Caroline R. Pryor

Dilemmas of democratic thought for educational leadership: considerations of social justice scholarship

Efforts to include democratic ideals in public education are not new. However, current leadership efforts to foster these ideals within a PK–12 curriculum are often fruitless, partly because of a lack of common definition or perceived benefit. What exactly is meant when we suggest that educational leaders advocate teaching about democracy in our schools? First, it is important to teach about the history and values of a democratic society. Second, because students learn about democratic principles in the environment in which they live and work, we must examine the debates in philosophical thought foundational to educational decisions. The author proposes commonly understood definitions of democratic ideas and their perceived benefit to the long‐term vibrancy of American education.

Project-Based Learning

The social studies, which includes such disciplines as history, political science, geography, economics, anthropology, and psychology in the K-12 context, has historically carried the nation’s educational mission of preparing the next generation of its citizens to participate in a democratic society. Despite this core mission, social studies is often lower among the hierarchy of content areas taught in the school curriculum. In a standardized testing environment, social studies is placed below English and mathematics, courses with graduation consequences attached to them. In part, this placement is due to the challenge we face in the post-No Child Left Behind (NCLB) era in which we hope to engage students in pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), as we seek to meet the employment demands of these fields. In response, the federal government has dedicated budgetary funds to be invested in STEM education.