Building Inclusive Learning: Socratic Dialogue and Egalitarian Pedagogy Approaches to Collaborative Learning in Social Studies Education

Amid growing learner diversity, creating inclusive social studies classrooms is critical. This systematic literature review, aligned with PRISMA guidelines, explores how Socratic dialogue and egalitarian pedagogy jointly foster critical thinking, equity, and collaboration. A comprehensive search of Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar (2014–2024) yielded seven empirical studies on dialogic questioning and democratic classroom practices. Findings show Socratic techniques—open‐ended questions, elenchus, peer discourse—strengthen analytical reasoning, conceptual grasp, and engagement. Egalitarian strategies—flattening hierarchies, validating every voice, and co-creating norms—amplify these gains by nurturing respect and shared agency. Together, they promote interdependence, collective problem‐solving, and belonging. However, research is skewed toward well-resourced settings and short-term outcomes; long-term effects on civic engagement and under-resourced contexts require further study. Implications include embedding dialogic routines in curricula, equipping teachers with facilitation and equity skills, adopting reflective collaborative assessments, and using low-bandwidth technologies to ensure broad participation.