Relationships between United States History curriculum design, self-efficacy, and test achievement of eighth-grade students and parents in the KIPP:STAR College Preparatory Charter School were examined in this study. An online questionnaire developed for the study, the Parental Questionnaire for United States History Curriculum, was pilot tested,…

The increased popularity of desktop documentary making among both teachers and students in history classrooms warrants an examination of its integration into classroom instruction. This multiple case study focused on two secondary students in an AP European History course during a unit that featured desktop documentary making. Employing Cultural…

"Creativity for a New Curriculum: 5-11" provides an account of what creativity really means in the context of children's learning in the primary school, and describes in practical terms what teachers can do to foster it. At a time of curriculum development and change, it focuses on the opportunity to build a new curriculum that is inclusive of…

Clearly written and well organized, this book shows how to apply the principles of universal design for learning (UDL) across all subject areas and grade levels. The editors and contributors describe practical ways to develop classroom goals, assessments, materials, and methods that use UDL to meet the needs of all learners. Specific teaching…

This paper reports the findings from two large-scale national online surveys carried out in 2009 and 2010, which explored the state of history teaching in English secondary schools. Large variation in provision was identified within comprehensive schools in response to national policy decisions and initiatives. Using the data from the surveys and…

In the arenas where the two world histories have taken shape, educators vigorously debate among themselves intellectual, pedagogical, and policy issues surrounding world history as a school subject. The people in each arena tend to share, despite internal disagreements, a common set of premises and assumptions for ordering the discussion of world…

The 1783 Treaty of Paris formally ended the American Revolution and established the United States as an independent and sovereign nation. In words reminiscent of those in the resolution presented by Richard Henry Lee to Congress in June 1776, and later included in the Declaration of Independence, Article I of the treaty stated that the king now…

This essay provides an argument for the study of monuments and provides an analytical framework to promote thoughtful study. The essay focuses on three points of analyses that educational leaders should consider when exposing their students to monuments. These include: an analysis of referent--the person or event being memorialized; an analysis of…

In this article, the author responds to the comments made by Robert Bain and Jesus Garcia to his article entitled "Reinventing Social Studies." He says instead of discussing his suggested solutions to the problem, Bain tells everyone that there are and have been no problems in social studies education, that American citizens are well prepared, and…

All disciplines and fields have something important to contribute to liberal learning. History, however, provides something distinctive. This contribution can be enhanced by a more explicit understanding of the relationship between the history major and the broader goals and processes of liberal learning, and through consideration of that…

This article presents an interview with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Harvard professor and cultural critic who has captured 25 million viewers with his PBS documentary series, African American Lives (WNET). Using genealogical research and DNA science, Gates traces the family history of 19 famous African Americans. What results is a rich and moving…

This article frames history education as a social construction designed to create a national identity through the inclusion, exclusion, and treatment of various societal groups. Using this lens, the author analyzes curriculum standards from nine states that annually assess student knowledge of American history to better understand the depiction of…

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the integration of Norfolk Public Schools. On February 2, 1959, the "Norfolk 17" integrated the formerly all-white public middle and high schools in Norfolk, Virginia. Less known than their counterparts in Little Rock, Arkansas, the stories of the Norfolk 17 underscore the struggle schools…

A fundamental problem faced by anyone who wishes to teach the Holocaust, or any other mass slaughter, is the tension between the desire " to allow the dead their voices to make the silence heard," and a historical narrative that often deals almost exclusively on perpetrator actions. This bias in the narrative derives from the tendency in history,…

In the field of history education, researchers and practitioners frequently demonstrate a keen interest in historical empathy. However, very little consensus exists concerning the meaning of the term. In an effort to make sense of the continuing debate, this article explores the competing conceptualizations of historical empathy found in the…