Can a structure be created that provides a broader and more valid base for the general education curriculum in the social studies than would the structure of social science disciplines? One alternative would be to focus on the making of decisions about public issues as the crucial element of citizenship behavior in a democracy. Using the common…

Discusses 25 years of attempts to define social studies and to research social studies education. Argues that a definition that denies teachers' diverse experiences and instructional methods is dysfunctional and that research has advanced little. Calls for a reexamination of the research enterprise itself and of graduate training in education.…

A discussion of the current position of social studies in relation to teaching technique and method leads to advocating a social studies curriculum that provides for relevance to students' lives, examination of social issues, and strategies to help students deal with values and value conflicts. (Author/ND)

The authors take issue with the Shermis and Barth position that indoctrination in American education is wrong (Social Education, March 1985), arguing that they have misunderstood the issue and that the imposition of certain democratic values and processes does not conflict with the goals of reflective inquiry. (RM)

Proposes a definition of a culturally pluralistic democratic society and suggests that there can be no final reconciliation of ethnic identification and melting-pot pressures. Examines the role public education must play to enhance ethnic identity while promoting societal cohesion. (JDH)

A personal account of the author's efforts to reform and influence the teaching of social studies, this article reviews the philosophy underlying a number of curriculum projects developed in the 1960s and 1970s and maintains that drastic revisions of the traditional curriculum were ill-advised. Concludes with recommendations for research and…

Suggests that investigation of contemporary problems be included in social studies/citizenship education programs and stresses the relevance of contemporary problems to social studies curricula for slow learners. Literature pertaining to citizenship education is reviewed, and research to determine effects of a study of contemporary issues on…

A formal critique of the social studies profession by the president of the National Council for the Social Studies. He examines social studies educators' failure to question certain assumptions, including those about moral education, rights of parents, and preparation of social studies teachers. (Author/RM)

The content and components that can be included in the social studies curriculum are dependent upon how the discipline is defined. If social studies is not simply an offshoot of social sciences, but, rather a required general education program concerned with the preparation of citizens for reflective participation in a democratic society and with…

For the overarching goals of citizenship education to be met, certain reforms and revisions of the standard social studies curriculum must be made. However, it is possible to do a great deal to meet these goals from within the confines of the traditional social studies textbook and social studies course. In the past, several projects have…

This paper defines, inquires into the relationships, and analyzes the terms social sciences and social studies. Too often social studies are a simplified instructional adaptation from the social sciences in which curricular decisions are made on the basis of dictates of the social science disciplines and of college prerequisites. A social studies…

Reliability data suggest that, although there are many problems, it is feasible to systematically evaluate a student's analytic and persuasive competence in free oral argumentation. The first part of the paper describes the contexts within which the evaluation project took place. Specifically discussed are the five areas of analysis on which the…

Traditionally, the social studies have been defined as the social sciences adapted and simplified for pedagogical purposes. This definition assumes that the criteria for curriculum selection and development in social studies should come from the social sciences and not from an independent view of what the social sciences should be about. Hence,…

Three key terms--social studies, values, and attitudes--are discussed in relation to a national assessment in social studies. Definitions of these terms will affect decisions about what and how to assess. Two major approaches define social studies as: (1) social sciences simplified and adapted for pedagogical purposes; or (2) that portion of the…

A major transformation in teacher education must occur if social studies education is to become soundly-based civic education that meets the needs of special interests, such as global education, without becoming dominated by those needs, and if teachers are to transcend the textbook so that goal statements are actually reflected in classroom…