The middle social studies curriculum as a site of struggle for social justice in education

Abstract

Given that teachers face a daily reality constrained by standardized tests, accountability measures, curriculum mandates, and neoliberal policies, this chapter examines the role of curriculum, specifically middle school social studies curriculum, as part of the larger struggle, a contested site, for social justice in education. This chapter is based on three related assumptions located across the academic literature relevant to the topic: (1) Questions about curriculum are questions about knowledge and power. Students and society benefit from critiquing so-called “rational,” “common-sense,” and “value-free” curricular decisions; (2) middle school students not only can recognize and name injustice but can also reflect on the deep institutional, structural, and sociocultural rationale behind endemic inequality; and (3) the notion of curriculum as a space, a material, and relational site of action presents a fruitful path forward in resisting conventional assumptions about what should be taught. The organization of the chapter is as follows. First, the author presents current academic literature that expands upon the three assumptions mentioned, specifically links between curriculum, power, and social justice in middle grades social studies education, and the potential of conceptualizing curriculum as a contested space. The author builds on the outlined assumptions by presenting established models specific to teaching for social justice in the social studies. The chapter continues with a brief introduction to five broader pedagogical and curriculum frameworks that are neither social studies nor middle school specific but are commonly used by educators to support, complement, or conceptualize a middle school, social justice, and social studies curriculum. Finally, a conclusion outlines future opportunities and challenges for the middle grades social studies curriculum as a site of struggle for social justice in education.