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Talks by Beth C . Rubin

Barnard College, 2020

In 2018, Lisa, an African American fourth grader at a New Jersey elementary school, was given the... more In 2018, Lisa, an African American fourth grader at a New Jersey elementary school, was given the assignment of placing herself back in the early 1700’s in order to write a first-person “Colonial Character Journal.” This presented her with a conundrum. Should she cast herself back in time as a Black girl, and envision herself in bondage? Or should she cast her Blackness aside, and reimagine herself as a White/European colonial child? Drawing on Troullot’s notion of pastness as position, this talk grapples with the ways that young people encounter, interpret and contest historical narratives produced in contemporary classroom and other educative settings. Considering how historical memory is constructed and experienced in educational practice challenges us to address urgent questions about how to engage students in historical study, particularly in relation to slavery and colonialism, the structural legacies of which continue to shape the lives of contemporary people.

University of Michigan, Teaching Works Speaker Series, 2019

In this working paper, Dr. Beth C. Rubin considers the links between social studies content and o... more In this working paper, Dr. Beth C. Rubin considers the links between social studies content and oppression. Drawing on examples from social studies classrooms and other educational settings, the paper highlights the ways that school-based and educative framings of United States history center whiteness and otherize Native Peoples, African Americans and other groups that are marginalized within the national story. Such approaches perpetuate a “white social studies” (Chandler and Branscombe, 2015) that protects white dominant narratives and sidesteps discussion of institutionalized racism. The paper explores alternate ways to structure content in the social studies, approaches that connect the past to the present and open up the liberatory potential of social studies content. Finally, the paper offers an example of how, through youth-directed research, students themselves can take part in the re-creation of content, an approach that can educate us all about perspectives and experiences that are often overlooked in traditional approaches to social studies.

Papers by Beth C . Rubin

Teachers College Record, 2024

Background: Over the past several decades, understandings of civic knowledge and engagement have ... more Background: Over the past several decades, understandings of civic knowledge and engagement have been enlarged in productive ways; the field has been transformed by contributions rooted in and showcasing critical, cultural, transnational, activist, and participatory approaches to the civic. Civic action research fits neatly amid these new articulations of the civic; multiple studies attest to its potential for creating civic learning experiences that build on young people's strengths and provide space for critical analysis and informed action. In this social design project, civic action research investigations conducted by youth in communities impacted by structural inequality catalyzed densely interwoven, affectively infused networks of cross-district interaction and action: critical ecologies of civic learning. Focus of Study: This article retheorizes civic learning in light of findings from a research initiative rooted in the question: "How might civic inquiry be used to create school district practices that nurture and integrate the civic voice of youth?" Research Design: In this 18-month-long social design collaboration between a university-based research team and two public school districts in the northeastern United States, youth in five participating schools-two high schools and three middle schools-carried out civic inquiry projects under the guidance of experienced social studies teachers. In these projects, young people examined their communities, selected issues to investigate, designed and carried out research, analyzed data, communicated findings, and took action. Data collected by the adult researchers included observations of club sessions, focus groups with students, interviews with adult stakeholders, and observations of "civic voice events" involving both youth and

AERA Online Paper Repository, Apr 10, 2016

Comprend des réf. bibliogr. (p. [141]-146) et un index

Comprend des réf. bibliogr. (p. [141]-146) et un index

Proceedings of the 2022 AERA Annual Meeting

Proceedings of the 2022 AERA Annual Meeting

Mary Hepburn Lecture, University of Georgia and the Georgia Council for the Social Studies

Design Research in Social Studies Education, 2019

Social Studies in the New Education Policy Era, 2018

Two recent reports from the Fordham Institute address the question of the impact of state account... more Two recent reports from the Fordham Institute address the question of the impact of state accountability systems on “high achievers,” referred to in the reports as “students who have already crossed the proficiency threshold.” Both reports argue that this group is being neglected educationally, and they advocate for accountability systems to be redesigned to attend to the needs of high-achieving students. Both reports also recommend that states use a “performance index,” as opposed to proficiency rates, to measure school achievement. This review, however, concludes that: 1) the reports’ central assumptions about high-achieving students are problematic; 2) growth measures are not an effective means for directing attention to high-achieving students; 3) narrow, high-stakes forms of assessment may negatively impact the education provided to these students; and, 4) further stratifying educational settings and reallocating resources toward “high-achieving” students has troublesome implic...

Barnard College, 2020

In 2018, Lisa, an African American fourth grader at a New Jersey elementary school, was given the... more In 2018, Lisa, an African American fourth grader at a New Jersey elementary school, was given the assignment of placing herself back in the early 1700’s in order to write a first-person “Colonial Character Journal.” This presented her with a conundrum. Should she cast herself back in time as a Black girl, and envision herself in bondage? Or should she cast her Blackness aside, and reimagine herself as a White/European colonial child? Drawing on Troullot’s notion of pastness as position, this talk grapples with the ways that young people encounter, interpret and contest historical narratives produced in contemporary classroom and other educative settings. Considering how historical memory is constructed and experienced in educational practice challenges us to address urgent questions about how to engage students in historical study, particularly in relation to slavery and colonialism, the structural legacies of which continue to shape the lives of contemporary people.

University of Michigan, Teaching Works Speaker Series, 2019

In this working paper, Dr. Beth C. Rubin considers the links between social studies content and o... more In this working paper, Dr. Beth C. Rubin considers the links between social studies content and oppression. Drawing on examples from social studies classrooms and other educational settings, the paper highlights the ways that school-based and educative framings of United States history center whiteness and otherize Native Peoples, African Americans and other groups that are marginalized within the national story. Such approaches perpetuate a “white social studies” (Chandler and Branscombe, 2015) that protects white dominant narratives and sidesteps discussion of institutionalized racism. The paper explores alternate ways to structure content in the social studies, approaches that connect the past to the present and open up the liberatory potential of social studies content. Finally, the paper offers an example of how, through youth-directed research, students themselves can take part in the re-creation of content, an approach that can educate us all about perspectives and experiences that are often overlooked in traditional approaches to social studies.

Teachers College Record, 2024

Background: Over the past several decades, understandings of civic knowledge and engagement have ... more Background: Over the past several decades, understandings of civic knowledge and engagement have been enlarged in productive ways; the field has been transformed by contributions rooted in and showcasing critical, cultural, transnational, activist, and participatory approaches to the civic. Civic action research fits neatly amid these new articulations of the civic; multiple studies attest to its potential for creating civic learning experiences that build on young people's strengths and provide space for critical analysis and informed action. In this social design project, civic action research investigations conducted by youth in communities impacted by structural inequality catalyzed densely interwoven, affectively infused networks of cross-district interaction and action: critical ecologies of civic learning. Focus of Study: This article retheorizes civic learning in light of findings from a research initiative rooted in the question: "How might civic inquiry be used to create school district practices that nurture and integrate the civic voice of youth?" Research Design: In this 18-month-long social design collaboration between a university-based research team and two public school districts in the northeastern United States, youth in five participating schools-two high schools and three middle schools-carried out civic inquiry projects under the guidance of experienced social studies teachers. In these projects, young people examined their communities, selected issues to investigate, designed and carried out research, analyzed data, communicated findings, and took action. Data collected by the adult researchers included observations of club sessions, focus groups with students, interviews with adult stakeholders, and observations of "civic voice events" involving both youth and

AERA Online Paper Repository, Apr 10, 2016

Comprend des réf. bibliogr. (p. [141]-146) et un index

Comprend des réf. bibliogr. (p. [141]-146) et un index

Proceedings of the 2022 AERA Annual Meeting

Proceedings of the 2022 AERA Annual Meeting

Mary Hepburn Lecture, University of Georgia and the Georgia Council for the Social Studies

Design Research in Social Studies Education, 2019

Social Studies in the New Education Policy Era, 2018

Two recent reports from the Fordham Institute address the question of the impact of state account... more Two recent reports from the Fordham Institute address the question of the impact of state accountability systems on “high achievers,” referred to in the reports as “students who have already crossed the proficiency threshold.” Both reports argue that this group is being neglected educationally, and they advocate for accountability systems to be redesigned to attend to the needs of high-achieving students. Both reports also recommend that states use a “performance index,” as opposed to proficiency rates, to measure school achievement. This review, however, concludes that: 1) the reports’ central assumptions about high-achieving students are problematic; 2) growth measures are not an effective means for directing attention to high-achieving students; 3) narrow, high-stakes forms of assessment may negatively impact the education provided to these students; and, 4) further stratifying educational settings and reallocating resources toward “high-achieving” students has troublesome implic...

Journal of International Social Studies, 2016

Design Research in Social Studies Education, 2019

Motivated by the addition of a curriculum standard for active citizenship into New Jersey's socia... more Motivated by the addition of a curriculum standard for active citizenship into New Jersey's social studies standards a group of educators and researchers set out to integrate an action research curriculum, based on a youth participatory action research (YPAR) model, into social studies classrooms. Adapting YPAR, with its promising blend of critical thinking, civic engagement, and democratization, for use as in the classroom is appealing to those seeking to use education as a means of social change. But activism does not always translate neatly to the classroom; melding multiple purposes into one approach, particularly amidst the current push for standardization and accountability measures, is complex. This analysis considers three challenges to navigate when reshaping YPAR into a curriculum for classroom use - preserving authenticity, conflicting aims, and tensions around authority. Drawing upon qualitative data from the social studies classrooms of two public high schools, this article engages directly with the difficulties inherent in adapting a methodology premised on action, authenticity, and youth empowerment to the adult driven, extrinsically oriented, skills and content-focused world of the classroom. Understanding this shift, and the epistemological tensions underlying it, is essential for those wishing to integrate action research with youth into social studies classrooms.

Instituto Internacional de Aprendizaje para la Reconciliación Social, IIARS Uploaded on Mar 27, 2... more Instituto Internacional de Aprendizaje para la Reconciliación Social, IIARS
Uploaded on Mar 27, 2017

En Guatemala se empieza a abordar sobre nuevas estrategias de la formación ciudadana, expertos y expertas discuten sobre la formación ciudadana del siglo XXI

Una taller para docentes de ciencias sociales que enfoque en métodos activos, especialmente como ... more Una taller para docentes de ciencias sociales que enfoque en métodos activos, especialmente como manejar discusiones de temas controversiales y utilizar investigación acción participativa en las aulas.

Mary Hepburn Lecture, University of Georgia and the Georgia Council for the Social Studies

In this paper I describe design-based research, it's use in social studies and civic education, a... more In this paper I describe design-based research, it's use in social studies and civic education, and findings from Making Citizens, a design-based project aimed at transforming civic learning in diverse social studies classrooms.

Education in the United States is decentralized, with most decisions about curriculum and instruc... more Education in the United States is decentralized, with most decisions about curriculum and instruction made at state and local levels. School-based citizenship education is no exception. States determine their own curricular standards and districts write their own curricula. National professional organizations author and disseminate discipline-based standards that are frequently taken into account by curriculum designers. The state of New Jersey exemplifies this phenomenon, with curriculum standards for social studies interpreted independently by the state's over 600 school districts. This report describes three distinct approaches to citizenship education that all meet state and professional standards' goals of creating of globally aware, socially responsible, informed, active citizens who respect diversity. The disciplinary, integrated and small learning community approaches to citizenship education depicted in this report provide vibrant examples of what is possible, and present a challenge to a nation in which citizenship education is often substandard or lacking entirely. Citizenship Education in the United States: A Case Study of Three Approaches within a Decentralized System

Design Research in Social Studies Education: Critical Lessons from an Emerging Field, 2019

In the past decade, researchers in the learning sciences have begun to grapple with the social, c... more In the past decade, researchers in the learning sciences have begun to grapple with the social, cultural, historical, and political dimensions of design research. The trans-formational aims of DBR, intended as they are to contribute to significant change in educational practice, call out for a grounding in the concerns of critical theory (i.e., Freire, Gramsci) so as not to replicate the inequalities that have marked educational settings. In her 2011 AERA Presidential address, Kris Gutiérrez proclaimed: in light of the demographic imperative and growing of inequity, we simply cannot continue to rely on efficiency and market-driven models for education that are certain to bankrupt the future of our nation's youth. We need models for educational intervention that are consequential-new systems that demand radical shifts in our views of learning and in our perceptions of youth from non-dominant communities so that they can become agents of newly imagined futures. (2016, p. 187) This critical epistemological approach to design-based research foregrounds the transformative possibilities of education, seeking to put young people and their communities on equal footing with practitioners, scholars, and researchers "as knowledge producers and change agents for social justice" (Caraballo, Lozenski, Lyiscott, & Morrell, 2017, p. 312). A critical epistemology, in relation to design research, challenges traditional understandings of who holds and generates knowledge and centers the experiences and ideas of youth and adults from historically marginalized communities. A variety of new terms have been used to describe such approaches: social design experimentation, participatory design research, critical design ethnography, and