Wayne Journell
Biographic Data
| ID | 202950 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Wayne Journell |
| GIVEN NAMES | Wayne |
| FAMILY NAME | Journell |
| SIGNATURE | JOURNELL W |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of North Carolina at Greensboro |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-5480-8334 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 22 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 72 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 21 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2008 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
The Covid-19 Pandemic as a Historical Event
This study focuses on how four U.S. History textbooks portrayed the COVID-19 pandemic as a recent historical event. The findings from the study suggest that the textbooks provided a disjointed narrative that did not fully explain aspects of the pandemic, such as why COVID-19 caused so much societal upheaval. The textbooks also often dodged significant questions about the origin of the virus and societal lessons learned from the U.S. pandemic resp…
Psychosocial processes and human desire
Much has been written about the potential civic ramifications of online misinformation, and scholars have identified many useful strategies for helping students discern fact from fiction on social media. However, those strategies make an assumption, which is that consumers of digital media have a desire to identify and share accurate information. In this article, I argue that media literacy efforts should also require students to be retrospective…
Tackling Trump
Textbooks remain important curricular resources in K-12 classrooms. However, the narratives they provide are not neutral and often influenced by external forces. Extant research has shown that history textbooks often present whitewashed and heavily biased accounts of the past; however, less is known about how textbook authors and publishers depict recent historical events, particularly those that remain politically contentious. In this study, I a…
Facilitating a Controversial Issues Discussion in Elementary School about Using Indigenous Sports Mascots
In this study, we investigate how a third-grade teacher enacted controversial issues discussion about the use of Indigenous people as sports mascots. We highlight how the teacher supported eight students' sensemaking about the issue during small-group instruction. We provide suggestions for controversial issues teaching in elementary social studies
Taking a reasoned stance against misinformation
The literature on teaching controversial issues offers a framework to help teachers make appropriate judgments about which topics are worthy of deliberation and what information is reasonable to consider in a classroom. Wayne Journell describes four criteria for evaluating the openness of issues, explains why the behavioral criterion is neither feasible or desirable, unpacks the three criteria that the literature has identified as reasonable (the…
Vice , On the Basis of Sex , and the Liberal Imagination
Using tenets of political psychology, this article analyzes educational implications of contemporary Hollywood partisan political film through two critically acclaimed films released in 2018, Vice and On the Basis of Sex. I argue that these films appeal to confirmation bias and motivated reasoning through the use of villainification and heroification, respectively. Such tactics play on viewers’ emotions and become pedagogically problematic when t…
“We have those kinds of conversations here …”
Preparing Teachers for English Learners
In this article we highlight elements of culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogy that prepare teachers to work with English Learners (ELs) from a variety of backgrounds. Specifically, we focus on the learning experiences and practices of one secondary social studies teacher to explore promising practices with ELs and effective teacher preparation strategies. This article highlights two specific strategies used by the teacher: the intent…
Exploring How an Elementary Teacher Plans and Implements Social Studies Inquiry
Social studies continues to be marginalized in elementary grades, yet the C3 Framework and its Inquiry Arc offer possibilities for high-quality elementary social studies instruction. However, the C3 Framework requires that teachers possess an adequate understanding of how to implement inquiry within the various social studies disciplines, which we argue is an aspect of the pedagogical content knowledge necessary for effective elementary social st…
Teaching Politics in Secondary Education
Reassessing the Social Studies Curriculum
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 dramatically changed many aspects of American society, and the ramifications of that horrific event are still impacting the domestic and foreign policies of the United States. Yet, fifteen years after 9/11—an event that was predicted to change the scope of public education in the United States—we find that the social studies curriculum remains virtually the same as before the attacks. For a discipline c…
Field Ecology
Science education has become a valuable market tool, serving the knowledge economy and technocratic workforce that celebrates individualism, meritocracy, entrepreneurship, rational thought, and abstract knowledge. Field ecology, however, could be a modest, but imaginable contestation of market-driven neoliberal ideology. We explored diverse high school youths’ meaning making of a summer field ecology research experience. Youths’ narratives, elici…
We Still Need You! An Update on the Status of K-12 Civics Education in the United States
In 2001, Richard Niemi and Julia Smith published an article in PS: Political Science and Politics on enrollments in high school civics and government courses. They framed their study on the premise that political scientists were ignoring an important aspect of American civic and political life, and they concluded by issuing a call for political scientists to become more involved in K-12 civics education. This article provides an update on the sta…
Learning to Think Politically
Secondary civics and government courses are often framed as a content area in which students learn about processes of government and ways of participating in a democratic society, as opposed to a discipline in which students use specific tools and ways of thinking that mimic those used by professionals within that discipline. In this article, we call for an increased emphasis on disciplinary knowledge in civics and government courses, specificall…
What Preservice Social Studies Teachers (Don't) Know About Politics and Current Events—And Why It Matters
This article reports findings from a 3-year study on preservice middle and secondary social studies teachers' common content knowledge of politics and current events. Surveys showed that both groups were generally uninformed about these issues, and on almost all measures, the middle-grades preservice teachers performed worse than those in the secondary program. Interviews were conducted with preservice teachers in both groups, and although they a…
Teaching Politics in Secondary Education
This article describes the instructional methods of four high school government teachers during their coverage of the 2008 presidential election. By analyzing the ways in which these teachers attempted to generate interest in the election and further their students’ conceptualization of politics, the author seeks to better understand political instruction at the secondary level. Overall, the author observed that the teachers were successful in ca…
Making Politics Palatable
The authors make a case for using The West Wing, a political drama that aired on NBC from 1999 to 2006, as an instructional tool in high school civics and government classes. The show offers a realistic portrayal of life in the White House through the eyes of Democratic President Josiah Bartlet and his senior staff that can further students’ understanding of the traditional curriculum and aid teachers in broaching controversial political issues i…
Teachers' Controversial Issue Decisions Related to Race, Gender, and Religion During the 2008 Presidential Election
Using the 2008 Presidential Election as a case of curricular controversy, the author describes how six high school government teachers responded to the racial, gender, and religious diversity included on the presidential tickets of the two major political parties. Teachers had to decide whether the issue of Americans challenging the tradition of electing White males to the federal executive branch would be deemed “open” or “closed” in their class…
Teaching the 2008 Presidential Election at Three Demographically Diverse Schools
This article describes the disparity in political instruction found in six government classes from three demographically diverse high schools during the 2008 Presidential Election. In general, students from working-class households or those in lower-level classes were rarely given opportunities to discuss politics at a national level or engage in analytical discussions of the election; students in middle-to-upper-class schools and those in advanc…
Standardizing Citizenship
The rise of state-mandated standards in public education have allowed legislators to answer the question of what constitutes a proper civic education, a debate that has existed in the United States since the turn of the twentieth century. Through the content they employ in their standards, states may indirectly influence the type of citizenship education students receive in the classroom. The present study focuses on the Virginia Standards of Lea…
Setting Out the (Un) Welcome Mat
This article frames history education as a social construction designed to create a national identity through the inclusion, exclusion, and treatment of various societal groups. Using this lens, the author analyzes curriculum standards from nine states that annually assess student knowledge of American history to better understand the depiction of immigration within the American narrative. The results suggest that state standards are yet another …
Facilitating Historical Discussions Using Asynchronous Communication
This study examines the effectiveness of asynchronous communication in facilitating historical discussions among adolescents, with a specific focus on the ways in which teachers can affect this process. Threaded discussion board posts and teacher-student email correspondence from a five-week American history summer course are analyzed and triangulated with interview and observational data as part of a single case study. Using a social constructiv…
Teaching the 2008 Presidential Election at Three Demographically Diverse Schools
This article describes the disparity in political instruction found in six government classes from three demographically diverse high schools during the 2008 Presidential Election. In general, students from working-class households or those in lower-level classes were rarely given opportunities to discuss politics at a national level or engage in analytical discussions of the election; students in middle-to-upper-class schools and those in advanc…
Teachers' Controversial Issue Decisions Related to Race, Gender, and Religion During the 2008 Presidential Election
Using the 2008 Presidential Election as a case of curricular controversy, the author describes how six high school government teachers responded to the racial, gender, and religious diversity included on the presidential tickets of the two major political parties. Teachers had to decide whether the issue of Americans challenging the tradition of electing White males to the federal executive branch would be deemed “open” or “closed” in their class…
Setting Out the (Un) Welcome Mat
This article frames history education as a social construction designed to create a national identity through the inclusion, exclusion, and treatment of various societal groups. Using this lens, the author analyzes curriculum standards from nine states that annually assess student knowledge of American history to better understand the depiction of immigration within the American narrative. The results suggest that state standards are yet another …
Exploring How an Elementary Teacher Plans and Implements Social Studies Inquiry
Social studies continues to be marginalized in elementary grades, yet the C3 Framework and its Inquiry Arc offer possibilities for high-quality elementary social studies instruction. However, the C3 Framework requires that teachers possess an adequate understanding of how to implement inquiry within the various social studies disciplines, which we argue is an aspect of the pedagogical content knowledge necessary for effective elementary social st…
Standardizing Citizenship
The rise of state-mandated standards in public education have allowed legislators to answer the question of what constitutes a proper civic education, a debate that has existed in the United States since the turn of the twentieth century. Through the content they employ in their standards, states may indirectly influence the type of citizenship education students receive in the classroom. The present study focuses on the Virginia Standards of Lea…
What Preservice Social Studies Teachers (Don't) Know About Politics and Current Events—And Why It Matters
This article reports findings from a 3-year study on preservice middle and secondary social studies teachers' common content knowledge of politics and current events. Surveys showed that both groups were generally uninformed about these issues, and on almost all measures, the middle-grades preservice teachers performed worse than those in the secondary program. Interviews were conducted with preservice teachers in both groups, and although they a…
Facilitating a Controversial Issues Discussion in Elementary School about Using Indigenous Sports Mascots
In this study, we investigate how a third-grade teacher enacted controversial issues discussion about the use of Indigenous people as sports mascots. We highlight how the teacher supported eight students' sensemaking about the issue during small-group instruction. We provide suggestions for controversial issues teaching in elementary social studies
Teaching Politics in Secondary Education
This article describes the instructional methods of four high school government teachers during their coverage of the 2008 presidential election. By analyzing the ways in which these teachers attempted to generate interest in the election and further their students’ conceptualization of politics, the author seeks to better understand political instruction at the secondary level. Overall, the author observed that the teachers were successful in ca…
Learning to Think Politically
Secondary civics and government courses are often framed as a content area in which students learn about processes of government and ways of participating in a democratic society, as opposed to a discipline in which students use specific tools and ways of thinking that mimic those used by professionals within that discipline. In this article, we call for an increased emphasis on disciplinary knowledge in civics and government courses, specificall…
Making Politics Palatable
The authors make a case for using The West Wing, a political drama that aired on NBC from 1999 to 2006, as an instructional tool in high school civics and government classes. The show offers a realistic portrayal of life in the White House through the eyes of Democratic President Josiah Bartlet and his senior staff that can further students’ understanding of the traditional curriculum and aid teachers in broaching controversial political issues i…
Facilitating Historical Discussions Using Asynchronous Communication
This study examines the effectiveness of asynchronous communication in facilitating historical discussions among adolescents, with a specific focus on the ways in which teachers can affect this process. Threaded discussion board posts and teacher-student email correspondence from a five-week American history summer course are analyzed and triangulated with interview and observational data as part of a single case study. Using a social constructiv…
Tackling Trump
Textbooks remain important curricular resources in K-12 classrooms. However, the narratives they provide are not neutral and often influenced by external forces. Extant research has shown that history textbooks often present whitewashed and heavily biased accounts of the past; however, less is known about how textbook authors and publishers depict recent historical events, particularly those that remain politically contentious. In this study, I a…
We Still Need You! An Update on the Status of K-12 Civics Education in the United States
In 2001, Richard Niemi and Julia Smith published an article in PS: Political Science and Politics on enrollments in high school civics and government courses. They framed their study on the premise that political scientists were ignoring an important aspect of American civic and political life, and they concluded by issuing a call for political scientists to become more involved in K-12 civics education. This article provides an update on the sta…
Facilitating Historical Discussions Using Asynchronous Communication
This study examines the effectiveness of asynchronous communication in facilitating historical discussions among adolescents, with a specific focus on the ways in which teachers can affect this process. Threaded discussion board posts and teacher-student email correspondence from a five-week American history summer course are analyzed and triangulated with interview and observational data as part of a single case study. Using a social constructiv…
Setting Out the (Un) Welcome Mat
This article frames history education as a social construction designed to create a national identity through the inclusion, exclusion, and treatment of various societal groups. Using this lens, the author analyzes curriculum standards from nine states that annually assess student knowledge of American history to better understand the depiction of immigration within the American narrative. The results suggest that state standards are yet another …
Standardizing Citizenship
The rise of state-mandated standards in public education have allowed legislators to answer the question of what constitutes a proper civic education, a debate that has existed in the United States since the turn of the twentieth century. Through the content they employ in their standards, states may indirectly influence the type of citizenship education students receive in the classroom. The present study focuses on the Virginia Standards of Lea…
Teaching Politics in Secondary Education
This article describes the instructional methods of four high school government teachers during their coverage of the 2008 presidential election. By analyzing the ways in which these teachers attempted to generate interest in the election and further their students’ conceptualization of politics, the author seeks to better understand political instruction at the secondary level. Overall, the author observed that the teachers were successful in ca…
Making Politics Palatable
The authors make a case for using The West Wing, a political drama that aired on NBC from 1999 to 2006, as an instructional tool in high school civics and government classes. The show offers a realistic portrayal of life in the White House through the eyes of Democratic President Josiah Bartlet and his senior staff that can further students’ understanding of the traditional curriculum and aid teachers in broaching controversial political issues i…
Teachers' Controversial Issue Decisions Related to Race, Gender, and Religion During the 2008 Presidential Election
Using the 2008 Presidential Election as a case of curricular controversy, the author describes how six high school government teachers responded to the racial, gender, and religious diversity included on the presidential tickets of the two major political parties. Teachers had to decide whether the issue of Americans challenging the tradition of electing White males to the federal executive branch would be deemed “open” or “closed” in their class…
Teaching the 2008 Presidential Election at Three Demographically Diverse Schools
This article describes the disparity in political instruction found in six government classes from three demographically diverse high schools during the 2008 Presidential Election. In general, students from working-class households or those in lower-level classes were rarely given opportunities to discuss politics at a national level or engage in analytical discussions of the election; students in middle-to-upper-class schools and those in advanc…
What Preservice Social Studies Teachers (Don't) Know About Politics and Current Events—And Why It Matters
This article reports findings from a 3-year study on preservice middle and secondary social studies teachers' common content knowledge of politics and current events. Surveys showed that both groups were generally uninformed about these issues, and on almost all measures, the middle-grades preservice teachers performed worse than those in the secondary program. Interviews were conducted with preservice teachers in both groups, and although they a…
We Still Need You! An Update on the Status of K-12 Civics Education in the United States
In 2001, Richard Niemi and Julia Smith published an article in PS: Political Science and Politics on enrollments in high school civics and government courses. They framed their study on the premise that political scientists were ignoring an important aspect of American civic and political life, and they concluded by issuing a call for political scientists to become more involved in K-12 civics education. This article provides an update on the sta…
Learning to Think Politically
Secondary civics and government courses are often framed as a content area in which students learn about processes of government and ways of participating in a democratic society, as opposed to a discipline in which students use specific tools and ways of thinking that mimic those used by professionals within that discipline. In this article, we call for an increased emphasis on disciplinary knowledge in civics and government courses, specificall…
Reassessing the Social Studies Curriculum
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 dramatically changed many aspects of American society, and the ramifications of that horrific event are still impacting the domestic and foreign policies of the United States. Yet, fifteen years after 9/11—an event that was predicted to change the scope of public education in the United States—we find that the social studies curriculum remains virtually the same as before the attacks. For a discipline c…
Field Ecology
Science education has become a valuable market tool, serving the knowledge economy and technocratic workforce that celebrates individualism, meritocracy, entrepreneurship, rational thought, and abstract knowledge. Field ecology, however, could be a modest, but imaginable contestation of market-driven neoliberal ideology. We explored diverse high school youths’ meaning making of a summer field ecology research experience. Youths’ narratives, elici…
Teaching Politics in Secondary Education
“We have those kinds of conversations here …”
Preparing Teachers for English Learners
In this article we highlight elements of culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogy that prepare teachers to work with English Learners (ELs) from a variety of backgrounds. Specifically, we focus on the learning experiences and practices of one secondary social studies teacher to explore promising practices with ELs and effective teacher preparation strategies. This article highlights two specific strategies used by the teacher: the intent…
Exploring How an Elementary Teacher Plans and Implements Social Studies Inquiry
Social studies continues to be marginalized in elementary grades, yet the C3 Framework and its Inquiry Arc offer possibilities for high-quality elementary social studies instruction. However, the C3 Framework requires that teachers possess an adequate understanding of how to implement inquiry within the various social studies disciplines, which we argue is an aspect of the pedagogical content knowledge necessary for effective elementary social st…
Vice , On the Basis of Sex , and the Liberal Imagination
Using tenets of political psychology, this article analyzes educational implications of contemporary Hollywood partisan political film through two critically acclaimed films released in 2018, Vice and On the Basis of Sex. I argue that these films appeal to confirmation bias and motivated reasoning through the use of villainification and heroification, respectively. Such tactics play on viewers’ emotions and become pedagogically problematic when t…
Taking a reasoned stance against misinformation
The literature on teaching controversial issues offers a framework to help teachers make appropriate judgments about which topics are worthy of deliberation and what information is reasonable to consider in a classroom. Wayne Journell describes four criteria for evaluating the openness of issues, explains why the behavioral criterion is neither feasible or desirable, unpacks the three criteria that the literature has identified as reasonable (the…
Facilitating a Controversial Issues Discussion in Elementary School about Using Indigenous Sports Mascots
In this study, we investigate how a third-grade teacher enacted controversial issues discussion about the use of Indigenous people as sports mascots. We highlight how the teacher supported eight students' sensemaking about the issue during small-group instruction. We provide suggestions for controversial issues teaching in elementary social studies
Psychosocial processes and human desire
Much has been written about the potential civic ramifications of online misinformation, and scholars have identified many useful strategies for helping students discern fact from fiction on social media. However, those strategies make an assumption, which is that consumers of digital media have a desire to identify and share accurate information. In this article, I argue that media literacy efforts should also require students to be retrospective…
Tackling Trump
Textbooks remain important curricular resources in K-12 classrooms. However, the narratives they provide are not neutral and often influenced by external forces. Extant research has shown that history textbooks often present whitewashed and heavily biased accounts of the past; however, less is known about how textbook authors and publishers depict recent historical events, particularly those that remain politically contentious. In this study, I a…
The Covid-19 Pandemic as a Historical Event
This study focuses on how four U.S. History textbooks portrayed the COVID-19 pandemic as a recent historical event. The findings from the study suggest that the textbooks provided a disjointed narrative that did not fully explain aspects of the pandemic, such as why COVID-19 caused so much societal upheaval. The textbooks also often dodged significant questions about the origin of the virus and societal lessons learned from the U.S. pandemic resp…
Educator Training and Historical Pedagogy (19 works) · Sociology (18 works) · Political science (17 works) · Pedagogy (16 works) · Law (15 works) · Psychology (15 works) · Politics (14 works) · Innovative Teaching Methodologies in Social Sciences (12 works) · Mathematics education (12 works) · Law (11 works)