Teacher Perceptions of the Role of Social Studies in the Education and Acculturation of Immigrant Youth

• In Event: Roundtable Session 2
  In Roundtable Session: Teacher Practice and Student Learning in History and Political Science

Abstract

Although there is a substantial body of literature on educating immigrant students, little is known about the ways teachers conceptualize how specific content areas contribute to the education and acculturation of immigrant youth. Drawing on open-ended responses from a survey of middle and high school teachers (n=99) and applying Gibson’s additive acculturation model and extending Thornton’s notion of teachers as curricular instructional gatekeepers, I report on participants’ conceptualizations of one content area, social studies. Findings address four areas: social studies as a content area, the role of social studies teachers, the social studies classroom as a space to utilize immigrants’ assets, and inclusion policy in social studies classrooms for English Learners.

Author

• Jeremy Hilburn, University of North Carolina - Wilmington