Evaluating Social Education's Presence within Teacher Education Standards

Overview & Synopsis

While the implementation of social education within teacher education programs has the potential to better prepare teacher candidates for their first classroom assignment, it is unknown how visible it is in current accreditation pathways. This study evaluates the presence of social education--a field defined by critical/cultural pedagogies, cultural/media studies, social studies education, and constructivist practice--in teacher educator accreditation standards used by faculty and schools of education. Using qualitative content analysis, CAEP, InTASC, NBPTS, and ATE standards were analyzed for social education characteristics. Findings showed that social education was indirectly addressed by standards, often referenced in standard components. It was also found that only ATE standards directly named social education pedagogical concepts.