Purpose: This article examines high school students' understanding of the welfare state as a political issue and discusses how it can be approached in the classroom. The study was conducted within a social-science educational context and departs from a perspective from which educational goals can be seen as intrinsic (goals closely connected to…

In an effort to promote learning in classrooms, political science instructors are increasingly turning to interactive teaching strategies--experiments, simulations, etc.--that supplement traditional lecture formats. In this article, I advocate the use of student-generated data as a powerful teaching tool that can be used in a variety of ways to…

In this article, the author attempts three things: (a) to describe the main beliefs of the "continental empiricist" epistemology that dominated the study of the social sciences in North America since the mid 1930s; (b) to speak of the influence of this epistemology on the dominant or mainstream school in the study of politics; and (c) to…

The roles played by technical experts in the federal policy-making process which led to the initiation, continuation, and, after ten years, the termination of the United States' civil supersonic transport project are considered as a case study of the influence of technical experts in presenting countervailing political pressures to represent the…

A SYSTEMATIC, BUT SIMPLIFIED, THEORETICAL FOUNDATION OF THE POLITICAL SYSTEM IS PRESENTED IN THIS PAPER TO PROVIDE EDUCATORS WITH A BASIS FOR INTRODUCING SOME UNDERSTANDINGS OF POLITICS TO ELEMENTARY STUDENTS. THE POLITICAL SYSTEM IS DESCRIBED AS CONSTITUTING ALL SOCIAL PATTERNS OF INTERACTION THAT ARE MORE OR LESS RELATED TO THE MAKING OF BINDING…

In this paper, social science utilization is studied as an aspect of legislative decision making. The purposes of the paper are to provide a review of political science literature on state legislatures, offer a theoretical framework for interpreting utilization of social science research, apply the framework to interview data, and generate a…

Given the lack of interest among college and high school students and the declining rates of participation in political affairs, the concept of political specialization has significant implications for teaching political science. Research reveals that almost 90 percent of high school students who do not plan to attend college are either completely…

Content, classroom suggestions, and resources for preparing and motivating new young voters are the focus of this publication. The first section of the paper contains chapters on: universal suffrage (a historical and current view); whether or not public affairs should be entrusted to the people; the role of voting in a representative democracy;…

This report sets forth certain conclusions reached by the Special Constitutional Convention Study Committee of the American Bar Association after conducting a two-year study. The committee was formed to evaluate the ramifications of the constitutional convention method of initiating amendments to the U. S. Constitution as set down in Article 5. It…

This progress report, issued by the Indiana University High School Curriculum Center in Government, attempts to make clear the Center's position on certain issues in social studies curriculum development and the rationale behind these positions. The paper's first section considers complaints about present government courses and examines existing…

This Teacher's Guide to the APB one- or two-semester high school course provides a day-by-day plan for teaching the course. The plan includes a chapter overview suggested readings for teachers and students, instructional objectives, and suggested teaching procedures for each class period. The five major units that comprise the course are: 1)…

The project's activities during the past year to develop a process for analysis of the working of pressure groups in the political decision-making process are discussed in this report. In addition, information is given on the organization and developmental processes which the team used in the formulation and adaption of a unit. In the first part…

This project's study of pressure groups in Canadian urban government proposes the development of an interdisciplinary social science cirriculum for the secondary school student in grades 9 through 12 which would give meaningful perspective toward the various decision-making structures and processes. Other major objectives are: 1) to enable the…

Prepared by the Indiana University High School Curriculum Center in Government, this paper presents a brief but comprehensive introduction to the main characteristics of a behavioral approach to American politics. The first of four parts sets forth assumptions and requirements implicit in a behavioral approach and elucidates the relationship…

The laboratory has created this information unit to help answer curriculum planning questions for secondary school curriculum decision makers. It tells about the products and activities of nine selected curriculum development programs by organizing the following information in chart, summary, then complete report form for quick and easy review and…