Argues that effective Black Studies programs must be based on a sound and clearly articulated rationale in order to result in effective student learning, suggesting that the main goal of Black Studies should be to aid students in developing their abilities to engage in reflective decision-making. (Author/JM)

Without new goals and novel strategies, black history will become another fleeting fad. The author offers a rationale and illustrates how black history can be taught as an integral part of a modern social studies curriculum which is spiral, conceptual, and interdisciplinary, and emphasizes decision-making and social action skills. (Author/VW)

This paper delineates a process of rational decision-making and social action. To make a rational decision, the social actor must use concepts, generalizations and theories from the social sciences, knowledge which has high predictive value, and knowledge which constitutes the structures of the social science disciplines. He must also identify,…