Reports on an ethnographic study in which the teacher of a combined third and fourth grade class reads historical literature from the U.S. Revolutionary period to students daily for nine weeks. Finds that study of historical content through literature is appropriate at these grade levels. Reports student enthusiasm for this activity. (SLM)

Reports on a study of 93 McMaster University (Ontario) sophomore history students about their secondary school preparation in history. Finds that most respondents felt comfortable about their high school education, but a significant number were uncomfortable with their preparation for tutorial work, notetaking, and essay writing. (CFR)

Describes the research process engaged in by a group of teacher researchers as they examined students' historical and multicultural understanding. Explores the complex and messy nature of the relationship of teaching and researching. Describes how research questions and methodology were developed. Discusses development of categories to examine how…

Examines the policies regarding history curriculum of the seven major confessional schools in Lebanon. Using textual analysis of history books, reviews of policies, and interviews with students, educational decision makers, and history teachers, the paper argues that confessional schools have propagated their own line of discourse for history…

A group of Israeli high school students (h = 11) from two socially distinct schools read aloud a textbook account of a 1920 bloody encounter between Jews and Arabs. The study aimed at examining the relation between the textbook account and the students' formation of historical perceptions. Prior to reading the textbook excerpts, students wrote…

The purpose of this study was to improve the comprehension and problem-solving skills of students with disabilities in social studies using a conceptually framed, computer-adapted history text. Participants were 11th and 12th grade students identified with learning disabilities in reading and writing from two intact, self-contained social studies…

In October 1994, the Organization of American Historians (OAH) conducted a survey of community college history faculty to develop a coherent description of the historians and their institutions, history programs at community colleges, and faculty responsibilities. Completed surveys were received from 512 faculty members representing 264…

Over the past 10 years, traditional elementary history textbooks have been criticized by a number of reviewers. In part as a result, some fifth-grade teachers, many of whom have students who are learning chronological U.S. history for the first time, have begun to augment these textbooks with biographies, historical fiction, literature-based…

A multi-year study examined whether elementary school students can engage in historical thinking in a meaningful way, and what kind of writing activities best serve this purpose. Subjects were 17 students of varying language proficiency levels selected as the focus of research from the entire class of 31 primarily Hispanic and African-American…

This document presents the initial set of research findings for social studies that is part of Project BETTER, a project of the Maryland State Department of Education to promote more effective instruction. The project has three major objectives: (1) to identify current research on effective instruction; (2) to synthesize this research in the form…

In 1989, a study was conducted at Saddleback College (SC) to determine whether an English composition course should be established as a prerequisite for the introductory U.S. history course at SC. Subjects for the study consisted of 314 students who entered the college in fall 1988 and enrolled in one of the two introductory U.S. history courses…

A survey was conducted to examine the instructional potential of six educational television programs designed to teach world history to high school students. Each of the six programs encapsulates the events of a given century as if it were a 15-minute evening newscast, providing interviews with famous figures, dramatic moments in history captured…

A study investigated the effects of Writing Across The Curriculum (WAC) on 23 freshman students concurrently enrolled in composition and history classes at the University of Oklahoma to determine whether the treatment affected student scores on essay exams, student achievement in the courses overall, and student attitudes about the influence of…

This article addresses the second-order concept of "historical significance" and attempts to answer the question of what criteria are used to make decisions about it in history and school history. Specifically, it explores the way Francophone and Anglophone students ascribe significance to selected historical events in Canada and…

A study was conducted to collect information on college students' perceptions of adjunct guide material used in conjunction with textbook reading assignments in history and philosophy courses. The three types of guide materials developed by history, philosophy, and reading department faculty were (1) selective reading guides--a series of…