Background or Context: This research is situated against the backdrop of viral racial violence, global uprisings for racial justice, a polarizing presidential election, the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, widespread economic precarity, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Alongside such urgent reminders of the need for liberatory education, the daily…

Nuclear winter, a term used to describe potential long-term climate and environmental effects of nuclear war, has been a subject of debate and controversy. This report examines and presents scientific and policy implications of nuclear winter. Contents include: (1) an executive summary (highlighting previous and current studies on the topic); (2)…

Locating the issue of abortion in a global public policy context, with the array of public health, human rights, and social questions that are implicated, is the aim of this paper. Abortion laws around the world have been liberalized since the 1950s, with a resultant decrease in abortion-related mortality among women. The proportion of the world's…

This text was to have been the script for the National Air and Space Museum's exhibition of the Enola Gay, focusing on the end of World War II and the decision of the United States to use of the atomic bomb. The Enola Gay was a B-29 aircraft that carried the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945. The atomic bomb brought a…

The findings of a study that examined the impact of peace studies courses at the college and university level upon students is reported. The study involved 260 undergraduate students at 3 midwestern universities. At the beginning of each course, students filled out a questionnaire; at the end of the course, students were given identical…

Secondary students learn to deal objectively with domestic issues and problems in this quinmester elective course. Emphasis is upon providing students with an opportunity for indepth study in critical thinking on current controversial issues, using activity units as a principal teaching technique. The objectives are for students to identify and…

This study examines the effects of school contexts, individual differences, and motivational goals and benefits on current events knowledge. A review of the literature focuses on motivation study of goal theory and self-efficacy. The sample includes 798 students from nine high schools (grades 9-12) in diverse geographical locations and of various…

Designed to accompany a 30-minute seminar televised over the Cable Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN), this handbook contains 4 readings on energy for high school students. Following an introduction on energy policy formulation, the first selection outlines the role of nuclear energy in America's future. Included are insets on the operation…

This revised social studies course outline follows the New York State Methodology in the development of understandings, the building of concepts, and the generalizations arrived at in the study of a variety of broad issues at the local, state, national, and international levels. General objectives are to provide students with opportunity for…

Written for students participating in the Close Up government studies program, a week-long field experience in Washington, D.C., the readings in this booklet may be incorporated into social studies units on government, political science, or current events. Following an introduction to members of the Reagan Administration and the Supreme Court and…