The following article is a part of our Signature Pedagogies in the K-12 Classroom series. “Signature pedagogies,” as defined by Schulman in 2005, are “the types of teaching that organize the fundamental ways in which future practitioners are educated for their new professions” and they include three critical aspects: how to think, perform, and act with integrity in the profession. Click here for a primer on the importance of signature pedagogies.
What is Social Studies?
While math as a discipline seeks to be the purest form of logic, and science seeks to draw conclusions from data as objectively as possible, the social sciences exist to explore how humans construct our understanding of the world based on different perspectives. At the heart of this discipline is how humans make sense of our relationships—to each other, to the land, and even to ourselves. For that reason, the social sciences include not only history, but courses such as psychology, anthropology, communication studies, etc..
Of course, in K-12, the focus is social studies, a subset of the social sciences. Miftakhuddin et al. (2019) explained that whereas social science “explains why and how a phenomenon occurs,” social studies “expounds how humans should respond to the phenomenon” (p. 19). They continue by saying, “Therefore, social studies should be contextual, based on the spatial, temporal, and cultural aspects of the local community” (p. 19). The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) echoes this sentiment in its statement regarding the purpose of social studies education as “to help young people make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world.”
While subjects such as psychology and sociology may be taught under the “social sciences” umbrella in K-12 education, this article will focus mostly on social studies and the pedagogies that relate to the definitions above. For this reason, this article will be most representative of courses on history, geography, civics, and general social studies survey courses, such as those in grades K-5. Indeed, these general social studies survey courses typically include the strands of history, geography, civics, and economics, and the interrelationships therein.
What Type of Curriculum is Social Studies?
Social studies courses tend to fall into two different curriculum categories: chronological and topical. History courses are almost always taught in a chronological way, whereas geography, civics, and economics tend to be taught topically. In the general social studies courses like we often see in K-5, there tends to be a mix of topical and chronological based upon the specific standards. For instance, first grade students might learn about both George Washington and Abraham Lincoln at the same time for a unit around President’s Day, but will typically do a unit on ancient Egypt before they do a unit on ancient Greece.
The reason that historical courses generally need to be chronological, of course, is because they are, at heart, about the relationship of cause and effect. X and Y happen and cause Z. Though some historical courses are taught thematically (“Rebels and Revolutions,” “The History of Human Rights,” etc.), they tend to be done so at the higher levels of education, after students already understand the general historical timeline and the basic cause and effects relationships.
What are Essential Social Studies Signature Pedagogies?
As with all articles in this series, it’s important to remember that these pedagogies, while based on extant research, are not an exhaustive list of everything that can and should happen in this discipline. We use the term “essential” because these pedagogical methods of instruction are foundational to the definition and purpose of “social studies” as a discipline.
As a reminder, there are three critical elements of any signature pedagogy: how to think, how to perform, and how to act with integrity in the discipline/profession. Each of the following Essential Signature Pedagogies helps students develop one or more of these critical elements.
Social Studies Essential Signature Pedagogy #1: Understanding the Role of Perspective
If the goal of social studies is to understand the relationships between humans and society, the environment, and themselves, then it is essential that students understand that myriad perspectives exist. Therefore, the goal of any social studies course must be to help students learn to:
- Understand that other perspectives exist;
- Understand that those perspectives are based upon many factors
- Analyze the extent to which their own perspectives can and should be influenced by other perspectives; and
- Evaluate a course of action when one or more perspectives fundamentally conflict.
That being said, understanding multiple historical perspectives can be uncomfortable. History and even contemporary events are filled with acts of brutal oppression or violence toward one or more groups of people, sometimes perpetrated by their own governments. Nevertheless, McDonald and Kidman (2022) argued teachers must all “accommodate, in equal measure, emotional and embodied learning experiences that are uncomfortable and frightening yet stimulating and inspiring” (p. 32). To completely omit negative events in history deprives students of the chance to understand not only multiple perspectives but also the cause and effect relationships that make the world what it is today.
Introducing uncomfortable perspectives and violent events must be done in a developmentally appropriate way, however. This is, to be sure, a careful line to walk, and must be done with both deliberation and compassion. When observing a social studies classroom, it is therefore important for the observer to look for evidence that the lesson has been thoughtfully planned, and that while uncomfortable realities are not deliberately obscured from students, they are presented in a way that pushes students to think in new ways without traumatizing them.
Social Studies Essential Signature Pedagogy #2: Analysis of Primary Sources
If one of the main purposes of social studies is to understand multiple perspectives and the interrelationships therein, then it logically follows that those perspectives should be learned straight from the sources. In other words, students should be reading and analyzing primary sources—or sources created during the time period being studied—in developmentally appropriate ways.
Engaging with primary sources helps students develop their critical thinking skills in multiple ways. Firstly, students learn to evaluate sources for accuracy by comparing accounts from multiple sources. Students also evaluate for bias to understand how perspectives are shaped by underlying values and agendas. Lastly, students learn the skills of synthesis by piecing together an understanding for multiple sources. These skills, when taken together, not only allow students to understand the past, but also to more critically evaluate the present.
The teacher must carefully choose which primary sources to use with students, however, based upon students’ developmentally abilities. For instance, having third grade students attempt to read the entire U.S. Constitution in its entirety would likely lead to frustration. Instead, teachers should choose sources or excerpts from those sources that best fit the concept, theme, or skill they are trying to teach to students. For instance, when studying the concept of freedom of religion, a fourth grade teacher might choose a sentence from the Virginia Declaration of Rights, the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, and the First Amendment. The teacher would lead students through unpacking each statement so that they understand its meaning, then comparing how the concept of freedom of religion is portrayed in each document. The teacher should then combine this with a brief overview of the timeline of the documents to understand how earlier documents influenced later documents—all so that students understand current laws regarding freedom of religion.
Social Studies Essential Signature Pedagogy #3: Emphasis on Relationships
Given that the essence of the social sciences is to understand the relationships between humans, the environment, society, and themselves, then it naturally follows that a signature pedagogy for any social studies classroom should be helping students to uncover the relationships between concepts. Analysis of relationships can take many forms, depending on the concept being studied, such as:
- Determining cause and effect: How did X influence Y?
- Making predictions: Based on X and Y, what might Z look like?
- Understanding similarities and differences: How are X and Y the same, and how are they different?
- Defining a process: Why does X have to come before Y?
- Understanding parts and whole: If X and Y make up Z, what role does X play in Z? What role does Y play? What effect would removing X have on Z? Etc..
As with any lesson designed to develop critical thinking skills, we would naturally expect to see students engaged in this type of thinking, whether through writing or speaking. The emphasis must be on students doing the thinking, as modeled and then guided by the teacher. The social studies classroom that only relies on the teacher making these connections, and students dutifully copying them down and memorizing them, is less a social studies class and more of a laundry list class.
Social Studies Essential Signature Pedagogy #4: Internal and External Debates and Discussions
This last signature pedagogy builds upon all the ideas presented above—that a social studies class cannot simply be around memorizing material as presented by secondary sources or teachers: the social studies class must give students space, opportunities, and the skills to examine evidence, explore the values and biases of others and themselves, make comparisons, and draw conclusions.
Therefore, an observer in the social studies classroom should see deliberate prompts for students to examine not only primary source evidence, but their own feelings and understandings. This could come in the form of journaling, sharing thoughts aloud, or creating artistic representations.
The observer would also expect to see students exploring thoughts through debates. Students should practice taking opposing sides, building a case with researched evidence, listening to one another’s conclusions, and using those conclusions to re-evaluate their own thoughts, ideas, and values.
In Summary
As a social studies educator, or observer of one, do we expect to see these signature pedagogies in every Social Studies class every day? Of course not. But should we see them more frequently than we see other instructional methodologies? Absolutely.
Social studies is more than a collection of facts about history, geography, civics, and economics. At its core, it is a discipline designed to help students navigate the complex web of relationships that shape our world—relationships between people, societies, the environment, and ourselves. Through its signature pedagogies, social studies cultivates essential skills such as critical thinking, perspective-taking, and evidence-based reasoning.
By engaging with primary sources, analyzing cause and effect, understanding interconnections, and participating in thoughtful discussions and debates, students not only deepen their understanding of the past but also build the tools they need to make informed decisions for the present and future. When taught thoughtfully and deliberately, social studies empowers students to become active, informed citizens in an interdependent, diverse, and ever-changing world. It is not just a subject; it is a foundation for responsible and engaged participation in society.