Abstract:
Social studies lends itself well to role play and simulations (RP/S), offering students opportunities to inhabit different worlds and assume the perspectives of others. In this chapter, we utilize data from a national study to investigate several questions related to use of RP/S among social studies teachers: 1) Who among social studies teachers uses RP/S? 2) Is the use of RP/S associated with social studies teachers’ primary goals and instructional emphasis? and 3) Is the use of RP/S associated with social studies teachers’ use of technology? Our analysis of the data revealed statistically significant differences between social studies teachers who use RP/S rarely and those who use it often with regard to primary goals, instructional emphasis, and technology use. The largest and most important differences were related to teachers’ instructional emphasis on citizenship; teachers who reported high frequency (weekly or daily) use of RP/S were much more likely to emphasize critical citizenship values in their social studies instruction. These results are discussed in detail with additional findings and implications for educational practice and future research.
