Policy in the Way of Practice: How Assessment Legislation Is Affecting Social Studies Curriculum and Instruction in Ohio

Authors

  • Thomas Misco Miami University
  • Nancy Patterson Bowling Green State University
  • Frans Doppen Ohio University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22230/ijepl.2011v6n7a303

Keywords:

standards, testing, social studies

Abstract

In a national context of standards and high-stakes testing, concerns are emerging about challenges to the already tenuous position of the citizenship mission in the social studies curriculum. In this qualitative study, the authors administered a survey to social studies teachers in Ohio and conducted follow-up interviews focusing on the present purposes of social studies and the ways in which standards and testing are affecting instructional practice. The findings reveal a perception of standards as being of high quality, yet ultimately undermined through changes in scope and se-quence, narrowing of the curriculum, and a paucity of time to enact them. In addition, respondents indicated that high-stakes testing has become the primary curricular focus, which impacts instructional strategy decision making and frustrates citizenship education.

Author Biography

Thomas Misco, Miami University

Assistant Professor School of Education and Allied Professions

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Published

2011-10-21

How to Cite

Misco, T., Patterson, N., & Doppen, F. (2011). Policy in the Way of Practice: How Assessment Legislation Is Affecting Social Studies Curriculum and Instruction in Ohio. International Journal of Education Policy and Leadership, 6(7). https://doi.org/10.22230/ijepl.2011v6n7a303

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