Outlook is the monthly newsletter for the Council for American Private Education (CAPE). Each issue contains information relating to private education such as: new legislation and regulations, the most recent research, court rulings, national trends, federal initiatives, private school news briefs, and more. This issue contains the following…

This article describes a service-learning intervention, the CivicConnections Program, as implemented by 96 teachers in 32 site-based teams in 21 states during 2004-2005. Each of the 32 teams was responsible for multiple service-based, social studies classrooms serving a total of more than 2500 students in grades 3-12. The individual…

Elementary school students have a stronger grasp of U.S. history, and what it means to be a knowledgeable citizen, than they did a few years ago, new test results suggest. Part of the reason they are better informed about history and citizenship, some argue, is that they are better readers. That was the view put forward by U.S. Secretary of…

This chapter attempts to survey contemporary debates and research on outcomes of schooling that have been grouped together under the convenient label "nonacademic". This is not an affirmative labeling. As the nomenclature indicates, it is not a label that groups together things that share like properties. Rather, this is a label of…

This article argues that testimonial novels are an important curricular addition in classrooms that take seriously the responsibility to educate students about social justice and civic responsibility in a global context. The addition of testimonial novels to our literature courses lets us internationalize our curriculum by including courses and…

This paper discusses the efforts of educators in the former communist nations of central and eastern Europe, particularly those of Estonia and Poland. In spite of diverse histories and cultures, each of these nations has shared a legacy of totalitarian communism imposed by the former Soviet Union. This inheritance has afflicted all former…

This paper discusses the importance of civic education in the transformation from totalitarian communism to constitutional democracy in Central and Eastern Europe. The primary question of civic education for this great transformation is: What are the few core ideas of democratic civic education that learners must know and support to prepare them…

Discusses the connection between unhealthy civic attitudes and the way students learn history. Makes several practical suggestions for the improvement of both. (DC)

Canadian Public Issues (CPI) is a social studies education program which seeks to include the history of groups typically overlooked in traditional instruction. CPI is described and analyzed. A former CPI director responds to the criticisms, and in a final article, the author responds. (JL)

A teacher recalls how an entire elementary school became involved in the planning of a school-wide celebration and reenactment of the Constitutional Convention. Resource tips and activities are described. (CB)

Provides a review of Mortimer J. Adler's 1987 book, WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS. States that Adler's book offers a useful "behind the pages" look at constitutional ideas and provides material for exciting lesson plans and fascinating class discussions. (JDH)

This study explored democratic learning environments at one research university. The focus was on the qualitative outcomes of a study of one-unit reading and discussion seminars created in response to the events of September 11, 2001. Faculty members created 49 seminars, each of which limited enrollment to 15 students. The findings suggest that…

Explaining that interest in law magnet programs has grown substantially in the 1990s, this ERIC digest analyzes these programs on the basis of information provided by 24 mostly urban magnet schools. The digest places law magnet programs within the broader context of law-related education (LRE). The primary purpose of law magnet programs is to…

In this updated resource book, for the Elementary Social Studies Curriculum in Canada, civics education is integrated with all other components of social studies. In its broadest sense, civics involves both learning about government and the political process, and acquiring the knowledge and developing the attitudes and skills that enable effective…

During the past 30 years, there has been a global surge of democracy. For most people of the world today, democracy is the prevailing source of political legitimacy. In 2002, 121 of the world's 192 sovereign states could be recognized as democracies in terms of the minimal global standard for an electoral democracy. This digest discusses: (1) the…