Five years ago, Diana Hess was teaching a graduate seminar called "Democratic Education." The purpose of the seminar was to critically analyze two seemingly simple, but actually very complex, questions: What is democracy? What is democratic education? Both are contested concepts, and the seminar was designed to help students understand…

Political participation is seriously unequal. For example, young adults who finish college vote at almost three times the rate of contemporaries who have dropped out of high school. That gap translates into disparities by race and class. Effective civic education can reduce such inequality and make our democracy more representative. Teaching…

In November of 2001, less than two months after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, Nebraska's state board of education approved a patriotism bill specifying content for the high school social studies curriculum in accordance with the state's 1949 statute--the Nebraska Americanism law. Nebraska was not alone. Within a few months, more…

In this article, the authors review the state of civic education in schools. They point out that students typically "take only one semester-long course on American government"--unlike the situation in the 1960s, when it was common "for students to take multiple courses in civics covering not only the structure of American government, but also the…

To help high school students understand their political world, particularly in an election year, the article describes a teaching approach based on a comparison of political terminology to the transmission shift on an automobile. (DB)

What should social studies teachers be trying to teach students how to do? Every culture provides its members with social "maps" that explain how things are--e.g., school materials, advertisements. Teaching students how to read these social "maps" should be the central task for social studies education. (RM)

In light of the goal of the Social Studies, the development of good citizens, the author explores the character of a necessary and sufficient" social studies program and its relationship to the Social Sciences. (JB)

Presents results of survey of high school seniors taken in 1968 (N=825), 1972 (N=119), and 1984 (N=200). The survey consisted of 13 widely accepted attitudinal items and 16 demographic variables designed to measure degree of political cynicism and attitudes toward democracy. Concludes that 1984 results show a loss of innocence, increasing…

Discusses five generalizations based on political education correlational research and assesses their implications for teachers of citizenship education. Conclusions include: l) knowledge can be influenced more directly than attitudes, 2) the quality of civics instruction is critical in shaping attitudes, and 3) a more realistic picture of…

A German version of the Sesame Street television program which integrates social and political education is described. (DE)

Techniques for teaching elementary students about relationships between people and governments are explored. (DE)