Many U.S. politicians have criticized the trade relations between the United States and countries like Canada, Mexico, and China. They argue that more is imported into the United States from these countries than is exported to these countries from the United States. Political action is needed, they claim. This article is designed to help educators…

U.S.-Canadian and Mexican water-related issues testify to the role that natural resources/ environmental issues play in foreign policy and demonstrate how environmental problems can affect the public and private sectors of a nation internally. How people affect the environment is an irreducible bottom line for stable international trade and market…

The right to discuss controversial issues in public schools is examined in the court case of Keith Sterzing against the Stafford, Texas, School Board. The court ruled that the school board was wrong to fire Sterzing for teaching about race relations with controversial materials. (DE)

Elementary social studies curriculum needs a more circumspect examination of the policemen's role in society, a focus on political-ethical questions, and content promoting elucidation of issues and development of critical thinking concepts and discussion skills. The analysis of public issues: concepts, materials, research is cited. (VW)

On May 17, 2004, the United States will observe the fiftieth anniversary of the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. By invalidating the doctrine of "separate but equal" in the field of public education, a doctrine that had been approved by the same court nearly sixty years earlier in Plessy…

Argues that the high public interest in contemporary international issues has opened a window of opportunity for effecting change in the national global-studies curriculum. Develops guidelines that summarize what concerned scholars and educators recommend as the international dimension of education for K-12 students. Includes an extensive topical…

Provides a four-part framework for thinking about the content of global education. The elements are the study of: (1) diverse human values; (2) global economic, political, ecological, and technological systems; (3) global problems and issues; and (4) the history of contact and interdependence among peoples, cultures, and nations. (JDH)

Examines important trade issues and explains why the debate on trade policy will continue as a major political topic. Discusses the efficacy of recent trade agreements and the use of trade sanctions to encourage political change in other countries. Reviews several models of trade theory. (MJP)