A survey conducted by the Council for Excellence in Government and The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement (CIRCLE) reveals unprecedented information about the content and significance of civics and social studies classes today. Overall, the curriculum and message of history and social studies classes appear to be more…

Reports on a 1974 survey of administration and teaching in history departments in 56 Texas postsecondary institutions, which covered American history survey courses offered, pedagogical practices, materials, course and instructional evaluation, objectives, and recommendations. Survey instrument is appended. (DR)

Discussion of the impact of simulation games on learning focuses on a study of a college history course that compared game results with historical facts. A content analysis of the comparisons is presented, models of learning acquisition are discussed, and the learning stages that occur in a simulation game are described. (three references) (LRW)

Discusses attitudes toward history instruction from a survey of historians. Contends that historians who prize history seem less interested in dispensing knowledge than in imparting a historical perspective. Concludes that many historians are comfortable with the relatively low status of teaching because it provides autonomy. (CFR)

Discusses a study of teacher conceptions of the meaning of history. Concludes that history teachers tend fall into five broad categories: (1) storyteller; (2) scientific historian; (3) relativist/reformer; (4) cosmic philosopher; and (5) eclectic. Suggests that teaching should be grounded in an explicit educational philosophy that is developed in…

Reports on the effects of computer-assisted instruction on student achievement in U.S. history classes. Studies two groups of students: those who used the computer to learn the material and those who did not. Reports no difference in the two groups. Outlines recommendations for computer use in the classroom. (RW)

After participating in an eight-week project-based, technology-supported investigation about westward expansion, gains in knowledge and understanding of historical content for 28 students with learning disabilities were not as large as those of peers (n=59), but both groups showed comparable gains in self-efficacy as learners and their…

Examines processes used when high school students were presented with documents about the Tonkin Gulf Incident. Finds that mental models created by students were more internally consistent after reading at least two documents, but did not become more consistent after that. Notes that students tended to ignore information in the texts when giving…

This pilot study examined middle school and high school student performance on an online historical thinking assessment task. After their teachers received training in the use of digital historical archives, students from all groups engaged in historical thinking behaviors (e.g., observation, sourcing, inferencing, evidence, question-posing, and…

This article explores how the nature of history as a subject has shaped the subcultural identities of the eight teachers in the History Department of an Irish post-primary school. Using a biographical, cultural and micropolitical framework popular within symbolic interactionism, this case study is based on data gathered over three years from…

This report analyzes the relationship of Advanced Placement Program® (AP®) teacher practices and student performance on AP Biology and AP U.S. History Exams. Using a national survey of AP teachers, the study developed four models for each subject with public school teachers only and both public and nonpublic school teachers, using two standards of…

This paper reports on a research study that investigated the extent to which the Queensland secondary school subject Modern History adopts characteristics of socially critical environmental education. The study found that while the Modern History syllabus gives ample opportunities for students to focus their inquiries on "environment",…

Late in 2007 New Visions for Public Schools, a New York City reform organization, received a grant from the C.S. Mott Foundation to organize select high schools and community partners into delivery systems that could improve student achievement. New Visions asked Policy Studies Associates, Inc. to provide research support for this effort in the…

This paper summarizes and discusses the findings from interviews of 10 fifth graders conducted before and after each of their six U.S. history units. Special reference is made to potential curricular and instructional implications from the findings. The 10 students began the year with little historical knowledge and they displayed numerous…

This report examines cases of students learning from their experiences in a fifth grade classroom as they studied a U.S. history curriculum organized around concepts that would not only help students understand history but also be powerful in their lives, concepts that planners hoped would make students more human. The teacher-researchers also…