Presidential elections can be forecast using information from political and economic conditions, polls, and a statistical model of changes in public opinion over time. However, these "knowns" about how to make a good presidential election forecast come with many unknowns due to the challenges of evaluating forecast calibration and…

By exploring the tensions, impacts, and origins of major controversies relating to schooling and curricula since the early twentieth century, this insightful text illustrates how fear has played a key role in steering the development of education in the United States. Through rigorous historical investigation, Evans demonstrates how numerous…

This unit of study allows students and teachers to step back from the confusing media reports of the day-to-day turmoil in the former Soviet Union (FSU) and to examine it from a more thoughtful vantage point. The unit focuses on the most important instrument of U.S. policy toward the FSU--economic assistance. At the core of the unit are four…

This document contains a student text, teacher outline, and lesson plan that places beliefs and values at the center of the national discussion on trade policy. The focus of the unit is particularly relevant with the emergence of U.S. trade policy as a vital public issue. In 1993, two key elements of U.S. trade policy--the North American Free…

This book, designed as a 7-week instructional module for high school and community college students, uses case studies and independent investigations to emphazise the transdisciplinary nature of land use questions. In addition, the program focuses on the development of independent thought, a healthy skepticism, and problem-solving skills that lead…

A geographic perspective of urban revitalization is provided in this publication, which is intended for geography professors, students, and researchers. There are seven chapters. Chapter 1 discusses the geographical aspects of urban revitalization. Urban decline and redevelopment is the focus of the second chapter. Discussed are parks, civic…

This course, one of 16 sequential courses comprising phase one of a part-time Bachelor of Arts degree program in Australian Studies, introduces debate over the forms, functions, and political implications of public opinion. It pays particular attention to opinion polls and the news media and the way public opinion is produced. It is designed for…

This guide was designed to help teenagers become involved in fun, alcohol-free activities. It provides youth with ideas on how to influence and change the factors that encourage teenage drinking. The guide has four purposes: (1) raise public awareness of the underage drinking crisis; (2) change community norms that encourage underage drinking; (3)…

This booklet is part of a series designed to help students take and defend a position on public issues. In this unit, the progressive era, a major reform period in U.S. history that stretched from about 1900 to 1915 is discussed. The book suggests that large scale reform is difficult to achieve because reformers often assume that their interests,…

Designed to initiate discussion of foreign policy decisions, this book contains an analysis of eight foreign policy issues confronting the United States in 1986. Each unit provides the background and guidelines to provide perspective to assist in understanding foreign policy crises. The units included in this issue are: (1) "How Foreign Policy Is…

Contends that during the Great Depression the federal government gave the visual arts unprecedented support. Presents a classroom lesson on a public controversy regarding a Works Progress Administration sponsored mural in an Idaho city. Includes teaching suggestions, recommended topics for student projects, and four primary sources. (CFR)

Reviews the making of the documentary, "Talk to Me: Americans in Conversation," and expands on some of the major themes. Filmmaker Andrea Simon interviewed people from all walks of life in an attempt to ascertain the defining characteristics of the nation. Includes a national listing of related events. (MJP)

Designed for undergraduate and graduate courses in education, this book covers education developments and trends beginning with the Colonial experience through the present day, placing an emphasis on post-World War II issues such as the role of technology, the standards movement, affirmative action, bilingual education, undocumented immigrants,…

History professor Lawrence W. Levine defends multicultural education and the concept of extending fields of study beyond the western canon. He notes that the very idea of western civilization is barely 50 years old. Includes a number of salient points concerning immigration, language, and culture. (MJP)

Most people see a tactical barrier to implementing service learning (SL), which is how to create the infrastructure that makes SL possible without placing undue burden on schools, people, and teachers. Teachers must be shown how SL can be seamlessly incorporated into their teaching. The media are not especially concerned with SL, but coverage is…