Article 15: Divisive Social Studies Curriculum: The Exclusion of Americans Gives Students an Incomplete Version of History

Turning on the news or attending a school board meeting, one can find that the United States is currently in the middle of a divisive debate surrounding social studies standards and who should be included in the teaching of social studies curriculum. Social studies curriculum and standards are not new to school-related controversy. In the late 1990s and early 2000s debates focused on how to provide inclusion within social studies content, resulting in many states embedding the study of minority groups into social studies standards. The current school-related controversy surrounding social studies standards is centered around the attempt to exclude the narratives and contributions of marginalized groups (including groups related to LGBTQ+, race, ethnicity, and gender) from the curriculum.