An approach to citizenship preparation that might be called civic education for global understanding includes a renewed engagement with and dedication to the civic needs of the nation. A need exists for students not only to continue to study the basic concepts and values of democracy but also to gain a broader understanding of the complex and…

This ERIC Digest reviews the development and current status of peace education in the United States. After briefly surveying the peace education movement from its origins with a small group of educators in New England in the 1800s through its stigmatization as being anti-American during periods of hot and cold war, the Digest devotes more…

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…

Teachers have explored the use of radio in the classroom almost since radio technology entered into the mainstream of society, yet radio remains a relatively unused mode of instruction. This Digest describes several radio applications and summarizes various radio activities to assist teachers in integrating technology into the curriculum.…

Recent historical events have made it increasingly important to strengthen the study of Western Europe in U.S. schools. With full integration of the European Community after 1992, with the unification of the two Germanys, and with the newly democratic states of the old Soviet bloc seeking some form of association with the European Economic…

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…

Future workers will need to develop global awareness and an understanding of competitive, cultural, and economic factors that influence ways of doing business to work in the international arena. Vocational education, the educational program area specifically designed to prepare students for work, must infuse international concepts into programs so…