The call to promote social justice sets the social work profession in a political context. In an effort to enhance social workers' preparedness to engage in political advocacy, this article calls on educators to integrate a broad theoretical understanding of power into social policy curricula. We suggest the use of a multidimensional…

Recommends the policy analysis term paper, involving the use of newspaper and newsmagazine sources to evaluate possible solutions to public policy problems, as an alternative to the political science research term paper in introductory courses. Looks at the results of this approach in terms of student learning. (AYC)

The text of a speech made by the Staff Director and Director of Education of the U.S. Bicentennial Commission, the paper presents an overview of the Commission's plans for the 1991 celebration of the Bicentennial of the Bill of Rights. "The Bill of Rights and Beyond," the theme of the celebration, conveys the idea that although the 200th…

Argues for the teaching public issues in the forum of business communication classes. Describes how students tracked presidential election campaigns and emerged with an understanding of underlying political, economic, and social realities that affect the way America does business. (RS)

This study and discussion guide covers eight major U.S. foreign policy issues. It is designed to help high school and college level students and adults understand the complexities of foreign policy issues and to articulate their own informed opinions. Sponsored nationally by the nonpartisan Foreign Policy Association and now in its 28th year, the…

Reviews discoveries and reports of dinosaurs to help put them into paleontological perspective. Proposes that discoveries not be announced from the field, but submitted to professional evaluation and peer review before release to the public. (Author/RT)

More than 200 years after its founding, the U.S. government continues to thrive on argument, dispute, and debate. For citizens to be fully engaged in the political process, they must continue to participate in the tradition of public discourse exemplified by the ratification debate of 1787-88. College-Community Forums are designed to further…

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…

Briefly discusses some of the recent developments in the on-going controversy concerning pornography and the arts. Argues that much of the mainstream press coverage merely sensationalizes incidents (e.g., "Time" magazine's cover story on cyberporn and the furor over Calvin Klein advertisements) and encourages polarized opinions. (MJP)

This paper examines recent behavior of public officials at various levels of government in the United States, finds a systemic failure to meet ethical standards, and concludes that the wisdom of James Madison has much applicability to current times. Given his keen perception of human nature, Madison would not be too surprised at today's poor…

THE FIVE CLASSROOM PERIODICALS WITH THE LARGEST CIRCULATION IN THE NEW YORK AREA ARE COMPARED WITH THE THREE BEST SELLING ADULT NEWS PUBLICATIONS, THE BEST SELLING CONSERVATIVE JOURNAL OF OPINION, AND THE BEST SELLING LIBERAL JOURNAL OF OPINION TO DETERMINE IF THE USE OF CLASSROOM PERIODICALS IN HIGH SCHOOL SOCIAL SCIENCE COURSES IS JUSTIFIED ON…

This paper investigates issues-centered instruction looks in two ninth grade classrooms composed of large numbers of low achieving high school students. The key principles of issues-centered instruction are described with an examination of the barriers of the approach with low achieving students. The paper reports on two world geography classrooms…

This guide is intended to help teachers use "The Advocates In Brief," a television series of 20 public affairs debates. The award-winning series, "The Advocates," previously broadcast on the Public Broadcasting Service, was condensed into a series of 20, thirty-minute debates for use in junior high, high school, junior college, and continuing…

This classroom text is intended to assist teachers in educating students as consumers of the mass media, especially in messages from abroad. The subject has two major aspects: 1) the student's own limitation, and 2) the effects of human frailty in gathering and presenting the news. The newspaper is emphasized over other news media in this book.…

The experiences of 11 innovative public policy education projects funded by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation between 1988 and 1992 are reviewed. It presents results of a cluster evaluation that used a case study approach to examine effective public policy education and the role of coalitions. The report begins with project descriptions that include a…