History as a subject area is facing increasing demands from the society to be more profitable and, sometimes, more conformist. The Tuning methodology, developed in cooperation with a large number of Universities worldwide, could offer a viable and sustainable way to take societal needs into account without compromising academic soundness.

Tuning's progress in the discipline of history in the United States since 2009 illustrates the project's continuing capacity to develop "educational structures and programmes on the basis of diversity and autonomy", maintaining the initiative's original European Union commitment in a markedly different academic environment across the…

For The past two years, Siena College and Loyola International College for Diversity and Sustainability (LCDS), formerly Loyola International College, have jointly taught a comparative Canadian/ U.S. history class. Concordia University, an English language university, has more than 46,000 students and offers 433 undergraduate and graduate…

More and more Americans are recognizing just how inadequate their system of higher education is, in large part because the ever-increasing costs of attending a college or university are accompanied by an ever-decreasing value in the education they purport to give the student. At the venture capital firm, PEI, founded by Chuck Stetson, the author…

Examines how elementary student teachers' composition of historical narratives constructed from primary and secondary source accounts demonstrated their historical thinking. Finds that the student teachers were ill-prepared about the "know what" and "know how" of history. Concludes that when student teachers' overall knowledge of history is…

Recommends that historians select textbooks which reflect the economic and natural resource issues shaping the twentieth-century American experience. A review of relevant monographs and textbooks is presented. (Author/DB)

Examines aspects of 10-year-old children's conceptions of understanding. Analyzes to what extent they (1) recognize understanding as a cohesive whole, (2) know when a descriptive understanding versus a causal understanding is expected, and (3) can distinguish between the types of causal understanding in science and history. Includes references and…

Discusses four elements essential for successfully using role playing in the history classroom: (1) background knowledge: building on the knowledge that students possess; (2) perspectives: designing the role to maximize involvement and conflict; (3) situation: having a "focal point for debate"; and (4) management: the teacher's management of the…

Examines the viability of using hypothetical problems that need the application of causal models for their solution as a method to assessing understanding in the social sciences. Explains that this method was used to describe how seventh-grade students understand causal factors affecting the "discovery and colonization of America." (CMK)

Using data from a college-level history exam, this study illustrated how assessment of women's academic achievement can be distorted by using tests as measures of student outcomes. It is recommended that use of such tests be limited to examining curricular shortcomings, not evaluating student proficiency. The test is appended. (Author/MSE)

Describes a learning activity in which preservice social studies teachers determine the prior historical understanding and attitudes of secondary students through class discussions, questionnaires, and other techniques. Discusses the implication of the findings regarding historical knowledge, concepts of time, and student interest in history. (CFR)

Discusses how to teach a brief version of U.S. History by focusing on key legal documents that have defined the status of women and minority groups in this country. Provides some teaching suggestions for helping students think critically about issues of power and privilege. (MJP)

This research study was designed to assess preservice elementary education teachers' knowledge of U.S. history. The "High School Subject Tests: American History," developed by Scott, Foresman and Company for use with high school students, was administered to 139 elementary education majors enrolled in required undergraduate social studies methods…

This publication, the result of a series of workgroup meetings that culminated in a conference of 45 educators held in San Diego, California, in November 1989, is a guide to assessing the competence of prospective history and social science teachers in the California public schools. The guide was developed as part of a state-wide response to…

Professional historians and public school personnel must combine efforts to improve the teaching of history in the public schools. Because no more than one-half of all high school graduates enter college, it is important for the public schools to provide quality history education. Recent research by groups such as the National Assessment of…