The Misconceptions of Native Americans in Education's Past
Disciplines
Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education | Elementary Education and Teaching | Teacher Education and Professional Development
Abstract (300 words maximum)
What are elementary students expected to know about Native Americans in our history? How can we teach young children about Native Americans and their perspectives in a better way? The purpose of this research is to critically analyze the official school curriculum on Native Americans in elementary social studies curriculum and find ways to transform the current curriculum toward a more inclusive and accurate teaching of Native Americans in the past and present of the United States. After spending time in a classroom and seeing how the subject is being taught, there is a great deal of content that students are missing out on. Schools are doing an injustice to their students by not teaching Native Americans in a way that can help the community. The research methodology will include critical content analysis of state standards and school curriculum on Native Americans. Following the analysis, analysis of transformative literature and resources on Native Americans will be conducted. The research findings will be presented with focus on the current status of teaching about Native Americans to elementary students and the possible transformative curriculum on the topic. The research will contribute to a better history and social studies education that will help students be able to empathize with the Native Americans and learn to not repeat the mistakes of our past.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
BCOE - Elementary & Early Childhood Education
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Sohyun An
The Misconceptions of Native Americans in Education's Past
What are elementary students expected to know about Native Americans in our history? How can we teach young children about Native Americans and their perspectives in a better way? The purpose of this research is to critically analyze the official school curriculum on Native Americans in elementary social studies curriculum and find ways to transform the current curriculum toward a more inclusive and accurate teaching of Native Americans in the past and present of the United States. After spending time in a classroom and seeing how the subject is being taught, there is a great deal of content that students are missing out on. Schools are doing an injustice to their students by not teaching Native Americans in a way that can help the community. The research methodology will include critical content analysis of state standards and school curriculum on Native Americans. Following the analysis, analysis of transformative literature and resources on Native Americans will be conducted. The research findings will be presented with focus on the current status of teaching about Native Americans to elementary students and the possible transformative curriculum on the topic. The research will contribute to a better history and social studies education that will help students be able to empathize with the Native Americans and learn to not repeat the mistakes of our past.