National Council for the Social Studies

Last updated
National Council for the Social Studies
AbbreviationNCSS
Formation1921;103 years ago (1921)
PurposeAcademic/Education
HeadquartersSilver Spring, Maryland
President
Anton Schulzki
Vice President
Tina Ellsworth
Executive Director
Lawrence Paska
Website socialstudies.org

The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) is a private, non-profit association based in Silver Spring, Maryland, that provides leadership, support, and advocacy for social studies education. [1]

Contents

The council is affiliated with various regional or state-level social studies associations, including the Middle States Council for the Social Studies, the Washington State Council for the Social Studies, the New York City UFT Association for the Teaching of Social Studies, the Michigan Council for the Social Studies, the Massachusetts Council for the Social Studies, and the Virginia Council for the Social Studies.

The association publishes several journals. Its flagship publication, Social Education , [2] [ dead link ] is a peer-reviewed [3] journal which, according to its website, aims to strike "a balance of theoretical content and practical teaching ideas." [4] They sponsor the high school honor society Rho Kappa. [5]

NCSS is currently a member of the National Coalition Against Censorship. [6]

History

Founded in 1921, NCSS engages and supports educators in strengthening and advocating social studies. With members in all the 50 states, Washington, D.C., and 69 foreign countries, NCSS serves as an umbrella organization for elementary, secondary, and college teachers of history, geography, economics, political science, sociology, psychology, anthropology, and law-related education. Organized into a network of more than 110 affiliated state, local, and regional councils and associated groups, the NCSS membership represents K–12 classroom teachers, college and university faculty members, curriculum designers and specialists, social studies supervisors, and leaders in the various disciplines that constitute the social studies.

Social Studies

NCSS defines social studies as "the integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence". Within the school program, social studies provides coordinated, systematic study drawing upon such disciplines as anthropology, archaeology, economics, geography, history, law, philosophy, political science, psychology, religion, and sociology, as well as appropriate content from the humanities, mathematics, and natural sciences. In essence, social studies promotes knowledge of and involvement in civic affairs. And because civic issues—such as health care, crime, and foreign policy—are multidisciplinary in nature, understanding these issues and developing resolutions to them requires multidisciplinary education. These characteristics are the key defining aspects of social studies.

Expectations of Excellence

In 2010, the council published National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies: A Framework for Teaching, Learning and Assessment. This publication is an update and revision of Expectations of Excellence: Curriculum Standards for Social Studies originally published in 1994. The National Curriculum Standards provides an articulated K–12 social studies program that serves as a framework for the integration of other national standards in social studies, including U.S. and world history, civics and government, geography, global education, and economics. NCSS standards ensure that an integrated social science, behavioral science, and humanities approach for achieving academic and civic competence is available to guide social studies decision makers in K–12 schools.

The NCSS framework consists of ten themes incorporating fields of study that correspond with one or more relevant disciplines. The organization believes that effective social studies programs include experiences that provide for the study of: Culture; Time, Continuity, and Change; People, Places, and Environments; Individual Development and Identity; Individuals, Groups, and Institutions; Power, Authority, and Governance; Production, Distribution, and Consumption; Science, Technology, and Society; Global Connections; and Civic Ideals and Practices.

Awards

The NCSS gives a number of awards [7] including:

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christa McAuliffe</span> American teacher and astronaut (1948–1986)

Sharon Christa McAuliffe was an American teacher and astronaut from Concord, New Hampshire who died on the Space Shuttle Challenger on mission STS-51-L, where she was serving as a payload specialist.

In many countries' curricula, social studies is the combined study of humanities, the arts, and social sciences, mainly including history, economics, and civics. The term was first coined by American educators around the turn of the twentieth century as a catch-all for these subjects, as well as others which did not fit into the models of lower education in the United States such as philosophy and psychology. One of the purposes of social studies, particularly at the level of higher education, is to integrate several disciplines, with their unique methodologies and special focuses of concentration, into a coherent field of subject areas that communicate with each other by sharing different academic "tools" and perspectives for deeper analysis of social problems and issues. Social studies aims to train students for informed, responsible participation in a diverse democratic society. The content of social studies provides the necessary background knowledge in order to develop values and reasoned opinions, and the objective of the field is civic competence. A related term is humanities, arts, and social sciences, abbreviated HASS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teacher in Space Project</span> NASA program from 1984 to 1990

The Teacher in Space Project (TISP) was a NASA program announced by Ronald Reagan in 1984 designed to inspire students, honor teachers, and spur interest in mathematics, science, and space exploration. The project would carry teachers into space as Payload Specialists, who would return to their classrooms to share the experience with their students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Morgan</span> American teacher and former astronaut (born 1951)

Barbara Radding Morgan is an American teacher and a former NASA astronaut. She participated in the Teacher in Space Project as backup to Christa McAuliffe for the 1986 ill-fated STS-51-L mission of the Space Shuttle Challenger. In 1998, eight years after the Teacher in Space Project had ended, she was selected by NASA as an astronaut candidate, training as a mission specialist; astronaut Morgan flew on STS-118 in August 2007. As such, she became the first teacher to go into space.

Founded in 1920, The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) is a professional organization for schoolteachers of mathematics in the United States. One of its goals is to improve the standards of mathematics in education. NCTM holds annual national and regional conferences for teachers and publishes five journals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International school</span> School, often with foreign students or with an international curriculum

International schools are private schools that promote education in an international environment or framework. Although there is no uniform definition or criteria, international schools are usually characterised by a multinational student body and staff, multilingual instruction, curricula oriented towards global perspectives and subjects, and the promotion of concepts such as world citizenship, pluralism, and intercultural understanding; most are private schools. Many international schools adopt a curriculum from programmes and organisations such as the International Baccalaureate, Edexcel, Cambridge International Education, FOBISIA, International Primary Curriculum, or Advanced Placement. International schools often follow a curriculum different from the host country, catering mainly to foreign students, such as members of expatriate communities, international businesses or organisations, diplomatic missions, or missionary programmes. Admission is sometimes open to local students to provide qualifications for employment or higher education in a foreign country, offer high-level language instruction, and/or foster cultural and global awareness.

Gloria Jean Ladson-Billings FBA is an American pedagogical theorist and teacher educator known for her work in the fields of culturally relevant pedagogy and critical race theory, and the pernicious effects of systemic racism and economic inequality on educational opportunities. Her book The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African-American Children is a significant text in the field of education. Ladson-Billings is Professor Emerita and formerly the Kellner Family Distinguished Professor of Urban Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teacher education</span> Training teachers to develop teaching skills

Teacher education or teacher training refers to programs, policies, procedures, and provision designed to equip (prospective) teachers with the knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, approaches, methodologies and skills they require to perform their tasks effectively in the classroom, school, and wider community. The professionals who engage in training the prospective teachers are called teacher educators.

Sandra Stotsky is Professor emerita in the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas, and held the 21st Century Chair in Teacher Quality. Her research ranges from teacher licensure tests, e.g., (1), coherence in the literature and reading curriculum, e.g., (2), and academic achievement in single-sex classrooms, e.g., (3) to critiques of Common Core’s standards in English language arts, e.g., (4) mathematics.(5), and US History and civic education (6), and other aspects of the Common Core project, e.g., (7), and to reviews of books in education, e.g., (8) She is an advocate of standards-based reform and strong academic standards and assessments for students and teachers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Five themes of geography</span> Educational tool

The five themes of geography are an educational tool for teaching geography. The five themes were published in 1984 and widely adopted by teachers, textbook publishers, and curriculum designers in the United States. Most American geography and social studies classrooms have adopted the five themes in teaching practices, as they provide "an alternative to the detrimental, but unfortunately persistent, habit of teaching geography through rote memorization". They are pedagogical themes that guide how geographic content should be taught in schools.

Founded in 1903, the Middle States Council for the Social Studies (MSCSS) is the oldest professional organization in the country devoted solely to social studies education. MSCSS engages and supports educators in strengthening and advocating social studies as a core discipline. With members across the country, MSCSS serves as an umbrella organization for elementary, secondary, college and university professionals, who are involved with all social studies disciplines. The mission of MSCSS is to provide leadership, service, and support for social studies educators of all levels.

The Rouge Forum is an organization of educational activists, which focuses on issues of equality, democracy, and social justice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James A. Banks</span> American educator

James Albert Banks is an American educator and the Kerry and Linda Killinger Endowed Chair in Diversity Studies Emeritus and founding director of the University of Washington's Center for Multicultural Education, which is now the Banks Center for Educational Justice. He focuses on the discipline of multicultural education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teaching for Change</span> Non-profit organization

Teaching for Change is a non-profit organization founded in 1989 and based in Washington, D.C., with the motto of "building social justice, starting in the classroom." This organization uses publications, professional development, and parent organizing programs to accomplish this goal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elementary schools in the United States</span> Primary education in the United States

In the United States, elementary schools are the main point of delivery of primary education, for children between the ages of 4–11 and coming between pre-kindergarten and secondary education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robin Alexander</span> British educationist and academic

Robin Alexander is a British educationist and academic known particularly for championing the cause of primary education, for his leadership of the Cambridge Primary Review, and for his research and writing on education policy, culture, curriculum, pedagogy, dialogic teaching and comparative and international education. He is currently Fellow of Wolfson College at the University of Cambridge and Professor of Education Emeritus at the University of Warwick. In 2011 he was elected Fellow of the British Academy (FBA), the UK's national academy for the humanities and social sciences and chaired its Education Section 2018-21.

The College of Education is one of 15 colleges at The Pennsylvania State University, located in University Park, Pennsylvania. It houses the departments of Curriculum and Instruction, Education Policy Studies, Learning and Performance Systems, and Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education. Almost 2,300 undergraduate students, and nearly 1,000 graduate students are enrolled in its 7 undergraduate and 16 graduate degree programs. The college is housed in four buildings: Chambers, Rackley, Keller, and CEDAR Buildings.

Sybilla Beckmann is a Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor of Mathematics, Emeritus, at the University of Georgia and a recipient of the Association for Women in Mathematics Louise Hay Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Okhee Lee</span> American education scholar

Okhee Lee is an American education scholar and professor of childhood education.

References

  1. "National Council for the Social Studies - Program, Organizational Structure, Membership, History". education.stateuniversity.com. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  2. Martell’s Article Featured by National Council for the Social Studies. Boston University. School of Education. 18 September 2013. Accessed 9 August 2017.
  3. Bishov, Deborah. "LibGuides: Teaching Content Areas - Literacy and Social Studies: Home". libguides.library.drexel.edu. Retrieved 2024-07-11.
  4. Social Education. National Council for the Social Studies. 2017. Accessed 9 August 2017.
  5. "Rho Kappa Overview, Requirements and History". Honor Society Museum. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  6. "The Coalition". National Coalition Against Censorship. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  7. "Awards and Grants". www.socialstudies.org. National Council for the Social Studies. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  8. "NCSS Outstanding Social Studies Teacher of the Year". www.socialstudies.org. National Council for the Social Studies. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  9. "Award for Global Understanding given in honor of James M. Becker". www.socialstudies.org. National Council for the Social Studies. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  10. "Christa McAuliffe Reach for the Stars Award". www.socialstudies.org. National Council for the Social Studies. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  11. "NCSS Research Awards". www.socialstudies.org. National Council for the Social Studies. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  12. "Carter G. Woodson Book Awards". www.socialstudies.org. National Council for the Social Studies. Retrieved 17 October 2015.