O’Malley: The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) is a nonpartisan, nationwide, nonprofit organization of public officials who head departments of elementary and secondary education in the states, the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), the Bureau of Indian Education and the five U.S. extra-state jurisdictions.

The CCSSO collaboratives work in specialized areas including social studies to support the goals of their state education agencies (SEAs). CCSSO offers a number of Collaboratives (see here) designed to provide states with technical assistance, opportunities to learn from their peers around the country, and access to national experts. Membership in the Collaboratives is open to states and industry partners on an annual basis. 

Members of the social studies collaborative tend to be the state specialists for social studies within their SEAs. The work of our collaborative focuses on identifying challenges faced by members, then harnessing the collective wisdom of members and national experts to develop high-quality solutions and educational resources that support student and professional learning.  Currently, our membership includes specialists from fifteen states, the District of Columbia, and DoDEA. The members of our collaborative are an incredibly knowledgeable and dedicated group of specialists who work tirelessly to improve teaching and learning. Stephen Bowen, a Deputy Executive Director at CCSSO, serves as our CCSSO liaison.

Our collaborative offers three face-to-face meetings each year that are held in different cities around the country, as well as interim webinars and online meetings aimed at deepening members’ understanding of topics and resources, and advancing the goals of our different work groups.

TSSP: What are some of the major activities of the Social Studies Collaborative in the past few years?

O’Malley: The activities of the Social Studies Collaborative are driven by challenges that our members face. Prime challenges in recent years included uneven implementation of state standards, the marginalization of social studies at the elementary level, and a need to reimagine civics education to keep pace with 21st Century developments.

All of our members experience levels of difficulty associated with implementing high quality social studies standards deeply and broadly down to the classroom level and across wide geographic areas. In response, our Collaborative published a Guide to Developing and Implementing State Social Studies standards implementation in August of 2018.

More recently, members shifted their focus to the marginalization of social studies at the elementary level. Over the past two years, our Collaborative engaged national experts including Tina Heafner (Professor, University of North Carolina at Charlotte), and practicing elementary educators to determine whether data and the experience of educators supported our belief that social studies is marginalized. Concluding that it did, we then investigated strategies for overcoming marginalization, and discussed approaches for their adoption. In November of 2018, the Collaborative released a Marginalization of Social Studies brief  or “infographic” designed to capture in a concise and compelling way the research around marginalization and our recommendations for moving forward.

Given the attention to literacy in elementary schools, we turned to literacy specialist Nell K. Duke at the University of Michigan, who we knew had been conducting work around social studies and literacy. Professor Duke delivered a rousing presentation at our Summer 2018 meeting in San Diego during which she highlighted the importance of social studies in advancing the goals of literacy. Nell called on social studies, science and our ELA colleagues to become “allies” in our shared cause. We then invited Nell to adapt her presentation into a video format so that her research-grounded message could be heard nationally. The video, accessible here, went live on March 8. We encourage all social studies, ELA and science educators and administrators to view and use the video while advocating for more social studies.  

TSSP: What is one of the biggest things we need to advocate for in social studies right now?

O’Malley: The “biggest” thing for which our field needs to advocate is equity as it applies to social studies in the enacted school curricula i.e. it is actually taught and not just on a schedule. The marginalization of social studies is not imagined. There is solid evidence to support the claim.  And, this marginalization comes at a time when our nation needs citizens acting at their highest levels of engagement for the common good.

The marginalization of social studies is a matter of equity. Those denied the subject’s benefits are most likely to experience costs that include low levels of achievement and corresponding reductions in opportunities associated with college, career, and civic life. Moreover, those denied the content, dispositions, and skills acquired through the social studies then lack the resources required to impact public policy, and therefore find themselves on the disadvantaged side of an empowerment gap.

The focus on “college and career" is important but narrow. In any democratic system, those involved in the work of education should acknowledge the civic mission of schools and emphasize preparation for civic life as strongly as preparation for college and career.

TSSP: What is one thing about advocacy you want every reader to know?

O’Malley: The one thing that I want every reader to know is that effective advocacy, like great teaching, cannot be reduced to a single metric. The best advocacy plans are multi-dimensional, and include alternative approaches for different audiences, as well as provisions for shifting strategies. Based on my interactions with policy makers, lobbyists and advocates, however, there are some particularly important elements of effective advocacy. They include solid research, persistence, the ability and willingness to present and address counterarguments, a good understanding of those who are to be convinced, both top-down and bottom-up approaches, and plans to follow-up. 

For the past twenty years our Institute for Public Administration at the University of Delaware has run a civics education summer institute. Operating in a small state, we are able to engage teachers with those at the highest levels of local, state and federal governments. The institute includes presentations by state and national lobbyists, people whose work is sometimesmisunderstood. When asked to identify what is most important in their work, those with whom we interact invariably say trust. Policy makers depend on credible information. They cannot afford to be embarrassed by presenting inaccurate information. Advocates who mislead find doors closed and lines of communication cut off. When asked a question for which you don’t have an answer, reply “I don’t know but will have an answer for you asap.” And make sure you get that answer to the policymaker asap.

Finally, a word of caution. Do not get visibly angry with policymakers if they do not end up supporting a particular cause at a particular moment in time. Remind yourself that policymakers hear from multiple perspectives whereas we may be pushing for one. We may have to work with the same policymakers in the future, perhaps for the same objective modified by previous engagement and feedback. Don’t burn bridges.

TSSP: What has been a major benefit of your NCSS membership?

O’Malley: The major benefits of NCSS membership have been remaining informed and connected. The range of information and connections afforded by membership is immeasurable. Those who take advantage of these benefits are better positioned to grow in their careers and be presented with opportunities throughout their careers.

I have been blessed in terms of my career and attribute any successes that I have had to the connections I have made over time. Organizations, including district offices, departments of education, and the National Council for Social Studies, are always looking for knowledgeable and talented individuals possessing solid interpersonal skills and good judgment. Be active in supporting your professional organizations to the extent that time allows.

TSSP: What would like to see happen in the field of social studies?

O’Malley: My hope for social studies is that we find a way for representatives of the various leading social studies entities (e.g., but not limited to NCSS, CS4, CUFA, CCSSO Collaborative) to convene once or twice a year to explore ways to sync some of our work for the common good of our field and student achievement. How powerful would it be if we identified 1–3 priorities around which we rally annually, while also leaving space for the various organizations to move forward in their unique work and areas of interest?

Imagine a professional culture in which publications, research and conference agenda addressed collaboratively identified challenges faced by social studies educators and specialists. How much better might K-12 policies, teaching, and learning be as a result of larger scale campaigns aimed at advancing shared and worthy goals?

Thank you to Fran O'Malley from the CCSSO Social Studies Collaborative for sharing these articles. Click here.

Bio for Fran O’Malley

Fran O’Malley taught middle and high school social studies for twenty-four years before arriving at the University of Delaware where he now serves as Project Director for the Institute for Public Administration’s Democracy Project, Acting Director of the Partnership for Public Administration, and Associate Director for Professional Development Center for Educators. He also serves as advisor for the Council for Chief State School Officers’ Social Studies Collaborative.

At the state level, Fran served on the commission that developed the Delaware Social Studies standards, and works closely with the Delaware Department of Education to assist with the development of Delaware’s Recommended Curriculum and state assessments. His initiatives include Delaware History Day, the Delaware’s Mock Trial competition, the Social Studies Coalition of Delaware, and the Delaware Law-Related Education Project. Fran is also a past President of Delaware’s Council for the Social Studies and served previously on NCSS’s publication committee.

Fran awards include being named Delaware Teacher of the Year and Delaware History Teacher of the Year. He is also the recipient of a Middle States Council for the Social Studies Harry J. Carmen Award, a James Madison Fellowship, and a summer Fulbright Fellowship (China).