The Relationship Between General Literacy Skills and Social Studies Content Knowledge

• In Event: Culture, Economics, Literacy, and Out-of-Classroom Experiences in Social Studies Education

Abstract

This study examined the results of a hierarchical multiple regression (N=141) in two eighth grade classrooms from a rural district in the southeastern United States in order to examine the relationship between social studies achievement tests and a measure of general literacy which included both vocabulary and reading comprehension subtests. Results of this study indicated that the measure of general vocabulary knowledge accounted for an additional 43% of variance in social studies content exam scores after accounting for demographics, and reading comprehension accounted for an additional 3%. Overall, the results of this study fill a considerable gap in the research literature which had previously focused on content literacy and primarily was confined to the domain of science.

Authors

• Julia Hujar, University of North Carolina - Charlotte

• Tina Lane Heafner, University of North Carolina - Charlotte

• Kristen D. Beach, University of North Carolina - Charlotte

• Antoinette ML Rochester, University of North Carolina - Charlotte