Many academic departments are making efforts to increase faculty and student community engagement as part of a movement to revitalize the civic function of higher education. A case study of the development of a public sociology program provides examples of steps that can be taken to involve educators and students in communities in multifaceted…

Higher education can be a key leader in sustainability efforts, with issues cutting across all areas of functioning and extending into the community. This article examines educational change, which is particularly important because of its far-reaching effects. In particular, this article describes student-led sustainability research at the…

Author describes how his fifth grade students learn economic principles by forming a community'' with its own currency and businesses. (SP)

Article presented a range of potential topics for local community studies. Author's intention was to assist students to become talented and insightful citizens who might build and support a community at the grass roots level. As well, these community studies provided practical situations in which theoretical information from the social sciences…

Suggests the study of local issues as an active approach to citizenship education in the elementary and secondary grades. Presents a model activity for high school civics students on investigating the impact of a new shopping mall. (SJL)

A model procedure, implemented in 1976 at Thomas Nelson Community College (Virginia), for community based and continuous long-range planning is described in this report. The model involves extensive participation by all community segments and presents strategies for review, approval, and research in support of the plan. Planning components include…

This is a progress report of a curriculum development project aimed at involving students in community and regional development by creating an awareness of urban problems and instilling a sense of positive self worth and capability which will stimulate active community participation. Initial planning of the project is reported in ED 055 017. The…

Learning and teaching in the Madison, Wisconsin public schools is the focus of this newsletter announced here in a one time basis. The newsletter is issued monthly during the school year. The theme of this issue is the energy crisis, the environment, and careers. A monthly memo, a regular feature, introduces the theme, followed by ideas for the…

Seven authors contributed to a bulletin about using community studies to teach about the interrelationship of the local community with larger economic and social systems. "Young People and Community" (R. Beery and Mark C. Schug) addresses the need for the social studies curriculum to consider the local community, an area which is rarely covered…

In order to acquaint students with other environments and to develop an awareness of their own community, the study of a small community in Canada was undertaken by this project development team. The Alpha students studied Chilliwack the first year (ED 066 352) and this second report covers their study of Powell River. The aim of the developers is…

To assess the needs of residents in proximity to the Downtown Center of Bakersfield College (California), a stratified random sampling of addresses was chosen and adults at each address were interviewed. A total of 422 interviews were conducted by sociology students from the college and by paid student interviewers. Thirty-five percent of the…

Describes a history program at the Suzanne Middle School, Walnut, California, in which students create, design, and promote local history activities. Emphasizes the accomplishments of the program, including a rise in the school's state test scores from the twenty-second percentile to the ninety-fourth percentile. (RW)

Discusses cooperative learning as a means of teaching geography. Urges production of a positive classroom climate by using group builders and cooperative projects. Suggests projects involving maps, community study, and bulletin boards. Argues that students in cooperative learning become more involved in the subject and more motivated to learn…

University students participated in a research project on communities and conservation on Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Students contributed by gathering data with various methods that will be compiled in a GIS. Living in three villages at different elevations on the mountain, students facilitated GPS mapping, a random survey of over 90…

The brochure describes an eleventh and twelfth grade interdisciplinary course in environmental education taught at Lansdowne Senior High Baltimore, Maryland. The major objective of the course is to create realistic awareness of environmental conditions. Teaching techniques used include individual and group projects, which are determined by…