Social Studies IS Being Taught in the Elementary School: A Contrarian View

Abstract

This study questions the belief that little or no social studies is being taught in regular elementary education classrooms. That belief is based on time studies and a body of research that looks at curriculum and teacher interviews and concludes that the social studies time block has been decreased in elementary classrooms, therefore little or no social studies is being taught. In light of the previous research, we decided to conduct a study that asked is social studies being taught, and if so, how is it being taught? A list of key social studies concepts for grades 1-5 were used to survey approximately 100 elementary school teachers in a southwestern school district. Teachers used a Likert Scale to rate how often they taught each concept. From the initial survey, 10 teachers were interviewed regarding how they approach teaching social studies concepts and were asked to share sample lesson plans with the researchers. Analysis revealed that elementary teachers (grades 1- 5) were teaching most social studies concepts in traditional time blocks incorporating content integration from a variety of curriculum areas, such as reading, art, mathematics, and science. Sample lesson plans obtained from the teachers showed the use of content integration and the focus on social studies concepts. The researchers reveal how one group of teachers attempted to cope with reduced teaching time for social studies do to state testing.