One of the fundamental goals of 21st century schools is for students to become independent thinkers through the use of comprehensive academic curriculum that merges academic and social skills to prepare students to compete and engage in an increasingly changing world. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify the ways in which three of Schwab’s four functions, social responsibility, personal responsibility, and social justice, were embedded and measured within core academic curriculum. The study also examined how teachers perceived students’ behaviors as a result of a social justice mindset.
The study was conducted using a traditional qualitative methodology consisting of an in-depth review of district policy, curriculum, learning standards, and interviews with 8th grade core academic content teachers and the district curriculum specialist over a period of 8 months. The review of the data and interviews showed that there is a greater need to more purposefully embed social learning components within academic content. Changes in policy, practice, and research are necessary to achieve environments that equally prioritize academic and social learning.
","abstract_html":"<p>One of the fundamental goals of 21st century schools is for students to become independent thinkers through the use of comprehensive academic curriculum that merges academic and social skills to prepare students to compete and engage in an increasingly changing world. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify the ways in which three of Schwab’s four functions, social responsibility, personal responsibility, and social justice, were embedded and measured within core academic curriculum. The study also examined how teachers perceived students’ behaviors as a result of a social justice mindset. </p> <p>The study was conducted using a traditional qualitative methodology consisting of an in-depth review of district policy, curriculum, learning standards, and interviews with 8th grade core academic content teachers and the district curriculum specialist over a period of 8 months. The review of the data and interviews showed that there is a greater need to more purposefully embed social learning components within academic content. Changes in policy, practice, and research are necessary to achieve environments that equally prioritize academic and social learning.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Clark, Kristen Ashley"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Ed.D. Educational Leadership","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Educational Services and Leadership","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Sudeck, Maria","Foley, Raymond","Coaxum, James"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-04-05T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2016-04-05T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:13:46Z","subjects":["Curriculum","Personal Responsibility","Progressive Learning","Social Development","Social Justice","Social Responsibility","Middle schools; Curriculum evaluation","Curriculum and Instruction","Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/893","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Sudeck, Maria","Foley, Raymond","Coaxum, James"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Clark, Kristen Ashley"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-04-05T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Educational Services and Leadership"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ed.D. Educational Leadership"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Curriculum","Personal Responsibility","Progressive Learning","Social Development","Social Justice","Social Responsibility","Middle schools; Curriculum evaluation","Curriculum and Instruction","Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/893"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["One of the fundamental goals of 21st century schools is for students to become independent thinkers through the use of comprehensive academic curriculum that merges academic and social skills to prepare students to compete and engage in an increasingly changing world. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify the ways in which three of Schwab’s four functions, social responsibility, personal responsibility, and social justice, were embedded and measured within core academic curriculum. The study also examined how teachers perceived students’ behaviors as a result of a social justice mindset.
The study was conducted using a traditional qualitative methodology consisting of an in-depth review of district policy, curriculum, learning standards, and interviews with 8th grade core academic content teachers and the district curriculum specialist over a period of 8 months. The review of the data and interviews showed that there is a greater need to more purposefully embed social learning components within academic content. Changes in policy, practice, and research are necessary to achieve environments that equally prioritize academic and social learning.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["An analysis of a middle school curriculum: through the lens of personal responsibility, social responsibility, and social justice"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Sudeck, Maria","Foley, Raymond","Coaxum, James"],"dc:creator":["Clark, Kristen Ashley"],"dc:date.available":["2016-04-05T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["One of the fundamental goals of 21st century schools is for students to become independent thinkers through the use of comprehensive academic curriculum that merges academic and social skills to prepare students to compete and engage in an increasingly changing world. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify the ways in which three of Schwab’s four functions, social responsibility, personal responsibility, and social justice, were embedded and measured within core academic curriculum. The study also examined how teachers perceived students’ behaviors as a result of a social justice mindset.
The study was conducted using a traditional qualitative methodology consisting of an in-depth review of district policy, curriculum, learning standards, and interviews with 8th grade core academic content teachers and the district curriculum specialist over a period of 8 months. The review of the data and interviews showed that there is a greater need to more purposefully embed social learning components within academic content. Changes in policy, practice, and research are necessary to achieve environments that equally prioritize academic and social learning.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/893"],"dc:subject":["Curriculum","Personal Responsibility","Progressive Learning","Social Development","Social Justice","Social Responsibility","Middle schools; Curriculum evaluation","Curriculum and Instruction","Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration"],"dc:title":["An analysis of a middle school curriculum: through the lens of personal responsibility, social responsibility, and social justice"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Educational Services and Leadership"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ed.D. Educational Leadership"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:13:46Z"}