What Happened to Social Studies?: The Disappearing Curriculum

In the face of pressures to focus on literacy and mathematics, schools and textbook publishers are attempting to "integrate" social studies into the teaching of reading. Beyond ensuring a superficial treatment of the subject matter, this practice threatens the continuing development of reflective, engaged citizens, Ms. McGuire fears. ********** IN THE SPRING I have a chance to visit a number of schools. When I do this, I find it interesting to check out the bulletin boards in classrooms and hallways. What I have noticed on recent visits is consistent with a trend that has been cited across the nation: schools with high levels of poverty focus on literacy and mathematics to the exclusion of social studies, while schools with children of middle- and upper-class families offer a much broader range of subjects, including social studies. (1) No one would argue against the importance of developing the literacy and mathematics skills of children in poverty. But at what cost? A society that depends on a well-informed citizenry that understands how democracy functions and knows something of the world beyond its own borders cannot afford to overlook the social studies. A report from the Carnegie Corporation, The Civic Mission of Schools, outlines specific goals for civic education: to develop competent and responsible citizens who are informed and thoughtful, participate in their communities, act politically, and have moral and civic virtues and a belief in their capacity to make a difference. (2) Such education becomes even more important for children in poverty if they are to participate in and embrace the ideals of American democracy. Moreover, as the report argues, teaching civic education can't wait until high school: "Research suggests that students start to develop social responsibility and interest in politics before the age of nine. The way they are taught about social issues, ethics, and institutions in elementary school matters a great deal for their civic development" (p. 12). The goals of civic and social studies education do not need to be set aside in order to achieve the goals of education in literacy and mathematics. Indeed, these goals should work together because the social studies can provide a purpose for developing and applying literacy and mathematics skills. WHY IS SOCIAL STUDIES DISAPPEARING? The diminished attention to social studies education began with the standards and testing movement. As the national push for accountability became ever stronger, states focused first on standards in literacy and mathematics. The comprehensive mathematics standards introduced in 1991 set the bar for the development of standards across the nation. As the standards and testing movement gained momentum, literacy and mathematics garnered the attention and energy of educators, pushing the other subjects to the back burner. Fifteen years later, these subjects are still on that back burner, and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has exacerbated the situation by placing even greater pressure on schools to raise students' standardized test scores in literacy and mathematics. This has been particularly problematic for social studies, in which the world, past and present, serves as the basis for the curriculum--a curriculum that has traditionally dealt with the problem of "too much to teach." Initially, history was a focus of the national standards. But civics, geography, and economics are also important, and the scholarship in all of these areas has meant an abundance of learning expectations that can overwhelm teachers and publishers alike. It is dicey business to decide what is worth teaching when depth of understanding, rather than simply covering material, is the goal. Social studies educators have been unable to pare down the curriculum, and special interest groups of all stripes have something to say about what is most important. The issue is very political; witness the debate on the history standards in Congress in the mid-1990s that led to revisions to the standards. …