Teacher Approaches to Women's History, Gender, and Feminism In
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Virginia Commonwealth University VCU Scholars Compass Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 2020 Teacher Approaches to Women’s History, Gender, and Feminism in Secondary Social Studies Kimberly R. Bowman Virginia Commonwealth University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd Part of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, and the Secondary Education and Teaching Commons © Kimberly Rose Bowman Downloaded from https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/6158 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at VCU Scholars Compass. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of VCU Scholars Compass. For more information, please contact [email protected]. TEACHER APPROACHES TO WOMEN’S HISTORY 1 Teacher Approaches to Women’s History, Gender, and Feminism in Secondary Social Studies A thesis/dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of (list degree, for example, Master of Science, Doctor of Philosophy) at Virginia Commonwealth University. by Kimberly Rose Bowman Bachelor of Arts in History, Randolph Macon College, 2008 Master of Science in Education, University of Southern Maine, 2013 Director: Gabriel Reich, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Department of Teaching And Learning School of Education Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, Virginia April 22, 2020 TEACHER APPROACHES TO WOMEN’S HISTORY 2 Acknowledgements As challenging as it is to succinctly recognize all those who supported me throughout this project, I am going to try to do just that. I want to begin with my incredible committee members who have guided and encouraged me through every stage. Dr. Gabriel Reich, thank you for introducing me to the wide field of social studies education and helping me find those conversations I most want to be a part of. Your mentorship has helped me grow as a researcher, writer, and educator. Dr. Ross Collin, your class helped me see the potential for academic work to make concrete social change. Your work as a scholar and educator continue to inspire me and I am so grateful to have had your thoughtful guidance on this project. Dr. Mardi Schmeichel, thank you for being a constant source of encouragement and for always challenging me to dig deeper and give this work and the academic experience my all. Thank you also for your inspiring contributions to the field of social studies. Dr. Jesse Senechal, thank you for your thoughtful methodological guidance. You model how to do educational research well in everything you do. I would also like to thank all of the participants for being so generous with their time, their ideas and experiences, and their feedback. It was truly an honor to work with you all throughout this process. Your students are so lucky to have such thoughtful and reflective practitioners in their lives. To all my family and friends, thank you for all the times you checked in on me, encouraged me, and distracted me and thank you for helping me be the woman I am today. Mom, Dad, Danny, Julie, Deepa, Rawls, Adrienne, Joel, and Alex, thank you for all the phone calls and for keeping me grounded in all our amazing and hilarious family traditions throughout this whole process. To all my pals, confidants, and bosom buddies, thank you for your patience with me and TEACHER APPROACHES TO WOMEN’S HISTORY 3 for always reaching out and including me. CCC Cohort, there are no words for how lucky I feel having been able to start this journey with you all. Josh, you are my partner in life. Thank you for sharing all your joy, passion, and humor with me. Thank you for always helping me stand back up when things get tough and for reminding me to slow down, take stock, and maybe watch a movie during all the other times. I love you. TEACHER APPROACHES TO WOMEN’S HISTORY 4 For Taylor, who was unafraid to dream big dreams TEACHER APPROACHES TO WOMEN’S HISTORY 5 Table of Contents List of Tables .............................................................................................................................. 8 List of Figures ............................................................................................................................ 9 Abstract .................................................................................................................................... 10 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................. 11 Statement of Purpose ................................................................................................................ 11 The Plurality of Feminism ........................................................................................................ 14 Current Trends in Feminism and Education .............................................................................. 18 Brief Overview of Methodology ............................................................................................... 21 Summary .................................................................................................................................. 22 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................... 24 Curriculum Control and Teacher Expertise ............................................................................... 24 The Act of Selection ........................................................................................................................ 24 Fields of Curriculum Knowledge.................................................................................................... 29 The Bulk of Curriculum Control .................................................................................................................. 31 Locating Teacher Curriculum Control .......................................................................................................... 32 The Situated Knowledge of Teachers ............................................................................................. 38 Defining Situated Knowledge ...................................................................................................................... 39 Teacher Expertise ........................................................................................................................................ 40 Early Feminist Curriculum Interventions .................................................................................. 43 “Early” Feminism ........................................................................................................................... 43 Women’s History ........................................................................................................................................ 45 Phase Models .............................................................................................................................................. 48 The Culture of Women ................................................................................................................................ 50 Goals of the “Early” Knowledge Transformation Project.............................................................................. 52 Changing Concepts of Sex and Gender .......................................................................................... 53 Critical Race Theory and Feminism............................................................................................... 56 Women, Citizenship, and Politics ................................................................................................... 59 Current Representations of Women, Gender, and Feminism in Social Studies Curriculum ........ 61 Curriculum and Gender Identity ................................................................................................... 63 The Subjects of Women’s History .................................................................................................. 66 Missing or Hidden Discourses ........................................................................................................ 69 Summary .................................................................................................................................. 70 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODS ................................................................................... 72 My Commitments as a Feminist Researcher .............................................................................. 72 Acknowledging Subjectivity and Partiality .................................................................................... 73 TEACHER APPROACHES TO WOMEN’S HISTORY 6 Examining Issues of Power and Authority ..................................................................................... 74 Being Reflexive ................................................................................................................................ 76 Situating Myself as Researcher ................................................................................................. 77 Methodology ............................................................................................................................ 81 Entering the Research Process ....................................................................................................... 81 The Question I Wanted to Answer ..............................................................................................................