Ethical Negotiations and Fatigued Resistance in Teacher Enactment of SS Curricular Mandates

• In Event: Critical Issues in Social Studies Teaching and Learning

Abstract

This paper presents findings from a year-long, multi-case study that examined six middle and high school social studies teachers’ enactment of state-mandated curricular reform. This study is bound by teaching and policy contexts, specifically two particular tenets in State mandates: the integration of “current and controversial societal issues” and “informed action.” Research questions investigated whether or to what extent the social studies teachers in this study were integrating the mandates into their teaching, the nature of these, and how they felt about them in relation to other contextual factors, including teacher identity. Interview transcripts, participant observation notes, and artifacts were analyzed. Findings indicate that teachers prioritized time and selected modes of enactment aligned with teaching values.

Author

• Meghan A. Kessler, University of Illinois Springfield