From “Social Justice Vacant” to “Social Justice Explicit”: An Analysis of How Elementary Pre-service Teachers Imagine Teaching about COVID-19

As the COVID-19 pandemic invaded our lives in March of 2020, schools were forced to close their doors and urgently transition to remote learning. This action research study is about pre-service elementary teachers (PSTs) in a social justice-focused social studies methods course who used this unprecedented time as valid curricular material. While adjusting to life in lockdown, PSTs created inquiries about COVID-19 for elementary students. Analysis of these inquiries revealed curricula that could be envisioned along a social justice spectrum. Some were “social justice vacant,” others offered a “social justice nod,” a handful waded in a bit further demonstrating a “social justice curious” stance, and two of the inquiries were “social justice explicit.” This spectrum is discussed and offers implications for teacher education related to the action research implementation and reflection.