Teaching social studies : exploring the impact of a transdisciplinary approach towards initial teacher education in Scotland

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Quirke, William and McCrorie, Kathryn and Proctor, Sarah (2025) Teaching social studies : exploring the impact of a transdisciplinary approach towards initial teacher education in Scotland. Journal of Curriculum Studies. pp. 1-19. ISSN 0022-0272 (https://doi.org/10.1080/00220272.2025.2486109)

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Abstract

This article considers the impact of a transdisciplinary approach towards social studies Initial Teacher Education (ITE) in Scotland. The organisational structure of Scottish secondary schools has changed in recent years with many now combining formerly discrete departments into faculties. In social studies, this means that geography, history and modern studies often form a faculty. Within these there has been a move towards a single-teacher model, with one teacher teaching all social studies subjects to a class. So far, university-based teacher education for social studies had retained a traditional approach, with student teachers focusing on their discrete subject specialism. This study assesses the impact of a new programme which saw student teachers of these disciplines being educated together through an immersive approach with the aim of widening their knowledge and skills. A deductive approach was taken to assess the outcomes of this initiative. Findings from an online questionnaire survey issued following the student teachers first practicum experience identified that the student teachers had positive perceptions of the initiative, valued it as an area of professional learning and that it prepared student teachers for their first practicum experience in combined faculty settings. This paper concludes with recommendations for future work in this area.

ORCID iDs

Quirke, William ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-6734-7379, McCrorie, Kathryn ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4260-3873 and Proctor, Sarah ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9379-078X;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)