ABSTRACT

American public schooling has traditionally had a rationale rooted in the need for a democratic society to prepare future citizens. The nature and centrality of this role, however, has varied at different points in American history, although the burden of transmitting a democratic education has consistently fallen on the shoulders of the social studies curriculum. Social studies as a discipline, and in particular through the subject area of history, has been charged with the responsibility of being the arbiter between the curricular desires of policy-makers and an educator-driven pedagogy that develops requisite intellectual proficiency for students to engage in active citizenry. The conditions are often at odds with one another. Ironically through sociocultural debates and enacted policies, preparing the youth of American society for their eventual role as active citizens in a democracy has been a central tenet of schooling, while the ever evolving role of schools in this process is largely dictated by those outside of educational institutions. The consequence of these contradictions, throughout history and today, is that the curriculum itself becomes a locus for the debate, a debate which often has political and ideological ramifications. This chapter begins by providing a context for the history and current status of schooling for democracy and critically explores ways in which the right has recently defined democracy, patriotism, citizenship, and literacy in recent initiatives and in the agendas of major foundations and organizations.