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This study reports the results of a survey on teaching race and gender from a sample of high school social studies teachers (N5309) across Massachusetts. Using critical race theory mixed methods, the results showed that (1) social studies teachers reported that they were comfortable teaching about race and gender, that race and gender inequity should be addressed in the social studies classroom, and that they regularly covered race- and gender-related topics; (2) teachers at moderate-poverty schools were more likely to teach about Latina/o, Asian, Arab/Middle Eastern, and Indigenous people than teachers in low and high poverty schools; and (3) teachers responded that race and gender were not adequately covered in the curriculum and they wanted more professional development on teaching race and gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this interpretative case study, the researchers examined the beliefs and practices of 10 self-identifying race-conscious social studies teachers. Using critical race theory as the lens, the researchers found that most of the teachers made race explicit in their classrooms by including race in units not typically considered race-related and focusing on the relationship between race and inequity. Additionally, while all of the teachers made race a central theme in their classrooms, there was a division between teachers who emphasized working against individual prejudice (tolerance-oriented) and against racial inequity (equity-oriented). This study adds to the growing research on teaching race in social studies and offers new evidence on how teachers present race and racism differently across school contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

There is scant research that documents models of culturally sustaining pedagogy, especially within social studies education. The researchers used a qualitative multiple-case study to better understand the practices of 10 self-identifying culturally sustaining secondary social studies teachers. They found that the teachers' practices were grouped into three different models: exchanging, discovering, and challenging. The teachers' approaches to culturally sustaining pedagogy were influenced by their school contexts and their students' backgrounds. Yet, there were shared characteristics across the teachers, including drawing on the students' local communities, developing students' sociopolitical consciousness, and providing activities that helped sustain dynamic community practices. • Teachers' practices grouped into three different models: exchanging, discovering, and challenging. • Teachers chose to center culture within the mainstream content of social studies. • Teachers' pedagogy varied based on cultural context and their students' backgrounds. • Teachers routinely drew connections to the historical and political contexts of their students' communities. • Students were engaged in critical evaluations of social structures and helped sustain their dynamic community practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]