Brother, Can You Paradigm? Toward a Theory of Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Social Studies (original) (raw)
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An appraisal of Social Studies Teachers Perceptions of Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge
Universal Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities
The study objective was to assess the perceptions of Junior High School (JHS) Social Studies teachers in the Yilo Krobo Municipality of the Eastern Region of Ghana on teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK). The study adopted Shulman's theory of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) as its theoretical framework. The philosophical approach upon which the study is hinged on is the ideology of interpretivism and positivism, in other words, pragmatism. The study used a mixed methodological approach as well as a descriptive survey design. A random sampling technique was used for the study. The study participants were JHS social studies teachers in Yilo-Krobo Municipality, Ghana. Eighty (80) out of the one hundred and two (102) representing 78.43% JHS Social Studies teachers were selected from the fifty-four JHSs in the Municipality. Both Questionnaire and interview guide were used for data collection. The survey data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and the interview data was analyzed using content analysis. The study indicated that at the heart of the PCK concept is the idea that 'deep knowledge' of content is essential for effective teaching and cannot be taken for granted; that it has a significant bearing on teaching and student learning, and that it is used as a cadre to define professional teaching knowledge. PCK also provides the uniquely necessary knowledge for the transformation of the different types of knowledge required for Social Studies teaching and evolves over time due to the progressive awareness of students' needs, while a wealth of content knowledge is imperative for the development of a comprehensive pedagogical content knowledge. The paper recommends that the Ghana Education Service (GES) should conduct regular in-service training for teachers on the enhancement of their PCK, to enable them select appropriate TLMs and pedagogical approaches that foster meaningful learning for students.
Theory and Research in Social Education, 2020
There is growing momentum in teacher education to organize the preparation of teachers around “core practices.” Advocates call for identifying discipline-oriented, research-based teaching moves asso- ciated with student learning and then shifting teacher education pedagogies and programs toward preparing beginning teachers to implement these moves in classroom and school settings. This study examines core practices as a recent reform impulse in teacher educa- tion practice. The authors explore a growing literature on core prac- tices to generate both conceptual and practice-based responses with special attention to social studies teacher education. By leveraging two vignettes of “on-the-ground” social studies teacher education, the authors discuss questions and issues about taking core practices into the murky, diverse, and complex practice spaces of social studies teacher education and extend the conversation about what this set of reform ideas might mean for social studies education.
Teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge of two specific historical contexts captured and compared
Educational Studies
PCK is seen as the transformation of content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge into a different type of knowledge that is used to develop and carry out teaching strategies. To gain more insight into the extent to which PCK is content specific, the PCK about more topics or concepts should be compared. However, researchers have rarely compared teachers' concrete PCK about more than one topic. To examine the content dependency of PCK, we captured the PCK of sixteen experienced Dutch history teachers about two historical contexts (i.e. topics) using interviews and Content Representation questionnaires. Analysis reveals that all history teachers' PCK about the two contexts overlaps, although the degree of overlap differs. Teachers with relatively more overlap are driven by their overarching subject related goals and less by the historical context they teach. We discuss the significance of these outcomes for the role of teaching orientation as a part of PCK.
The Social Studies, 2010
This article takes up the question of world history teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge by reporting on two separate but related projects. In the first, we briefly discuss an empirical investigation one of the authors conducted into the ways that pre- and in-service world history teachers think about, organize, and make meaning of separate and discrete world historical events, first for themselves and then for their students. It demonstrates the value of world history teachers making multiple connections among world historical events from the biggest to the smallest ones to construct dynamic and coherent pictures of the past for themselves and their students. In the second project, we discuss our innovative history lab, a course designed to help undergraduates enrolled in a world history course “see” the pedagogical moves their world history instructors make. We designed this pedagogical history lab to foster future teachers’ understandings of the content knowledge needed to teach world history while they are learning world history as students.
ISAAC ESHUN & MICHAEL FRANKLIN MENSAH, 2013
"Abstract This study investigated the pedagogical content knowledge of Social Studies teachers in Senior High Schools in Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis in the Western Region of Ghana. This research question guided the study: What is the pedagogical content knowledge of trained graduate Social Studies teachers at the Senior High School level? A sequential mixed method design was used for the study. Instruments for data collection were questionnaire and interviews. Data from questionnaire was triangulated with interviews. Non-probability sampling method, that is, convenience and purposive sampling techniques, were used to select the sample of districts, schools and respondents for the study. In all, seventy-two (72) Social Studies teachers were selected from twelve (12) Schools. The data suggest that teachers perceived Social Studies as citizenship education. Therefore, the teaching and assessment of the subject should address students’ ability to develop civic competence in order to solve their personal and societal problems."
Online Submission, 2009
The purpose of this study is to investigate the social studies teaching beliefs and the application of these beliefs into classroom practice of a group of elementary teachers who are part of a New York City alternative certification program. The teachers in this study are working in low performing New York City schools, are typically pursuing teaching as a second career and often have undergraduate majors in the social sciences as well. Initial data for this study is extracted from a survey that the teachers completed in the second year of their two year program. Included in this survey are questions about the teachers' beliefs and practices in inquiry based constructivist teaching methodology. The survey results were compared to individual interviews and focus group discussions with selected teachers and observations of the teachers' classroom social studies teaching by their college supervisors. The authors anticipated an easier transition into teaching for a group of mature work experienced individuals than the typical transition of college graduates in their twenties with no prior full time work experience. Additionally the authors anticipated a greater ability to use the more complex teaching strategies involved in constructivist instruction than less experienced and mature teachers. One unanticipated outcome of this study is the further substantiation of recent research on the marginalization of social studies instruction in the elementary schools (Boyle-Baise et al,
Universal Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2022
Knowledge of the content alone is no guarantee for effective teaching and learning, there is the need for teachers to demonstrate high level of technological and pedagogical power. The study examined the technological pedagogical content knowledge of Social Studies teachers' in Junior High Schools in Aowin municipality in the Western North Region of Ghana. The descriptive survey design was used for the study. The population for the study included all Social Studies teachers in the public Junior High Schools in the Aowin Municipality. Simple random and purposive sampling techniques were used to select the Seventy-four (74) Junior High Schools and Seventy-four (74) the Social Studies teachers for the study. The main instrument for data collection was questionnaire. The study revealed that, teachers have adequate content knowledge to teach Social Studies but there are doubts as to whether their knowledge is current. The study also concluded that, teachers were not confident about their technological, pedagogical and content knowledge in Social Studies and this resulted in their negative attitude towards the integration of technology in classroom activities. It is recommended that, the Ghana Education Service should organize In-Service Training and refresher courses for teachers to keep them current and up-to-date their content knowledge in Social Studies. It is also recommended that, teachers should adopt positive attitudes towards learning and using technology in their day-today activities.