Discusses the need that low-achieving, disadvantaged youth in England have for relevant political education. The author suggests innovative solutions such as community service job programs and experiential learning situations which could provide youth with opportunities for informal political discussions and work experience. Communication skills…

Examines the impact of nationalism on six leading secondary level U.S. world geography textbooks. Specific examples of nationalistic bias are cited. Particular emphasis is given to the parallel between changes in American foreign policy and the focus of textbooks published over several decades. (AM)

Describes some of the theoretical approaches of political education that have been developed in Dutch high school-level citizenship education programs. Dutch political education has focused on conflict resolution, citizenship and moral approaches, critical approaches, Marxist ideas, sociological and/or political science approaches, and social…

Describes a course developed for the public schools of Hessen, Germany, through the cooperative efforts of army officers, peace researchers, and educators. Information is presented on goals and contents of peace education as a part of political education, learning goals, course sequence, and content related to the neutron weapons controversy. (DB)

Examines the relationship of national political interest and knowledge of comparative and international politics among 2,000 13 and 17 year old students in American schools. Findings indicated that American students are more interested in and knowledgeable about national than non-national politics. (DB)

Summarizes findings of a recent Norwegian study of the contents of civics textbooks approved for use in grades seven, eight, and nine in schools throughout Norway. Findings indicated that only one of the nine textbooks analyzed recommended that its readers take a critical view of the civic education-related contents. (Author/DB)

This study surveyed Australian high school students' conceptions of democracy. Students held that equal shares, equal say, equal quality, and rewarding productivity were essential to the democratic processes but emphasized them differently when presented with actual problems to solve democratically. (AM)

Introduces findings from an investigation of political education in schools and colleges in the United Kingdom. It focuses on describing and analyzing political learning processes, political socialization, political learning experiences in the classroom, and problems which beset political education programs. (DB)

Suggests that innovative teaching methods such as simulation gaming be used to teach high school and college students about international relations and modern diplomacy. Demonstrates how the simulation technique was used to teach students in schools and colleges in Israel about the Middle East conflict. (DB)

Examines social studies in England in light of political developments such as increase in demand for local educational control in Scotland and Wales and closer economic and social ties between England and the European Community. New directions for citizenship education are recommended which reflect these developments and encourage students to…

Presents an overview of the most notable among recent books on political socialization in West Germany and indicates trends among these publications in areas of research methodology, objectives, stress on empirical studies, and theoretical models. (Author/DB)

Offers an overview of The Council of Europe studies of various aspects of social, civic, and political education in secondary schools from 1951-1979. Describes the program, the Council's impact, and outlines plans for the future. (CK)

Examines the attitudes of Irish secondary school students toward political parties and the influence of the parties on the students. Results showed high student awareness of party differences, parental disposition to be an important influence, and party attitude to be an important influence on certain issues. (Author/CK)

Describes a study which asked 1,000 American high school seniors to explain what they understood by the term "democracy." Findings showed large proportions of the students had some idea of what it meant, but they had difficulty in applying democratic principles to the solution of political conflict situations. (Author/CK)

Describes how six case study institutions were selected by the Political Education Research Unit, outlines some of the questions which the research team attempted to answer, and describes the approaches adopted to these questions. (Author/CK)