Robert Burns Eleazer (1877-1973), a liberal white Methodist from Tennessee, served as the education director and director of publicity of the Atlanta-based Commission on Interracial Cooperation (CIC) from 1922 to 1942. As education director, he developed a strategy for improving race relations which entailed offering prizes to young people in the…

Background/Context: This research is framed by both the historical lineage of the New Civics and the legacy of educational and curricular debates in the United States. It contributes to the literature on mid-20th century education. Purpose and Research Questions: This study explores the relationship between religion, civics, and education through…

On January 10, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the Albert Shanker Institute cosponsored a panel moderated by AFT President Randi Weingarten on the role that American education should play in responding to the threats confronting our democracy. Two leading public intellectuals, Timothy Snyder, the Richard C. Levin Professor of History…

This study examined how U.S. entry into World War I and related pedagogical reforms of the early twentieth century impacted elementary social education at a local level. Analysis of state curriculum guides, records from the collection of a rural school educator, report cards, and daily attendance registers for four counties indicated that…

This essay considers U.S. civics education policy in Puerto Rico from 1900 to 1904. Civics education in Puerto Rico during these years offers a particularly unique context for exploring education at the edge of empire during the dawn of the twentieth century. The article begins with a discussion of civics education in the United States around that…

The question of the relation between liberal education and political liberty, perennially important, is driven for this forum by the Obama administration's endorsement of "A Crucible Moment: College Learning & Democracy's Future," according to which the chief ends of postsecondary civic education ought to include the promotion of sweeping…

The "Journal of Educational Research" has reflected educational and social changes for 80 years. A survey of articles since 1945 reveals the effect of sociocultural developments, new inventions (television), world affairs, and educational innovations such as team teaching on education in general and social studies teaching in particular.…

Takes issue with an essay by Lewis Lapham that criticizes the literacy and historical knowledge of school children and suggests that democracy depends on an informed and literate citizenry. Gives historical context to the idea of an informed citizenry by looking at public involvement and response to the Lincoln-Douglas debates. (TB)

Presents an overview of textbooks on government and politics published from 1793 through the nineteenth century. History and geography textbooks were the main vehicle for civic education until 1830 when political textbooks began to be published. (Author/KC)

The objective of this historical analysis is to determine the origins of the American elementary history/social studies curriculum and to determine how nationalism affected the curriculum as it progressed in the early twentieth century. The Committee of Eight (Co8), established by the American Historical Association in 1905, created the first…

Compares selected United States history and civics textbooks from the 19th century with textbooks written from 1960 to 1980. Findings from this comparison indicated that despite differences in size and emphasis, stress and artistic appearance, United States history and civics texts of the present are essentially what they have always…

Reviews "Managers of Virtue: Public School Leadership in America, 1820-1980" (Tyack & Hansot, 1982), and "Public School in Hard Times: The Great Depression and Recent Years" (Tyack, Lowe & Hansot, 1984). Maintains that the strength of these two works lies more in their balanced synthesis of the scholarly literature than on the direct policy…

Reviews school curriculum treatment of the Constitution noting inadequacies of early instructional methods and textbooks and a dramatic decline of education about the Constitution which began during the progressive education era. Presents the results of surveys which indicate a lack of constitutional knowledge among our youth. Concludes with a…

The relationship of education to the society in the various periods of American history is emphasized in this teaching guide for eleventh grade students. Through the educational history frame of reference, students compare such current concerns as school governance and community interests concerning problems in financing education with the…

Maintains that Albert Bushnell Hart was a leading figure in history education. Discusses his contributions to history's emergence as a modern school subject and to its inclusion as a core component of the school curriculum. (CFR)