This digest highlights the Constitutional and statutory foundations of the United States Supreme Court, discusses the changing role of the Supreme Court, and recommends online resources helpful in teaching and learning about the United States Supreme Court. The digest addresses general concerns of delegates at the Constitutional Convention,…

Recent research in civic education suggests much for shaping and focusing secondary social studies methods course work. This Digest: (1) provides an overview of selected findings from recent studies of secondary students' civic understanding and engagement; and (2) offers five research-based suggestions for social studies methods instructors.…

Although it was not directly named in the U.S. Constitution, federalism is a central principle of U.S. government. It is important for students to learn about federalism to comprehend the U.S. federal system and recognize examples of federalism in other countries. Teaching and learning about federalism is essential to education for citizenship in…

Education about national security has always been part of the social studies curriculum in U.S. high schools. But its focus has been simply chronological and episodic with major attention given to war, particularly the decision to enter it and the conduct of U.S. military forces. Little attention has been given to the evolution and structural…

During the 1990s, there has been an unprecedented global dissemination of information about the theory and practice of democracy and civic education for democracy. This digest identifies nine trends having broad potential for influencing civic education in the constitutional democracies of the world: (1) conceptualization of civic education in…

This digest briefly summarizes the contents of the "Civics Framework for the 1998 National Assessment of Educational Progress" in terms of the Framework's development and components including civic knowledge, civic skills, and civic dispositions. The framework may be used to inform and guide curriculum development projects in civics and…

Given the global significance of Soviet-U.S. relations, elementary and secondary school students should learn about the Soviet Union, but most students graduate from high school with little knowledge and many misconceptions about this country. It is important to teach about the Soviet Union because of: (1) its emphasis in the U.S. media; (2) its…

There are more than 100 democracies in the world today. All but three of them--Great Britain, Israel, and New Zealand --have written constitutions. This digest examines the importance of constitutions and constitutionalism and the teaching of these concepts through the use of comparisons. The primary objectives of civic education for democratic…

Many cooperative civic education projects among U.S. and Central/Eastern European educators have emerged since the end of Communist Party Rule in the former Czechoslovakia. This digest describes a collaborative curriculum development project, Civic Education for the Czech Republic (CECR). The objective of CECR is to revise the existing social…