This study sought to identify content on the federal budget, national debt, and budget deficit in the 12 most commonly used high school and college-level economics textbooks. Our systematic review of these sources leads to two key findings: (1) Textbooks are similar in how they represent fiscal policy yet treat the federal budget, deficit, and…

Using Kelly's (1986) four perspectives on teacher disclosure, I analyze the quality of instruction present in the classrooms of six high school government teachers during their coverage of the 2008 Presidential Election, an event that received widespread media attention and elicited strong feelings on both sides of the political spectrum. Four of…

This case study examines a U.S. History class where a veteran teacher uses challenging primary source documents and a debate to encourage his students to think critically about history. The teacher is knowledgeable about the subject matter and articulates a clear purpose for teaching. Surprisingly, the author finds that the teacher's methods,…

This study examined an 11th grade high school class as they played the game Civilization III. Over nine class sessions students played the game in support of other activities related to several predetermined and emergent topics in U. S. history. Gameplay was whole-class oriented and involved students taking turns at the computer controlling…

The turnout rate of America's youngest eligible voters is distressingly low, and it is vital to assess the factors associated with a commitment to participating in the electoral process. High school juniors (N = 133) were surveyed to see how a variety of factors would predict political efficacy. One week later, participants were randomly assigned…

Many educators agree that pre-service teachers bring into their teacher education programs previously constructed ideas and beliefs about students, teaching, and learning. They contend that it may be difficult for students to change these constructs when participating in a teacher education program whose views of instruction are not congruent with…

Presents the results from a survey of middle and high school social studies teachers that asked if and how the impeachment of President Bill Clinton was being taught. Discusses implications for social studies curriculum, current issues, the media, and teaching middle school students. (CMK)

Investigated the influence of gender, ability, and grade level on the political attitudes of ninth and twelfth grade students. Among the conclusions were that low ability subjects are less likely to support fundamental freedoms and that females have greater respect for law and law officials. (GEA)

Reports on a study which evaluated the effectiveness of the GIVE AND TAKE film series and the accompanying print materials for teaching twelfth grade economics. Discusses the research method and concludes that the GIVE AND TAKE materials are more effective than traditional textbooks for the teaching of basic economic concepts. (Author/GEA)

Reports the results of a study of 135 high school students who were randomly assigned to long, medium, and short frame-length treatments of programmed United States History instruction. Results showed significant independent effects for frame length and IQ, in addition to a significant effect for the interaction between the two. (JDH)

Phrases of uncertainty used by social studies teachers in high school history courses negatively influenced achievement for students of all ability levels. A link was found to exist between frequency of teacher uncertainty phrases and student perception of the teacher as a knowledgeable authority on the topics covered. (Author/RM)

As a result of participating in an American government course, 12th graders showed a marked improvement in citizenship knowledge and in their opinions toward political institutions and participation. These changes seem to be related to several factors, including teaching methods such as class discussion and simulation, and the use of newspapers.…

Scores of slow learners on measures of closemindedness, critical thinking, self-esteem, and reading were found to be significantly related to their IQ scores. No relationships were found between self-esteem and reading, civil liberties and critical thinking, and self-esteem and interest in contemporary problems. (RM)

Upper elementary and high school students completed an instrument that measured student attitudes toward social studies and indicated the presence of factors found to contribute to positive student attitudes toward social studies in previous research. It was concluded that teaching style did not have a meaningful impact on student attitudes.…