Written in an engaging style, this comprehensive text prepares K-12 teachers to address a wide range of contemporary social issues--such as violence, gender, war, terrorism, child labor, censorship, and disabilities--through multicultural children's literature. Each chapter includes sample lessons plans designed to encourage critical and creative…

"Teaching and Studying Social Issues: Major Programs and Approaches" focuses on many of the major innovations developed over the past 100 years by noted educators to assist students in the study and analysis of key social issues that impact their lives and society. This book complements earlier books that address other aspects of studying and…

Citizens participating in contemporary socio-scientific issues (SSI) need to draw on local knowledge and personal experience. If curricular developments in the teaching of controversial SSI are to reflect contemporary notions of citizenship then the personal narrative is an indispensable instrument in bridging the gap between the local/personal…

This paper questions the perceived divide between "science" subject matter and "moral" or "ethical" subject matter. A difficulty that this assumed divide produces is that science teachers often feel that there needs to be "special treatment" given to certain issues which are of an ethical or moral nature and which are "brought into" the science…

This quarterly index provides subject access to individual articles and reviews which appeared from July to September 1970 in 100 alternative periodicals. Since the last issue of the index, 30 new periodicals have been added. These additions reflect some of the areas which the index has not covered sufficiently in the past: gay liberation, womens'…

In this article, we study third-year university students' reasoning about three controversial socio-scientific issues from the viewpoint of education for sustainable development: local issues (the reintroduction of bears in the Pyrenees in France, wolves in the Mercantour) and a global one (global warming). We used the theoretical frameworks of…

"Speak," by Laurie Halse Anderson, is one of the most powerful young adult novels to come along in the past decade. It has won numerous awards, including the "School Library Journal" award for "Best Book of the Year," and was a National Book Award Finalist. Despite this acclaim, many English teachers are uncomfortable teaching "Speak" in their…

Science has a role to play in the resolution of many of the issues deemed controversial in all societies. However, evidence of a lack of public confidence in science and scientists as effective problem-solvers continues to accumulate. This paper speculates that this lack of confidence might in part be due to the way in which science educators…

Presented are the highlights of a press conference featuring biomedical ethicist LeRoy Walters of Georgetown University and attorney Andrew Kimbrell of the Foundation on Economic Trends. The opposing points of view of these two speakers serve to outline the pros and cons of the gene therapy issue. (CW)

Describes a strategy for a study of social problems in social studies classes that involves selecting brief excerpts from various literary genres that focus on a key social issue. Notes the students identify the problem, consider its implications, and offer solutions--then the students are encouraged to read the entire text to see how the problem…

The nature of materials produced by social science projects are examined with respect to the spectra of opinion about what the social studies should be. The author concludes that these cool" materials (value-free social science through guided inquiry) belong in the midst of investigation of controversial issues. (JB)

Gives advice to those persons contemplating teaching about Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in their sociology classroom. Describes the organization of an upper-level seminar for 10 students. Identifies a number of pedagogical and personal hazards that might be encountered when teaching about AIDS and offers strategies for coping with…

The conflict-resolution steps outlined in Arnold Burron's "Heed Community Values" article suggests an oversimplified picture of educational change. Consensus in diverse communities is elusive. Parents' rights are problematic. Conflict will continue as long as communities expect schools to resolve society's problems. Sharing…

The Chinese Communist Party has invoked the Faure report as part of a large-scale learning initiative involving 61 cities and numerous streets, neighbourhoods and villages. By embracing western ideas and infusing them with Chinese characteristics, the Central School of the Communist Party has embarked on what looks increasingly like the 5th…