Teacher Perceptions of Fourth-Grade Students' Social Studies Readines

Teacher perceptions of fourth-grade students' readiness to learn Ohio's fourthgrade social studies standards were explored through this sequential explanatory mixed methods study. Implementation of Ohio's new reading policies in the lower elementary may have had an unintended future impact on the teaching of social studies in the upper elementary grades. The implementation of these policies in the third grade continues to increase the marginalization of social studies instruction. If Ohio's third-grade social studies teachers do not explicitly teach the readiness standards, the burden falls to the fourth-grade teachers.;Initially, the research focus of this study of the marginalization of social studies in the upper elementary was its potential impact on the readiness of students to successfully pass the fourth grade state-mandated social studies test. However, after the quantitative phase of this study was completed, the Ohio legislature made the decision to eliminate the fourth-grade social studies year-end test. Nonetheless the findings emphasize the importance of strong school-wide social studies curricula across Ohio as well as inform policy makers in states that currently have both reading guarantees and social studies assessments that student readiness has a significant impact on social studies instruction at the next grade level.