Presents observations on the state of democracy, race, politics, and education in South Africa based on a recent trip to that country. Discusses the material and historical realities of race, the teaching of history, possibilities for inclusive histories, and postcolonial politics. (DSK)

Maintains that standardized testing undermines efforts for quality teaching and learning in public schools. Discusses the misconceptions behind the focus on testing and why testing does not improve student achievement or schools. Reviews the efforts and sacrifices teachers, parents, and students have made in resisting standardized testing. (CMK)

Examines the work of Paulo Freire, one of the most widely recognized educators in the world. Contends that Freire's work offers a guide to understanding how his lessons might be used to deepen questions about the form and content of citizenship education with social justice as a goal. (Contains references.) (CMK)

Explains that Jerome Bruner has been one of the most prominent U.S. psychologists and educators since World War II with particular interest in and influence on social education. Reviews Bruner's work focusing on the influence of his early years in public opinion research and the significance of his conversion to postmodernism. (Contains…

Explores third, sixth, and ninth grade students' interpretations of historical photographs. Finds that the students' ability to date the photographs and determine why the photographs were taken improved with age without differences in gender and race; differences in regard to race occurred in students' inferences about the peoples' lives portrayed…

Explores a case study on the conceptions of citizenship held by teachers, parents, and students in a school in Australia. Argues that effective citizenship education programs require teachers, students, and parents to have a shared understanding about what it means to be a "good citizen." Discusses the findings in detail. (CMK)

Provides a counter story focusing on the U.S./Mexico border that is a borderscape requiring active and tacit engagements and uses the genre of Critical Race Theory in which the experiential and intrinsic complexity of story knowledge depends on the Other's lived experiences. Attempts to unmask the hegemony of social injustices. (CMK)

States that the National Education Summit and the report by Public Agenda, "Standards and Accountability: Where the Public Stands," are examples of how neoliberal democracy thwarts participation by parents, teachers, students, and community members. Focuses on Public Agenda's report, parents' reactions to standards, and the idea of paying teachers…

Examines how the voluntary national U.S. history standards contained within the "National Standards for United States History: Exploring the American Experience" were presented in selected U.S. newspapers. Uses ethnographic content and critical discourse analytic methodologies. Indicates that most newspapers presented a fragmented and inflated…

Explores high school students' responses to a problem-based U.S. history unit. Investigates whether multimedia-supported learning assists students in overcoming obstacles to problem-based learning. Focuses on how the multimedia environment was used, the meaning of the learning experience, and how students' responses compared to those students who…

Presents an historical case study on the transplanting of curricular and instructional practices to Queensland (Australia) from the United States. Focuses on two eras of curriculum development and reform from 1969-71 and 1981-89. Finds that curriculum workers in the 1980s were more distanced from the efforts in the United States. (CMK)

Focuses on Proposition 187, which would have forced the expulsion of undocumented immigrant children from California public schools, required educators to report them and their parents to federal immigration authorities, and prevented undocumented immigrants from receiving social and health care. Considers the aftermath of Proposition 187…

Examines the issue of national curriculum standards within social studies education. Addresses conservative and liberal viewpoints, insights from the works of John Dewey, Paulo Freire, and Michel Foucault on how a radical Left critique developed, an essay by E. Wayne Ross as a case study, and the implications of the radical Left critique. (CMK)

Reports on an investigation of the extent, nature, and development of critical reflection among three preservice teachers in a semester-long secondary social studies methods course that used an action research case study methodology. Suggests that in different ways and measures, teacher educators can influence preservice teachers to become more…

Examines ways in which history/social studies educators might respond to the challenges posed by the critical literature in and about history in order to reconsider why we learn history, what we do (and could do) with it, and for what (and whose) purposes. (CMK)