No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to make as analysis of the relationship between dominative-integrative classroom behavior and the mean scores on selected measures of socio-civic attitudes of students at North Texas State College preparing to teach the social studies during the year 1960-61.

The goal of this study was to determine what factors influence teachers in their use of discussion in the social studies classroom. I interviewed two middle school teachers and made classroom observations over a three month period. These teachers believed discussion was an important process for students to gain critical thinking and citizenship skills. These teachers believed they were conducting discussions but in fact were often conducting what Nystrand et al. (2003) termed recitation, in which students respond to questions and the teacher validates the response. The disconnect between belief and practice may be the result of a combination factors, including a lack of teacher facilitation skills, the timing of the research, and the tensions caused by the state curriculum standards. / Ph. D.

Theory and Research in Social Education (TRSE) is arguably considered the flagship journal of research in social studies education. TRSE has been published on an uninterrupted basis for more than 40 years, dating back to its first publication in October of 1973. Given the longevity of TRSE and its status within the social studies field, the journal has given considerable attention to the cause of citizenship and citizenship education, a cause the social studies field agreeably prides as its governing rationale and source of academic responsibility. According to its mission statement, TRSE serves to "foster the creation and exchange of ideas and research findings that will expand knowledge and understanding of the purpose, conditions, and effects of schooling and education about society and social relations"(NCSS, 2012, para. 1). As such, this dissertation study examines the creation and exchange of ideas concerning citizenship within TRSE over a 40-year period (1973-2013). Utilizing a multiple methods approach (both content and discourse analysis) this study identifies nine citizenship discourse categories emergent from the TRSE anthology that are situated within four Perspectives (Practical, Critical, Connected, and Technical) that locate each discourse category within a larger contextual frame. Additionally, the discursive formations that ultimately bind each discourse category across time are identified along with intertextual chains, interdiscursive attempts, and fields most commonly visited within each discourse category. This study sheds light on a systemic shift concerning the citizenship discourse within TRSE, one that, over time, is increasingly informed by a critical epistemological assumption or stance with regards to what may be considered the status quo of American political and civic life; the implications of which are discussed further. / Ph. D.

This dissertation is a critical ethnographic study of a participatory research project in which a group of eight adults labeled mentally retarded, with the assistance of two nondisabled adults, created and performed a musical theater production called Special. Special was produced as part of a participatory research process in which group members also interviewed friends, advocates of disabled people, and former residents of a local institution for people labeled retarded, in order to find out how ex-residents were treated once they were placed in community living situations. The information from these interviews, as well as accounts from group members' own lives, comprised the content of Special. This study consists of two main parts--an interpretive section (Chapters 5 and 6), including emic and etic interpretations of group members' experiences, and a critical section (Chapter 7), in which an internalized oppression framework is invoked to examine group members' experiences. Three main findings of the study were: (1) that group members expressed a chronic problem orientation; (2) that group members exhibited a justice orientation; and (3) that group members were largely motivated by the drive to visibility, or the need to be seen, understood and accepted for who they really are. Another major finding of the study was that group members' drive to visibility was not only a major motivation for doing the play, but was also a key to understanding much of their behavior--that when they felt visible, they "acted up," or became positive and productive, and that when they felt invisible, they "acted out," or became destructive, and even violent, evidence of internalized oppression in group members. Group members' drive to visibility, coupled with their resistance to an identity of mental impairment, raises two important questions regarding the issue of social identity with people labeled retarded: (1) Are there reasons to believe that people labeled retarded can feel a sense of pride in who they are, both as individuals and as members of a social group? (2) If people labeled retarded cannot feel a sense of pride, what are their prospects of overcoming internalized oppression, and of working with one another as a group with an identity, a purpose, and a right to have power like all other groups?

The purpose of this study was to clarify the meaning college women make from their television viewing experiences. The goals were to: (1) present a meaningful work; (2) contribute to the existing research on women and their subjective experiences with television viewing; (3) help bring women's voices into the center of educational and social science theory and research; (4) inspire other female researchers to examine women's experiences; and (5) encourage self-discovery and empowerment on the part of the participants and readers. Phenomenological in-depth interviewing and a demographic questionnaire were used to collect the data. Twelve female college students attending a state university participated in the study. Six participants were 18-23 years old and six participants were 30-45 years old. This study was motivated by the often negative portrayals of women on television, the lack of women's voices in research, and the need for new research methods in relationship to women's experiences. The data show that the participants were angry that women are negatively portrayed on television. Television viewing was linked to the formation and maintenance of negative attitudes and beliefs, especially those related to gender issues and self esteem. Television viewing was positively linked to social learning in relation to television women who served as role models. Television viewing was positively associated with influencing and shaping expectations and beliefs about the world. Television viewing was linked to adopting a view that reflects the violence found on television and to overeating. The participants were critical of the television media and believed that television media focused on the sensational and negative, did not respect people's privacy, negatively affected legal cases and was too powerful in shaping public opinion. The older participants felt that they could control their viewing by shutting off the television, changing the channel, canceling cable subscriptions and encouraging other viewers to take an active stand against negative images. Television viewing increased learning when the participants identified with the television content. Television viewing displaced reading and study time and was linked to loss of creativity and imagination.

This research supports the on-going national research that has accompanied the development and implementation of the New Zealand Ministry of Education's social studies curriculum exemplars (2004). A social studies exemplar is a sample of authentic student work annotated to illustrate learning, achievement and quality in relation to levels 1- 5 of Social Studies in the New Zealand Curriculum (SSNZC, 1997). The aim of the research was to support teachers to implement the social studies curriculum exemplars in informed ways by encouraging and promoting the use of the social studies exemplars as models of quality social studies teaching. This small scale qualitative research was undertaken by a syndicate of four Years 5/6 teachers and the researcher. The four primary teachers assumed roles of teacher-researchers and worked together collegially with the researcher within a community of practice to co-construct the research process. The research involved incorporating aspects of the exemplars into their social studies programmes during 2006. The community of practice engaged in regular collegial conversations relating to the exemplars. Three of these narratives were taped semi-structured conversations captured in situ. Transcripts of student-teacher conversations were collected, analysed and commented upon to provide some information about student learning outcomes in relation to the exemplars. The notion of reciprocity underpinned this research, since it involved the researcher being willing to contribute to the research in return for the teachers' time and involvement in the study. The support and guidance provided by the researcher was provided as an outcome of her experience in teaching social studies for the School of Education. The research takes into account contemporary ideas about learning and teaching theory, as well as the nature of social studies pedagogy. It examines the implications of sociocultural processes for learning with its emphasis on interaction and collaborative learning iv environments. The research context and the methodology were informed by new understandings about the empowerment of teachers implementing their own professional development and conducting research into their own practice. This research makes a contribution to the field of social studies curriculum and wider professional contexts by informing pre-service teachers' understandings of the intent and use of the New Zealand Ministry of Education's social studies curriculum exemplars. Additionally, it supports in-service social studies professional development, illustrates processes around communities of practice and exemplifies social studies pedagogy.