Valerie Ooka Pang .2556. A Change In Paradigm: Applying Contributions of Genetic Research to Teaching About Race and Racism in Social Studies Education. Race is a sociopolitical construct that is often inappropriately eated as a biological reality. This incorrect application of the construct must be challenged. The social studies curriculum, an appropriate place for this challenge, faces two tasks: correcting the concept of race, and working to eliminate the racism that its misuse has created. To do so, social studies educators must employ interdisciplinary content and perspectives in order to reshape the discussion of race and racism in social studies education. In this manner, the new scientific data on the essential biological unity of modern humans can be integrated into existing knowledge on teacher preparation so as to provide the necessary intellectual depth to achieve the paradigm change needed for an informed citizenry