Out of the eight decades of thought about the meaning of social studies, some agreement as to the purpose and goals of social studies has emerged, yet argument continues on just how the goals and purposes should be applied. One approach to understanding the different points of view on the purposes and goals is the "three traditions" interpretation. That interpretation has been translated into a 45-item Barth/Shermis Social Studies Preference Scale (B/SSSPS). The three traditions approach hypothesizes that social studies historically has followed three traditional interpretations: Social Studies taught as Citizenship Transmission, as Social Science, and as Reflective Inquiry. Ninety-six social studies teachers-in-training in the Faculty of Education at Mansoura University, when asked to identify the interpretation which best fit their views, were essentially unable to discriminate between interpretations. One reason for this is that social studies as a field in Egypt has not developed a meaning which can be clearly translated to the teachers. A remaining task in the development of a social studies program is to make explicit--in Egyptian terms--the meaning of social studies, so that teachers can select purposes, method and content which are consistent with Egyptian goals. As Egyptian social studies teachers come to recognize the differences between interpretations of social studies they will begin to exercise their judgement by selecting a consistent set of behaviors that reflect an integrated approach to the teaching of social studies. (AG)