John Dewey said that "democracy needs to be reborn in each generation and education is its midwife." While there has been criticism of the Bush administration's post-9/11 agenda, there is little recognition of the role that his education policy played to rebirth democracy for a nation in crisis. This paper analyzes the ways that 9/11 has…

The 2012 presidential election and many state and local races are only a few weeks away, but schools are not doing much to promote student interest in the elections or provide civic education more broadly, new research suggests. A report last week from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), at Tufts…

Teacher educators have an obligation to prepare preservice teachers with the skills and dispositions necessary to promote a socially just world. Yet the results of this study uncovered that the majority of elementary preservice teachers in a national sample (N = 846) have a simplistic perception of good citizenship consistent with what Westheimer…

This content analysis explored how Civics and Government textbooks and the Virginia Standards of Learning for Civics and Government courses reflect citizenship outcomes, specifically deconstructing the unique needs of marginalized students. The coding frame was constructed by using themes and categories from previous literature, specifically…

The rise of state-mandated standards in public education have allowed legislators to answer the question of what constitutes a proper civic education, a debate that has existed in the United States since the turn of the twentieth century. Through the content they employ in their standards, states may indirectly influence the type of citizenship…

This Program of Studies (POS) outlines the Fairfax County (Virginia) instructional program for the subject area of Virginia/United States government. Noting that it has long been recognized since the founding of the nation that the general education of society has, at its core, a "civic mission," the POS aims to educate students about…

Summarizes a study in which 83 social studies educators in Virginia were given a 45-item questionnaire to determine differences as to the purpose, method, and content of social studies education. Results indicated general confusion among social studies educators regarding these issues. Implications of these findings are discussed. (Author/DB)

In 1995, the Virginia Board of Education published Virginia state Standards of Learning in English, mathematics, science, and history and social science for kindergarten through grade 12. The Standards of Learning provide a framework for instructional programs designed to raise the academic achievement of all Virginia public school students. The…

Developed for elementary students, this compilation of diverse lesson plans, project ideas, and resources is designed to assist teachers in teaching about the United States Constitution. The document includes 10 sections: (1) A Model Bicentennial Program for Elementary Schools; (2) Patriotism Packet of Lesson Plans; (3) A Young Citizen's Guide to…

This resource package contains ideas for local projects to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the United States Constitution. The document includes a bicentennial chronology, a selection of general projects, educational projects, air and print media projects, and fine arts projects. Six appendices feature: (1) Bicentennial Chronology; (2)…

A compilation of diverse lesson plans, project ideas, and resources for teaching the United States Constitution to junior high and senior high school students is presented. The document contains seven sections: (1) Teaching the Constitution: An Interdisciplinary Approach; (2) A Sampling of New Books on the Constitution; (3) Films and Videotapes;…

Guidelines are presented to assist school divisions in implementing the accreditation requirement of the Virginia Board of Education for minimum competency assessment in citizenship for all high school graduates. It is assumed that local schools or divisions have established goals and objectives for social studies programs which may serve as a…

This paper discusses instructional objectives in middle school social studies programs in Virginia. Undertaken in response to a concern that middle school objectives were largely unsettled despite a significant amount of research, this study aimed at clarifying objectives by investigating Virginia social studies educators' professional positions…

Designed for middle school through high school students, this unit contains eight lesson plans that focus on Virginia state law. The state lessons correspond to lessons in the volume, "Antidote: Civic Responsibility. Drug Avoidance Lessons for Middle School & High School Students." Developed to be presented by educators, law student,…

These two issues of "Virginia Resolves" provide articles of interest to the social studies reader and provides ideas for social studies instruction and curriculum. The fall issue features seven articles: (1) "Death and the Young Child" (Rosanne J. Marek); (2) "Simulations: Bibliography for the Middle and Elementary…