Teachers Willingness to Teach Current Events

Over the last century, there has been a debate over what the goal of social studies as a core subject should be. Scholars and academics have struggled to define the elusive term social studies; the debate has ranged from whether the social studies should include the disciplines of history, geography, or other social sciences, what the curriculum of the social studies should be, and what pedagogical practices should be implemented in the subject (Evans 2004, Ross 2006). Another hotly debated topic is what the goal of social studies should be in relation to society. Is the goal of social studies to create civic-minded citizens or citizens who can think historically? Should social studies strive to create a shared culture of values and traditions, or accentuate the differences between people living in our society, and highlight how that diversity creates the possibility of change in it? Should the goal of social studies be to create a more efficient society or a conscious society that critically examines the flaws within our nation while striving for social equality? While it seems as if there is no limit to this debate, my focus builds on the idea that social studies strives to do all of the above. However, in order to critically examine the society in which one lives, students will need to be exposed to more than historically rich content and the makeup and functions of government (Journell 2010, Middaugh 2006).

I intend to explore whether connections are being made between a particular school’s curriculum and current events, and whether opportunities within the curriculum to make connections between the past and the present are being taken advantage of. I will do this by focusing my attention on teachers’ goals, and whether teach...

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...rch (Yilmaz 2009). Over the coming weeks, I hope to gain new insight into research methods that will best suit my inquiry.

As I have outlined the consequences of not engaging students to grapple with contemporary issues, it is my goal to understand more about whether there is a disconnect between intent and action, and why that disconnect exists. Students who are not encouraged to think about contemporary and controversial issues are less likely to say they will vote when they turn eighteen, and less likely to sign petitions or get civically involved in some other aspect within their community (Hess 2002). This research paper does not set out to provide remedies for implementing more current events into the social studies curriculum, it is simply a guide to understanding the pedagogical goals of teachers and whether current events issues are one of those goals.