tandfonline.com – “We Want to Learn”: Middle School Latino/a Students Discuss Social Studies Curriculum and Pedagogy

Abstract

This qualitative study examines the perceptions that Latino students have of middle school social studies. Twelve Latino/a middle school students provided written narratives recounting their experiences in social studies and participated in two semi-structured phenomenological interviews. Findings indicate that social studies teachers rely heavily upon “banking” pedagogy and the curriculum lacks cultural diversity. Students also perceived social studies as the ideal subject area in middle school to engage in global learning opportunities as well as discussion about current events. Latino/a students’ experiences and subsequent perceptions of middle school social studies are consistent with theory and research pertaining to adolescent identity, cognitive, and psychosocial development. Findings from this investigation add to the extant canon of literature on students’ perceptions of social studies and further emphasize the significance of social studies in meeting the needs of 21st century diverse learners. Lastly, the authors offer suggestions for practice and issue a call for research in the field of social studies education that is middle-level specific with implications as to how culturally responsive social studies fosters identity and psychosocial adolescent development for culturally and ethnically diverse students.