Skip to main content

Challenging Neoliberal Perspectives: A Framework for Humanizing Social Studies Teacher Education

  • Chapter
Rethinking Social Studies Teacher Education in the Twenty-First Century

Abstract

Philosophically and operationally U.S. education institutions have shifted in focus from a democratically pluralist Transformational Based System to a neoliberal Information Based System of education. Influenced by Paulo Freire’s conception of humanizing education, this chapter offers a challenge to neoliberal education by operationalizing a framework for humanizing social studies education. The framework is comprised of four elements grounded in both theory and practice: (1) Fostering a dialogic relationship; (2) Focusing on student experience; (3) Facilitate a critique of official knowledge; and, (4) Framing critical questions and introducing subjugated knowledge. We also provide examples of how this framework might be actualized in a social studies teacher education program and subsequently in social studies classrooms. This chapter provides both a theoretical and practical approach for engaging in transformational based and humanizing social studies pedagogy.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Adler, S. (2008). The education of social studies teachers. In L. Levstick & C. A. Tyson (Eds.), Handbook of research in social studies education. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Adler, S., & Confer, B. (1998). A practical inquiry: Influencing preservice teachers’ beliefs toward diversity and democracy. Paper presented at the annual conference of the National Council for the Social Studies. Anaheim, CA

    Google Scholar 

  • Apple, M. (2000). Official knowledge: Democratic education in a conservative age (Vol. 2). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baltodano, M. (2012). Neoliberalism and the demise of public education: The corporatization of schools of education. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 25(4), 487–507.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bartolome, L. (1994). Beyond the methods fetish: Toward a humanizing pedagogy. Harvard Educational Review, 64(2), 173–194.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blevins, B., & Salinas, C. (2012). Critical notions of historical inquiry: An examination of teacher enactment in history classrooms. The Social Educator, 30(2), 13–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Britzman, D. (2003). Practice makes practice. New York: State University of New York Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carroll, T. G. (2005). Induction of teachers into 21st century learning communities: Creating the next generation of educational practice. The New Educator, 1(3), 199–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cranton, P. (1996). Professional development as transformative learning: New perspectives for teachers of adults. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crocco, M., & Constigan, A. (2007). The narrowing of curriculum and pedagogy in the age of accountability: Urban educators speak out. Urban Education, 42(6), 512–535.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dewey, J. (1897). My pedagogic creed. Retrieved December 2, 2014, from http://infed.org/mobi/john-dewey-my-pedagogical-creed/

  • Dinkelman, T. (2009). Reflection and resistance: Challenges of rationale-based teacher education. Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education, 2(1), 6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freire, P. (1998). Pedagogy of freedom: Ethics, democracy, and civic courage. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaudelli, W. (2010). Developing a pedagogic creed through critical social reflection. In E. Heilman, R. Fruja Amthor, & M. Missias (Eds.), Social studies and diversity education: What we do and why we do it (pp. 15–18). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gay, G., & Kirkland, K. (2003). Developing cultural critical consciousness and self-reflection in preservice teacher education. Theory Into Practice, 42(3), 181–187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giroux, H. A. (1988). Teachers as intellectuals: Toward a critical pedagogy of learning. Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giroux, H. A. (2003). Critical theory and educational practice. In A. Darder, M. Baltodano, & R. Torres (Eds.), The critical pedgagogy reader (pp. 27–56). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grant, S. G. (2003). History lessons. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greene, M. (1982). Public education and the public space. Educational Researcher, 11(6), 4–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harvey, D. (2005). A brief history of neoliberalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hawley, T. S. (2012). Purpose as content and pedagogy: Rationale-development as a core theme of social studies teacher education. Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education, 4(3), 1–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Howard, T. C. (2003). Culturally relevant pedagogy: Ingredients for critical teacher reflection. Theory Into Practice, 42(3), 195–202.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ingersoll, R. (2001). Teacher turnover and teacher shortages: An organizational analysis. American Educational Research Journal, 38(3), 499–534.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kincheloe, J., & Steinberg, S. (1997). Changing multiculturalism. Philadelphia: Open University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kopkowski, C. (2014, April). Why they leave. NEA Today. Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/home/12630.htm

  • Levstik, L., & Barton, K. (2001). Committing acts of history: Mediated action, humanistic education, and participatory democracy. In B. Stanley (Ed.), Social studies research for the 21st century. Greenwich: Information Age Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loewen, J. W. (2010). Teaching what really happened : How to avoid the tyranny of textbooks and get students excited about doing history. New York: Teachers College Press, Columbia University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lortie, D. C. (1975). Schoolteacher: A sociological study. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martinez, E. & Garcia, A (2000, February 26). What is neo-liberalism? A brief definition. Retrieved from http://www.globalexchange.org/resources/econ101/neoliberalismdefined

  • McCarthy, C. (1993). After the canon: Knowledge and ideological representation in the multicultural discourse on curriculum reform. In C. McCarthy & W. Crichlow (Eds.), Race, identity, and representation in education (pp. 289–305). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • McLaren, P. (2003). Life in schools: An introduction to critical pedagogy in the foundations of education (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS). (1992). A vision of powerful teaching and learning in the social studies: Building social understanding and civic efficacy. Washington, D.C.: NCSS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nieto, S. (1995). From brown heroes and holidays to assimiliationist agendas: Reconsidering the critiques of multicultural education. In C. E. Sleeter & P. McLaren (Eds.), Multicultural education, critical pedagoy, and the politics of difference (pp. 191–220). New York: State.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nussbam, M. C. (2010). Not for profit: Why democracy needs the humanities. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olsen, B., & Sexton, D. (2008). Threat rigidity, school reform, and how teachers view their work inside current education policy contexts. American Educational Research Journal, 46(1), 9–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Price, J. N., & Osborne, M. D. (2000). Challenges of forging a humanizing pedagogy in teacher education. Curriculum and Teaching, 15(1), 27–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ravitch, D. (2003). A brief history of the social studies. In J. Leming, L. Ellington, & K. Porter-Magee (Eds.), Where did the social studies go wrong (pp. 1–5). Washington, D.C.: The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ross, E. W. (2006). The social studies curriculum: Purposes, problems, and possibilities. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ross, E. W., & Gibson, R. (2007). Neoliberalism and education reform. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salinas, C., & Blevins, B. (2013). Examining the intellectual biographies of pre-service teachers: Elements of “critical” teacher knowledge. Teaching Education Quarterly, 40(1), 7–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salinas, C., & Blevins, B. (2014). Critical historical inquiry: How might pre-service teachers confront master historical narratives? Social Studies Research and Practice, 9(3), 35–50.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salinas, C., Blevins, B., & Sullivan, C. (2012). Critical notions of historical thinking: When official narratives collide with other narratives. Multicultural Perspectives, 14(10), 1–10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Segall, A. (2002). Disturbing practice: Reading teacher education as text. New York: Peter Lang.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shulman, L. (1986). Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Researcher, 15(2), 4–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sleeter, C. (2008). Equity, democracy, and neoliberal assaults on teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24, 1947–1957.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, T. M., & Ingersoll, R. M. (2004). What are the effects of induction and mentoring on beginning teacher turnover? American Educational Research Journal, 41(3), 681–714.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stanley, W. B., & Longwell, H. (2004). Ideology, power, and control in social studies teacher education. In S. A. Adler (Ed.), Critical issues in social studies teacher education (pp. 189–229). Greenwich, CT: Information Age.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stanley, W. B., & Nelson, J. L. (1994). The foundations of social education in historical context. In R. Martusewicz & W. Reynolds (Eds.), Inside/out: Contemporary critical perspectives in education (pp. 266–284). New York: St Martins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Valli, L. (1997). Listening to other voices: A description of teacher reflection in the United States. Peabody Journal of Education, 72(1), 67–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Brooke Blevins .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Blevins, B., Talbert, T.L. (2016). Challenging Neoliberal Perspectives: A Framework for Humanizing Social Studies Teacher Education. In: Crowe, A., Cuenca, A. (eds) Rethinking Social Studies Teacher Education in the Twenty-First Century. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22939-3_2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22939-3_2

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-22938-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-22939-3

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics