This study describes one high school civics teacher's use of film as a way to improve his students' understanding of politics. Using episodes of "The West Wing," an award-winning political drama, over the course of a semester, the teacher was able to create an authentic context for political instruction that allowed his students to practice…

This article details an interpretive, qualitative interview study that explored rationales developed by seven social studies graduate students, all experienced teachers, at a large Midwestern university. Interviews revealed three common themes regarding the influence of the rationale development process. The three themes were: providing structure,…

Curriculum consonance between social studies teacher education programs and field placements poses a perennial problem to social studies teacher educators and their students. This study explores the types of cooperating teacher placements experienced by preservice social studies teachers during their pre-student teaching field experiences…

Students in 80 kindergarten to grade six classrooms photographed and captioned experiences in class which they identified as examples of democratic citizenship education. With the assistance of a teacher candidate placed in their classroom for a semester, students chose and captioned five of the photographs they considered to best represent…

Although the United States Pledge of Allegiance is a ritual in many schools, research on middle school students' views about this tradition is limited. Therefore, this grounded theory study included a survey of 100 middle school students on the Pledge with 33 follow-up interviews. Socialization and counter-socialization served as the theoretical…

The teacher who is the focus of this interpretive case study, uses primary sources regularly with her students in ambitious ways but does so less from the current reform efforts, recent history education scholarship, or the climate of accountability and more from her individual goals for history education, most significantly, to prepare her…

How elementary pre-service teacher candidates with considerable experience in clinical field placements identified, photographed, discussed, and categorized samples of what they construed as democratic citizenship education occurring within elementary classrooms was explored in this study. Candidates discussed an initial set of captioned photos…

In today's global environment, social studies educators have the opportunity to expand their students' vision of the role of citizenship in developing a democratic understanding by adopting multiple perspectives on citizenship. Global citizenship education is becoming an important component in citizenship education in many countries. However,…

The conceptualized view of American Democracy and civic values does not enjoy a standardized and uniform belief system throughout the nation's constituency. Many Americans appear to have differing interpretations of freedoms and rights; expressing an individualized view that appears to be ever morphing or changing due to numerous variances such as…

Three teachers implemented a modified Reggio Emilia approach in their multiage, looped, early childhood, setting. This study examined how teachers articulated their work and how they deconstructed social studies through enacting tenets of the approach. Through processes of research, the teachers found that the primary students described themselves…

Increasing numbers of students with disabilities receive a majority of their formal education in general education settings where they must be taught the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to lead fully equitable and participatory lives in a democratic society. Given the need for all students to acquire civic understanding, the purpose of…

Because of the recent resurgence of interest in citizenship education caused by events of September 11th and the war with Iraq, the authors conducted a study to determine the perceptions of eight and eleventh grade students regarding citizenship. We wanted to find out what students believed are the attributes of a good citizen. What activities do…

Examines the educational theories of Bertrand Russell and how his emphasis changed between 1915 and 1932, from the cultivation of good individuals to citizenship education advocating loyalty to a world state. Describes three factors associated with this change of emphasis, concluding that it represented an evolution of his thought. (Author/GEA)

Reviews literature, published between 1930 and 1985, concerning the general content of social studies textbooks for grades 1-4. Notes that scholars, legislators, publishers, and authors have tended to criticize different aspects of these textbooks but that surprisingly few reviewers have criticized their trivial content. (GEA)

Examines the interpretation of social studies found in 96 Egyptian teachers-in-training using the Barth/Shermis Social Studies Preference Scale. Results showed the subjects had not developed a meaning for social studies as conceptualized in the United States. Implications of this finding are discussed. (TRS)