable for your students in order for them to get the most from their learning.
Letting students learn through experience gives them a better perspective on the topic
being taught or discussed. Although we want to educate our students on what is
happening around the word and keep them current, we have to decide what they need to
know versus what may be inappropriate to discuss in a classroom setting. Controversial
issues vary among whom you discuss them with and often divide society due to the
difference among explanations and solutions (Misco, 2011, Teaching About
Controversial Issues, p. 8). Although experience is a great way for students to look more
in depth about something, it is not always necessary. As a teacher you have to decide
what is morally right for you students to experience or act out. You dont need your

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students to experience something in order for them to necessarily understand it. When
you are covering the sensitive topics such as slavery, the Holocaust, or even bullying, you
dont need your students to experience it to get a better understanding of what happened
or what it is. Dewey stated, If you want to teach a child about fire, you dont need to
stick their hand in it. Deciding exactly what is controversial is an issue in itself.
Controversy issues are so debated because they become extremely personal due to one
person believing their viewpoint is better than the opposing (Misco, 2011). As an
educator, if I decide to touch on certain controversial issues, there are many benefits in
doing so. The discussion will promote critical thinking due to the debates that will occur,
and they will be able to decide where they stand with the issue, while respecting the other
viewpoint, acting as a democratic society (Misco, 2011). When controversial issues are
discussed in the classroom setting, it allows for students to not only recognize the issue,
but think of ways to resolve it. Also, they will become more open-minded due to hearing
all sides and standpoints of the issue. Controversial issues are something that educators
must look into before they introduce them to their class. Teaching them allows the
classroom to act as a democratic society through discussing the problem, and coming up
with a solution together.
Conclusion
Social studies education has a purpose that most educators have never thought
about before. Being a pre-service teacher, this is the first time I have looked through
social studies through a completely difference lens. Teachers must dig deeper into the
social studies curriculum, and educate their students on much more than history or
geography. They must be sure that they are aiming towards one goal with their social

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studies curriculum, which is to shape their students into moral citizens of society. As a
primary elementary school teacher, my goal is to teach my students how to function as an
active citizen in society, through making my classroom a community. I will teach them
what it means to respect others opinions as well as being able to voice their own. Social
studies education uses justice, morality, and law to influence students personal values,
which they will then use when acting as a democratic citizen of society.

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References
Parker, W.C., (2012). Social Studies in Elementary Education. University of Boston, MA:
Pearson Education.
Misco, T., & Shiveley, J., (2010). Seeing the Forest Through the Trees: Some Renewed
Thinking on Dispositions Specific to Social Studies Education. Taylor & Francis
Group.
Scarlett, M. (2015). Moving from courses to a curriculum. e Teaching Professor, 29(1),
pp.1, 4.B
Banks, J.A. (2004). Teaching for Social Justice, Diversity, and Citizenship in a Global
World. The Educational Forum, Vol. 68.
Misco, T., (2011). Teaching About Controversial Issues: Rationale, Practice, and Need
for Inquiry. IJELP, Vol. 1.