676: Literacy in Social Sciences

Schools are vital to civic engagement.  I believe my equity and access section spearheads the pedagogical stance on how exactly this would be implemented, but there are multiple ways that schools foster civic education. The first approach focuses on what it means to actually become a citizen, the second will focus on the idea of how.

Ogle, Klemp, Mcbridge (2007) emphasize that schools are communities. They are the only institutions with ability to mandate almost every young person in the United States. They are also the institution that is best suited for addressing what good citizenship looks like. This is the foundations for why public schools started. This is a space where young people learn how to formulate argument on issues that face society. This form of literacy, rooted in citizenship, will be a life skill that is necessary for students to  participate in the civil discourse. 

It is the obligation of Social Science instructors to teach our students how to participate in the republic that is America. This is civic literacy, and it supersedes all other forms of literacy in the discipline.

Moving forward, there is also a method to creating the path towards citizenship. The unique aspect of Social Science can be found in the name. It is a science. Zygouris-Coe (2015) eloquently states that (historians) "are involved in an ongoing scientific process of collecting, interpreting facts and evidence from multiple sources." This means that Social Science instructors need a STEM background to properly convey information so that is accessible for all learners.

I echo these sentiments. Social science is about building literacy skills and fostering students to engage in the scientific method. There are many avenues to develop a course that includes field or line research that foster implementing the scientific method while discovering what it means to be a citizen.

References:

Ogle, D. Klemp, R. McBride, B. (2007). Building Literacy In Social Studies. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Zygouris-Coe, V.  (2015). Teaching Discipline-Specific Literacies in Grades 6-12.