Current literature on social studies methods courses for secondary education teachers focuses on rationales, quantitative data, criticism, and innovations. Although social studies methods courses are highly criticized, a paucity of literature exists on the rationale for the course, most of which calls for increased conceptualization. In contrast, an abundance of quantitative data on teaching practices consists of surveys of course instructors or reports by an instructor on methods of his particular course. All of these reports focus on a different aspect of the methods course; thus, there is little cumulative impact to them. Criticism expressed by students and instructors suggests that the methods courses are impractical, too theoretical, and taught by instructors who have lost touch with the public schools. Critics point out that instructors often resort to lecture as the main mode of instruction and that weaknesses in textbooks lead to weaknesses in instruction. Most material on innovation is based on empirical studies or personal narratives of a particular approach. An extensive work discusses contemporary-based education, the values analysis approach, and the human relations approach. A general conclusion is that although methods courses should be an important part of a teacher's professional training, current content and format are not effective. (KC)