Recommends that social studies teachers reexamine basic assumptions related to the discipline of social studies. Factors they should consider when attempting to develop social studies curricula include values, social needs, student needs and interests, global interdependence, and relevance. (Author/DB)

Discusses current social and educational conflicts that will continue into the 1980s, including back to basics, competency-based education, tax reduction proposals, special education legislation, energy shortages, inflation, and lack of discipline in the schools. Elementary school social studies is discussed with regard to these issues. (Author/DB)

Explains why social studies teachers have problems writing cognitive and affective objectives and presents a systematic approach to help teachers define goals, set objectives, develop teaching strategies based on these objectives, and develop observable student indicators. (Author/DB)

Presents a brief discussion of the Chinese language, its relevance to social studies students in the United States, methods of teaching and learning Chinese, romanization systems developed to help westerners pronounce and read phonetically, picture writing, and a directory of resource agencies and materials. (Author/DB)

Maintains that history instruction on the high school level will be improved if teachers seek to establish a valid rationale for the study of American history, set objectives in accordance with this rationale, and ensure that students do not encounter the same material in different history courses. (Author/DB)

Suggests a diagnostic-prescriptive approach to teaching social studies to culturally different elementary school children. The diagnostic prescriptive approach is defined as a case review of an individual child, a hypothesis (diagnosis) based on that child's history, and a suggestion of activities and treatments geared to the child's needs.…

Maintains that social studies programs for minority students (particularly Mexican American pupils) should emphasize time concepts--defined as time understandings which allow individuals to categorize and order immediate and distant events. Findings from a study of time concept learning in 95 elementary school pupils in Texas indicate that both…

Urges teachers of kindergarten children to use an inquiry approach to help pupils understand the world around them. Inquiry activities can utilize school personnel, teacher and student maps of the school, community resource people, comparative information about children in other cities and countries, and correspondence with community agencies.…

Discusses the demise of an innovative, nontraditional model classroom in a university setting. Explains why administrators decided to discontinue the project and explores why students and teachers lost interest in furthering the project. (DB)

Provides a report on free enterprise/consumer education in Texas, with emphasis on legislation, state board of education actions, consumer education in the curriculum, and implementation activities. (Author/DB)

Suggests how social studies teachers in Texas can fulfill the spirit and the letter of two mandates regarding economic education. Presents information on the relationship which should exist between the two laws, concepts which should be included in a study of free enterprise, and problems encountered by teachers as they strive to satisfy the…

Presents opinions on various issues related to consumerism in the United States and questions how students in economic education classes can be helped to understand economic issues. (Author/DB)

Explains how cognitive and affective objectives can be incorporated into economic education by means of an approach known as confluent education--defined as the integration of thinking and feeling to produce more holistic behavior. Learning activities utilizing this approach are suggested. (Author/DB)

Describes and evaluates the economic education component which the Houston Independent School District, Houston, Texas developed in response to the Texas state mandate that economic concepts be incorporated into the existing social studies curriculum. Information is presented on rationale, need, justification, organization, and major concepts.…

Explains how students in high school social studies should benefit from participation in an economic education program. Presents objectives relating to the consumer in society, consumer rights and responsibilities, and consumer law. A directory of materials and resources concludes the article. (Author/DB)