WHAT IS THE SSEC?
The Social Science Education Consortium, founded in 1963, is a not-for-profit educational corporation dedicated to strengthening the social science content in social studies education.
SSEC MISSION
(Revised & Adopted in December 2023) *
The Social Science Education Consortium is dedicated to advancing social science content in social studies education toward a just global society.
We pursue this mission by:
- Collaborating with partners and allied institutions dedicated to seeking solutions for local and global social problems through application of the social sciences.
- Developing and supporting a relevant research agenda that promotes transformative social science teaching and learning.
- Valuing and encouraging equity, justice, and diversity to foster spaces of belonging in the social sciences.
Practices & Activities Supportive of the Mission
The Social Science Education Consortium (SSEC) plans to implement and to support the mission through the following activities:
Collaboration
- Pursue partnerships or other collaborative opportunities with universities and colleges, domestically and globally.
- Identify colleagues in the social sciences with a keen interest in K-12 classrooms, especially social science faculty in community colleges who often teach in their disciplines and in teacher education.
- Reach out to advocacy groups whose work aligns with SSEC’s mission and explore collaborative projects in curriculum and professional development.
Research
- Host annual conferences and webinars to help refine our research agenda and disseminate research results.
- Publish books and other materials, in a variety of formats and platforms, that relate to our research agenda. Our partnership with Information Age Publishing is one means of supporting our publication activities.
- Provide current information to the field by frequently updating the website and social media accounts with publications and/or curriculum that align with research agenda.
Equity, Justice, & Diversity in the Social Sciences
- Develop a mentoring program.
- Use webinars that highlight DEIJB issues.
* In June 2023, the SSEC Board of Directors drafted a revised mission statement at a Board Retreat held in conjunction with annual conference in Bellingham, WA. A comment period for members was opened from September-December 2023. The Board of Directors made final revisions and adopted a final mission statement on December 14, 2023. The full retreat report is available at http://tinyurl.com/3srp5ett