Chapter 2: Critical Social Studies Knowledge and Practice: Preparing Social Justice Oriented Social Studies Teachers in the Trump Era

In this chapter, we argue that social justice oriented teacher education should equip social studies teachers with what we are calling “critical social studies knowledge and practice.” We outline four guiding conceptsߞinterdependence, oppression, vision, and strategic actionߞabout which, we believe, social studies teachers should both learn and teach. For each, we begin with a brief discussion of the perennial challenge(s) to which it is a response, as well as a short exploration of the concept itself. Next, we outline what preservice and inservice social studies teachers should learn about the concept, emphasizing its application to schools, students, and learning. Finally, we offer suggestions about the social justice oriented disciplinary content knowledge that teachers might learn to teach. For some or many teacher educators, this may require a turn toward more explicit explorations, with current and future teachers, regarding the knowledge that needs to be taught in social studies classrooms today. In the Trump Era, more than ever, we argue that teacher educators cannot remain neutral on this issue.