Teaching for Democratic Citizenship: Arriving at a Guiding Question for Pedagogical Practice

Social studies teachers often feel a tension between wanting to teach for democratic citizenship and the need to cover the multiple areas of required content. This paper examines the nature of this tension, critically examines democratic citizenship as a universally understood process, and suggests a guiding question to assist social studies teachers with how to remain focused on the purpose of their field while also teaching mandated curriculum. The implications of this guiding question for classroom practice are discussed.