Teaching Culturally and Linguistically Relevant Social Studies for Emergent Bilingual and Multilingual Youth

Book excerpt: "In recent years, social studies scholars have pushed to consider critical ways of thinking about curriculum, particularly challenging what we teach and how we teach. Authors in this book, however, speak specifically about culturally and linguistically accessing and engaging with social studies and citizenship education curricula and instruction. Through this project, the notion of inclusiveness and relevance centers on culture and language that emphasize the civic identity, agency, and membership of communities most often marginalized by social studies and civic instruction, public schools, and U.S. democratic society. We hope this collection of chapters acts as a resource to address pedagogical, sociocultural, and civic wonderings by highlighting ways of using language as an asset and means in the social studies classroom. This book presents new pedagogical ideas, theoretical frameworks, and research methodologies on teaching culturally and linguistically relevant social studies with and for emergent bilingual and multilingual (EBML) youth. The compilation of chapters seeks to forefront scholarship and teaching that centers the needs, interests, and experiences of EBML youth in social studies education. Chapter authors draw from multiple, intersecting critical and interdisciplinary frameworks that center culture and language to inform and write about social studies taking place inside, outside, and beyond the classroom that engages youth in varying disciplinary and non-disciplinary spaces across social studies education: (e.g., community, geography, family, civics, history). The chapters also challenge oppressive structures, policies, and practices that marginalize EBML youth. The book is intended for Pre-K-12 teachers and administrators, social studies teacher educators and researchers, and pre-service social studies teachers to actively read, reflect on, and strive to enact the work shared by chapter authors"--