Protect Students First: Voices From the Field

Abstract

America’s education, not delineated a responsibility of the federal government by the U.S. Constitution, is a patchwork of federal and state laws; federal, state, and local funding, assessment, guidelines, and accountability; state standards; and classroom implementation. Amid these myriad forces within education, educator voices are largely absent in research and discourse on American education. Their voices, however, provide insight that may only be discovered by those who concurrently are the agents of fixed constructs and conduits by which others may escape these constructs (Freire, 1968/1970; Vico, 1710/1988; von Glasersfeld, 1981/1984; Vygotsky, 1978). Georgia primary and secondary United States History educator voices were heard in this case study as we sought to understand how nine educators perceived the Protect Students First Act (2022) and how the law influenced the United States History educators’ practices.