This study illustrates the processes by which 8 pairs of adolescents in Northern Ireland struggled to come to grips with tensions between school and community history. Findings are based on data collected through open-ended, semi-structured interviews with students from a variety of backgrounds. Although these students appreciated the attempt by…

A model of the theories people use to explain social phenomena, based on the traditions of structuralist linguistics and political theory, is presented and discussed. How such a model can be used to analyze the ideological content of the social science curriculum is examined. (Author/RM)

The influence of the MACOS curriculum on the attitudes of fourth grade students toward objectional practices was examined. Control groups and experimental groups completed attitudinal inventories. The attitudes of both control and experimental groups were similar, showing that studying MACOS curriculum does not cause children to become more…

Contrasts Piagetian based research with psychological research of script knowledge-based and domain-specific knowledge restructuring theories. Suggests that a cultural framework incorporating script and domain specific ideas would be more effective for studying historical understanding than Piagetian theories. Concludes that children can…

Using the U.S. experience in Vietnam, this article argues that the U.S. world view is a product of the U.S. educational system. Specifically the article addresses three questions: (1) how the social studies curriculum is organized; (2) how textbooks are written; and (3) how instruction is shaped by these forces. (Author/BSR)

Examines the historical development of the expanding environments sequence in the elementary social studies curriculum. Concludes that the sequence is obsolete because it is based on the discredited idea that children relive the cultural history of their race as they develop. Argues for abandonment of expanding environments sequence because of its…

Describes the evolution and growth in popularity of the expanding environments framework for elementary social studies. Its reliance on developmental psychology and its portrayal of an artificial, conflict-free world suggest flaws of major dimensions. Concludes that the near-universal adoption of the expanding environments approach may sustain its…

States that the centrist position, emphasizing citizenship transmission, dominates social studies education. Claims that instruction is unstimulating as a result of its design and that teachers are educationally unprepared to adopt new methods. Advocates preservice teacher exposure to various models to allow an informed choice in teaching style.…

Presents data from a study which measured social studies curriculum supervisors' rankings of the 66 NCSS Curriculum Guideline statements. Findings indicate that dealing with student concerns within the context of the real world is very important and that systematic program evaluation and the organization of learning experiences are not as…

Examines the basis of social studies curricula and points out why these principles have generated a curricula which is not interesting or relevant to students today. Principles, based on the writings of John Dewey, are that teaching and learning should begin with the child's experience, formal education is distinct from natural education and…

Assesses the role played by revisionists in development of the social studies curriculum and reviews a movement in which revisionists consistently attempted to promote citizenship education through the problems of democracy course offered in high schools throughout the United States from 1916 to 1970. (Author/DB)

Investigates the founding of the social studies curriculum and suggests that researchers have tended to offer overly simplistic interpretations. Urges that researchers pay more attention to reassessing the role of historians in secondary social studies from 1890 to 1911, evaluating the broad institutional relationships of high schools and…

Discusses a study of the views of social education professionals and elementary social studies teachers on elementary social studies education. Reports many areas of agreement between the two groups and mostly minor points of disagreement. Concludes that social education goals would be better served by greater understanding between the two groups.…

Examines three curriculum projects in order to evaluate the organization of social studies curriculum around the social science disciplines. Concludes that curriculum often minimizes students' creative powers by stressing logical tidiness at the expense of the social, personal, and communal processes which characterize social science. (Author/DB)

The article examines the history, philosophy, and rationale of Rugg's social studies series and discusses accusations that the series is subversive and un-American. An analysis of two textbooks and a brief summarization of the controversy are included. (JK)