This Prospectus identifies basic societal values, behaviors, and understandings and develops two major purposes: 1) to bring the social studies programs into focus and guarantee their relevancy for each student and, 2) to provide a usable pattern for an organization by which each teacher can assist students in building better citizenship. Goals…

Philosophy and social studies instruction meet in areas of clarification of meaning, examination of beliefs and values, and establishing claims for grounds to knowledge. Suggests ways to use philosophical and critical thinking to foster cognitive growth in students. Presents a sample lesson which integrates critical skills, philosophical thinking,…

Reviews the ValueTale series of books which are designed to demonstrate how positive values influenced the lives of famous people. Concludes that they fall short of their goal. Points out that the series attempts to teach concepts beyond the understanding of the intended learners. (KO)

Notes deficiencies of the often-used claim that social studies education ought to promote justice. Explores three conceptions of justice and concludes by examining the paradox that these three conceptions reveal between justice considered as a psychological state of individuals and justice conceived as an expression of the way a society is…

States that developing the ability to think is the primary goal of social studies education. Examines the renewed attention that is being focused on this skill. Reviews the inquiry method, questioning, and discussion as means of promoting thinking in the classroom. (GEA)

The wealth of language and lore about frogs can be used to enrich learning in language arts, science, social studies, and the arts, as well as to investigate values and develop thinking skills. Activities are suggested and a list of appropriate books is provided. (MT)

The work is the report of a study concerning the impact of the inquiry method of teaching on affective as opposed to cognitive achievements. Subjects were 10th grade students given a reading assignment in Asian studies. Control and experimental groups were asked to respond to questions about the material read. Attitude gains were computed for both…

The curriculum guide in social studies was developed to serve hearing impaired children at the Kendall Demonstration School elementary/middle school in Washington, D.C. An introductory section provides the curriculum rationale with discussion of the development of conceptual knowledge, of empathy and perspective, and of information gathering and…

The need for investigating, developing, and implementing affective social studies education programs in the classroom is stressed in this paper. Some issues are raised about moral reasoning and values analysis and their relationship to what may be termed affective social studies education. Educators currently place a heavy emphasis on the…

The relationship between the psychological process of social-cognitive development of elementary children and social science education is reviewed. Social cognition is defined as the ways in which children come to understand the thoughts and feelings of others. For the most part, research findings have shown that a fundamental aspect of social…

A brief summary of social studies research from 1976 to 1983 is divided into five parts. "Cognitive Thinking and Cognitive Process Research" presents a definition of critical thinking, recommendations for cognitive process instruction, and results of cognitive process research concerning the relationship between learning style and…

Criticizes the traditional approach to childhood social studies curriculum, "Me, My Family, My Community," as being superficial and inadequate. Maintains that a rapidly changing world will demand students with highly developed thinking and social skills. Includes guidelines for an optimal social learning environment for early childhood.…

Part of a program to increase the academic growth of preschool and primary grade children through the utilization of brain hemisphere research, this volume contains lessons for improving math, social studies, and science learning. Material is divided into two major sections. Section 1 contains 11 chapters covering the following math skills:…