This study examined the portrayal of African Americans and Latinos over a twelve-yeartime period (1997-2008) at National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) annual meetings. NCSS was selected because it is the largest organization responsible for social studies education in America's sch ools. Like U.S. history textbooks, the authors assumed NCSS would offer its constituencies a balanced portrayal of the groups. The authors examined the conference programs for each year and tallied the number of activities offered by NCSS and its associated groups that described each of the groups and the groups combined. The number of activities describing the groups was exceedingly small with no activities describing the groups' portrayals in U. S. history textbooks or their academic performance in social studies instruction. The overall presentation of the groups was far from balanced or comprehensive. Explanations for the portrayal of the groups are offered and areas for further research are provided.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AlridgeD. (2006). The limits of master narratives in history textbooks: An analysis of representations of Martin Luther King, Jr.Teachers College Record, 108(4). 662-686.
2.
Arizona Department of Education. Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) Results available from http://www.ade.state.az.us/researchpolicy/AlMSResults/
3.
ArriesJ. (1994). Decoding the social studies production of Chicano history. Equity and Excellence in Education, 27(1). 37-44.
4.
BainR. (2006). Rounding up the usual suspects: Facing the authority hidden in the history classroom. Teachers College Record, 108(10). 2080-2114.
5.
BanksJ. (1969). A content analysis of the black American in textbooks. Social Education, 33(8). 954-963.
6.
California Department of Education. Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR). Retrieved from http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sr/
7.
ChamblissM. and CalfeeR. (1998). Textbooks for learning: Nurturing children's minds. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
8.
CruzB. (2002). Don juan and rebels under palm trees: Depictions of Latin Americans in US history textbooks. Critique of Anthropology, 22(3). 323-342.
9.
CzerniakJ. (2006). Black slave revolt depiction and minority representation in U.S. history textbooks from 1950-2005. UW-L Journal of Undergraduate Research IX. (20 pp.).
10.
District of Columbia Public Schools. DC Comprehensive Assessment System (DC-CAS) Results. Retrieved from http://dcps.dc.gov/DCPS/In+the+Classroom/How+Students+Are+Assessed/DC+CAS+Results
11.
DuplassJ. (2007). Elementary social studies: Trite, disjointed, and in need of reform?The Social Studies, 98(4). 137-144.
12.
Florida Department of Education. Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. Available from http://fcat.fldoe.org/fcatpub5.asp
13.
FosterS. (1999). The struggle for identity: Treatment of ethnic groups in United States history textbooks. History of Education, 28(3). 251-278.
14.
GarciaJ. (1977). Images of named white and non-white ethnic groups as presented in selected eighth grade united states history textbooks (Doctoral dissertation. University of California, Berkeley, 1977).
15.
GarciaJ. (1980). Hispanic perspective: Textbooks and other curricular materials. The History Teacher, 14(1). 105-120.
16.
GarciaJ. and GoebelJ. (1985). A comparative study of the portrayal of black Americans in selected textbooks. Negro Educational Journal, 36(3-4). 118-127.
17.
Georgia Department of Education. Criterion Referenced Competency Tests. Available from http://www.doe.kl2.ga.us/ci_testing.aspx?PageReq=CI_TESTING_CRCT
18.
HughesR. (2007). A hint of whiteness: History textbooks and social construction of race in the wake of the sixties. The Social Studies, 98(5). 201-208.
19.
Illinois State Department of Education. Student Assessment. Available from www.isbe.net/assessment/default.htm
20.
KaneM. (1970). Minorities in textbooks: A study of their treatment in social studies texts. Quadrangle: Chicago, IL.
21.
LandisR. and KochG. (1977). The measurement of observer agreement for categorical data. Biometrics, 33(1), 159-174.
22.
LintnerT. (2004). The savage and the slave: critical race theory, racial stereotyping, and the teaching of American history. Journal of Social Studies Research, 28(1). 27-32.
23.
Louisiana Department of Education. Standards, Assessments, and Accountability Assessment Information. Available from http://www.doe.state.la.us/lde/saa/2273.html
24.
LutkusA. and WeissA. (2007). The nation's report card: Civics 2006. National Assessment of Educational Progress. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Educational Sciences. Washington, D.C.: Government printing office.
25.
MarcusL (1961). The treatment of minorities in secondary school textbooks. NY: Anti-Defamation League.
26.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System. Available from http://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/results.html
27.
Mississippi Department of Education. Statewide Assessment Information. Available from http://orshome.mde.kl2.ms.us/ors/assessment/index.html
28.
National Council for the Social Studieshttp://www.socialstudies.org
29.
Nevada Department of Education. Criterion Referenced Tests. Available from http://nde.doe.nv.gov/Assessment_CRT.htm
30.
New Mexico Public Education Department. New Mexico Standards Based Assessment Statistics and Data. Available from http://sde.state.nm.us/AssessmentAccountability/AcademicGrowth/NMSBA.html
31.
New York State Education Department. Standards, Assessment and Reporting. Available from http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/osa/
32.
NobaJ. (2003). Leaving Latinos out: the teaching of U.S. history in Texas (Doctoral Dissertation, The University of Texas, Austin, 2003).
33.
SalvucciL. (1991). Mexico, Mexicans, and Mexican Americans in secondary school United States history textbooks. The History Teacher, 24(2). 203-222.
34.
State of New Jersey Department of Education. Statewide Assessment Reports. Available from http://www.nj.gov/education/schools/achievement/
35.
Texas Education Agency. Statewide TAKS Performance Results. Available from http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index3.aspx?id=3220&menu_id=793
36.
ThomasJ. and AlawiyeO. (1993). American elementary school textbooks: Dignity for blacks?Social Science Record, 30(1). 37-42.
37.
TysonH. and WoodwardA. (1989). Why students aren't learning very much from textbooks. Educational Leadership,47(3). 14-17.
38.
United States Census Bureau. United States Census, 2006. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/pubinfo/www/NEWhispMLl.html.
39.
VolgerK. (2005). Impact of a high school graduation examination on social studies teachers' instructional practices. Journal of Social Studies Research,29(2). 19-33.
