Episode 33: Who Controls the Social Studies Curriculum?
REFERENCES:
Types of curriculum: https://counseling.education.wm.edu/blog/8-types-of-curriculum
Apple, M. (1986). Teachers and texts. Routledge.
Black, H. (1967). The American schoolbook. William Morrow.
Bowler, M/ (1978). The making of a textbook. Learning, 6(March), 38-42.
Brooks, M. G. (1991). Centralized curriculum: Effects on the local school level, in M. F. Klein (Ed.)., The politics of curriculum decision-making (p. 151-166). State University of New York Press.
Cornbleth, C. and Waugh, D. (1995). The great speckled bird. St. Martin’s Press.
Marker, G. and Mehlinger, H. (1992). Social studies, in P. W. Jackson (Ed.)., Handbook of research on curriculum (p. 830-851). Macmillan.
Mathison, S. (1991). Implementing curricular change through state-mandated testing: Ethical issues. Journal of Curriculum and Supervision, 6, 201-212.
Ross, E. W. (1992). Educational reform, school restructuring and teachers’ work. International Journal of Social Education, 7, 83-92.
Ross, E. W. (1997). The social studies curriculum: Purposes, problems, and possibilities. State University of New York Press.
Schubert, W. H. (1991). Historical perspective on centralizing curriculum, in M. F. Klein (Ed.)., The politics of curriculum decision-making (p. 98-118). State University of New York Press.
INTRO:
In Episode 31 we began our discussion of What is the social studies curriculum? by talking about the definition of social studies and the definition of curriculum. Then in Episode 32, I deviated from that direct question a bit in order to describe and define the different types of curriculum we were talking about. There are 8 different types of curriculum, by the way. All of this information only to get to our next question which is the subject for today’s podcast: Who controls the social studies curriculum?
You may already know the answer, or an answer to this question- Who controls the social studies curriculum? because it’s printed in the textbook you were handed to teach from or on the outside of the curriculum box sitting on your shelf as you’re listening to this podcast. But I firmly believe it’s important to go beyond the printed obvious and dig a bit deeper. Because who knows, maybe we are headed for a radical change in this sector of education in the near future (my humble prediction) and having this information will help anyone involved in education to make the best choices we can about what we teach our students, why we are teaching that topic, and what materials will best serve that purpose.
So, by the end of this episode, I promise you will have a better understanding of who controls the curriculum in social studies that we teach in public schools. And maybe this information will help you determine small steps that you will take in your classroom to ensure the social studies units and lessons you are teaching will be pertinent, purposeful, accurate, and appropriate for your students.
CONTENT:
I made a big deal about producing Episode 32 and talking about the 8 types of curriculum because you can’t talk about who controls the curriculum without first knowing the different types. Curriculum is bigger than just what is printed on the page. It goes beyond standards and goals and encompasses the pedagogical practices that are present in the classroom, school, district, community, and state. Here are the 8 types of curriculum again, just to be clear: (I highly encourage you to listen to Episode 32 when you have 15 minutes.)
The Written Curriculum,
The Taught Curriculum,
The Supported Curriculum,
The Assessed Curriculum,
The Recommended Curriculum,
The Hidden Curriculum,
The Excluded Curriculum,
and The Learned Curriculum
So like the 8 different types of curriculum, there isn’t just one stakeholder involved in controlling the curriculum we teach to students in schools. There are many different stakeholders- some of which we will discuss today. And who controls the curriculum is directly related to the different types of curriculum we have defined and explained. Yup- this part is complicated and not as simple as the single name on the curriculum box on your shelf. It goes deeper… much deeper than that. Let’s unpack this idea of who controls the curriculum, especially in social studies, together.
Within the written curriculum lies the more formal curriculum. This formal curriculum is the curriculum that is written down, based upon standards- like those from the National Council for the Social Studies (1994), state frameworks, and/or goals- all compiled to make what is written into textbooks, teacher manuals, tests. The published stuff that comes in the social studies box on your shelf is the formal curriculum and where we are going to focus our efforts today. This formal curriculum is explicit- it’s official- it’s what is used every time social studies is taught. And it’s tangible. You can see this curriculum, talk about it with your colleagues, and have your students directly learn from it.
The formal social studies curriculum is influenced by four factors:
Legal decisions,
Policy efforts by governments,
Professional organizations and foundations, and
Published materials.
Picture each of these factors in their own concentric circle with “social studies curriculum” at the center. Not many teachers consider each of these factors in their day-to-day lesson plans but maybe this podcast will show why you may want to have one or more of these factors in the back of your mind. These factors may be especially prudent if you are feeling like the formal social studies curriculum that your school has adopted isn’t really working for you or your students and you’re thinking about proposing a change. I believe that if you want to make changes in curricular efforts- whatever they may be and in whatever subject area it may be- you’ll need to put together an action plan for why you want the change. In order to do that, you’ll have to present what is and isn’t working in your classroom, in your grade level, in your school, and be able to link this local information to the four factors we are discussing today. Big impact = big change. These legal, policy, and professional entities are where the impact needs to hit in order to produce change. These four factors are the ultimate drivers on the curriculum road to anywhere.
And now, let’s get to talking about those four factors, shall we?
Legal Decisions
More often than not, we hear about U.S. legal cases in general because of how they impact the majority of individuals in the United States. These cases also often come from larger states; probably because there are many people living in a larger state to begin with. One example of a prominent legal case involving educational practice in social studies comes from Texas. Texas is a pretty large state. In August, 2022, the Texas State Board of Education revised its social studies curriculum, a process the state undertakes every 10 years, and residents including Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht weighed in on proposed draft changes. Hecht wanted to see more civics education for Texas public school students. So discussions of a revised curriculum focused on increasing civics education for all Texas public school students. It should also be noted that this particular curriculum review in Texas followed on the heels of the 2021 passage of Senate Bill 3- another legal decision. Here’s a prime example of how a large state, proposing a big curricular revision for a large population of students, got everyone’s attention.
So you see? Legal decisions about educational and curricular practices happen often; probably more often than we know about mostly because they are localized to our school districts and communities and don’t make national news like this Texas example. Nevertheless, the local legal decisions happening every day in America are equally important to the conversation about social studies curriculum. These legal decisions are also the result of, in part, to the individuals elected and/or appointed by higher-up government officials or individuals. Because change in personnel changes regulations and laws, it is up to us to learn and review fairly often what is happening legally in our area in regards to the social studies curriculum (or any curriculum for that matter). Being in touch with your local school district board can be a great way to stay in touch with what is happening in your area from a legal perspective. So maybe a school board meeting is in your future.
2. Policy Efforts by Governments
Policy efforts regarding social studies education in the United States dates back to 1839 and Henry Barnard’s first annual report as the secretary of the Board of Commissioners of Common Schools in Connecticut (Schubert, 1991). By 1916, the NEA Committee on the Social Studies as well as other related committees, made recommendations about the topics and courses that should be included in social studies curriculum and instruction. It should be noted that in 1916, many students completed only elementary or junior high school so social studies in the form of U.S. History class was only offered in grades 5, 8, and 11 (Marker and Mehlinger, 1992). Many of the social studies topics and their correlating grade levels discussed in the 1916 report should sound familiar. They are:
K- Self, school, community, and home
1st- Families
2nd- Neighbors
3rd- Communities
4th- State history, geographic regions
5th- United States history
6th- World cultures, Western hemisphere
7th- World geography or world history
8th- United States history
9th- Civics or world cultures
10th- World history
11th- United States history
12th- American government
In addition to these topics, or sometimes in lieu of, different states have produced other curricular frameworks based upon mandated standardized tests the students in those states take. For example, middle and high school students in New York state take the Regents Examinations (10 exams) each June. I do realize, however, that at the time of this podcast, the Regents are up for continued debate and are optional based upon your own school/school district. But this is the oldest example of mandated standardized tests influencing curriculum that I know of. Even so, the state of New York has directed much of its curriculum and curricular frameworks taught at each grade level toward these standardized exams. I.e., teaching to the test.
These identified standardized tests layered on top of an already existing curriculum has an impact on the control of knowledge, what knowledge is deemed “worthy,” (Cornbleth and Waugh, 1995; Mathison, 1991; Ross, 1992) and the alignment between frameworks, standardized tests, textbooks, and materials (Brooks, 1991). How could it not? Now the policy regarding the curriculum taught every day is directly related to a student’s score on a standardized exam that often factors into the continued academic success or failure of that student. Any debate about what curriculum a particular school is using and why they are using it (i.e., local control) is definitely a policy issue. And these policy issues fluctuate often as local school board members and others at the local and state level change. So again, be aware of what is happening locally in your area. Staying on top of this may help you impact educational policy directly for the good of your students.
3. Professional Organizations and Foundations
Much of the push, especially in the area of social studies, by professional organizations and foundations to influence the curriculum has come from centralized efforts to transform the formal social studies curriculum through the standards movement. Even before the 2010 CCSS Initiative, many educational organizations and foundations have sought to centralize curriculum by creating matching curricular standards. After the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) in 1989, 1991, and 1995 (there were three sets of standards published) had such a great success promoting mathematical standards, social studies educators followed suit. The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) created social studies standards in 1994 and then followed up these standards with an additional C3 Framework in 2010 which stands for College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards: Guidance for Enhancing the Rigor of K-12 Civics, Economics, Geography, and History. Both the social studies standards and the C3 Framework do an excellent job dictating what social studies instruction should be taught and learned in all public schools in grades K through 12 nationally. If your school or state has not created social studies standards, I highly encourage you to always look nationally. For social studies, your national link is the NCSS- the link is in the show notes. With a national take on curriculum standards, the curriculum movement has attempted to define curricular goals, design assessment tasks based upon these goals, set standards for the content subject matter areas and grade levels, and tested students and reported the results to the public (Ross, 1997). The result- established standards for content as well as student performance levels based upon that content. This is a good thing and we should applaud the efforts of NCSS, NCTM, and other organizations and foundations for their efforts.
4. Published materials
When we think of published materials, we often think about textbooks. In 1979, 90 percent of what students were learning and instructional time in schools was due to what was printed in and the use of the textbook. I’m not certain what this percentage is in 2022, but my guess is that it’s less now than in 1979. This shift is because teachers engage in different methods of teaching now because we know that teaching only using a textbook doesn’t always resonate with all of our students. And our curricular kits come with more in them than just textbooks for that very reason.
Many states, however, still go through a formal adoption of a textbook for a variety of subject areas. And to no surprise, California, Florida, and Texas as the largest states, have the market on adoption influence for the remainder of the country. The textbook industry is highly competitive and is dominated by a small number of corporations. According to Business Insider, almost 80% of the textbook industry is dominated by five publishing companies — Pearson Education, Scholastic, McGraw-Hill Education, Cengage Learning, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. These companies often modify their textbooks to fit the needs of the major states (CA, FL, and TX) so that one or more of these states will adopt their product. A definite product sale and revenue generating win for the textbook company who wins the state bid! As a result of a massive state adoption, the values and politics of the adoption states can also influence national curriculum topics and content (Black, 1967; Bowler, 1978; Conrbleth and Waugh, 1995). Further, influence also comes from the dominant socioeconomic class in these states who make these adoption decisions (Apple, 1986). In short, whether or not you are located in a large state like CA, FL, or TX, read your textbooks carefully! There have been multiple legal cases brought forth regarding inaccurate, offensive, and incomplete views of United States history found in past social studies textbooks. You may even know of some or have been involved in some of these cases. Just because a textbook company has printed social studies content and it has gone through extensive editing and revising processes, we should not assume one record completes an entire story. I learned in statistics class that a study with an N=1 isn’t much of a study. Please don’t delay in reporting textbook information to your school administration if it is indeed incorrect.
So there you have 4 factors that play a part in controlling the social studies curriculum in the United States. Again, they are:
Legal decisions,
Policy efforts by governments,
Professional organizations and foundations, and
Published materials.
Whether you consider yourself a creative teacher or not, or just need a spark to re-energize your classroom atmosphere tomorrow, I hope our discussion today of the 4 factors that influence the Curriculum will help you confidently engage your students and create an atmosphere for high-quality content, instruction, and amazing learning potential to begin.OUTRO:
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Thank you again for joining me, Dr. Paige Hendricks in today's episode of Get Off the Dotted Line! See you next time!
