Growing emphasis on improving citizenship education at the local school system level is promoting projects which are smaller in size and cost, broader in objectives, and which motivate learning by focusing on local issues. This gradual shift from national curriculum reform programs is a result of the realization that students lack basic knowledge…

The late 1970s can be characterized as an era of practical concerns in civic education. There is a trend toward useful applied learning which can be evaluated by the actions or skills it produces. Current civic education programs are similar to curriculum reform efforts of the 1930s in that they are committed to educating citizens to function…

Describes the development and assessment of evaluation instruments designed to test student political-citizenship knowledge, skills, and attitudes. The tests are a part of the Improving Citizenship Education Project in Fulton County, Georgia. (Author/CK)

Explores the design, purpose, and experiences of the Improving Citizenship Education Project (ICE) which is currently being used by elementary and secondary social studies classroom teachers in Fulton County, Georgia, to contribute to civic and political awareness of students and prepare them for responsibilities of democratic citizenship. (DB)

The Opinionnaire on Political Institutions and Participation (OPIP) was designed to measure six dimensions of the overall construct of political attitude. Three studies were undertaken to determine the validity and reliability of the instrument, and the OPIP was found to be a valid and reliable instrument for research and evaluations using…

A broad survey of democratic political attitudes of United States and West German students was developed jointly by the Governmental Education Division of the Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia and the Bundeszentrale fur politische Bildung in Bonn. This survey sought to probe twelfth-year students' attitudes toward…

Effects of participation by 904 elementary and secondary school social studies students in a political education project are discussed. Objectives of the project, entitled Improving Citizenship Education (ICE), are to assess student political knowledge (factual information, generalizations, principles, thinking and participatory skills), before…

Describes a county citizenship education project in Georgia as an example of the rising number of local curriculum reform programs. Approach used requires change in the multiple components of the school system with higher education resources providing expertise. (CK)

The student textbook describes voter registration, nominations, political campaigns, and elections in Georgia. It also shows how young citizens can participate in politics to solve problems which affect them directly. Although the textbook tells a fictional story about students within a city, the issues and information presented are truthful…

The student textbook and the teacher's manual focus on the services, organization, and funding of county government in Georgia. Designed to be used over a three to six week period, the textbook is arranged into six chapters. Chapter one discusses county government, its services, and its structure. Chapter two focuses on county officials and their…