This article presents a qualitative practitioner research study designed to understand how a morally complex Israel curriculum impacts the nature of secondary school students' relationships with Israel. The research was conducted with 31 students enrolled in an elective about Israeli society at a Jewish high school in Canada. At both the start and…

This research study examined how students and I navigated learning and teaching about genocide and mass violence in the context of a semester-long high school comparative genocide and human rights elective course at DeWitt Junior-Senior High School in rural south-central Wisconsin. Specifically, the study examined how students individually and…

A high school education should ensure students are eligible for their chosen pathway of what comes next: college and careers, as well as civic life. To understand the extent to which diploma requirements denote eligibility for a student's chosen postsecondary pathway of choice, this report analyzes state high school graduation requirements for a…

This is an instrumental case study of 1 novice and 1 experienced secondary social studies teachers' concurrent assessment practices within tightly structured, standardized-tested curricula and flexible elective curricula. It is anchored by 2 questions: (1) How did the teachers' assessment stances and practices manifest across the 2…

The majority of public high school students in California are missing out on history. Many students may not see it that way, but that is because they have little understanding of what it means to appreciate history. The traditional high school history survey courses, US History and world history, provide an overview of "everything that ever…

The nation's recent preoccupation with reshaping academics and raising academic performance has all but overpowered a task of vital importance--educating our young people to become engaged citizens of their communities. Traditionally, students are taught citizenship skills in either a civics education class or through citizenship courses in the…

Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School's Senior Elective Program offers students who complete graduation requirements in the first three years of the four-year school a combination of the following options for the senior year: minicourse electives, independent study, work experience in the community, and preceptorials. The program, conducted in an…

This study examined the hypothesis that subjects experiencing a minicourse curriculum would show greater cognitive and affective gains than subjects in a traditional curriculum. The Watson-Claser Critical Thinking Appraisal, Cooperative English, JIM Scale, and Gable-Roberts Attitude Toward School Subjects were administered (September-June) to 500…