Asserts that the thematic approach used in the National Council for the Social Studies national standards marks a fresh era of thought in social studies instruction. Maintains that the strands can serve as a framework for social studies curriculum development and effective classroom learning experiences. (CFR)

Maintains that the National Council for the Social Studies national standards advocate understanding of and participation in democratic citizenship by all students, including those at the elementary level. Provides recommendations for developing a democratic classroom and building a democratic school community. (CFR)

Maintains that the multiage primary school approach is rapidly gaining advocates across the nation. Asserts that the thematic approach used in the National Council for the Social Studies national standards provides a structure for this curriculum schema. Discusses teachers' concerns about curriculum change and strengths of the nongraded primary…

Maintains that implementing the new social studies curriculum standards has been a challenge for many elementary teachers. Asserts that high-quality children's literature is essential for an integrated, multicultural curriculum. Provides an annotated bibliography of 13 teacher resource books. (CFR)

Maintains that the development of national standards provides resources for social studies curriculum development. Discusses the theme of continuity and change and asserts that elementary students can understand chronology. Provides a bibliographic essay and a list of nine recommended children's books and six teacher resources. (CFR)

Maintains that the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) curriculum standards provide an opportunity to integrate technology into a thematic curriculum approach. Includes an annotated bibliography of 19 recommended items of educational technology categorized by 10 of the NCSS curriculum themes. (CFR)

Maintains that the traditional role of standards in elementary curriculum development is that of asking important questions regarding quality curriculum design and instruction. Presents seven questions to guide teachers as they utilize the standards. (CFR)

Critiques the concept of resistance in interpreting students' behaviors and attitudes, examining political, social, and psychological connotations of resistance and contradictory ways that educators employ the concept. The paper explains limitations imposed on education by the concept, noting the work of educators who reassess the implications of…

Current teacher education works against a more inclusive curriculum regarding special education. Academic curriculum, civic culture, and teacher education individually and collectively promote separate teacher education programs and separate educational systems. Disability studies are introduced as an epistemological framework to help redress…

Describes a course in which female preservice educators were encouraged to participate socially and teach elementary mathematics in such a way as to make it personally meaningful. The paper discusses Paulo Freire's views on student oppression and empowerment, noting how they relate to these students' experiences as recorded through observation and…

Discusses research on teacher beliefs, highlighting teacher attitudes toward mainstreaming students with disabilities. It proposes a conceptualized approach to teacher preparation and suggests drawing methods from the counseling education discipline, for example, clarifying processes and bibliotherapy. (SM)

Action research can promote cultural literacy by increasing teachers' awareness of their own values and perspectives and encouraging them to entertain perspectives different from their own. The paper describes how one prospective teacher, through classroom observation in a one-room Amish school, developed positive, culturally sensitive images and…

Describes an ongoing dialog between two female professors at neighboring universities whose teaching was shaped by their lives as they simultaneously taught, mothered, and learned how gender influenced their lives. The paper examines feminist values and pedagogy, describing a foundation of education course in which the two profesors used feminist…

Describes how one university professor uses feminist pedagogy to empower students while still affirming her authority. After providing background about one course that uses feminist pedagogy, the paper highlights two aspects of feminist pedagogy (consciousness raising about diversity and understanding differences that she and the students bring to…

Describes a unique approach to teacher education that involved teaching students within a multidisciplinary, collaborative, student-centered learning community. Interviews with students and faculty provided information on the transitional issues they experienced in the process of unlearning old conceptions and imagining new ways to think about…