[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-602320-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-602320-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","inquiry-learning-for-our-students-and-our-future","Inquiry Learning for Our Students and Our Future","","The article examines how misinformation, disinformation, and hate speech intensify social division and threaten democratic life, drawing examples such as false claims about unemployment, immigration, historical events, and climate change. It argues that PreK-12 schools should counter these forces by preparing students for democratic citizenship through human-rights grounded values and pluralism. It then presents student inquiry as a remedy, rooted in social reconstruction theory, emphasizing classroom conditions that support critical analysis, inquiry, and action.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/inquiry-learning-for-our-students-and-our-future/602320/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/inquiry-learning-for-our-students-and-our-future/602320.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"dawugda","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-02","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",8,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"How does misinformation and disinformation affect society according to the article?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"It can reinforce false beliefs, shape negative attitudes toward marginalized groups, and contribute to polarization that threatens democracy.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"Why does the article focus on PreK-12 schools?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"It argues schools could and should be the strongest barrier against misinformation by building young people’s capacities for democratic citizenship.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What solution does the author propose to address these challenges?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"The author proposes shifting PreK-12 education toward student inquiry and using a developmental approach to make reforms more achievable.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},602320,1792190745,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,106,111,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":102,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":107,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":108,"show_sort_weight":109,"slug":110},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":55,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145},3985747870947,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_3d24733baf745e90a7e4bdd5f77d97b2","Educational Considerations  \n\n| Volume 51  Number 1 | Article 3 |\n| --- | --- |\n| 2025\u003Cbr>Inquiry Learning for Our Students and Our Future\u003Cbr>Stephen P. Gordon\u003Cbr>Texas State University, [sg07@txstate.edu](sg07@txstate.edu)\u003Cbr>Follow this and additional works at: [https://newprairiepress.org/edconsiderations](https://newprairiepress.org/edconsiderations)\u003Cbr> Part of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Curriculum and Social Inquiry Commons, and the Educational Methods Commons\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License. |  |\n\nRecommended Citation  \nGordon, Stephen P. () \"Inquiry Learning for Our Students and Our Future,\" Educational Considerations: Vol.  \n51: No. 1. [https://doi.org/10.4148/0146-9282.2477](https://doi.org/10.4148/0146-9282.2477)  \nThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by New Prairie Press. It has been accepted for inclusion in Educational Considerations by an authorized administrator of New Prairie Press. For more information, please [contact](contact cads@k-state.edu)[ cads@k-state.edu](contact cads@k-state.edu).  \nInquiry Learning for Our Students and Our Future  \nStephen P. Gordon  \nThe Problem  \nWe currently are experiencing divisions in our society that are harmful to our social relationships  \nand our democracy. Such divisions always have been present, due partly to the narrow  \nworldviews and false beliefs held by some individuals resulting in racism, gender discrimination,  \nand stereotyping of social and political groups different from their own. However, the recent  \ndominance of social media (along with many positive effects) has greatly increased the amount  \nof misinformation, disinformation, and hate speech being circulated throughout society  \n(Konieczny, 2022) . One example of disinformation is connecting negative phenomena like  \nunemployment, low wages, scarce resources, and crime to unrelated things like immigration  \n(Consterdine, 2024). Another example is the denial of historical realities such as the Holocaust,  \nclimate change, and mass shootings like Sandy Hook (Biltoft, 2020) .  \nA particularly serious threat to a civil society is the use of disinformation by some politicians,  \nmedia personalities, and organized extremist groups to gain power, profit, or influence.  \nDisinformation can lead to, or reinforce false beliefs about, negative attitudes toward, and  \nmistreatment of, historically marginalized groups. Disinformation concerning political issues,  \nhealth concerns, climate change, and economic affairs can lead to a polarized society and  \nthreaten democracy (Konieczny, 2022) .  \nOur PreK-12 schools could and should be the greatest deterrent to misinformation and  \ndisinformation and our strongest means of preparing young persons for democratic citizenship,  \ndefined by the Education for Democratic Citizenship program as “citizenship based on the  \nprinciples and values of human rights, respect of human dignity, pluralism, cultural diversity, and  \nthe primacy of law”(O ’Shea, 2003, p. 10). However, both longstanding and recent barriers to  \ndemocratic schooling exist. For several decades now, schools, school administrators, and  \nteachers have been encumbered by government-mandated curricula focused on lower-level  \ncognitive skills and high-stakes achievement tests enforcing the teaching of such curricula  \n(Collins et al., 2019). Our current emphasis on narrow curricula and test prep has lowered many  \nstudents’ interest, motivation, and learning. As Anderson and Winthrop (2025) state:  \nA shocking number of young people don’t see the point of school anymore. As a result,  \nthey lose motivation and drop out…. Kids witness the world around them—wars, social  \ninjustice, climate change, disinformation, technology that can write novels and counsel  \non heartbreak—and wonder why on earth they have to learn the Pythagorean theorem.  \n(p. xiii)  \nMore recently, many schools have been confronted with ot","cbCaibO5UudBnV97","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaibO5UudBnV97","pdf",570057,21,"English","# The Problem\n# The Proposed Solution: Inquiry Learning\n## Social Reconstruction Theory (SRT) Foundations\n## Classroom Atmosphere for Inquiry","[{\"question\":\"How does misinformation and disinformation affect society according to the article?\",\"answer\":\"It can reinforce false beliefs, shape negative attitudes toward marginalized groups, and contribute to polarization that threatens democracy.\"},{\"question\":\"Why does the article focus on PreK-12 schools?\",\"answer\":\"It argues schools could and should be the strongest barrier against misinformation by building young people’s capacities for democratic citizenship.\"},{\"question\":\"What solution does the author propose to address these challenges?\",\"answer\":\"The author proposes shifting PreK-12 education toward student inquiry and using a developmental approach to make reforms more achievable.\"}]","Inquiry Learning for Our Students and Our Future | PDF",1792094469,53]