There never seems to be enough time to teach everything that administrators, policy advocates, parents, legislators, and the general public think should be addressed in the elementary classroom. Each year, elementary teachers are asked to add more and more to their already crowded curriculum. Add to this the pressures of state standards and making…

If American young learners are to become effective participants in a democratic society, then social studies must be an essential part of the curriculum in each of the elementary years. The purpose of elementary school social studies is to enable students to understand, participate in, and make informed decisions about their world. Social studies…

Teaching values clarification in the elementary classroom provides students with a method to sort out alternate courses of action and arrive at the decisions they feel are right for them. Values clarification consists of choosing, prizing the choice, and acting on the choice. (Author/KC)

Describes the beginnings and development of the New Social Studies as an attempt to foster citizen ability to make decisions on major issues. Suggests that the movement ended because of commercialization of materials, lack of a research base, failure to consider the personalities of teacher and student, and failure to consider the hidden…

Answers criticism directed at utilitarianism. Argues that the philosophy evaluates choices by identifying the factors that should be considered in weighing the morality of an act. Suggests that the distributive principle of impartiality means everyone's pleasure should count equally. (DK)

States that history instruction can be made meaningful and enlightening only by examining historical choices and their results against available options and likely consequences. Presenting examples, the author argues that well-crafted historical simulations focusing on such elements as choice and consequence, strategy and tactics provide a useful…

The teaching of social studies, it is argued, should emphasize decision making as against mere remembering. A good citizen, in the process of testing beliefs and convictions, has increased his or her fund of factual information and become increasingly skillful at intelligent decision making. (MT)

Using cross country skiing and snowmobiling as contrasting examples of leisure activity (amusement or recreation), this article shows how to use the tenth book of Aristotle's NICHOMACHIAN ETHICS to help high school students make intelligent decisions on a variety of activities. (JDH)

America has moved from participatory democracy to protective democracy, with political elites making the decisions. The result has been a culturally disenfranchised people abandoning the political system which does not want them. Calls for a return to participatory democracy and citizenship education programs which foster it. (CS)

In 1960, Shirley Engle published an article in "Social Education," entitled "Decision Making: The Heart of Social Studies Instruction," that he hoped would end the conflict over a definition of social studies. He argued that social studies instruction should emphasize decision making in two senses: first, as a decision about the meaning of data…

Advocates an activist, child-centered learning environment which will allow young children an opportunity to develop communication skills, rudimentary skills of critical analysis, and citizenship values such as responsibility and respect. Describes learning activities which will foster early citizenship development and provides two lesson plans…

Curricula involving reflective inquiry are always dynamic, have a problem orientation, afford introspection, require personal decisions, and recognize that living socially is a basic human condition. Such a curriculum, which views education as a liberating force, has its roots in humanism and existentialism. (RM)

Identifies kinds of thinking that fit naturally into elementary social studies curricula, using models of thinking that are not complex. Models include general problem solving skills and skills pertaining to specific types of intellectual tasks, such as comprehending information, solving specific problems, researching topics, and making decisions.…

A summary and a critique of citizenship education that defines it as education for decision making within a democratic society. Ethical and epistemological aspects of the fundamental assumptions are clarified. (Author/MLF)

Today's students must be aware of local, regional, national, and international issues, problems, situations, and cultural diversities. This paper presents curriculum ideas for involving elementary and secondary students in classroom inquiry processes and in field-based settings in order to teach them to think critically, make decisions, act, and…