Learning About Inequality

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

There is a clear need to prepare citizens for informed consideration of economic inequality as it relates to their own lives, to the lives of those they interact with, and to numerous policy issues. This symposium features some of the first empirical research documenting what and how U.S. students are learning about economic inequality. It focuses on the role that social studies educators play in providing these opportunities and on whether the distribution of these opportunities is related to race, social class, academic ability and other factors. The three studies draw on a range of methods (survey, interview, classroom observation) to examine social studies lessons about economic inequality, the impact of those lessons, and teacher goals related to this work.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Social Studies Research

Chair

• John S. Rogers, University of California - Los Angeles

Papers

• Teacher Reflections on Talking to Young Children About Poverty and Inequality - Lindsey Nenadal, University of California - Los Angeles; Rashmita Mistry, University of California - Los Angeles

• Talking Inequality? A Mixed-Methods Study Examining Whether and How Social Studies Teachers Address Economic Inequality - John S. Rogers, University of California - Los Angeles; Joel Westheimer, University of Ottawa

• Facing Facts in an Era of Political Polarization: Young People's Learning About Economic Inequality - Benjamin T. Bowyer, Mills College; Joseph E. Kahne, Mills College

Discussant

• Anand R. Marri, Federal Reserve Bank of New York