George B. Lipscomb

Social Studies Preservice Teachers' Citizenship Knowledge and Perceptions of the U.S. Naturalization Test

Teacher educators from six states invited their social studies methodology students to complete an abbreviated version of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Naturalization Test. The preservice teachers were also asked to share their conceptions of citizenship and evaluate the naturalization test. The findings from this study indicate that although this sample of preservice teachers had limited conceptions of citizenship, most were able to get a satisfactory score on the test. The authors discuss the implications of these results and suggest ways to broaden citizenship education in teacher preparation programs.

How Small Colleges and Universities Prepare Future Teachers for the Multicultural Classroom

In a recent edition of Teaching Tolerance, Swalwell (2012) addressed the issue of “White privilege” as it applies to K–12 education in the United States. She argued that many teachers today are unprepared to deal with the complexities of today’s multicultural classrooms because they are from “homogeneous communities of privilege” (para. 4). Especially from the standpoint of social studies educators charged with the challenge of preparing tomorrow’s citizens, this task is even more crucial. In thinking about today’s students, Swalwell contended: