Presents a cultural analysis of the process by which controversial subject matter in social studies remains deemphasized or omitted. Examines research related to taboo topics in schools. Notes that the closer and more meaningful a topic is to students' lives, the more likely it is to be taboo. Offers practical suggestions for teachers to explore…

Proposes an alternative way of addressing the California Framework through an issues-centered approach to teaching social studies. Describes issues-centered education as instruction infused with reflection on problematic questions related to social issues. Discusses ways of implementing issues-centered social studies curricula and note resources…

This study is a history of the societal-problems approach in social studies education as revealed in secondary school social studies textbooks used in Problems of Democracy courses from 1895 to 1985. The central thesis is that the definition of the problems approach and the problems selected for study by educators as illustrated by the textbooks…

Notes the current attempt to replace social studies with U.S. history and geography. Delineates the two strands of thought in the social studies reform movement and argues that there is a strong tradition of the social studies as a unified, issue-centered field of study. (SLM)

Reviews the history of social studies as an integrated, issue-centered field of study from its inception within the progressive movement to the present. Summarizes major curricular development projects within the issues-centered orientation and speculates on the decline of the problems approach in social studies education. (SLM)

Considers the taboo topics that social studies teachers avoid or de-emphasize, such as topics that tend to provoke strong emotional reactions. Addresses the reasons for the stifling of taboo topics and finds that the closer a topic is to students' lives the more likely the topic is labeled as taboo. (CMK)

Addresses the problems of the U.S. history course structure from two vantage points: (1) agreement with instructional goals; and (2) agreement between current issues and the content of the established curriculum. Outlines an approach for structuring historical content around current problems and issues. Suggests several curricular models for an…

Traces historical trends in social studies education, examining pressures that have both produced and inhibited change. Analyzes differences between discipline-based and issue-centered approaches. Presents pessimistic, optimistic, and realistic scenarios of the next 100 years of social studies education. Advocates developing issue-centered social…