Our first public policy goal is to ensure our survival as a free nation through the development of enlightened citizens. If social studies teachers are to develop the goals of citizenship education, an articulated K-12 social studies program is necessary. The objectives and themes of such a program are discussed. (RM)

Eleanor Roosevelt taught history, current events, literature, and drama at the K-12 Todhunter School. Her views concerning social studies are discussed. She believed that the primary purpose of education in a democracy was the development of informed, productive citizens in an atmosphere in which individuals could reach their full potential. (RM)

Evidence that social studies is not taught (or taught well) on the elementary level is presented, reasons why it is not taught are offered, reasons why it should be taught are suggested, and proposals for what should be done to revive the health of elementary social studies instruction are made. (RM)

A successful civic education program is one that educates citizens in the basic principles and precepts of the American political system and keeps citizens informed on specific issues and controversies. Jefferson and Lincoln both supported the sentiment that civic education must address basic principles as well as specific issues. (RM)

Discusses the underlying rationales and goals of the global education curriculum movement in social studies. Global education has become a part of citizenship education involving the development of high-order cognitive skills. (AM)

Examines conditions leading to student misinformation and alienation in the teaching of the American political system at the secondary school level. Describes textbooks as idealizing the system and presenting blatant propaganda, dreary descriptions, and sugar-coated politics. Outlines curriculum goals to provide students with a positive but…

Cautions that there is too much wishful thinking and fanciful rhetoric in citizenship education in the United States today and too little room for objectives that are feasible and acceptable to students. Suggests that citizenship education should include a study of the following principles--rational ignorance, rational voting, representative…

Reviews various definitions of citizenship education and offers a state of the art review of citizenship education programs in the United States. Information is presented on goals and implications, citizenship assessment, and basic skills which are essential to citizenship education. Describes an activity in which students learn to become…

Discusses some of the cultural and logistical challenges faced by service learning projects. Theses challenges include a predisposition toward individualism over collective action, lack of time and emphasis on traditional learning. Provides strategies and approaches for overcoming these challenges. Includes a sample questionnaire for parents and…

Reprints a series of "how-to" guidelines concerning service learning from the Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago (CFRC). Includes a working definition of service learning, a five-step process for projects, and specific goals to be reached at each stage of the project. (MJP)

Criticizes the assumption that citizenship education is the defining mission of social studies. Cogently analyzes the defects of this argument, including a lack of related scholarship, inconsistent application from the schools, and little evidence of positive benefits. Proposes a curriculumwide integration of citizenship education. (MJP)

Asserts that all of the major principles of political democracy are embedded in the tenets of multicultural education. Multicultural education facilitates the translation of principles of democratic living into practice for a society populated by people from many different ethnic, racial, cultural, and social backgrounds. (MJP)

Analyzes chapters on epistemology and methodology in the "Handbook of Research on Social Studies Teaching and Learning." Laments the imprecise definition concerning the epistemological nature of the social studies. Concludes the handbook does not clarify this definition and that social studies research reflects this missing broader…

Reports on an evaluative study of a secondary level civics curriculum in the Netherlands. Finds a discrepancy between the curriculum plans of the developers and the classroom implementation of the curriculum. Recommends an implementation-oriented development strategy with emphasis on early and intensive formative evaluation. (CFR)

Maintains that, over the past 50 years, social studies educators have suggested a number of conceptual pathways for approaching their area of academic study. Presents six models: (1) cultural transmission; (2) social action; (3) life adjustment; (4) discovery; (5) inquiry; and (6) multiculturalism. (CFR)