The State of Elementary Social Studies Teaching in One Urban District

Abstract

In this study, 172 elementary teachers were surveyed to determine the state of social studies teaching in their classrooms. Data was collected during the spring of 2004 in various geographic locations within an urban district in southern California. The survey measured teachers’ time teaching core subjects, how teachers chose to spend their time teaching social studies and types of strategies used to teach social studies. Teachers revealed that many were dissatisfied with how much time they spent teaching social studies while negotiating mandates to teach language arts and mathematics. Although teachers reported they felt well prepared to teach social studies, many use lecture, readings, and worksheets to teach the California Content Standards. We recommend qualitative research be conducted to explore how teachers who spent more time teaching social studies despite mandates can share those strategies with those who did not teach social studies regularly.