This digest briefly summarizes the contents of the "Civics Framework for the 1998 National Assessment of Educational Progress" in terms of the Framework's development and components including civic knowledge, civic skills, and civic dispositions. The framework may be used to inform and guide curriculum development projects in civics and…

This book contains interviews with 15 major figures in the academic discipline of political science. Contributors discuss the intellectual and institutional roots of political science and trace its evolution and development. Those interviewed describe what it was like to be a part of the earliest Ph.D programs, and what it was like to work with…

A study explored rates of learning and political interest among students in the "Introduction to American Government" course at a community college. The study was sparked by calls for program review and outcomes assessment that are commonplace on contemporary American campuses. The study featured a pretest/posttest methodology and…

This resource packet is designed to provide teachers and other civic educators with an introduction to differing concepts of authority views of the state in a complex world environment and to serve as a blueprint for developing materials, classes and programs for civic education. The material discusses: (1) the relationship between the concepts of…

Background information for teachers on inflation and self-contained learning activities to help students view inflation from both economic and political perspectives are provided. The introduction contains economics and political science frameworks for analyzing policy issues. How to integrate economics and political science is also discussed.…

In 1989, a study was conducted at Riverside Community College (RCC) using regression analyses to predict grades as well as student success (C grade or better) in political science and history courses. Initial independent (predictor) variables included placement test scores on each of the three ASSET tests of baskc sills (reading, language usage,…

The Alberta, Canada, Social Studies examination for grade 12 contains 70 multiple choice questions covering the following subjects: political ideologies, economics, world geography, world history, and current events. The questions are often related to political cartoons, charts, maps, or a series of quotations that precede the question(s). Two…

Television plays a monumentally large role in U.S. society; no one is immune from its effects. The government does not control television, but it is not far from the truth to say that television controls the political life of this country. This paper analyzes the democratic objectives and effects of television in the United States. A brief history…

The reinterpretation of past events has been a natural phenomenon of twentieth century historiography. Historical revisionism--the reshaping by contemporary scholars of traditional views of the past--has been an inevitable and necessary trait of the profession and has contributed to the growth of humankind's perception of previous generations.…

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…

This study was conducted to learn the extent to which member institutions of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) with Blackwell North America (B/NA) approval plans covering philosophy and political science are duplicating collections, and to determine what supplementary collection development practices are being used. Initial data were…

The paper describes a current events lesson based on an editorial which quoted 10 tips from George Washington and suggested that a review of Washington's statements might be useful in making judgments about current national issues. Used in United States history, world history, and government classes, adaptation and revision of the tips lead…

One of a series of booklets on world issues, this document summarizes some of the salient aspects of Central America with special attention given to Nicaragua and El Salvador. The booklet identifies the interests, policies, and choices of the major actors in the drama that engulfs the region and, increasingly, much of the world. Chapter one…

Two secondary level social studies units concerning two aspects of American democracy, the legislative function of Congress and the basic forms of government and political systems, are translated into Vietnamese and adapted for intermediate and secondary instructional levels. They had originally been produced in Spanish and English for the federal…

Over the past 30 years the study of politics has imitated the discourse of the natural sciences. Articles in this mode of discourse can be characterized as opening with a problem expressed through a review of the literature; continuing with an hypothesis, a methodology, and hypothesis testing; and ending with only narrow conclusions, limited to…