National Council for Social Studies (NCSS) and Thinking Nation will host a special webinar that reviews a recent white paper published in Education Week and commissioned by Thinking Nation. The survey data gave statistics behind the anecdotes many of us know: 1. While Social Studies is deemed as critical for democracy, it is not viewed as a priority in most school districts; 2. Professional Development does not currently effectively support social studies teachers; 3. Social Studies as a discipline is not effectively vertically aligned in most contexts. 

In this program, NCSS and Thinking Nation will discuss these findings, along with other NCSS-supported research on K-12 student and educator experiences in social studies classrooms. Our goal is to share how we can collaboratively work to better prioritize and resource social studies in all education contexts. We also are happy to have Dr. Bill Daggett of the Successful Practices Network join us for part of the webinar to provide a broader perspective about how social studies education can contribute to a broader goal of education reform. This program will bring awareness of key solutions to strengthening social studies education to a diverse set of stakeholders in education. With 2024 being an election year and America’s 250th anniversary quickly approaching, we must work together to utilize our discipline in order to preserve our constitutional democracy. 

Learning Goals:

1. Bringing awareness to those in and/or around social studies education as to the state of social studies education more broadly.
2. Demonstrating alignment and collaboration across a diverse range of spaces that touch social studies education more broadly.
3. Providing tangible next steps that all participants can take to better prioritize and resource social studies education in the contexts they work in and serve.