This ERIC Digest discusses heritage education in terms of: (1) what it is; (2) why it belongs in the core curriculum; (3) how it relates to social studies education; and (4) the qualities of exemplary heritage education programs. Heritage education is defined as an approach to teaching and learning about history and culture that uses information…

It is important to reaffirm the teaching of recent United States history in secondary schools. Diane Ravitch and Chester E. Finn state: "If we think it important that they (17-year-old students of 1986) understand the three decades between the Second World War and their own sixth birthdays (in 1975), we cannot expect this instructional job to…

Lists some of the documents and journal articles on history education reform in the ERIC database. Includes items on the teaching of history, curriculum development, textbooks, student achievement, and constraints of teaching methods. Gives a brief summary of each work listed. (DK)

Provides a partial listing of documents and journal articles in the ERIC database on the status of U.S. history instruction and history education reform. Includes items concerning curriculum guidelines and development, the study of democracy, teaching methods, and history versus social studies. (DK)

Written by teachers from the United States and Canada, these lesson plans focus on integrating the teaching of history and art history. Seventeen lesson plans cover the topics of (1) Slavery, Henry Ossawa Tanner, and His Family--Grades: Elementary; (2) Chinese Landscape Painting--Grades: Elementary; (3) Regionalism: American Art of the Great…

Presents abstracts of 10 documents, selected and reviewed from the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) that deal with the debate over how to teach history. Includes information for accessing or ordering documents. (NL)

In 1991, the 50th anniversary of the United States' entrance into World War II was observed. This is an opportune time to reevaluate and renew the teaching of this cataclysmic event. Most people have been affected by the political, economic, and social consequences of the War. But perhaps the most important reason to rededicate ourselves to…

Recent state-level curriculum frameworks have emphasized geography and history as core subjects of the social studies sequence of courses, from kindergarten through the twelfth grade. This Digest presents a rationale for the connection between geography and history, presents ideas for developing this connection within the curriculum, and…

Three questions are addressed in this document: (1) How have women been treated in social studies textbooks and curricula? (2) What are some strategies for including women in social studies? (3) What resources are recommended for teachers and students? Textbook studies of the 1970s revealed limited coverage of women in the social studies, and the…

Recent events in Europe suggest that the pattern of global ideological struggle that provoked the division of Korea is apparently dissolving, giving way to nationalist movements. The division of the Korean people now appears anachronistic. There are signs that reunification is possible. Despite the importance of the Korean peninsula in world…

Directed to secondary school teachers of history, government, and civics, this book is designed to fit common educational objectives in secondary school curriculum guides that call for teaching and learning about the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights. The volume is intended to encourage careful reading, analysis, and classroom…