Home > Kathryn Obenchain - Faculty Profiles
Faculty Profiles
Steven C. Beering Hall of Liberal Arts and Education 100 N. University Street West Lafayette Indiana 47907-2098 BRNG 4174work Work Phone: (765) 494-2372work Work Email: kobench@purdue.eduINTERNET Website: CV
Kathryn Obenchain
Professor Social Studies EducationCurriculum and Instruction
– Profile
+ Education
- Ph.D. — Curriculum and Instruction (Social Studies), Purdue University, West Lafayette (1997)
- M.S. — Curriculum and Instruction (Social Studies), Purdue University, West Lafayette (1994)
- B.A. — History, Hanover College, Hanover (1982)
+ Experience
- 2023 – 2024
Associate Dean
Innovation Initiative
College of Education, Purdue University - 2018 – present
Professor
Social Studies Education
Curriculum and Instruction, Purdue University - 2017 – 2023
Associate Dean
Learning, Engagement & Global Initiatives
College of Education, Purdue University - 2014 – 2018
Associate Professor
Social Studies Education
Curriculum and Instruction, Purdue University - 2011 – 2014
Assistant Professor
Social Studies Education
Curriculum and Instruction, Purdue University - 2009 – 2011
Assistant Professor
Social Studies Education
Curriculum and Instruction, The University of Texas at Austin - 2009, Spring
Visiting Professor/Senior Fulbright Scholar
Faculty of Psychology & Educational Studies
Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai, Cluj-Napoca, Romania - 2003 – 2009
Associate Professor
Social Studies Education
Educational Specialties, University of Nevada, Reno - 1997 – 2003
Assistant Professor
Social Studies Education
Educational Specialties, University of Nevada, Reno
+ Professional Contributions
Editorial Activities
- Social Studies Research and Practice, manuscript reviewer (2006-present)
- Editorial Board Member (2017-present)
- Theory and Research in Social Education, manuscript reviewer (2005-present)
- Journal of Social Studies Research, manuscript reviewer (2009 – present)
- Democracy and Education, manuscript reviewer (2014)
- Journal of International Social Studies, manuscript reviewer (2014-present)
- The High School Journal, manuscript reviewer (2015)
International Contributions
- Co-Host, USAID Pre-service Teacher Education in Jordan program preparing university programs for US teacher education accreditation (2023)
- Co-founder and co-director “Research in Romania” study abroad program (2005-present). This study-abroad program takes undergraduate and graduate students to Cluj-Napoca, Romania to work with faculty and students at Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai and in the local schools. Students spend evenings learning about how to conduct qualitative research in international contexts. Most week days are spent in area classrooms or other relevant sites getting hands-on qualitative research experience.
- CIVITAS @ Bosnia and Herzegovina, ‘Methods Specialist’ for training of teacher education university faculty in Bosnia and Herzegovina in content and methods related to civic education, July 2001.
- Co-facilitator and co-host for one week of a delegation of teacher educators, teachers, and government ministers from Bosnia and Herzegovina examining civic education in teacher education, April 2001.
Invited Presentations
- Obenchain, K., Barce, J., Marchand-Martella, N. (2020). Innovation initiative: Transformative education for learning through meaningful change and lasting impact at Purdue University. National Association of State Boards of Education (virtual).
- Obenchain, K. (October 2022). 1-2-1: A GYO partnership focused on sustaining community talent. Association of Teacher Education-Indiana. Indianapolis, Indiana.
- Obenchain, K. (June 2022). Purdue University College of Education: Innovations in Strengthening the Educator Pipeline. Indiana State Superintendents of Education Study Council, Nashville, IN
+ Research and Publications
Dr. Obenchain’s scholarship centers on two lines of inquiry: 1. Social studies as a vehicle for citizenship education. This includes an emphasis on studying the teaching and learning social studies in K-12 U.S. classrooms and how enlightened and engaged citizenship is encouraged. This line of inquiry rests squarely in K-12 social studies education in the U.S. According to the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), the premier professional organization for social studies educators, social studies is the integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence (www.socialstudies.org/standards/execsummary). This particular definition of social studies is the guiding focus of Dr. Obenchain’s social studies scholarship, including studies of how the social studies operates as a vehicle for citizenship education in the K-12 social studies classroom. 2. Democratic citizenship education in emerging democracies. This second line of inquiry focuses on the interdependent and interconnected world and the evolving understandings of democratic citizenship of youth. Working in Romania connects social studies and civic education to an awareness of evolving, global, and transnational conceptualizations of citizenship. This international work provides essential content and an important context for U.S. education in an increasingly complex and diverse world.
Selected Publications
Books
- deOliveira, L., Obenchain, K.M., Kenney, R. H., & Oliveira, A. W. (Eds.). (2019). Teaching the content areas to English language learners in secondary schools. Switzerland, AG: Springer. (https://www.springer.com/us/book/9783030022440)
- deOliveira, L. & Obenchain, K. (Eds.). (2018). Teaching history and social studies to English language learners: Preparing pre-service and in-service teachers. London: Palgrave Macmillan. (http://www.springer.com/us/book/9783319637358)
- Obenchain, K. M. and Pennington, J. P. (2015). Educating for critical democratic literacy: Integrating social studies and literacy in the elementary classroom. New York: Routledge.
- Obenchain, K.M. & Morris, R.V. (2015). 50 Social Studies Strategies for K-8 Classrooms.(4th ed.). Pearson Education.
Articles
- Callahan, R., Obenchain, K., Rico, J., Ochoa, C., Desantos-Quezada, A. (in press). Civic identity: Media, belonging, & Latinx youth in the 2020 US Presidential election. Global Studies in Culture and Power.
- Obenchain, K., Callahan, R. Ochoa, C., Rico, J., Desantos-Quezada, A. (in press). Empathy & civic engagement: Latiné youth motivating change in an anti-immigrant America. Latino Studies.
- Lu, C., Obenchain, K., Zhang, Y. (Online First). Exploring teachers’ inclination towards adopting inquiry-based learning in social studies: Insights from teacher professional identity. Teaching and Teacher Education.
- Obenchain, K., Oudghiri, S. & Phillion, J. (2020) Critical approaches to study abroad: Challenging dominant discourses, Theory Into Practice, DOI: 10.1080/00405841.2020.1743547
- Newton, J., Oudghiri, S., Obenchain, K., & Phillion, J. (2020) Preservice teachers’ understandings of social justice within the context of study abroad programs, Theory Into Practice, DOI: 10.1080/00405841.2020.1739956
- Pennington, J. L., Obenchain, K. M., Carter, H. & Bedford, M. (2019). “We have the right to stand up”: Elementary students’ conceptual understandings of civic virtue and engagement. Education, Citizenship & Social Justice, 19(1), 3-22. https://doi.org/10.1177/1746197919886857
- Callahan, R. & Obenchain, K. (2017-2018). Toward fully realizing immigrant students’ civic potential. American Educator,41(4), 10-11, 41-42. (http://www.aft.org/ae/winter2017-2018/callahan_obenchain)
- Obenchain, K. M., Pennington, J. L., Bedford, M., Carter, H., & Magee, M. (2016). The students are listening: Elementary education’s responsibility to young citizens beyond the rituals of democratic citizenship. Teachers College Record (commentary). Date Published: October 12, 2016 http://www.tcrecord.org ID Number: 21680.
- Obenchain, K., Balkute, A., Vaughn, E., White, S. (2016). High school teachers’ identities: Constructing civic selves. The High School Journal, 99(3), 252-278.
- Callahan, R., Obenchain, K. (2016). Garnering civic hope: Social studies, expectations, and the lost civic potential of immigrant youth. Theory and Research in Social Education, 44(1), 36-71. DOI: 10.1080/00933104.2015.1133358
- Ives, B., Alama, M., Oikonomidoy, E., Obenchain, K. (2016). Applying intergroup contact theory to social distance data from ethnic Hungarians and Romanians in Romania. Journal of Contemporary European Studies, DOI: 10.1080/14782802.2015.1117966.>
- Obenchain, K. M., Alarcón, J. A., Ives, B., Bellows, E., Alama, M. (2014). Hungarian youth in Transylvania discuss hybrid notions of civic identity: Making the case for cultural preservation and multilingualism. The High School Journal, 98(1), 43-63.
- Obenchain, K. M. & Callahan, R. M. (2014). Building the civic potential of immigrant youth. Social Education, 78(4), 179-182.
- Pennington, J. L., Obenchain, K. M., Brock, C. H. (2014). Reading informational texts: A civic transactional perspective. The Reading Teacher, 67(7), 532-542.
- Obenchain, K. M., Bellows, M. E., Bernat, S., Smith, B. (2013). Romanian youths’ civic identities: 20 years after the revolution. Journal of International Social Studies, 3(2), 32-52.
- Callahan, R., Obenchain, K. (2013). Bridging worlds in the social studies classroom: High school teachers’ practices and Latino immigrant youths’ civic and political development. Youth Engagement: The Civic-Political Lives of Children and Youth. Sociological Studies of Children and Youth, volume 16, pp. 97-123. Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing.
- Callahan, R., Obenchain, K., (2012). Finding a civic voice: Latino immigrant youths’ experiences in high school social studies. The High School Journal, 96(1), 17-32.
- Pennington, J. L., Obenchain, K. M., Papola, A., Kmitta, L. (2012). The common core: Educational redeemer or rainmaker? Teachers College Record, Date Published: October 12, 2012. http://www.tcrecord.org ID Number: 16902.
- Obenchain, K. M., Pennington, J. L. (2012). We elect a president: Using literature to teach decision-making skills. Social Studies and the Young Learner, 25(1), 17-21.
- Ives, B., Obenchain, K., Oikonomidoy, E. (2012). Ethnic attitudes of Hungarian students in Romania. Educational Studies, 48(4), 331-346.Obenchain, K., Orr, A., Davis, S. H. (2011). The past as a puzzle: How essential questions can piece together a meaningful investigation of history. The Social Studies, 102(5), 190-199.
- Obenchain, K., Pennington, J., Orr, A. (2010). Angela: On a critical curve. Theory and Research in Social Education 38(4), 298-326.
- Ives, B., Obenchain, K., Oikonomidoy, E. (2010) Cultural attitudes of Romanian youth.International Journal of Education 2(1),1-18.
Invited Publications
- Pennington, J. L. & Obenchain, K. M. (2015). Primary sources as informational texts: Visual literacy as a mode of comprehending and composing. The Oklahoma Reader, 51(2), 23-31.
- Obenchain, K. M. & Callahan, R. M. (2014). Building the civic potential of immigrant youth. Social Education, 78(4), 179-182.
+ Courses Typically Taught
- EDCI 21810 — Teaching Civics and Government: Standards & Strategies
- EDCI 36101 — Teaching K-2 Social Studies
- EDCI 36102 — Teaching 3-6 Social Studies
- EDCI 59100 — Research in International Contexts
- EDCI 61500 — Qualitative Research in Education
- EDCI 61600 — Advanced Qualitative Research in Education
- EDCI 62400 — Seminar in Social Studies Education
- EDCI 68400 — Seminar in Curriculum Studies: Global Perspectives in P-20 Education
- EDCI/EDPS 45200 — Global Studies Seminar
- HONR 19900 — Civic Identities in Emerging Democracies: Youth Perspectives