A Survey of Teachers' Perceptions of Race and Gender in Social Studies

• In Event: Roundtable Session 8
  In Roundtable Session: Complexities of Teachers' Practices in Social Studies Classrooms

Abstract

This study reports the results of a survey on teaching race and gender from a sample of high school social studies teachers (N=309) across Massachusetts. Employing mixed methods, the results showed that (1) social studies teachers agreed that they were comfortable teaching about race and gender, that race and gender inequity should be addressed in the social studies classroom, and that they regularly covered race- and gender-related topics; (2) teachers at moderate-poverty schools were more likely to teach about Latinos, Asians, indigenous people, and Arabs than teachers in low and high poverty schools; and (3) teachers responded that race and gender were not adequately covered in the curriculum and they wanted more professional development on teaching race and gender.

Authors

• Christopher C. Martell, Boston University

• Kaylene Mae Stevens, Boston University