Chapter 7: Policy, Standards, Textbooks, and Their Role in the Teaching and Learning of African American History: An Anti-Blackness Education Theory Case Study

In a bureaucratized educational system, the policies which govern curriculum and direct instruction in K–12 social studies are controlled by state legislatures which require specific coursework (e.g., a course in African American History) and specify the aims of required courses (e.g., financial literacy, civic literacy, and founding principles). State legislators set graduation requirements and direct the creation and purpose of standards which are overseen by State Boards of Education, developed by State Departments of Public Instruction, and executed by districts. Some states exercise greater control over curriculum by identifying a state adopted textbook, while others create a list of state-approved textbooks and leave this decision to the districts. What is assumed in this policy decision-making of “adoption” is explicit alignment between state standards and state “endorsed” curriculum resources. These policies define the “official” curriculum and “legitimize” canonical knowledge, skills, and dispositions of each subject area (Apple, 2013).