This article, which was completed in January 2020, expands the author's presidential address, which was delivered at the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) Annual Conference in Austin, Texas, on November 22, 2019. In her address, Heafner discusses the new ecology of social studies and focuses on concerns over the civic health of our…

The author argues that in order to create space for authentic multicultural engagement in the face of Eurocentric norms, teachers should form discussion groups that follow five basic guidelines: engage, don't enrage; be comfortable with negative emotion; watch for and change unproductive language; talk about everything; and engage in classroom…

From their first recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, students are taught that the most important unit of social analysis is the nation-state and that people on this side of the border constitute "us," whereas those on the other side of the line are "them." By the time students enter a global studies class as high school…

Social studies knowledge is related to the distribution of power. There is a pattern that links social class, curriculum, pedagogy, and the social relations of the school. (RM)

Universities and colleges should develop law-related studies for their preservice teachers. (LH)

Presents three reasons to be concerned about citizenship education: the argument from history, the need to counteract the mood of pessimism and alienation concerning government and schooling and to redirect educational priorities, and the signs which indicate that the present is the time for a revival of civic learning. (Author/KC)

This essay explores contemporary accounts of the significance of the Internet and the intersections of these cyberspace narratives with theoretical and material construals of queer identity, agency, and community. The author discusses evidence of the ongoing mediative role of artifacts in the fashioning of identity in community in order to explore…

Teachers can approach U.S. history since 1945 in two time periods. The first is "Postwar America" (1945-1973), the playing out of the economic, cultural, social, cultural/intellectual, and foreign policy thrusts and attitudes that grew out of the Great Depression and World War II. The second era, "Recent America"…

Reviews studies on prejudice and children focusing on how children learn prejudice and what can be done to prevent it. Offers three activity and discussion ideas which can be used to develop children's awareness of inappropriate prejudgments. Identifies a selection of related instructional resources and includes a 34-item bibliography. (JDH)

Discusses the nature of social studies. Suggests that the National Council for the Social Studies seems dysfunctional because it aspires to be apolitical in a field that is inherently political. Concludes that social education will continue to reflect the structure of society and the values of people who control the educational process. (DK)

Reviews recent incidents of racial discrimination and discusses the role of education in reducing prejudice. Offers suggestions for classroom instruction and identifies a selection of recently produced classroom materials dealing with prejudice and human relations. (JDH)

Numerous reasons can be given for the low quality of teaching in the social studies. Teachers may be improperly certified, or they may teach to maintain employment rather than to do a good job. To teach peace studies courses requires the cream of the crop in terms of quality instruction. Teachers should be well above the minimum requirements for…

One's conceptions define what is worth learning about war and peace and why. Educators must make important choices of content. Three conceptions of peace education are discussed: those that focus on information, those that center on issues, and those dealing with attitudes. (RM)

In this article, the author discusses the contradictory goals of several groups and individuals that are waging war against social studies and the historians' attitudes in response to this war. He stresses that he is not claiming that these "strange bedfellows," as he comes to call them, that are attacking social studies are working in…

Articles of The Bill of Rights, although comprising the fundamental principles of American society, are often opposed by many people on varying grounds. For example, many people support physical abuses by law enforcement officials, even though they might violate constitutional rights. The First Amendment, simple in original wording, has resulted…