Civic Education in the Appalachians: Searching for Clarity

• In Event: 16.057 - Roundtable Session 5
  In Roundtable Session: 16.057-24 - Issues Affecting K–12 Social Studies Instruction

Abstract

This study seeks to understand how three secondary social studies teachers in an Appalachian state understand civic education, how they teach civics, and how they employ civic action in their own lives. Research regarding the practice of civics teachers in socially homogeneous regions is underrepresented. This study seeks to address this absence in an initial way. The social context of the study is critical to interpreting the results and by using a qualitative research approach; it allows the researchers to unpack classroom practice in a detailed manner. In this study of civic education set in Appalachia, the NCSS definition of civic education and the goals of social studies education are used to structure the research.

Author

• Robert A. Waterson, West Virginia University