Understanding resistance to content literacy by pre-service social studies teachers

Over the past decade, heightened attention has been placed on integrating literacy strategies into the social studies. The content literacy movement, as it has become known, began with the passing of No Child Left Behind and has continued with the newly implemented Common Core State Standards. In light of this movement, many states required the pre-service social studies teachers to take courses to teach them how to integrate content literacy into their field in spite of the fact that research has shown that these types of courses can lead to heightened opposition.This study examines the process of change that pre-service social studies teachers experienced as they completed a content literacy course designed to model the principles of content literacy, provide opportunities to struggle with the application of content literacy, and support attempts at implementation.