The aim of the study is to examine the effect of teaching activities supported with metaconceptual processes on 7th grade students' conceptual understandings and attitudes of law related concepts in social studies course when compared with traditional instruction. In this quasi-experimental study, convenience-sampling method was used. This study…

The purpose of this paper is to describe a learning model based on "Storytelling" and its application in the context of legal education helping build challenging training resources that explain, to common citizens with little or no background about legal topics, concepts related to "Legal Mediation" in general and in specific…

This paper provides examples of polygraph misuses; details the increasing use of the polygraph inside and outside of law enforcement; explains what a polygraph is, what a typical polygraph test might consist of and its weaknesses in the detection of truth; and analyzes the available research with specific reference to the validity and reliability…

Prepared as a Law Day speech for the State Bar of Texas, this article examines law and lawyers in the United States, past, present, and future. Includes sections on the adversary system, the legal profession, historical legal theory, and the rule of law. (GEA)

This paper depicts the origins, operation, and success of the Community Mediation Service established at the University of Hawaii, Manoa in 1979. During the 1970s, a national impetus for change arose out of stresses in the justice system including clogged courts, expensive and lengthy litigation, distrust of lawyers, and dissatisfaction of both…

There has long been a discussion on the place of law in citizenship education, but the implementation of law-related materials into civics education in a manner which examines law's role in the social order has been lacking. While educators and lay persons alike seem to agree that the goal of citizenship education is to provide students with the…

Citizenship education is a major purpose of schools. What this entails, however, is highly disputable. Recently scholars have suggested that schools should teach and model citizenship values and principles that emphasize freedom of expression, the exclusion of religion from public spheres, and equal protection. These scholars support their…

Dedicated to discussing the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution, this conference report presents the texts of six speeches. The presentations include: "Return to First Principles: The Philosophical and Historical Roots of the Bill of Rights" (A. E. Dick Howard); "How Do We Deal with First Principles?" (Herbert Atherton);…

A collection of essays designed to provide educators and other interested individuals with contemporary perspectives on the U.S. Constitution and separation of powers is presented. Separation of powers refers to one of the enduring principles of the U.S. constitutional system of government, in which governmental powers are subject to a division of…

This paper is an assessment of recent research on U.S. political attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors and what it says about the need to improve education for democracy. The assessment examines three surveys: (1) the annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup survey that looks at attitudes toward public schools; (2) the annual "The American Freshman"…

Presents a speech which discusses private funding for government operations, secret policies, and the doctrine of plausible denial. States that the Iran-Contra affair illustrates the failure of the educational system to educate patriotic, intelligent persons in the nation's most fundamental constitutional arrangements, such as the appropriations…

Research in law-related education (LRE) and related fields is reviewed in this report. For the past two decades, researchers consistently have reported that law-related curricula and instruction make a positive impact on youth when compared to traditional approaches to teaching and learning law, civics, and government. The overall conclusion is…

This paper addresses the responsibility of educational institutions to improve the social and civic values and the behavior of youth while illustrating the condition of civic education. U.S. children educated during the Vietnam War and Watergate Eras developed a weakened sense of citizenship obligations. Without a government-sponsored nursery…

The 17 essays included in this book are designed to provide educators and other interested readers with contemporary perspectives on a broad range of themes and topics concerning the U.S. Constitution. The authors are a distinguished group of historians, political scientists, legal scholars, and jurists. The essays include: "The Achievement…

A strong case can be made that the study of law, properly conceived as a resource to enrich civics as a branch of social science, is the broader study of the role of law in the social order. Study about law provides a unique opportunity for: (1) addressing what has historically been a neglected, pervasive daily influence on us all; (2) analyzing…