"American history," writer James Baldwin told a group of teachers in 1963, "is longer, larger, more various, more beautiful, and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it" (1963/1996, 227). Children, Baldwin argued, have "the right and necessity to examine everything." In particular, they need to…

With this study, the authors investigated, in an open-ended manner, what elementary teachers and their students said about social studies. They endeavored to see if prior findings still persist and studied the potential relationships between students' and teachers' perceptions. They conducted their research in three different school districts in…

Describes the Advanced Placement U.S. history program which allows students to earn college credit by taking a standardized test while still in high school. Reviews procedures for selection of multiple choice questions on this test from 1960-1984. States that multiple choice type questions on this test have changed since 1960, but not…

Reviews "newscasts from the past," a six-part series of videotapes designed to make medieval history come alive for high school students. Includes ordering information and the results of a survey (n = 363) designed to assess student reactions to the format and content. (JDH)

This article briefly reviews literature on critical thinking and applies this conceptualization to five widely used elementary social studies textbook series (Holt, Laidlaw, McGraw-Hill, Silver Burdett, and Scott Foresman). Concludes that comparisons between actual textbook instruction and suggestions found in the literature were quite unfavorable…

Reviews the ReQuest model of teaching (Manzo, 1969), a sequential approach to reading which flows from predicting what a passage will be about to structured questioning by students and teacher. Reports the results of a study (n = 15) of the effectiveness of this procedure in a juvenile corrections setting. (JDH)

Reports the results of a longitudinal textbook study designed to assess the level of treatment given Irish, Italian, Jewish, and Polish Americans in selected United States history textbooks. Results show that coverage briefly increased in the "multicultural period" (from 1977 to 1978) but has significantly decreased in recent years. (JDH)

A survey of correspondence courses available from educational institutions seeking to prepare prospective citizens for basic English and government tests showed that institutions providing such courses for immigrants are little more than dispensaries of government publications. The quality of the courses was found to be very poor. Improvement is…

An analysis of 11 contemporary secondary U.S. history textbooks showed that the sentences per page devoted to the Black experience represents a substantial increase over more dated textbooks. Not only has the quantity improved, but the range of coverage suggests an improvement in quality as well. (RM)

The Educational Products Information Exchange (EPIE), a nonprofit national education materials review organization, analyzed 10 elementary social studies textbook series. Results, which are discussed in this article, show that elementary-level social studies textbooks are not good enough. Recommendations are made. (RM)

An analysis showed that elementary social studies textbooks inadequately treat the Vietnam War. Alternatives for the teacher are suggested. (RM)

Presents the results of an interview and survey of returned Peace Corps volunteers who are currently teaching secondary social studies in order to determine what influence their experience has had on their instruction. Questionnaire results are included along with four generalizations summarizing the findings. (JDH)

Reviews research on questioning in social studies. Shows the effects of different types of questions on student involvement, group work, and problem solving. Compares elementary-level results with results obtained in three high school social studies classes. (JDH)

Presents the results of an ethnographic study of cooperative learning experiences in one fourth- and one fifth-grade classroom. Describes the types of conflicts which arose during group work and offers four guidelines for making cooperative learning experiences more successful. (JDH)

Presents the results of a study which investigated the content quality of classroom discussions in three tenth-grade social studies classes categorized as cooperative, competitive, or neutral (control). Findings did not support previous research regarding the content of group discussions and their structure. (JDH)