Social Sciences for a Better World

Problem of Practice

Social Science education is not prioritized and teachers have not historically received powerful Social Science professional learning, communities of practice, or high-quality instructional materials.

Abundant research illustrates the troubling reality that fewer and fewer young people are receiving a high quality Social Science education (National Council for the Social Studies, 2013, 2024; Scruggs, Mastropieri & Okolo, 2008) – particularly among socioeconomically disadvantaged learners and historically marginalized populations where social studies instruction has not been prioritized because of high-stakes testing (National Council for the Social Studies, 2024).

Overview

In partnership with MESD, MCREN supports Social Science for a Better World Fellowship which explores how to support social science teachers to confidently and competently implement Oregon’s new social science standards without experiencing burnout.

Program includes:

• Series of professional learning with topics based on new standards
• Community of practice for classroom based educators to engage in site-based implementation
• Funding for sub release time and extended work hours