Presents a lesson plan which allows students to grapple with significant questions about the U.S. Constitution while they develop important critical thinking skills. Entitled "The Constitution, the Public, and Voting," the plan encourages skills such as evaluating generalizations, evaluating reasoning by analogy, and recognizing unstated…

Outlines the strategic setting of the 1988 U.S. presidential election, highlights what is at stake for each party, and considers those political issues that may affect its outcome. Examines domestic and foreign policy issues, stressing those that affect two key groups: northern workers and "have not/have little" white Southerners. (GEA)

Recognizes the Kennedy-Nixon debate (in which alleged viewer disagreement was unsupported) as the seminal element in support of the position that television may distort the substance of political communications. Argues that although visual cues undoubtedly have potential to influence the perception of candidates, the nature of that influence…

Urges social studies educators to play an active role in getting out the 18-year-old vote. Offers suggestions for increasing high school senior voter registration and interest in voting. (JDH)

Examines the evoluation of proportional representation and its applicability to school districts, citing relevant court decisions. Recommends single-member districts and outlines a method for apportioning them. (MCG)

This article describes the unfavorable conditions and the innovative tactics used in a well-planned, successful referendum campaign for one school district's capital improvement bond issue. (MJL)

This paper explores the effect of extra schooling, induced through compulsory schooling laws, on the likelihood of becoming politically involved in the United States and the United Kingdom. U.S. data come from the annual National Elections Studies and the November Current Population Surveys. U.K. data come from the British General Election Studies…

Noting that critics charge that news reporting focuses on the superficial, personal characteristics of candidates and ignores the issues underlying elections, this Digest examines the relationship between the political process and political communication through the media. It addresses the power of advertising, cyberspace political communication,…

Using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study 1988 (NELS:88), a nationally representative sample of eighth graders in 1988, who were studies again in 1994 as was analyzed for three voting patterns: registered to vote (68.1%), voted in 1992 presidential election (45.5%), and voted last year in local or state election (30.6%) and…

In spite of a nationwide concern for the crumbling infrastructure of school buildings, the prospects of passing bond issues to repair or replace buildings are elusive. This study examined positive and negative factors that affected the outcomes of school bond elections in four purposefully-selected school districts in Iowa. Variables that…

As the judiciary proved inadequate to protect the right to vote of newly emerging politicized groups, other institutions were called upon to deal with the growing problem of political participation--a challenge to the traditional American optimism regarding this question. (Author/JM)

Surveys the development of the concept of individual status inconsistency, criticizing its utility and suggesting that it be recast as a collective rather than individual phenomenon. (JM)

Examines the social, cultural, political, and economic circumstances in which the ethnic vote will be cast in the 1972 presidential election. (JM)

Data on 431 Minnesota school districts' use of the "referendum levy" (above the regular tax rate) and the "discretionary levy" (extending state aided taxes) indicate wealthier districts use the referendum levy more, yielding higher tax rates and more revenue. Referendum levies adjusted through district power equalizing should…