Professor, Social Studies Education

Faculty of Education
University of New Brunswick
P.O. Box 4400
Fredericton, NB Canada
E3B 5A3

Tel: (506) 453-5178
Fax: (506) 453-3569
Marshall d'Avray Hall, rm. 311-1A
asears@unb.ca

I am a Professor of Social Studies Education at the University of New Brunswick.  I have been a social studies teacher for more than 30 years working at all levels from primary to graduate school. In the Faculty of Education at UNB I teach undergraduate courses in teaching methods, social studies education, and comparative education and graduate courses in research methods and educational policy.  I also regularly supervise PhD and MEd students.  My research and writing have been in the fields of social studies, citizenship education, and history education.  I am Associate Editor for the journal Citizenship Teaching and Learning (http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/journals/view-Journal,id=193/ ).  One of our most exciting initiatives has been the Spirit of Democracy Project. It is a collaborative effort with Russian colleagues focused on developing an approach to teaching key democratic ideas.

My most recent research has focused on how children and young people understand key ideas related to citizenship. I am currently principal investigator on an SSHRC 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.

In addition to this program of work, I have recently coauthored a social studies textbook for grade 6 in Alberta titled Voices of Democracy: Action and Participation and I regularly conduct workshops with teachers on social studies and citizenship education.

Research Interests

Social studies education, citizenship education, history education, educational policy, religious education, phenomenography

Recent Publications: Books

Arthur, James, Gearon, Liam & Sears, Alan (2010). Education, Politics and Religion: Reconciling the Civic and the Sacred in Education. London and New York: Routledge. 170 pages.

Reid, Alan, Gill, Judith & Sears, A. (Eds.). (2010). Globalization, the Nation-State and the Citizen: Dilemmas and Directions for Civics and Citizenship Education: New York and London: Routledge. 264 pages.

Harding, J. Craig & Sears, Alan (2008).  Voices of Democracy: Action and Participation. (Toronto: Pearson), 233 pages.

Harding, J. Craig & Sears, Alan (2008).  Take Action – Make a Difference: A Social Studies Handbook. (Toronto: Pearson), 48 pages. 

Hyslop-Margison, Emery, J. & Sears, Alan (2006).  Neo-Liberalism, Globalization and Human Capital Learning: Reclaiming Education for Democratic Citizenship   (Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer).

Recent and Forthcoming Publications: Articles and Book Chapters

Sears, Alan, & Christou, Theodore (2011). Religion and Education. In J. Arthur & A. Peterson (Eds.), The Routledge Companion to Education (pp. in press). Oxon and New York: Routledge.

Sears, Alan, Davies, Ian, & Reid, Alan. (2011). From Britishness to Nothingness and Back Again. In C. McGlynn & A. Mycock (Eds.), Britishness, The View from Abroad (pp. in press). New York: Peter Lang.

Sears, Alan. (2011). Historical Thinking and Citizenship Education: It is Time to End the War. In P. Clark (Ed.), New Possibilities for the Past: Shaping History Education in Canada (pp. in press). Vancouver: UBC Press.

Sears, Alan. (2010). Fortified Silos or Interconnected Webs: The Relationship Between History and Other Subjects in the Curriculum. In I. Davies (Ed.), Debates in History Teaching (pp. 272-281). Oxon and New York: Routledge.

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

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

Hyslop-Margison, Emery J., & Sears, Alan (2010). Enhancing teacher performance: The role of professional autonomy. Interchange, 41(1), 1-15.

Print, M., Hughes, A. S., & Sears, A. (2010). Curriculum Capacity and Citizenship Education: A Comparative Analysis. Compare, 40(3), in press.

Reid, Alan., Gill, Judith., & Sears, Alan. (2010). Introduction: The Forming of Citizens in a Globalized World. In A. Reid, J. Gill & A. Sears (Eds.), Globalization, the Nation-State and the Citizen: Dilemmas and Directions for Civics and Citizenship Education (pp. in press). New York: Routledge.

Sears, Alan. (2010). Possibilities and Problems: Citizenship Education in a Multinational State, The Case of Canada. In A. Reid, J. Gill & A. Sears (Eds.), Globalization, The Nation-State and the Citizen: Dilemmas and Directions for Citizenship Education (pp. in press). New York: Routledge.

Hirschkorn, M., Kristmanson, P., Sears, A., Winslow, K., & Rich, S. (2010). The Perfect Storm: Moving a Teacher Education Reform from Vision to Reality. Education Canada, 50(1), 19-21.

Hyslop-Margison, E. J., & Sears, A. (2010). Enhancing teacher performance: The role of professional autonomy. Interchange, 41(1), 1-15.

Sears, Alan. (2010). Doing Educational Research. In J. Arthur & I. Davies (Eds.), The Routledge Education Studies Textbook (pp. 248-260). Oxon and New York: Routledge.

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

Sears, Alan. (2009). Children's Understandings of Democratic Participation: Lessons for Civic Education. In M. Print & H. Milner (Eds.), Civic Education and Youth Political Participation (pp. 143-158). Rotterdam/Boston/Taipei: Sense.

Sears, Alan (2009). Making Room for Revolution in Social Studies Classrooms.  Education Canada, 49, 2, 5-8.

Sears, Alan. (2009). Turning the World Upside Down: Paying Attention to the Learners in Social Education. One World: The Journal of the Alberta Teachers Association Social Studies Council, 42, 1, 4-11.

Hyslop-Margison, Emery J. & Sears, Alan (2008).  The Neo-liberal Assault on Democratic Learning.  University College of the Fraser Valley Research Review 2, 1, 28-38.

Hughes, Andrew S. & Sears, Alan (2008). The Struggle for Citizenship Education in Canada:  The Centre Cannot Hold.  In James Arthur, Ian Davies and Carol Hahn, eds., SAGE Handbook of Education for Citizenship and Democracy (Sage: London), 124-138.

Hyslop-Margison, Emery & Sears, Alan (2008).  From Human Capital Learning to Education for Civic Engagement: Challenging the Dominant Discourse of Globalization. In Michael A Peters, Alan Britton  and Harry Blee eds., Global Citizenship Education: Philosophy, Theory and Pedagogy, (Rotterdam: Sense Publishers), 299-316.

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

Hughes, Andrew S. & Sears, Alan (2007). Teaching the Contested and Controversial Nature of Democratic Ideas: Taking the Crisis out of Controversy. In H. Claire & C. Holden (Eds.), The Challenge of Teaching Controversial Issues (pp. 83-93). Stoke on Kent, UK: Trentham Books.

Sears, Alan & Hyslop-Margison, Emery (2007).  Crisis as a Vehicle for Educational Reform: The Case of Citizenship Education.  Journal of Educational Thought, 41, 1, Spring, 43-62.

Recent Theses Supervised

Louise Morrison, M.Ed. Thesis, “Children’s Conceptualization of Ethnic Diversity: A Study with Students in Rural Quebec.”

Ottilia Chareka, PhD Thesis, “Conceptions of Democratic Participation Among Recent African Immigrants and Native Born Canadians.” 

Shanell Donaldson, M.Ed. Thesis, “Children’s Understanding of Cultural Diversity in England and New Brunswick: A Comparative Study.”

Linda Hickey, M.Ed. Thesis, “Having Good Days and Knowing Why:  Learning from the Stories of Exceptional Experienced Teachers.”