Given the general recognition that what we do is influenced as much or more by our value commitments as by our factual knowledge, it is ironic that social studies, the area of the curriculum supposedly focused on citizenship education, has paid so little attention to values. There are many reasons for this, but one of them, the author believes, is…

Traditionally, the social studies have been defined as the social sciences adapted and simplified for pedagogical purposes. This definition assumes that the criteria for curriculum selection and development in social studies should come from the social sciences and not from an independent view of what the social sciences should be about. Hence,…

The case is made for the jurisprudential approach to social studies, which focuses on the analysis of public issues, as appropriate for gifted students. Case studies illustrate the approach's emphasis on decision making (and its natural concomitants of disagreement and value conflict) as a central component of democratic citizenship. (CL)

The Analysis of Public Issues Approach to ethics education assumes that controversy is inevitable within a society committed to human worth and made up of diverse groups. This cognitive approach is based on the Oliver and Shaver book, "Teaching Public Issues in the High School." Controversy ensures that societal problems are brought to…

Reacts to an article by Jean Anyon (in Theory and Research in Social Education; Sep 1978 p40-55) by reiterating his definition and use of the word "mindlessness" in his National Council for the Social Studies presidential address (Social Education; Apr 1977 p300-06), and reemphasizes the point of that address. (CK)

A discussion of the current position of social studies in relation to teaching technique and method leads to advocating a social studies curriculum that provides for relevance to students' lives, examination of social issues, and strategies to help students deal with values and value conflicts. (Author/ND)

The authors take issue with the Shermis and Barth position that indoctrination in American education is wrong (Social Education, March 1985), arguing that they have misunderstood the issue and that the imposition of certain democratic values and processes does not conflict with the goals of reflective inquiry. (RM)

Proposes a definition of a culturally pluralistic democratic society and suggests that there can be no final reconciliation of ethnic identification and melting-pot pressures. Examines the role public education must play to enhance ethnic identity while promoting societal cohesion. (JDH)

A formal critique of the social studies profession by the president of the National Council for the Social Studies. He examines social studies educators' failure to question certain assumptions, including those about moral education, rights of parents, and preparation of social studies teachers. (Author/RM)

The content and components that can be included in the social studies curriculum are dependent upon how the discipline is defined. If social studies is not simply an offshoot of social sciences, but, rather a required general education program concerned with the preparation of citizens for reflective participation in a democratic society and with…

Can a structure be created that provides a broader and more valid base for the general education curriculum in the social studies than would the structure of social science disciplines? One alternative would be to focus on the making of decisions about public issues as the crucial element of citizenship behavior in a democracy. Using the common…

This paper defines, inquires into the relationships, and analyzes the terms social sciences and social studies. Too often social studies are a simplified instructional adaptation from the social sciences in which curricular decisions are made on the basis of dictates of the social science disciplines and of college prerequisites. A social studies…

Three key terms--social studies, values, and attitudes--are discussed in relation to a national assessment in social studies. Definitions of these terms will affect decisions about what and how to assess. Two major approaches define social studies as: (1) social sciences simplified and adapted for pedagogical purposes; or (2) that portion of the…

Research was conducted regarding the lack of information about (1) the relations of open-closed mindedness (dogmatism, authoritarianism, and rigidity) to reactions to a social studies methods course; (2) the possible biasing effects of drawing samples of teacher education students from different groups, subcultural and educational; and (3) the…

Part I of this social studies report presents the results of curricular research, at Utah State University, to develop a set of "critical thinking" concepts appropriate for the analysis of political-ethical public issues, and to prepare materials and suggestions for teaching those concepts. The analytic concepts, presented in both outline and…