Studies common explanations for juvenile involvement in Satanism (participants manifest unique attributes that promote involvement or participants become involved through processes common to other deviance types). Data from interviews with 530 Texas youths incarcerated over 6 months for delinquency suggest that Satanism may emerge from unique and…

Presents and discusses the cooperative development and evaluation of the required undergraduate course, "Public Justice Information Sources" at St. Mary's University, San Antonio, Texas. Aspects addressed include course objectives, content, administration, planning and evaluation, and costs. (EA)

Discusses fictional media portrayals of crimefighting, such as Superman and Dick Tracy programs, that often constitute civil rights violations. Describes a learning activity that calls upon students to observe and log such portrayals and evaluate them critically. Suggests sources of program materials and lists other activities on the topic. (SG)

Presents a sample introductory lesson on the concept of equal protection, differential treatment under law, and legal tests for determining when differential treatment violates the Equal Protection Clause. Recommends using a poster depicting segregated water fountains and contrasting it with the Declaration of Independence to discuss the doctrine…

Examines recent Supreme Court opinions to illustrate how the justices are reinterpreting the First Amendment. Discusses student freedom of expression, freedom of religion, the free exercise clause, and the establishment clause. Concludes that a perceived trend in court decisions to limit freedom of religion and expression requires teachers to help…

Evaluates "Law in a Free Society," a curriculum project of the Center for Civic Education. Details the contents of 11 lessons from the upper elementary school (Level IV) units on justice and 10 lessons from the secondary school (Level VI) units concerning authority. Offers an example of the program's "Exercises in…

Annotates 100 items published in 1993 by state governments. Subject areas include health and health care, environment, conservation, business, economic issues, reevaluation of the educational system, government reorganization, crime and justice, families and child care, minority issues, and local history. (KRN)

Explores the implications of "City of Richmond v. Croson," the Supreme Court decision that found set-aside programs for minority businesses unconstitutional. Surveys the major Supreme Court racial discrimination rulings from "Dred Scott" to the present and finds them symptomatic of societal insensitivity to racial injustice and…

Explores the meaning of distributive justice and considers the importance of teaching the concept in social studies classes. Delineates characteristics of reasonable arguments for treating people differently to bring about justice. Presents situations to generate classroom discussion of the concept of justice. (NL)

Explains that sentencing circles are a form of traditional Canada Native justice in which the entire community is involved to combat offenders. Provides a unit plan on sentencing circles for social studies in order to teach students about the need for sentencing circles in Native communities. Provides sample lesson plans and an example worksheet.…

A high-school English teacher deplores barking-media sound bites of politicians pretending to resolve complex educational problems with one-dimensional "solutions." Highlighting specific classroom learning situations, he ponders three paradoxes: justice is not necessarily fair; freedom comes with limits; and clarity comes through…

A seminar at Chicago-Kent College of Law (Illinois) that reviews six first-year law school courses by focusing on feminist issues in course content and structure is described. The seminar functions as both a review and a shift in perspective. Courses revisited include civil procedure, contracts, criminal law, justice and the legal system,…

A study examined juvenile cases processed in an East Coast state between 1992 and 1994 (n=33,423). Findings indicate mental health placements are used rarely relative to other court outcomes (i.e., dismissal, probation, other types of placements), and gender and race significantly influence whether an offender receives this type of treatment.…

Explores how the concept of freedom in Paulo Freire's constructivist epistemology-constituted as agentive, spontaneity-based action-is in tension with his ethical project of a pedagogy for justice, one based on responsibility and non-indifference. Resolution of this tension means reconceptualizing the grounding notion of the subject beyond a…

This study examined changes among graduate students (N=52) in perception of social worker empowerment and commitment to client empowerment through social justice advocacy. Pre-post data showed that most entering MSW students possessed important beliefs about empowerment for themselves as social workers and for members of oppressed population…