Talking with others, especially people with different viewpoints, about matters of public and common concern is a basic pro-democracy skill and act. For that reason, teaching young people how to participate more effectively in discussions of controversial public issues (CPI) has long been a major goal of social studies educators. In most social…

Provides an annotated bibliography of ERIC resources available for study of both content and process in social studies. Includes Lynne V. Cheney's "American Memory," a study of the status of humanities education in the nation's public schools, as well as Nancy Hutchinson's analysis of Glaser's theory of the role of knowledge. (LS)

Lists Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) resources that will help bring science, technology, and society (STS) into the classroom. The annotated bibliography of seven references includes Faith Hickman's framework for curriculum reform, which compares the present trend of teaching STS-related social problems with historical trends. (LS)

Provides a sampling of items from the ERIC database on the subject of social studies as a discipline. Includes documents on proposals to improve social education and on return to traditional emphases in history and geography. Explains how to obtain copies of documents from the ERIC system. (SG)

Provides a partial listing of works found in the ERIC database on the debate between those who support social studies as a discipline and those who would replace it with history and geography courses. Includes articles, reports, and reviews covering various aspects of the debate. (DK)

This ERIC Digest examines the nature of peace and nuclear war education, rationales for its inclusion in public school programs, and ways to deal with the controversial nature of the topics. A distinction between peace education and nuclear war education is followed by a description of four basic themes offered as a rationale for peace and nuclear…

Recently, there has been a movement to put religion and its influence on history back into the social studies curriculum. This ERIC Digest discusses: (1) reasons for including religion in the curriculum; (2) how religion is currently treated in the school curriculum; (3) guidelines for teaching religion in the classroom; and (4) resources…

Education about national security has always been part of the social studies curriculum in U.S. high schools. But its focus has been simply chronological and episodic with major attention given to war, particularly the decision to enter it and the conduct of U.S. military forces. Little attention has been given to the evolution and structural…

Presents abstracts of 10 documents, selected and reviewed from the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) that deal with the debate over how to teach history. Includes information for accessing or ordering documents. (NL)

Classroom teachers are presented with a rationale and general information for teaching about controversial issues. Following an introduction, material is arranged in six sections under topical questions. The first section considers educational and social benefits of teaching about controversy. Motivation, application of social studies content and…

Citing recent studies which decry the historical knowledge and writing ability of U.S. students, Seiter states that writing can be used to introduce more social studies content into the classroom--mainly by using primary/historical sources as the basis for writing assignments. Highlights several ERIC resources which deal with improving writing…

The Japanese-American internment experience during World War II continues to affect the Japanese-American community. This ERIC Digest provides six suggestions for teaching about the Japanese-American internment, touching on civil rights, immigration, the media, "loyalty," redress and reparations, and primary and secondary sources.…

Background, rationale, and promising practices for teaching about science-related social issues in the science and social studies classroom are presented. Material is divided into five sections, each introduced with a topical question. The first section considers the challenges associated with the pervasive influences of science and technology in…

Recognizing the need to strengthen education about Africa in United States schools and to enable teachers to present complex issues about apartheid, political stability, and cultural conflict, this digest addresses the issue of how teachers can improve their teaching about Africa. The article poses 3 questions: (1) Why is it important to teach…

The implications of six national reports for social studies are examined. These implications are compared with past and present practices in the social studies and the ways in which the reports fail to give useful guidance to teachers are noted. An introductory chapter presents a broad overview of the six reports: "The Paideia Proposal: An…