Features of eighth-grade history textbooks were examined through replication of a 20-year-old study that investigated "considerateness" of textbooks. Considerate texts provide clear, coherent information and include features that promote students' comprehension, such as explicit use of organizational structures, a range of question types…

This historical narrative analysis traces the emergence of the strengths philosophy and its movement into Christian higher education using data collected between 2009 and 2010. Beginning with a focus on Don Clifton, Lee Noel, and Edward "Chip" Anderson, a theoretical model from social movement literature is used to construct the…

Given California's role in the Pacific economy, its historic Asian heritage, and the strong and growing presence of Asian communities and businesses in the state, it is imperative that students statewide understand the history of Asia. Unfortunately, the California state curricular framework and standards in history and social science limit the…

Originally conceived by National Park Service (NPS) officials as a way to "revive and maintain the interest of Indians in their own games and industries," the Yosemite Indian Field Days were part rodeo, part pageant, and part craft fair. Through its activities, the Field Days offered white tourists the opportunity to encounter…

Historians such as Seth Koven and Carolyn Steedman have shown how visual and literary depictions of children helped move late-nineteenth-century middle- and upper-class audiences to join in child-saving philanthropy aimed at the deserving poor. This essay focuses on an analysis of the promotional literature of the free kindergartens. Starting from…

Case studies of women teachers in rural California, 1850-1950, explored the nature of knowledge, influence of language on social constructions of gender, and subjectivity in historical evidence. The study concluded that feminist history concerned with the constructed quality of evidence moves uneasily between historical narrative and…

Argues that native American folk history is not just legend, but often oral history told from a different viewpoint. Compares stories from the Kashaya Pomo living near Fort Ross with Russian and English historical accounts to enlarge the picture of an 1833 Hudson's Bay expedition in California. Contains 14 references. (DHP)

Recounts the experiences of a California middle school class that produces an ongoing magazine of oral histories. The multilingual, multicultural, working-class students have interviewed hundreds of participants. In the process they have learned how to research, interview, transcribe, and publish. Includes sample transcripts from the magazine.…