Walter C. Parker

Professor in Curriculum & Instruction

122 Miller, Box 353600

College of Education, University of Washington

Seattle, WA 98195-3600

(206) 543-1847

denver@u.washington.edu

Education Publications Courses

I am a professor of education and an adjunct professor of political science at the University of Washington. My specializations are the civic development of children and adolescents, and social studies curriculum and instruction K-12. I teach social studies curriculum and instruction courses in the Teacher Education Program and graduate seminars on curriculum controversy, global education, democratic education, and strategies for interpreting qualitative data. My books include "Renewing the Social Studies Curriculum" (1991), "Educating the Democratic Mind" (1996), "Education for Democracy: Curricula, Contexts, Assessments" (2002), "Teaching Democracy: Unity and Diversity in Public Life"(2003), and "Social Studies in Elementary Education" (2011). I am now working on two projects: One aims at creating a more rigorous form of advanced high school coursework, one that doesn't mistake coverage for learning. The other examines the so-called "international education" movement in US public schools. Is it nationalistic education, as usual, operating under an assumed name?

One project I enjoy very much is the “research and practice” column I have at the journal Social Education. These essays have now been collected in my new book, Social Studies Today: Research and Practice (Routledge, 2010).

http://education.washington.edu/areas/ci/profiles/parker.html

Product Description

The author wrote this new edition of the most popular elementary social studies methods text on the market with the following three goals in mind: to present the most powerful social studies content and pedagogy for children in elementary school, to offer the material in simple and accessible ways, and to write in a first person active voice. The purpose of this book is to introduce new teachers to the world of social studies teaching and learning in elementary and middle schools. Geography, history, government and the other social sciences are delivered into the palm of the new teacher’s hand along with a suite of tools for bringing social studies to life in the classroom.

The book is organized into three sections—the first orients the reader to the mission of social studies education to the increasingly diverse children we teach, the second concentrates on the curriculum, and the third deals with instruction, how we plan and teach this curriculum. Three central themes continue to pervade the book—democratic citizenship, diversity, and the social sciences—to ultimately encourage teachers to excite their students about closing the gap between social realities and democratic ideals. An exceptionally strong chapter on multicultural issues (Chapter 2) helps future teachers truly understand the changing demographics of the American classroom.

Abridged NCSS standards and their classroom applications are found at www.myeducationlab.com.

From the Publisher

Comprehensive in scope, but streamlined in form, this widely-adopted exploration of social studies in elementary education is exceptionally up to date -- offering a solid foundation in both traditional and cutting-edge theory and pedagogy. It details the mission of social studies education, considers the diversity of children in today's social studies classrooms, addresses the social studies curriculum (what is taught), and explores effective instruction (how it is taught). --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.