This editied volume explores the potential for Design Based Resaerch (DBR) in the social studies. Chapters focus on such topics as iterative design, using and producing theory, collaborating with educators, and the ways that DBR attends to historical, political and social context.

Introduction 1. Design Research in the Social Studies: History, Methodology, and Promise Part I: Improving Practice through Iterative Design 2. From Form to Function: Learning with Practitioners to Support Diverse Middle School Students' Disciplinary Reasoning and Writing 3. Using Iterative Design to Improve Student Access and Engagement in an Online Political Communications Simulation 4. Developing Authentic Performance Assessments in a Classroom Mini-Economy: Reflections on the Process of Design Part II: Using and Producing Theory 5. Applying Theory to Problematic Practice: Lessons Learned from Two Implementations of a Unit on Gender 6. From Practice to Theory: Ontological Innovation in a Ninth-Grade History Classroom Part III: Collaborating with Educators 7. Intersecting Goals in an Elementary Social Studies Design Project: Confessional Tales of Teacher and Researcher Relationships 8. Design-Based Implementation Research in a Government Classroom: A Teacher's Shifting Pedagogy over Four Years Part IV: Contextualizing DBR Historically, Socially, and Politically 9. Theorizing Context in DBR: Integrating Critical Civic Learning into the U.S. History Curriculum 10. Beyond National Discourses: South Korean and Japanese Students "Make a Better Social Studies Textbook" Conclusion 11. Towards Socially Transformative Design Research for Social Studies: A Critical Epistemological Approach