Describes the origins, development, and products of the slow- learner social studies curriculum development project at Carnegie-Mellon University (Pennsylvania) in the late 1960s. Maintains that this project represented the last wave of curriculum projects to emerge from the national reform efforts following Sputnik. (CFR)

Describes the origins, development, and activities of the Elementary School Economics Project at the University of Chicago during the "New Social Studies" era of the 1960s. Maintains that the program was compatible with the social science and inquiry-based instructional strategies popular at that time. (CFR)

Contends that what is being proposed as thoughtful or authentic teaching in the social studies, particularly in geography and history, is similar to the "New Social Studies" movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Discusses the origins, development, and decline of the new social studies, using one program, Project Africa, as a model. (CFR)

Reviews the history and development of the "Our Working World" elementary textbook series, an example of the New Social Studies reform movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Describes the Organic Curriculum, which integrated the fundamental ideas of five social science disciplines. Maintains that implementing the K-6 program all at once was an…

Asserts that increasing numbers of history teachers design courses to have students use historical research and processing skills. Reports on a study of 120 middle school students about their perceptions of what historians do. Concludes that the study provided teachers a means of assessing student understanding of historians. (CFR)

Describes the author's first meeting with curriculum specialist Hilda Taba and his subsequent work on the Taba Curriculum Project. Discusses the project's objectives, major features, and the instructional strategies necessary for implementation. Concludes by discussing Taba's impact on curriculum design and development. (CFR)

Summarizes reviews of research in the "Handbook of Research on Social Studies Teaching and Learning," concerning international perspectives. Analyzes social studies research in England, Eastern Europe, and Africa, seeing modern citizenship as a unifying theme. Stresses the value to U.S. educators of comparative cross-national studies.…

Maintains that struggle has been part of Vietnamese history. Asserts that a new social studies curriculum focuses on the context of historical struggle against foreign domination combined with contemporary socialism and communism. Describes the Vietnamese educational system with particular focus on secondary social studies. (CFR)

Reports on an evaluative study of a secondary level civics curriculum in the Netherlands. Finds a discrepancy between the curriculum plans of the developers and the classroom implementation of the curriculum. Recommends an implementation-oriented development strategy with emphasis on early and intensive formative evaluation. (CFR)

Asserts that economics education is a desirable goal for the elementary curriculum because elementary students can learn and understand economic concepts. Reviews four "Teaching-Learning Principles" based on empirical research about learning effectiveness. Applies these principles to economic concepts such as scarcity, cost-benefit analysis, and…

Asserts that public choice theory, a perspective most closely associated with economics and political science, could be used in social studies education to provide new insights into the behavior of students and teachers. Includes a table applying public choice theory to two curriculum and instruction problems. (CFR)

Reviews the "Handbook of Research on Social Studies Teaching and Learning's" section on learner outcomes and effective teaching methods. Concludes most researchers in this section expect social studies to teach active citizenship reached through decision making within a democratic society. Examines the debate on how best to produce this…

Asserts that there is an important difference between history as socially constructed knowledge and as an objective, fixed account. Reports on a content analysis of three high school world history texts to determine how the meaning from them may be influenced in the content and power relations implicit in the textbook language. (CFR)

Reviews the "Handbook of Research on Social Studies Teaching and Learning's" section on students. Examines currentness of research comprehensiveness, clarity, and evaluative analysis. Specifically analyzes chapters on student development, educationally disadvantaged, culturally diverse, and gifted students. Finds the section reveals the…

Evaluates the "Handbook of Research on Social Studies Teaching and Learning's" section on interrelations between social studies and other curriculum areas (art, music, literature, science, technology, reading, and writing). Commends the section for advocating integration of curriculum and for showing how limited research is for teaching…