The development and promotion of the "expanding communities" curriculum design model for teaching elementary school social studies was a crucial episode in the history of social studies. This article profiles how the model developed in the mind of its most effective promoter, Paul Robert Hanna. Paul Hanna understood early in his career the…

In January 1929, the American Historical Association (AHA) nominated a group of eminent scholars and famous educators to form a Commission on the Social Studies. This article shows that instead of proposing radical or misconceived ideas about the social sciences and the role of schooling in facilitating social change, the commission members…

When the American Legion set out to help bring down one of the Progressive Era's most prominent progressive educators, Harold Rugg, it did so out of a long-standing conviction that any form of anti-Americanism must be met head on and extinguished in the most expedient manner. Legion members, ever alert to anti-American rhetoric, believed that they…

For almost five decades during his professional life, Engle was deeply concerned about the philosophical views that made up social studies education, as well as ways those views were being practiced in the classrooms. In particular, he criticized the philosophical views of two contemporary educators, Edgar Wesley and Jerome Bruner. Wesley believed…

Social studies is a survivor, enduring as a mainstay of the American curriculum for nearly 100 years. Its longevity is not a tribute to its curricular power nor can we credit a cadre of finely trained professionals for maintaining its influence. Rather, social studies' remarkable survival is due to the near-universal acceptance of the idea that…

This article addresses the question of how difference has been dealt with by the social studies curriculum since its formal inauguration as part of American schooling in the early twentieth century. Over the last hundred years, cultural and ideological differences have played a large role in defining how Americans interpret citizenship education,…

In 1930, Rugg and his associates published "History of American Civilization: Economic and Social" followed in 1931 by "A History of American Government and Culture." By examining the preface of these two works, one is able to gain insight into the philosophic basis of the textbook series. These two volumes represented a complete and unified…

Beginning teachers face a myriad of challenges as they enter schools, including a growing emphasis on standards and accountability, an increasingly diverse student population, and lack of support or mentoring. Current attrition rates for beginning teachers are high and continue to grow. This situation is more pronounced in low-income urban schools…

With the policy of opening to the world and economic reform in the late 1970s, China has experienced tremendous socioeconomic changes. To catch up and compete with the advanced countries, the national goals have shifted profoundly from the traditional goal of moral inculcation stressing cooperation, to the economic goal of modernization…

The purpose of this study is to analyze the treatment of Japanese-American internment during World War II in high school United States history textbooks. Four reasons highlight the selection of this topic for study. First, this historical event was selected because a little over a year ago was the 60th anniversary of President Franklin D.…

Historically, the cold war was a watershed that separated two epochs: the time of abnormal, although compelled, partnership of two political systems and the period of peaceful coexistence with barely hidden hostility. The peacefulness of the latter, however elusive and vulnerable it was from time to time, has to be credited to the cold war, a…

Our social worlds are visually saturated. A feature of post-modern society is its relentless traffic in images, often borrowed from diverse times and places, and patched together in ever changing ways. This traffic serves commercial purposes, shapes identities, and increasingly stands in for reality itself. As a newspaper columnist noted, "most of…

Preservice teachers are often amazed at the wealth of print and Internet resources available. They look forward to selecting appropriate ones to make people and events in the past seem real to children. In addition to these, perhaps some of the most meaningful sources might be those they and their future students locate and/or create themselves.…

For more than forty years the governments of the United States and Cuba have maintained an adversarial relationship toward one another. Much of the negativity is expressed through verbal accusations, but at times there have been several destabilizing and sometimes dangerous actions by one or both governments such as the 1962 Missile Crisis,…

This article presents a theoretical process model for students engaging in dialogic learning about issues of race and anti-oppression. The model identifies conditions present in the dialogue process and demonstrates how these conditions, when coordinated with certain interventions and strategies, help to create particular outcomes for…