Scripted Or Strategic? Preparing Teacher Candidates To Navigate The Curriculum Crossroads of High-Quality Instructional Materials

As states increasingly mandate high-quality instructional materials (HQIM), teachers face tensions between curricular fidelity and professional judgment. This project examines how teacher candidates develop critical pedagogical agency while engaging with HQIM in a redesigned social studies methods course, highlighting how preservice teachers internalize, critique, and adapt curricular materials.