The State of State History: Teacher Perceptions Regarding the Place and Purpose of State History in K–12 Social Studies

Social studies, history, and state history courses, in general, have long been broadly considered the least significant of the four core content courses in K – 12 education. State history is required and/or taught inconsistently throughout the 50 states, and in some cases, not at all. Teacher preparation and on-going support to teach state history in K – 12 education are also inconsistent and often disregarded. The purpose of this exploratory qualitative survey and interview study was to investigate teacher perceptions regarding place and purpose of state history in K – 12 social studies, and to identify teacher dispositions toward the teaching and learning of state history. Social studies classes are an excellent time to teach, model, and promote good citizenship, and tolerance. It is a time for students to begin to explore, understand, and respect opinions that may differ from their own, within the context of state History, Geography, United States History, World Studies, Economics, Civics, and American Government. Social studies class is one of the greatest places in which students can learn life skills that will carry beyond the classroom. A well-placed state history course can serve as a launching pad for a student to develop skills and aptitudes that will benefit them throughout an academic career. It can also be a course in which a student can make unique, significant, meaningful, personal connections to history at a local, state, and/or regional level. This often undervalued and overlooked course is neglected in peer-reviewed academic literature, thus warranting the need for an introductory study of this nature and leading to the call for future related research