Reports on information gathered from interviewing 29 urban, midwest elementary school teachers concerning their rationale for teaching elementary social studies. Revealed that teachers view the social studies as a form of human relations training. Citizenship education, inquiry, and principles of democracy were not considered major objectives. (KO)

Reports on a study of 124 secondary social studies teachers about the treatment of the 1991 Gulf War in their classrooms. Finds that, with few exceptions, knowledge about the war was provided by television news and other media and that students were not asked to conduct in-depth research or other critical thinking activities. (CFR)

Reports on a study of 236 prospective social studies teachers at a Nigerian university about their attitudes toward human rights and civil liberties. Finds that most prospective teachers were aware of rights included in the Nigerian Constitution and were generally supportive of them. Includes two tabular presentations of data. (CFR)

Reviews the "Handbook of Research on Social Studies Teaching and Learning's" section on learner outcomes and effective teaching methods. Concludes most researchers in this section expect social studies to teach active citizenship reached through decision making within a democratic society. Examines the debate on how best to produce this…

Summarizes reviews of research in the "Handbook of Research on Social Studies Teaching and Learning," concerning international perspectives. Analyzes social studies research in England, Eastern Europe, and Africa, seeing modern citizenship as a unifying theme. Stresses the value to U.S. educators of comparative cross-national studies.…