Sears, Alan

Professor, Social Studies Education, University of New Brunswick

Alan Sears is Professor of Social Studies Education at the University of New Brunswick. He has been a history and social studies teacher for more than 30 years, working at all levels from primary to graduate school. Dr. Sears’ research and writing have been in the fields of social studies, citizenship education, and history education. He has published more than 50 articles and book chapters and co-authored and co-edited a number of books, including Education, Politics and Religion: Reconciling the Civic and the Sacred in Education (Routledge, 2010), Globalization, the Nation-State and the Citizen: Dilemmas and Directions for Civics and Citizenship Education (Routledge, 2010), and Education, Globalization and The Nation (Palgrave MacMillan 2015). He is also Editor for the journal Citizenship Teaching and Learning.

Dr. Sears’ most recent research has focused on how children and young people understand key ideas related to citizenship. He is currently principal investigator on an SSHRC funded project designed to map how young people in Alberta and the Maritimes conceptualize democratic participation and a co-investigator on a similar project looking at how young people and teachers conceptualize diversity in Canada. 

Publications Since 2007

With King Man Chong, Ian Davies, Terrie Epstein, Carla L. Peck, Andrew Peterson, Alistair Ross, Maria Auxiliadora Moreira dos Santos Schmidt, and Debbie Sonu. Education, Globalization and the Nation. Hampshire, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.

With Mark Hirschkorn. “More than Gatekeeping: The Pedagogical Potential of Admissions Procedures for Teacher Education.” In Change and Progress in Canadian Teacher Education: Research on Recent Innovations in Teacher Preparation in Canada, edited by Lynn Thomas and Mark Hirschkorn, 441-65. Canadian Association for Teacher Education.

With Mark Hirschkorn and Lynn Lemisko. “Navigating the Maze: The Struggle to Map the Landscape of Teacher Education in Canada.” Education Canada 55, no. 1 (2015), 20-22.

Measuring What Matters: Citizenship Domain. Toronto: People for Education, 2014.

"Confederation As The Journey Rather Than The Destination." The Guardian, November 15, 2014, p. D8.

With Penney Clark. "Historical Frictions: History, Art and Pedagogy." Canadian Issues/Thèmes Canadiens (Fall 2014), 18-23.

"Education Reform: Beware of 'Policy Talk' From Politicians." Retrieved September 3, 2014, from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/education-reform-beware-of-p...

"A History Educator Looks Forward." In From The Curriculum to the Classroom: More Teachers, More Students, More Thinking. In A Report on the Annual Meeting of the Historical Thinking Project,13-15. Vancouver: University of British Columbia, 2014.

With Carla Peck and Lindsay Herriot. "We’re Here to Teach About Democracy Not Practice It. The Missed Potential of Schools as Democratic Spaces." One World in Dialogue 3(3) (2014): 1-9.

"Moving from the Periphery to the Core: The Possibilities for Professional Learning Communities in History Teacher Education." In Becoming a History Teacher: Sustaining Practices in Historical Thinking and Knowing, edited by Ruth Sandwell and Amy von Heyking, 11-29. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2014.

With Mark Hirschkorn and Katherine Ireland. "Disrupting Teacher Development: The Role of Teacher Education." In Becoming Teacher: Sites for Development of Canadian Teacher Education, edited by Lynn Thomas, 209-34. Electronic Book: Canadian Association for Teacher Education, 2014.

With E. Sloat et al. "Restoring Higher Education's Mission in Teacher Education: A Global Challenge from a Canadian Perspective." In Learning Teaching from Experience: Multiple Perspectives and International Contexts, edited by V. Ellis and J. Orchard, 143-58. London and New York: Bloomsbury, 2014.

With S. King et al. Fostering Civic Engagement Among Newcomers. Fredericton: Department of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour Population Growth Division Settlement & Multiculturalism Branch, 2013.

"Fifty Shades of History Teaching." Antistasis, 3(1) (2013), ii-iv.

"Australia's New Civics and Citizenship Draft Shape Paper: A Significant Step Backward." Curriculum Perspectives 33(1) (2013): 87-89. Invited essay as part of a point – counterpoint exchange.

With Blake Seward, Cindy Brown, and Lee Windsor. Crossing Boundaries on the Battlefield: The Possibilities of Teacher Study Tours for Substantial Professional Learning. Canadian Military History 22(1) (2013): 71-81.
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With Mark Hirschkorn and P. Kristmanson. "Toward a National Conversation About Teacher Education in Canada: An Examination of CATE Conference Presentations." In What is Canadian about Teacher Education in Canada? Multiple Perspectives on Canadian Teacher Education in the Twenty-First Century, edited by L. Thomas, 61-86. Ottawa: Canadian Association for Teacher Educators, 2013.

Review of Louis Menand. The Marketplace of Ideas: Reform and Resistance in the American University. 2012. http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=33892

With Theodore Christou. “Religion and Education.” In The Routledge Companion to Education, edited by J. Arthur & A. Peterson, 341-49. London and New York: Routledge, 2011.

With Ian Davies and Alan Reid. “From Britishness to Nothingness and Back Again.” In Britishness, Identity and Citizenship: The View From Abroad, edited by C. McGlynn, A. Mycock and J. W. McAuley, 291-311. New York: Peter Lang, 2011.

“Engaging Learners, Fostering Citizenship.” Review of Citizenship across the Curriculum, edited by Michael B. Smith, Rebecca S. Nowacek, Jeffrey Bernstein, 219 pp. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2010. H-Net Reviews, August 2011. https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showpdf.php?id=32784

Review of Educating Democracy: Alexis De Tocqueville and Leadership in America by Brian Danoff, 218 pp. Albany: SUNY Press. H-Education, H-Net Reviews. March, 2011. https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showpdf.php?id=31659

With Theodore Christou. “From Neglect to Nexus: Examining the Place of Educational History in Teacher Education.” Encounters on Education 12 (Fall) (2011): 37-57.

"Historical Thinking and Citizenship Education: It Is Time to End the War." In New Possibilities for the Past: Shaping History Education in Canada, edited by Penney Clark, 344-64. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2011.

"Fortified Silos or Interconnected Webs: The Relationship between History and Other Subjects in the Curriculum." In Debates in History Teaching, edited by Ian Davies, 272-81. Oxon and New York: Routledge, 2010.

Edited with James Arthur and Liam Gearon. Education, Politics and Religion: Reconciling the Civic and the Sacred in Education. London and New York: Routledge, 2010.

Edited with Alan Reid and Judith Gill. Globalization, the Nation-State and the Citizen: Dilemmas and Directions for Civics and Citizenship Education. New York and London: Routledge, 2010.

"Possibilities and Problems: Citizenship Education in a Multinational State, the Case of Canada." In Globalization, the Nation-State and the Citizen: Dilemmas and Directions for Civics and Citizenship Education, edited by Alan Reid, Judith Gill, and Alan Sears, 191-205. New York and London: Routledge, 2010.

With Alan Reid and Judith Gill. "Introduction: The Forming of Citizens in a Globalized World." In Globalization, the Nation-State and the Citizen: Dilemmas and Directions for Civics and Citizenship Education, edited by Alan Reid, Judith Gill, and Alan Sears, 3-16. New York and London: Routledge, 2010.

"Doing Educational Research." In The Routledge Education Studies Textbook, edited by James Arthur and Ian Davies, 248-60. London and New York: Routledge, 2010.

With Carla Peck, Ottilia Chareka, Laura Thompson and Reva Joshee. “From Getting Along to Democratic Engagement: Moving Toward Deep Diversity in Citizenship Education.” Citizenship Teaching and Learning 6(1) (2010): 61-75.

With Andrew Hughes and Murray Print. “Curriculum Capacity and Citizenship Education: A Comparative Analysis.” Compare 40(3) (2010): 293-309.

With Emery J. Hyslop-Margison. “Enhancing Teacher Performance: The Role of Professional Autonomy.” Interchange 41(1) (2010): 1-15.

With Theodore Christou. "Rapprochement: Toward An Inclusive Approach to History And Citizenship Education In Canada." Canadian Issues/Thèmes Canadiens (Winter 2010), 17-21.

Negotiating the Maze of Educational Research. Antistasis, 1(1) (2010): 25-7.

With Mark Hirschkorn, Paula Kristmanson, Kathy Winslow, and Sharon Rich. "The Perfect Storm: Moving a Teacher Education Reform from Vision to Reality." Education Canada 50(1) (2010): 19-21.

With Mark Hirschkorn and Sharon Rich. “The Reform of Teacher Education at the University of New Brunswick: Why and How?” Brock Education 18(2) (2009): 81-95.

"Children's Understandings of Democratic Participation: Lessons for Civic Education." In Civic Education and Youth Political Participation, edited by Murray Print and Henry Milner, 143-58. Rotterdam/Boston/Taipei: Sense, 2009.

"Making Room for Revolution in Social Studies Classrooms." Education Canada 49(2) (2009): 5-8.

With Craig Harding. Voices of Democracy: Action and Participation. Toronto: Pearson, 2008.

With Carla Peck and Shanell Donaldson. "Unreached and Unreachable? Curriculum Standards and Children's Understanding of Ethnic Diversity in Canada." Curriculum Inquiry 38(1) (2008): 63-92.

With Andrew Hughes. "The Struggle for Citizenship Education in Canada: The Centre Cannot Hold." In The Sage Handbook of Education for Citizenship and Democracy, edited by James Arthur, Ian Davies and Carole Hahn, 124-38. London: Sage, 2008.