This report, prepared by the Academic Games program of the Center, investigates the effects of the game Democracy on the political attitudes of junior high school students through two studies. The game focuses on the process of log-rolling, which the players, assuming the role of congressmen, quickly discover to be the most effective way to…

Questions of identity, and the encounter with the draft, are central issues for teenagers, and secondary schools should be capitalizing upon such concerns to facilitate the general education and development of their students. The relationship between each student and the biggest problem of our times--war and peace--should be a thoroughly…

The main purpose of this volume is to provide information and ideas which might contribute to the improvement of secondary school instruction about voter behavior and elections. The focus is on the real political world and why people behave as they do. Facts and ideas are drawn from the work of social scientists, and the questions raised are those…

Reviews the history of Chinese immigration to the United States and provides a facsimilie of a form used to document immigrants under the Chinese Exclusion Act. Teaching suggestions are included. (JDH)

A model of family influence that reverses the traditional roles of parents and children is presented to explain the results of a school intervention that narrowed political communication and knowledge gaps between parents of high and low socioeconomic status (SES). Students' exposure to a civics curriculum stimulated adolescent news media use at…

The four political attitudes studied involved political interest, political alienation, racial equality, and the Vietnam war. Schooling effects influenced political interest and anti-Vietnam war attitudes but not political alienation and feelings about racial equality. (CS)

Points out dominance of political as opposed to other types of history in General Certificate of Education (GCE) and Scottish Certificate of Education (SCE) papers, considers alternative approaches to the content of those papers, and suggests means of implementing the suggested changes. (CM)

Traces the emergence and tenuous survival of social studies as a school subject in Hong Kong, 1971-present. Begun by the colonial government for political socialization purposes, social studies was reoriented to prepare students for their future as Chinese citizens. However, adoption of social studies and how it is taught has varied widely in Hong…

Describes textbooks of both East and West Germany from 1949-56, 1957-62, 1963-69, and 1970 on. Discusses a shift in West German texts from intense antagonism during the Cold War to a more critical comparison by the 1980s. Compares East German text development that increased in hostility over time, viewing West Germany as a negative alternative to…

Barnes, an educator and textbook author, was a pioneer in the use of inquiry to teach secondary school history. Her work is criticized for the indoctrination it entailed and for its failure to encourage students to identify and examine the spiritual and political premises underlying the historical framework Barnes presented. (IAH)

Summarizes a study using the Children's Scale of Social Attitudes to compare the factor structure of conservatism in seventh-grade Israeli children of Western ethnic origin with Israeli children from Eastern cultural backgrounds. Results indicated a marked similarity in factor structures reconfirming the universal nature of general conservatism…

The curriculum project undertaken by the Nanaimo District teachers proposed to develop a study of the socio-political processes in a Canadian urban government, using their own city as a model (ED 055 013). This progress report stresses that the nature of the development process has been based on 1) need, 2) structure, 3) content, 4) materials…

Four experiments designed to study attitudes toward United States Presidents are described. The project uses the conceptual framework and methodology of a mathematical theory of information integration to compile information on attitudes and opinion formation based on high school civics and history courses. Results of the research findings of each…

A study assessed the conditions under which secondary school curricula have an impact on students' political attitudes. Civil liberties issues were discussed in experimental groups. When teacher credibility was high, students' political attitudes were noticeably affected. (AV)

Presents a basis of a history framework for program development in civics in Canadian schools. Identifies elements of government that are associated with civics and selects historical events through which to study these elements. Discusses the history of thought, history as a science, constitutional history, the government, leaders, and national…