High school can be stressful for any student. For resettled refugee youth, there are often the additional demands of a new language and customs, the challenge of fitting into a new community and culture, and the need to support their family emotionally, logistically, and even financially. Many of the newcomer youth arrived in Durham, North…

The article profiles Nobel Peace Laureate Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank (an independent financial institution in Bangladesh), as well as an economics professor at the University of Chittagong. In his birthplace of Bangladesh, 49.8 percent of people exist below the poverty line, and 73.2 percent of the women are categorized as…

Provides historical information on Cuba. Addresses early colonization, the advent of plantation agriculture, the role and presence of the United States in the Caribbean and Cuba, and the social and economic developments in Cuba after the revolution in 1959 led by Fidel Castro. (CMK)

Presents television as an instrument through which adolescents can gain social experience and strengthen social development. Examines the link between watching television and social relationships, discussing how television viewing can provide "blueprints" for behavior in social situations. Lists four steps for using television as a learning tool.…

Social studies should help children answer the question: Why do people act the way they do? Ways in which elementary teachers can help children see a connection between the personal events in their own lives, inner feelings and senses, and the world beyond the classroom are described. (RM)

A model is provided which shows how the community can become a laboratory in which the learner studies data and makes decisions. In the community laboratory, learners are both participants and observers, helping them understand why they live as they do and how citizens work together to improve community life. (Author/JR)

Certain fundamental perspectives on social issues have become conventions in the way society is represented in school curricula, distorting the kind of social understanding needed by young people. Among these distorting conventions are functionalism, determinism, and individualism. These approaches to social education are analyzed; alternative…

Explores the use of critical literature in social studies as a means for investigating social and cultural issues within society. Explains that critical literature enables students to become more critical of self and society while developing empathy for others. Provides suggestions for books that can be used with primary and upper elementary…

This article examines social studies in the primary grades and shows how community resources can facilitate social learning. A three-stage model is examined which addresses the issues of citizenship and community involvement in the primary grades. It provides for teacher/school, parent/community, and learner involvement in all stages of…

Argues that the failure to remember the civic purpose of education affects the place public schools hold in society. Believes that public schools are the means for educating students to become responsible citizens emphasizing the value of the public school and its capacity to promote the common good. (CMK)