Social studies departments today face the challenge of how to successfully orchestrate four major components of curricula change -- staff concerns, evaluating the curriculum, course content, and restructuring the curriculum. (Author)

Criteria are described for selecting specific issues, events, and documents to be covered in history courses. Teachers should base content selection on basic concepts within the discipline, social needs and values of the class, pedagogical considerations, and the principle of economy in meeting multiple needs. (Author/AV)

Reviews changing attitudes toward the objectives of social studies throughout our country's educational history. Emphases have included history teaching, geography and civics, strengthening democratic institutions, education for life adjustment, knowledge of specific disciplines, relevance of life experiences to academic knowledge, and the "back…

Describes an approach for including social issues in United States history classes. Provides examples of how specific issues were integrated with common course topics. (JDH)

Content has dominated and will likely continue to dominate high school social studies education. Process, or learning how to learn, except in a minority of classrooms, will continue to receive only accidental attention. Reasons why are discussed. (RM)

Those engaged in teaching history should not shrink from the implications raised by current debates over black history and black attitudes. To study black history is to study American history. (Author/JB)

As a teacher educator committed to raising issues of racial, economic, and gender equality and those related to an appreciation for diversity, the author finds poetry to be a powerful resource in social studies methods classes. When preparing preservice teachers for elementary and middle school levels, she finds that poetry can often capture their…

The legend of the gunfighter-lawman, frontier justice, and the extent of violence in western history are suggested as possible course content to make history more relevant and interesting. (DE)

Describes a college-level course on "the politics of energy" which explored the nature of the energy crisis, the role of energy in world politics, and possible solutions to the crisis. (AV)

A research study assessed the awareness of a group of fourth through sixth graders about current events, including busing, energy, inflation, and the Bicentennial. Awareness was found to differ significantly according to location of school and grade in school. Causes for the differences may include life style, curricular emphases, and teacher…

Demonstrates how the use of rock-era music images of political protest and social criticism can provide teachers with a forceful and entertaining introduction to the examination of controversial issues in U.S. society. Includes chronologically and thematically arranged lists of recordings which represent popular themes in U.S. music between…

Elementary teachers can gain valuable insights into the teaching of social studies by taking part in primary social science research projects. Describes a primary research project conducted in a social studies methods class that involved future teachers in investigating the water problems of Shreveport, Louisiana. (RM)

Responds to a critique by Ronald Evans of Ravitch's position on the teaching of history. States that the goals of history are to put students in command of knowledge which will allow them to reach their own conclusions. Urges that teachers take the risk of allowing students to think for themselves. (KO)

Outlines the history, goals, and topics covered by social studies in junior secondary schools in Botswana. Questionnaire responses from 150 junior secondary teachers address conceptions about the definition and content of social studies, the qualities of instructional materials, the quality of social studies teachers, and other related problems.…

The purpose of this article is to use the vehicle of a controversial issue--abortion--as a means of illustrating the advantages of teaching such issues through a problem-solving method. Discussion ideas and resources are presented. (Author/JR)