Hierarchical discourse in elementary social studies: a teacher's view of decision-making.
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| Title: | Hierarchical discourse in elementary social studies: a teacher's view of decision-making. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Huck, Adam1 |
| Source: | Social Studies Research & Practice (Emerald Publishing). 2020, Vol. 15 Issue 2, p195-210. 16p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Social sciences education, *Language arts, *Teachers, *Discourse analysis, *Time management |
| Abstract: | Purpose - As school districts continue to devalue social studies through a narrowed focus on English language arts (ELA) and mathematics, this study investigated elements of curricular control in a district lacking a formal, purchased curricular program in the elementary grades. Without prescribed and scripted lessons, it was hypothesized that teacher autonomy would allow greater opportunities to investigate social studies concepts and skills. Design/methodology/approach - Without prescribed and scripted lessons, it was hypothesized that teacher autonomy would allow greater opportunities to investigate social studies concepts and skills. Bernstein's theory of pedagogic discourse guided this study's analysis of power and control. This manuscript describes a micro-level discourse analysis that applies Gee's tools on interview data from two teachers. Findings - Findings demonstrate some opportunities for teacher autonomy, but hierarchical control from administration persists and influences teacher decision-making. As researchers continue to argue for the increased presence of elementary social studies, this study demonstrates that the lack of a formal scripted curricular program presents opportunities for teachers, but administrative control endures and hinders teacher autonomy and instructional decision-making. Research limitations/implications - The data size and number of participants in this study may present limitations that impact generalizability. However, the focus for this study was to gain a deeper understanding of the messaging from two teachers. Comparability and translatability were identified as factors for research design to establish legitimacy (LeCompte and Preissle, 1993). Practical implications - When considering implications from this study, two elements are considered. First, the continued devaluation of social studies persists, despite the implementation of Common Core standards. As a result, other measures must be investigated and implemented to ensure the subject is elevated to a more prominent position representative of its importance to a democracy. To accomplish this goal, teacher input and autonomy must also be respected to ensure a quality curriculum is utilized in the classroom. While teachers may exert control, albeit limited, in their instructional decision-making, many others are reliant on purchased programs that do not allow even this narrow classroom influence. Originality/value - In this study, teachers' language use demonstrated external administrative control as well as autonomous decision-making. Their assigned schedule privilegedELA and math through the allocation of time. Moreover, administrators stated that social studies is not a priority, a sentiment counter to participants' values. Therefore, while they recognized the inherent benefit of the subject to their students, hierarchical power controlled the classification and framing of instruction. A weakened classification and framing structure must be sought to allow more opportunities for purposeful integration of content through messaging systems that are more responsive to students' needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Social Studies Research & Practice (Emerald Publishing) is the property of Emerald Publishing Limited and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
|---|---|
| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 145665197 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Hierarchical discourse in elementary social studies: a teacher's view of decision-making. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Huck%2C+Adam%22">Huck, Adam</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Social+Studies+Research+%26+Practice+%28Emerald+Publishing%29%22">Social Studies Research & Practice (Emerald Publishing)</searchLink>. 2020, Vol. 15 Issue 2, p195-210. 16p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+sciences+education%22">Social sciences education</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+arts%22">Language arts</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teachers%22">Teachers</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Discourse+analysis%22">Discourse analysis</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Time+management%22">Time management</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Purpose - As school districts continue to devalue social studies through a narrowed focus on English language arts (ELA) and mathematics, this study investigated elements of curricular control in a district lacking a formal, purchased curricular program in the elementary grades. Without prescribed and scripted lessons, it was hypothesized that teacher autonomy would allow greater opportunities to investigate social studies concepts and skills. Design/methodology/approach - Without prescribed and scripted lessons, it was hypothesized that teacher autonomy would allow greater opportunities to investigate social studies concepts and skills. Bernstein's theory of pedagogic discourse guided this study's analysis of power and control. This manuscript describes a micro-level discourse analysis that applies Gee's tools on interview data from two teachers. Findings - Findings demonstrate some opportunities for teacher autonomy, but hierarchical control from administration persists and influences teacher decision-making. As researchers continue to argue for the increased presence of elementary social studies, this study demonstrates that the lack of a formal scripted curricular program presents opportunities for teachers, but administrative control endures and hinders teacher autonomy and instructional decision-making. Research limitations/implications - The data size and number of participants in this study may present limitations that impact generalizability. However, the focus for this study was to gain a deeper understanding of the messaging from two teachers. Comparability and translatability were identified as factors for research design to establish legitimacy (LeCompte and Preissle, 1993). Practical implications - When considering implications from this study, two elements are considered. First, the continued devaluation of social studies persists, despite the implementation of Common Core standards. As a result, other measures must be investigated and implemented to ensure the subject is elevated to a more prominent position representative of its importance to a democracy. To accomplish this goal, teacher input and autonomy must also be respected to ensure a quality curriculum is utilized in the classroom. While teachers may exert control, albeit limited, in their instructional decision-making, many others are reliant on purchased programs that do not allow even this narrow classroom influence. Originality/value - In this study, teachers' language use demonstrated external administrative control as well as autonomous decision-making. Their assigned schedule privilegedELA and math through the allocation of time. Moreover, administrators stated that social studies is not a priority, a sentiment counter to participants' values. Therefore, while they recognized the inherent benefit of the subject to their students, hierarchical power controlled the classification and framing of instruction. A weakened classification and framing structure must be sought to allow more opportunities for purposeful integration of content through messaging systems that are more responsive to students' needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Social Studies Research & Practice (Emerald Publishing) is the property of Emerald Publishing Limited and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1108/SSRP-01-2020-0004 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 16 StartPage: 195 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Social sciences education Type: general – SubjectFull: Language arts Type: general – SubjectFull: Teachers Type: general – SubjectFull: Discourse analysis Type: general – SubjectFull: Time management Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Hierarchical discourse in elementary social studies: a teacher's view of decision-making. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Huck, Adam IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 05 Text: 2020 Type: published Y: 2020 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 19335415 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 15 – Type: issue Value: 2 Titles: – TitleFull: Social Studies Research & Practice (Emerald Publishing) Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
