DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 410 141 SO 027 446

AUTHOR Evans, Ronald W., Ed.; Saxe, David Warren, Ed.TITLE Handbook on Teaching Social Issues. NCSS Bulletin 93.INSTITUTION National Council for the Social Studies, Washington, D.C.REPORT NO ISBN-0-87986-071-5PUB DATE 96

NOTE 418p.AVAILABLE FROM National Council for the Social Studies, 3501 Newark Street,

N.W., Washington, DC 20016-3167.PUB TYPE Collected Works General (020) Guides Non-Classroom

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EDRS PRICE MF01/PC17 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS *Controversial Issues (Course Content); *Critical Thinking;

Elementary Secondary Education; Evaluation; *Futures (OfSociety); Instructional Materials; Moral Issues;*Multicultural Education; Political Issues; Public AffairsEducation; *Reflective Teaching; Social Problems; SocialStudies; Teacher Education; Values; World Problems

ABSTRACTThis handbook explores the issues-centered curriculum for

social studies teaching and how student performance reflects an intellectualcapacity to address public issues. The book is divided into 11 parts withessays to address specific aspects of the approach. The foreword, written byShirley Engle, establishes a context for issues-based curriculum. Essaysinclude: "Defining Issues-Centered Education" (Ronald W. Evans; Fred M.Newmann; David Warren Saxe); "Building a Rationale for Issues-CenteredEducation" (Anna S. Ochoa-Becker); "The Engle-Ochoa Decision Making Model forCitizenship Education" (Rodney F. Allen); "Using Issues in the Teaching ofAmerican History" (David Warren Saxe); "World History and Issues-CenteredInstruction" (Richard E. Gross); "Issues-Centered Approaches to TeachingGeography Courses" (A. David Hill; Salvatore J. Natoli); "Issues-CenteredGlobal Education" (Merry M. Merryfield; Connie S. White); "An Approach toIssues-Oriented Economic Education" (Beverly J. Armento; Francis W. Rushing;Wayne A. Cook); "Teaching Issues-Centered Anthropology, Sociology, andPsychology" (Jerry A. Ligon; George W. Chilcoat); "Issue-Centered Curriculaand Instruction at the Middle Level" (Samuel Totten; Jon Pedersen); "AnIssues-Centered Curriculum for High School Social Studies" (Ronald W. Evans;Jerry Brodkey); "Assessing Student Learning of an Issue-Oriented Curriculum"(Walter C. Parker); "International Social Studies: Alternative Futures"(James L. Barth); "International Relations/Foreign Policy Teaching Resources"(Mary E. Soley); "Domestic Economic Policy" (Ronald A. Banaszak); "Teachingabout International Human Rights" (Nancy Flowers); and "Children's Rights"(Beverly C. Edmonds). An afterword is provided by James Shaver. (EH)

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NCSSNational Council for the Social Studies

Founded 1921

PresidentPat NickellFayette County Public SchoolsLexington, Kentucky

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Copyright ©1996 by National Council for the Social Studies3501 Newark Street, NW, Washington, DC 20016-3167

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior

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Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

FOREWORDShirley H Engle

PART 1DEFINITION AND RATIONALEIntroduction

Anna S. Ochoa-Becker 1

1. Defining Issues-Centered EducationRonald W Evans, Fred M. Newmannand David Warren Saxe 2

2. Building a Rationale for Issues-CenteredEducation Anna S. Ochoa-Becker 6

3. The Historical Imperative forIssues-Centered EducationJack L. Nelson 14

4. Research on Issues-CenteredSocial Studies Carole L. Hahn 25

PART 2REFLECTIVE TEACHING STRATEGIESIntroduction

Byron G. Massialas 425. Criteria for Issues-Centered Content

Selection Byron G. Massialas 446. The Engle-Ochoa Decision Making

Model for Citizenship EducationRodney F. Allen 51

7. Preparing Citizens to Participate inPublic Discourse: The Public Issues ModelLaurel R. Singleton and James R. Giese 59

8. Teaching Controversial Issuesthrough Massialas and Cox InquiryJadnn Cutler Sweeney and Stuart Foster 66

9. Critical Pedagogy and Social EducationCleo Cherryholmes 75

10. Discussion Methods in anIssues-Centered CurriculumJeff Passe and Ronald W Evans 81

11. Designing Issue-Based Unit PlansJoseph J. Onosko and Lee Swenson 89

PART 3CULTURAL DIVERSITYIntroduction

Jesus Garcia 99

12. Multicultural Issues in the Classroom:Race, Class, and GenderGloria Ladson-Billings 101

13. Issues-Centered Education forLanguage-Minority StudentsHilda Hernandez and Devon Metzger 111

14. Issues-Centered Educationin Multicultural EnvironmentsSharon L. Pugh and Jesus Garcia 121

PART 4HISTORICAL TOPICS AND THEMESIntroduction

David Warren Saxe 13015. Teaching Issues-Centered History

Patrick Ferguson 13216. Using Issues in the Teaching of

American History David Warren Saxe . . .14217. A Critical Approach to Teaching

United States History Ronald W Evans . .15218. World History and Issues-Centered

Instruction Richard E. Gross 161

PART 5GEOGRAPHY, GLOBAL STUDIES ANDTHE ENVIRONMENTIntroduction

Josiah Tlou 164

19. Issues-Centered Approaches toTeaching Geography CoursesA. David Hill and Salvatore J Natoli 167

5

20. Issues-Centered Global EducationMerry M. Merryfield and Connie S. White . . .177

21. Environmentalism andEnvironmental IssuesStephen C. Fleury and Adam Sheldon 188

PART 6SOCIAL SCIENCESIntroduction

Patricia G. Avery 19722. Issues-Centered Approaches to

Teaching Civics and GovernmentPatricia G. Avery, John L. Sullivan,Elizabeth S. Smith and Stephen Sandell 199

23. An Approach to Issues-OrientedEconomic Education Beverly J Armento,Francis W Rushing, and Wayne A. Cook 211

24. Teaching Issues-Centered Anthropology,Sociology, and PsychologyJerry A. Ligon and George W Chilcoat 220

PART 7AN ISSUES-CENTERED CURRICULUMIntroduction

William G. Wraga 22825. An Issues-Centered Elementary

Curriculum Dorothy Skeel 23026. Issue-Centered Curricula and

Instruction at the Middle LevelSamuel Totten and Jon Pedersen 237

27. Teaching Societal Issues inSchool Science and MathematicsRobert E. Yager and Martha V Lutz 247

28. An Issues-Centered Curriculumfor High School Social StudiesRonald W Evans and Jerry Brodkey 254

29. Teaching Societal IssuesAcross the Secondary CurriculumWilliam G. Wraga 265

PART 8ASSESSMENTIntroduction

Walter C.Parker 27630. Assessing Student Learning

of an Issue-Oriented CurriculumWalter C. Parker 280

31. Assessing Discussion of Public Issues:A Scoring Guide David Harris 288

iv

PART 9TEACHER EDUCATION AND SUPERVISIONIntroduction

Nancy Fichtman Dana 29832. An Issues-Centered Education

Nancy Fichtman Dana 29933. Supervision for Teacher Growth in

Reflective, Issues-Centered TeachingPractice Ken Jerich 306

PART 10FUTURE-ORIENTED,ISSUES-CENTERED EDUCATIONIntroduction

James L. Barth 31634. Alternative Futures and the

Social Studies Wilma S. Longstreet 31735. International Social Studies:

Alternative Futures James L. Barth 327

PART 11MATERIALS AND RESOURCESIntroduction

William R. Fernekes 33836. Theory and Practice of

Issues-Centered EducationWilliam R. Fernekes 339

37. Government Policy-MakingResources James K Daly 347

38. International Relations/Foreign PolicyTeaching Resources Mary E. Soley 351

39. Domestic Economic PolicyRonald A. Banaszak 357

40. Bibliography on Science,Technology, and SocietySamuel Totten and Jon E. Pedersen 359

41. Road Maps for Multi-CulturalismsJane Bernard Powers 364

42. Global Development/Environmental IssuesJeffrey L. Brown 369

43. Teaching about InternationalHuman Rights Nancy Flowers 374

44. Children's RightsBeverly C. Edmonds 377

AFTERWORDJames Shaver 380

INDEX 387

CONTRIBUTORS 404

ForeShir leg II. Engle

ord

The great philosopher-educator Alfred NorthWhitehead (1929) posed a rationale for issues-centered curriculum some sixty years ago thatstill holds validity today:

In training a child to activity of thought,above all things we must beware of what Ishall call " inert ideas"that is to say, ideasthat are merely received into the mindwithout being utilized, or tested, or throwninto fresh combinations. In the history ofeducation, the most striking phenomena isthat schools of learning, which in oneepoch are alive with ferment of genius, ina succeeding generation exhibit merelypedantry and routine. The reason is thatthey are overladen with inert ideas.Education with inert ideas is not only use-less: It is above all things harmful(1).

The statement continues to be a remarkablyaccurate assessment of education, particu-larly citizenship education, in the UnitedStates today. Citizenship education islargely reduced to a process of memorizingisolated facts or bits of information without

verifying their truth or using them to eitherassess the meaning of past events or suggestanswers to our own newly emerging questions.As focused as it is on instilling recallable knowl-edge of the past, schooling has become inWhitehead's words mere "pedantry and routine,"utterly detached from real and present questions.

John Goodlad (1983), who conducted one ofthe most thorough observational studies of recentAmerican social studies, recalls:

[Students] rarely planned or initiated any-thing, read or wrote anything of some

length, or created their own products. Andthey scarcely ever speculated on meaning,discussed alternative interpretations, orengaged in projects calling for collaborativeeffort. The topics of the curriculum, itappears to me, were something to beacquired, not something to be explored,reckoned with, and converted into personalmeaning and development.

One would expect the teaching of socialstudies and science in schools to provideample opportunities for the developmentof reasoning: deriving concepts from relat-ed events, testing in a new situationhypotheses derived from examining othercircumstances, drawing conclusions froman array of data, and so on. Teachers listedthose skills and more as intended leanings.We observed little of the activities thattheir lists implied, and teachers' testsreflected quite different prioritiesmainlythe recall of information. The topics thatcome to mind as representing the naturaland social sciences appear to be of greathuman interest. But on the way to theclassroom they are apparently transformedand homogenized into something of limit-ed appeal. (Alfred North Whitehead'swords on the uselessness of inert knowl-edge come to mind.) The fact that studentsrated the social studies to be of relativelylow interest among the subject fields (at thebottom of the list for those in the upperelementary grades) must give us pause.Why this curricular sterility? (468).

Goodlad's picture of education in the UnitedStates is a static one, very similar to the view

given us by Whitehead. America has engaged ineducational reforms for decades, only to producea remarkably unchanged situation. The realitiesfacing our young are full of upheavals and newchallenges. Perhaps the greatest challenge of all isthe rate of change itself. Cultural stability hasgiven way to an ongoing state of dynamic changein which decisions must be made even as thequestions themselves undergo revision.

When more things are changing than arestaying fixed, necessity demands an issues-cen-tered curriculum. Past lessons can no longer bedepended upon to be copied. As humankinddevelops new social and political ways of life, itmust also develop an ethic toward those ways oflife. What in the past could prepare us for such achallenge? Even the problems that arise fromsuch an issue are not fully understood. Histori-ans and philosophers confidently say that wehave experienced more change in the presentcentury than in all of previous time. On the plusside, we have revolutionized the way peoplemake a living and have multiplied many timesover the variety and availability of materialgoods. On the negative side, we are consumingthe earth's natural resources at a rate that threat-ens to make the earth ultimately uninhabitable.We threaten to overpopulate the world to such apoint that massive poverty and starvation ensue,potentially leading to human extinction.Hundreds of such problems confront us todayconcerning how humans can continue to surviveas a species. We have reached a time in citizen-ship education when history can only play aminor role in our preparation for citizenship.

Facts are often talked about as though theywere exclusive claims to truth upon whichknowledgeable people agree and against whichno evidence can be cited to refute. In the realworld, there are few claims to factuality that canmeet these criteria, and those that do are usuallyso narrow in scope as to be practically useless inthinking about any question. The exact timewhen an event takes place may be of only limiteduse in addressing real issues. When one extendsfacts to interpret or explain an event, the factual-ity becomes more difficult to establish beyonddoubt. Most so-called facts are not facts beyondquestion, but interpretations of the truth.Although such facts upon which we base deci-sions every day are immensely useful, they areuseful only to the extent that their limitations arerecognized. These limitations and uncertainties

VI

likewise apply to claims of factuality pertainingto the distant past. Facts about the past are right-ly being questioned every day. New questions arebeing asked about past events, and new informa-tion is being uncovered. Historians change theirviews of history, and new text books are writtento reflect these changes. A new set of factsreplaces the old. An example of this shift in his-torical perspective is the difference in portrayalsof Christopher Columbus. The Columbus storywas rewritten once new questions had been askedand new possibilities explored. Such revisionshould continue as the past is studied and newmeaning is derived.

The educational situation is greatly compli-cated when fixed ideas about reality are continu-ally substituted for real issues. Students arerequired to memorize answers without question-ing the truth of these answers. One example ofsociety imposing fixed ideas on students is thepopular notion of the ideal American family.The stereotypical family often referred toinvolves two parents living together for life ina single household with the father workingand the mother remaining at home to nurturethe development of the children. This once idealfamily structure dates back about 50 years andcan no longer be held as the American norm.More common today are situations where bothparents work and the upbringing of children ismore heavily influenced by television than byparents, church, or school. Families are frequent-ly torn apart by divorce and may include childrenfrom different marriages. Children have a greatdeal of independence from their parents andsiblings and too often must learn to deal withthe threat of drugs, crime, and idleness on theirown. Thus, studying and upholding the typicalfamily structure of former times as the norm fortoday's society can hardly confront the issuesrelated to family living in modern America.Students must reevaluate the popular definitionof family to reflect modern norms.

Similar issues reflecting change in our societyand global community can be addressed inschools today. By the most widely held appraisalof our affairs, we are in deep, deep trouble as acountry and, in fact, as a world. Overpopulationpresses the earth with far more people than canpossibly be sustained. Nevertheless, large num-bers of people oppose population controlbecause of their deeply held religious beliefs orlong-standing cultural ways of behaving. Over a

third of the earth's population lives today inabject poverty, and the situation is growingworse. Most schools hardly touch upon thisissue. Egged on by industrialization, we contin-ue to trash our soil, forests, water, air, oceans, andmagnificent landscapes at a rate that scientistssay will reduce the earth to penury in less than ahundred years. Resistance, especially amongmany multinational business entrepreneurs, con-tinues against quite reasonable controls over theconsumption of resources. One common defenseagainst such environmental restrictions is thatmoney can't be made if the use of naturalresources is curtailed, and if the generation ofprofit is restricted, so, too, will be that of jobs.Despite tremendous increases in industrial pro-ductivity, however, the poor continue to increaseas a proportion of the population while the richgrow richer. We are at odds to deal with a myri-ad of issues, from crime and drugs in the streetsto equitable education, from prayer in schools toabortion, from the rights of labor to strike andbe secure in their jobs to the control of televisionand gun sales. Such issues cannot be avoided indeveloping responsible citizens and shouldtherefore be a part of formal education.

Even our most precious beliefs about theright to live freely and pursue happiness havebecome controversial. Whose rights shall takeprecedence? Is the right to work more importantthan the right to a safe and stable environment?Where does one person's license to use the earth'sresources interfere with another's right to enjoyclean air and water? The Supreme Court cannotbe the sole arbiter of all these many issues. Weand our children must take them on, workingthrough the many problems that confront us.

It is often said, especially by historians, thatsince the present is such a challenge, we shouldlook to the past for insight. This assertion is per-haps valid only when we remember that even thepast is issue-laden and problematic. When weexplore more penetrating questions of history, anew and changing history emerges. Savagesbecome native Americans credited with beingthe first true conservationists. Black Americansare at last recognized for the tremendous contri-bution they have made to our culture.Christopher Columbus is recognized for beingthe mercenary he was. As we continually ask newquestions about the reality of past events, wecome up with different answers. In the end, it isthis questioning and challenging that allows the

past to become useful as a point of departure forthe study of the present and the future.

Educators of the social studies are not somuch involved with the establishment ofimmutable truths as they are with the charting ofan improved state of affairs. The sooner peopleunderstand this conception of what the socialstudies is about, the closer they will come to deal-ing with large-scale problems. Citizenship edu-cation needs to involve a continued conversationbetween students and their mentors while theysearch together for better ways of doing things.

Looked at in this light, the issues-centeredcurriculum is not a curriculum to be added onto an otherwise conventional education devotedto memorizing the insignificant minutia of sci-ence and history. It is not a remedial curriculumto rectify the errors of fact and process of theconventional curriculum. It is not a belatedeffort to acknowledge the usefulness of focusingsome part of education on the study of real prob-lems, past and present, which confront our soci-ety and the world. Rather, it is a substitute forthe non-thinking, memory-bound processwhich constitutes so much of the educationalcurriculum today. It is the way all educationshould be approached to produce informed citi-zens who are involved in working out bettersolutions to our problems.

The following example of issues-centerededucation provides a clear contrast to the con-ventional curriculum: The author enrolled in aclass on the history of the West at the Universityof Wisconsin in the summer of 1936. The classwas taught by Professor Frederick Paxson, visit-ing professor of history from the University ofCalifornia at Berkeley. Paxson was widely recog-nized as the leading authority on the history ofthe American West. When he spoke on theWest, the whole scholarly establishment stoppedto listen. Notwithstanding his acknowledgedreputation as the leading authority in Westernhistory, Paxon devoted the entire summer to talk-ing with his students about the problems he hadinterpreting Western history. He questioned theexplanations given by historians for the events atWounded Knee. Were the contributing factors ofthe battle the real causes? Were the purportedconsequences the real consequences? Paxsonturned every question in the entire course into afurther exploration of that very question. Paxsonwas not so much interested that we memorizethe claims that passed for truth in textbooks and

VII

lectures as he was in enlisting his students inthe real pursuit of truth, a pursuit in which hehimself was genuinely enlisted and in whichhe worked diligently to recruit his students.

To Paxson, as with all issues-centered curric-ularists, the search for knowledge is always anopen-ended process. It takes place always on theedge of claims to knowledge and is never final-ized. It is characterized by both penetratingquestions and the expectation of change. It can-not be pursued with a series of factually-orient-ed questions to which only one correct answerexists; rather, the open-ended search for knowl-edge embodies a continuous search for moreauthentic knowledge.

Paxson directed the study of history towardthe uncertain and the controversial; that is, hedirected study toward those "facts" and questionsof meaning that were both in doubt and hotlydebated among professional historians. Hesought not so much to perpetuate an acceptedversion of history as to open it up for furtherscrutiny. Memorizing the most widely held inter-pretations of history was thus subjugated to theexploration and possible revision or expansion ofthese interpretations, and therein lies the quin-tessential nature of issues-centered education.

We often speak of the explosion of knowl-edge as a fundamental reality of our age whichinevitably renders much of our old knowledgeobsolete. The issues-centered curricularists resttheir case on the proposition that in our rapidlychanging world, the cutting edge of educationmust be at the emergence of new knowledgerather than at the persistence of old and fre-quently obsolete knowledge.

The essays which follow explore the potentialand means for extending an issues-centeredcurriculum to all of education.

Indiana University 1993

ReferencesGoodlad, J. I. "Study of Schooling: Some Findings and

Hypotheses." Phi Delta Kappan, 64, 7:465-470, 1983.Paxson, F. Lecture notes, "History of the West."

University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1936 Summer.Whitehead, A. N. The Aims of Education and Other

Essays. New York: The Free Press, 1929.

VIII 1p

Parl 0- e: Ele Milo- a

Introduction bo Om S. Ma-Becher

1part 1 of the Handbook provides thestrongest possible justification for anissues-centered curriculum. Unlike con-ventional or traditional social studiescurricula, the issues-centered curriculumdoes not measure success by the degree

to which students can regurgitate the so-calledfacts presented in textbooks and teacher lec-tures. Rather, it measures success by the degreeto which student performance reflects anintellectual capacity to address public issues.Rather than stressing the recall of informa-tion, the issues-centered curriculum encour-ages students to actively participate in theimprovement of society.

By definition, public issues are controver-sial. They involve multiple points of view, withideas and insights from many fields of study,including the humanities as well as the socialsciences. In dealing with public issues, citizensmust analyze, create, and appraise evidenceand, most importantly, make decisions.Consequently, an issues-centered curriculumemphasizes not only content, but also thedevelopment of advanced intellectual abilities.Instead of memorizing textbook facts, stu-dents define problems, actively search for andevaluate evidence, make defensible decisions,and engage in projects that impact persistentand pervasive real world issues. An issues-cen-tered curriculum offers the greatest promisefor improving citizen participation and thequality of democratic life in this society.

Specifically, the chapters of this handbookseek to provide insight into such questions asthe following:

Why teach about public issues?What are the historical underpinnings foran issues-centered curriculum?

liano-a

What support does research provide foran issues-centered curriculum?The authors selected to address these matters

are scholars and teachers who have devoted theircareers to exploring issues-centered curriculumsin both their teaching and their research.The dedication and expertise with which theyhave pursued the development of issues-centeredcurriculums are seldom matched.

In the first chapter, Ron Evans, FredNewmann and David Saxe describe the basicprinciples of issues-centered education, and itsimplications for curriculum, teaching practiceand assessment. My subsequent chapter onrationale draws heavily on my work with thelate Shirley H. Engle, who devoted his careerto promoting a curriculum focused on socialissues and decision making.

Jack Nelson emphasizes the intellectualand historical foundations of different aspectsof social studies education.

Carole Hahn has engaged in extensiveresearch on controversial issues and is probablyas knowledgeable as anyone in this countryabout teaching controversial issues. Her chap-ter presents a comprehensive view of theresearch efforts supporting an issued-centeredcurriculum.

A note to the reader: If you are alreadyfamiliar with the literature regarding socialissues, you may wish to read this section first.If not, reading it at the end may serve to tiethe ideas presented together for you. In anycase, I wish you reflective, stimulating, andprovocative reading.

11

0 DEFI ING ISSUES-CENTERED EDUCATIONbq Ronal W. Evans. Fred M. Newmann, and David Warren Saxe

ssues-centered education focuses on problem-atic questions that need to be addressed andanswered, at least provisionally. Problematicquestions are those on which intelligent, well-informed people may disagree. Such disagree-ment, in many cases, leads to controversy and

discussion marked by expression of opposingviews. The questions may address problems ofthe past, present or future. They may involve dis-agreement over facts, definitions, values andbeliefs. Answers may be rooted in a person's cul-tural background, in formal knowledge accumu-lated in disciplines, and in "common sense" expe-rience. Examples of such problematic questionson the topic of governmental powers include:

What is a legitimate government andwhere does its power originate?When should governmental authoritybe ignored or rejected?Should student newspapers have the sameright to freedom of the press as other news-papers?Should I write a letter to the principal toprotest censorship?Should the colonists have protested Britishactions with violent demonstrations?(Giese and Glade 1988)

To say that questions are problematic meansthere are no conclusive, finally "right" answers.But some answers, however tentative or provision-al and subject to change in the future, are clearlybetter or more valid than others. The purpose ofissues-centered education is not just to raise thequestions and expose students to them, but toteach students to offer defensible and intellectual-ly well-grounded answers to these questions.Judgements about the validity of some answersmay depend upon the context in which the judge-

ment is offered. But issues-centered educationshould not be construed as people expressing bias-es and values that cannot be reconciled. The pointof issues-centered education is just the opposite: todevelop well-reasoned responses based on disci-plined inquiry, on thoughtful, in-depth study, andto move beyond relativistic notions of truth.

Ultimately, an issues-centered approach tosocial studies aims at empowering the learner.As Alquist suggests, social studies should helpus solve everyday problems in our lives, helpus develop an ethical foundation for personaland social relationships. "This is not criticalthinking for the sake of debate, argument or log-ical reasoning, but for constructive change, forthe transformation of society" (Alquist 1990).For many, but not all advocates of issues-centeredapproaches, the approach also includes develop-ing a critical consciousness, or "conscientization"(Freire 1970). This means developing skills inperspective consciousness, the ability to recog-nize, examine, evaluate and appreciate multipleperspectives on a particular issue or concern(Hanvey 1975), including perspectives critical ofmainstream institutions and social practice.

This definition of issues-centered educationleaves many problems yet to answer. Other chap-ters in the Handbook will offer the justificationand rationale for why an issues-centered approachshould be pursued, and they will address variousaspects of implementation. As part of the defini-tional task in this chapter, we will foreshadowsome especially important implications for cur-riculum, pedagogy, and assessment.

Curriculum ImplicationsImportant social issues may arise in the study

of a variety of disciplines and human affairs, andthere is no inherent curricular logic or sequence in

4.2

which they should be studied. It must be left upto teachers and curriculum developers to arrangeand organize topics and to select the most funda-mental content. These arrangements might fol-low a variety of structures (chronological, themat-ic, discipline-based, concepts, problem-topics,etc.). Regardless of the structure chosen, the studyof social issues is often most productively pursuedthrough interdisciplinary and extradisciplinaryinquiry (Wraga 1993). However, there are at leastfour important principles upon which all issues-centered curricula should be built.

First, depth of understanding is more impor-tant than coverage and superficial exposure. Thismeans that topics must be studied in sustainedways that introduce students to important com-plexities and details. For example, in a unit on theAmerican revolution, students might explore theissues listed in the previous section. However, tomake the study of these issues most meaningful,the students will need to develop an understand-ing of the context in which colonial protestsoccurred. They will need to study specificinstances in which governmental power waschallenged in sufficient depth and with enoughdetail to appreciate the multiple perspectivesthey will discuss, and to provide sufficient evi-dence for quality decision making. The same istrue for studying the protest of a censorshippolicy. Students will need in-depth detail andcontextual understanding in order to develop awell reasoned position and intellectually well-grounded arguments.

Second, topics and issues need to be connect-ed through some kind of thematic, disciplinary,interdisciplinary, or historical structure. Simplystudying one issue after another will fail to givestudents the intellectual structures they need toorganize and think about relationships amongvarious issues and how their resolution might addto social justice. Where feasible, these structuresneed to be developed both within individualclasses and across classes and grade levels so thatthey flow logically and build on previous learning.

At least three curricular structures are possi-ble. First is a discipline-based structure inwhich courses are organized according to famil-iar disciplinary formats (e.g., history is present-ed through chronological narrative, governmentis conceptualized as a set of structures-of-control) and issues are infused to illustrate andextend the meaning of traditional content. Forexample, the study of governmental authority

and protest of unjust authority might be under-taken in a United States history course during aunit on the American Revolution. A secondpossibility is development of conceptual units,spiraling through the grades, but retaining dis-cipline based courses. For example, in a courseon World History, units could be organizedaround categories such as power and authority,revolution, race and ethnicity, social class, etc.Another possible structure, for a secondarysocial studies curriculum, might be to create anintroductory course focused exclusively onproblems and issues, followed by in-depth topi-cal courses which would focus on particularconcepts connected to certain sets of issues, fol-lowed by a concluding course on philosophy andlife (see Evans and Brodkey's article in thisbook, pp. 254-64).

Third, as indicated in the definition, the studyof issues must be substantively grounded in chal-lenging content. A simple sharing of opinions isnot sufficient. This will require teaching studentsforms of reasoning, interrogation and presenta-tion of evidence, and also the mastery of conceptsand theories that bring expert knowledge to bearin understanding persistent social issues.Intellectually challenging content includes criti-cal perspectives and consideration of alternativesnot commonly included in the curriculum: mul-ticultural perspectives, diverse voices on issuesrelated to race, class, and gender and otherdomains of discourse commonly devalued by tra-ditional curricula and textbooks. The study ofissues, if it is to lead to development of in-depthunderstanding, must also include content fromhistorical cases, literature, art and music. Forexample, a unit on immigration issues cannotgenerate depth of understanding simply by rais-ing a current policy issue. Study of the issueshould include data and cases from the historicalrecord that can be used to form conclusionsabout the results of immigration policy duringdifferent time periods. First person accounts ofimmigrants' lives could be examined, and mediaand scholarly sources as well as school curricularmaterials and community resources could betapped. Specific content would depend upon stu-dent and teacher interest as well as the curricularframework within which learning occurs (see thearticle by Massialas, pp. 44-50).

Fourth, students must experience influenceand control in the inquiry process. A delicate,judicious balance should be struck between

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teacher guidance in selection of issues and mate-rials to be studied and student choices in theirown education. Content selection in a productiveissues-centered curriculum is responsive to stu-dents' interest, their prior knowledge, and thelocal school and community context.

Issues-centered teaching has long been associ-ated with liberal-progressive social ideas, but theapproach to teaching issues in this book does notprevent teachers from applying traditional meth-ods of teaching such as lectures, objective testing,memory reliance, or repetition to complement themany issues-centered techniques that will befound in this book. Issues-centered teaching doesnot necessarily promote liberal-progressive ideasfor social policy. Teachers and students can useissues-centered teaching to explore and extendconservative ideas about social life just as well asliberal-progressive ones.

In applying an issues-centered program, astrong measure of reliance must be placed uponstudents' learning (or at least being exposed to) acommon core of knowledge, skills, and disposi-tions (see Hirsch 1996). Issues-centered teachingshould lead students to accept democratic princi-ples as the basis of competent American citizen-ship. That is, issues-centered teaching should leadstudents to acknowledge the differences we findin our communities, regions, and nation, but moreimportantly to identify those similarities andprinciples that bind us together as citizens.

Implications for Teaching PracticeThere are no particular techniques or prac-

tices that "work" all of the time. Effective peda-gogy is responsive to special conditions of theteachers, courses and students. However, teach-ing will be most effective if guided by principlessuch as the following:

First, issues must take the form of truly prob-lematic questions, even for the teacher. Althoughthe teacher will have more knowledge about theissues than students, the teacher must be involvedin continual learning, in part by considering thestudents' own solutions. Students must be con-vinced that they are constructing answers tomake sense for themselves, and are not simplytrying to follow some script for learning that hasbeen predetermined by the teacher.

Second, in working out well-reasoned posi-tions on issues, students will need access to a vari-ety of resources and tools that extend beyond theteacher and the classic textbooksbooks, articles,

4

newspapers, computers, the opportunity to inter-view other adults in the community, interactionwith peers in their class and in other classes. Thestudy of issues is often enhanced through use ofmultiple resources drawn from several disciplinesand by taking a historical perspective.

Third, students need continuous practice inusing extended oral and written language.Students can't learn how to offer sound responsesto issues by speaking in three word phrases. Theyhave to learn to weave thoughts and evidencetogether in sentences, to construct reasoned andwell grounded arguments. This use of languagecan be assisted and complemented through sym-bolic art and graphics and physical models, butultimately should be expressed in the form ofstudents' oral and written text.

Fourth, a major pedagogical challenge forteachers is to learn how to help students feelcomfortable with the cognitive ambiguity thatissues-centered education introduces. Not beingable to find the "right," conclusive answer isoften troubling for both youth and adults.Teachers will need to help students see how theymake intellectual progress by expanding theirunderstanding, even though they may notachieve complete certainty. This aspect of issues-centered education is significant, and requires thedevelopment of skills in "perspectives conscious-ness" (Hanvey 1975). This can be supported byconsideration of alternative cultural and ideolog-ical perspectives often omitted from the standardcurriculum. It is also crucial for the teacher tooffer a psychologically safe environment for stu-dents to express doubt, to change their minds,and to adopt playful attitudes toward uncertain-ty The intellectual work of issues-centered cur-riculum demands tolerance, respect for diversityof ideas, and open-mindedness. These qualitiescan be nurtured only in classrooms that convey acommitment to critical studies and a solidknowledge base.

Implications for AssessmentNew forms of assessment will have to be

developed to see how well students understandissues, can resolve them, and offer defensiblepositions. There are occasions when testing forfactual and conceptual accuracy through tradi-tional methods is warranted and helpful. But newforms of assessment that focus on the argumentsthat students construct orally and in writing mustbe developed (see the article by Harris in this

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book, pp. 289-97). As part of the effort to devel-op new forms of assessment, it will be importantto introduce students to "models" of proficientperformance in dealing with issues. These couldcome from journalistic and editorial writing,from televised debates, talk shows and speeches,from court opinions and policy briefs, and frommany other sources. Teachers and researchers willneed to explore ways to evaluate these, and devel-op standards to expect from students. Studentswill need to be convinced of the importance ofthese standards to their effectiveness as citizens.

ConclusionWe have tried to offer a definition of issues-

centered education broad and inclusive enoughto be useful to a diverse group of educational pro-fessionals and concerned citizens, but alsofocused enough to show its distinctive features.We hope that a number of diverse but relatedapproaches may find enough common ground inthis definition to advance issues-centered educa-tion itself as a field of practice and research. Asseen in the chapters that follow, the primaryintent of issues-centered education is to assistteachers in developing curricular practices thatare intensely reflective, focused on problematicquestions. We believe that this approach, ifmeaningfully implemented, can help to improvethe intellectual quality of discourse in social stud-ies classrooms. The approach is built upon a tra-dition of social studies theory and curricularpractice centered around the teaching of socialissues, an approach developed and refined by thework of Dewey (1910), Rugg (1939), Griffin(1942), Hunt and Metcalf (1955 and 1968),Oliver and Shaver (1966), Massialas and Cox(1966), Newmann and Oliver (1970), Gross andMuessig (1971), Newmann (1975), and Engleand Ochoa (1988) among many others.

ReferencesAlquist, Alberta. "Critical Pedagogy for Social Studies

Teachers." Social Studies Review 29 (1990): 53-57.Dewey, John. How We Think. Boston: D. C. Heath and

Company, 1910.Engle, Shirley H. and Anna S. Ochoa. Educating

Citizens for Democracy: Decision Making in Social

Studies. New York Teachers College Press, 1988.Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed New York

Continuum, 1970.Giese, James R. and Mary E. Glade. Public Issues Series:

American Revolution, Crisis of Law and Change.

Boulder, CO: Social Science Education Consortium,1988.

Griffin, Alan. The Subject Matter Preparation of Teachers

of History. Ed.D. diss., Ohio State University, 1942.Gross, Richard E. and Robert H. Muessig, eds.

Problem-Centered Social Studies Instruction: Approaches

to Reflective Thinking. Curriculum Series no. 14.Washington, DC: National Council for the SocialStudies, 1971.

Hanvey, R. G. An Attainable Global Perspective.

New York Center for War/Peace Studies, 1975.Hirsch, E. D., Jr. The Schools We Need New York

Doubleday, 1996.Hunt, Maurice P. and Lawrence E. Metcalf Teaching

High School Social Studies: Problems in Reflective

Thinking and Social Understanding. New YorkHarper and Row, 1955 and 1968.

Massialas, Byron and Benjamin Cox. Inquiry in SocialStudies. New York McGraw-Hill, 1966.

Newmann, Fred M. Education for Citizen Action:Challenge for Secondary Curriculum. Berkeley, CA:

McCutchan, 1975.Newmann, Fred M. and Donald W. Oliver. Clarifying

Public Controversy: An Approach to Social Studies.

Boston: Little, Brown and Co, 1970.Oliver, Donald W. and James P. Shaver. Teaching Public

Issues in the High School. Boston: Houghton Mifflin,1966.

Rugg, Harold 0. "Curriculum Design in the SocialSciences: What I Believe." In The Future of the Social

Studies, edited by James A. Michener. CurriculumSeries, no.1. Washington, DC: National Council forthe Social Studies, 1939.

Wraga, William G. "The Interdisciplinary Imperativefor Citizenship Education." Theory and Research inSocial Education 21 (1993): 201-231.

S

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BUI DING A RATIONALE FORISS ES-CENTERED EDUCATIONbq RD S. Ochoa-Becher

espite the diversity of definitions and con-trasting views in the social studies field,most social studies educators agree thatpreparation for citizenship is our mostimportant goal. However, we do not agreeon how to define citizenship nor how to

reach such a goal. While some define citizenshipas loyalty to the nation, others promote issues-centered education, which hopes to prepare citi-zens who, consistent with democratic principles,are informed but skeptical and will become criti-cal decision makers in public life. The author isamong those who strongly support issues-cen-tered education.

Issues-centered education is a curriculumthat uses public issues to emphasize controversialquestions as the content for social studies. It is anapproach toward teaching and learning that doesnot intend to provide right answers, but under-scores the need for students to learn how toexamine significant questions and become morethoughtful decision makers about public life. Anissues-centered approach highlights the criticalexamination of social practices through the directstudy of persistent and compelling social issues.It requires analysis and evaluation of evidence,values, and decision making.

The purpose of this chapter is to providea set of concepts for educators to employ at alllevels when developing a rationale for an issues-centered curriculum. Since issues-centered edu-cation represents an educational thrust that devi-ates from conventional social studies, whichemphasizes history, geography, textbooks, ques-tions at the ends of chapters, and the lecturemethod (Shaver, Davis, and Helburn 1979), itbehooves its proponents to advance a rationalestatement that justifies this curriculum as analternative to current social studies practice.

The Need for a RationaleRationales for such subjects as math and

reading are virtually self-explanatory; they onlystate the obviousthese skill areas are essentialfor literacy. If people can't read or write, they canhardly be expected to be effective citizens. Socialstudies curriculum, by contrast, carries compet-ing claims regarding its goals, methods, andcontent. Consequently, educatorslike thosepromoting issues-centered educationwhopursue one set of views over others must maketheir reasons for such claims explicit and public.As Shaver (1977) stated:

A rationale necessarily includes the salientvalues and beliefs that are of particularimportance to its author(s). In the case ofpromoting critical and informed citizenshipfor productive citizen action in a democracy,one must ask what are these salient values.

The salient values the author advances withinan issues-centered curriculum emphasize democ-ratic citizenship and necessarily test the principleof self-government. Can the people govern them-selves? Can educators prepare young people for demo-cratic citizenship? Of course they can, claims theissues-centered educator. But if democracy is toachieve its full potential, issues-centered educa-tors believe we must strengthen the current socialstudies curriculum, leading it away from its linearstudy of the separate social science disciplines andits methods of covering textbook chapters anddepending on rote memory as a measure of learn-ing. Rather, the needed curriculum emphasizesthe issues that citizens persistently facefromthose concerning the environment to issues ofpluralism and distribution of wealthusing thesocial science disciplines, where appropriate, to

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substantially deepen student understanding.Another salient value, derived from the belief

that democracy is preferred over other politicalsystems, holds that democratic citizens must riseabove pure self-interest and be sensitive to theneeds of others and the common good. Addres-sing this tension between self-centeredness andthe public welfare is fundamental to cohesion in afree society The tension is evident in such ques-tions as: 1. Should I support the building of anincinerator in my community despite its impacton the environment? 2. Should the communitybuild a new library even if it means higher taxesfor me? 3. Should the United States change itshealth-care systems to cover all Americans even ifit means that I will not be able to choose my owndoctor? Issues-centered education would bringselected issues (see the chapter by Byron G.Massialas in this handbook) to the forefront,guiding citizens to think of the public welfare, notconfining themselves to their own self-interest.Without explicit attention to the importance ofthe common good, democracy will flounder.

Examining other salient democratic valuesreveals tensions between freedom and equality orfreedom and security. Maximizing justice, humandignity, equity, and the importance of due processare values that are also centrally embedded indemocratic thought.

Professional educators, parents, communitypersons, and school board members should col-laborate when developing a rationale statementfor issues-centered education. They must viewtheir work as a starting point that represents ini-tial thinking about the purposes and reasons for aparticular curriculum. They must also understandthat complete agreement among these groups isnot possible. The rationale is a carefully con-structed statement of goalswell developed,clearly defined, and reconsidered regularly. Suchstatements, which will vary from community tocommunity, from district to district, and fromschool to school, must be revisited and revised ona continuing basis so they respond to the realitiesof implementation and to local, societal, andglobal changes. Shaver (1992) reminded us thatmindless issues-centered education is no morejustifiable than mindless rote education.

While it is one thing to say that convention-al programs have not resulted in competent andcritical citizens, advocates of issues-centered edu-cation must assume that the burden of proof istheirs. They must explain why issues-centered

education will accomplish what the conventionalhistory-bound curriculum cannot. The need forcompetent and critical citizens has never beengreater. Polls, surveys and assessment results con-stantly remind us that many citizens lack theknowledge and/or the commitment needed totake advantage fully of democratic principles intoday's complex world. Proponents of issues-cen-tered education believe that conventional socialstudies practices have not and will not help usachieve this important goal.

To arrive at a set of concepts that may serve asa guide in developing issues-centered educationrationale statements, I compared several existingrationalesEvans (1989 a and b), Shaver (1977b), and Engle and Ochoa (1988). This compari-son, however preliminary, of their prominent fea-tures, identified several domains that any rationaleshould seriously consider. These concepts are:

Key democratic values (such as freedom,equality, due process, justice, etc.).

The nature of knowledge (interdisciplinaryfocus on issues with supporting contentfrom the social science disciplines andthe humanities).

The nature of teachers and teaching (focus-ing on the shift from authoritarian to facili-tative, probing, and interactive teaching).

The nature of learners and learning (intellec-tual development and cultural backgroundof students).

The nature of society, domestic and global,including all aspects of diversity.

This author found much common groundacross these three rationales.

Three Existing RationalesThe three rationales presented here were

selected for specific reasons. No prioritization oftheir worth against that of others is intended.Obviously, Engle and Ochoa were selectedbecause the author knows that work best. No onehas given more thought to or has more vigorous-ly called for thoughtful rationale-building insocial studies education than James P. Shaver.And Ron Evans represents a new generation ofyoung scholars whose own work has demonstrat-ed commitment to the benefits of issues-centerededucation. Even though Evans does not regardhimself as a theorist, his publications and profes-sional efforts demonstrate that he has given seri-ous thought to the principles underlying issues-

7

centered education. Other theorists whose worksdeserve consideration but are not included hereare Hunt and Metcalf (1968), Massialas and Cox(1966), Stanley and Nelson (1986), andHartoonian (1985), to name a few.

To understand a rationale more thoroughly, itis worth examining what it implies about thenature of knowledge, learning and learners,teaching and teachers, and society. The table onpage 13 presents summarizing assumptionsabout the Evans and Shaver rationales withinferences made by this author about significantaspects of their curricula, along with Engle andOchoa's position on the same aspects.

These three theorists reveal ideas that arecertainly compatible with each other. Their sim-ilarities mask any minor differences betweenthem. Unfortunately, diversity of all kinds (dis-ability, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, socialclass) is not given explicit attention by any ofthem. In the future, theorists cannot and shouldnot ignore diversity as a penetrating dimensionof both this society and the global community.

1. The Evans RationaleIt seems clear to me that Evans (1989) sees

social studies curriculum as an effort in learningto become a democratic citizen and not one ofpromoting knowledge for its own sake. One doesnot study history just to know that AndrewJackson vetoed the proposal for the national bankin 1828. Rather, issues-centered educators woulduse this knowledge as it relates to banking issuesand the role of the federal government.

Evans asks a major and most appropriatequestion, "What are the organizing principles ofthe course (U.S. History)?" He states that teach-ers have typically used the textbook to buildcourse structure rather than structuring thecourse around the ideas they consider important.He urges teachers to identify issues that link thepast to the present, although generally they havenot explored societal issues.

Social studies as it is currently taught andpracticed, he argues, is dysfunctional. A signifi-cant indicator of the failure of conventional socialstudies is the low percentage of people voting.Today's social studies does not teach young peo-ple to make full use of the knowledge they learnto aid them in making critical decisions. Not sur-prisingly, students find social studies boring, apoint Fred Newmann (1986) addressed. Studentsalso find history courses meaningless, and Evans

emphasizes that history courses must be orga-nized to apply history to contemporary issuesand to the lives of students. Evans thoughtfullyprovides his own example of an issue-centeredapproach involving the study of issues related togovernment and the economy.

The Evans rationale cries out for deeperdevelopment in one area. In fact, this criticismapplies to most of us who have tried to build arationale for issues-centered education. As doEngle and Ochoa, Evans advances the notion ofidentifying problems that are of interest to learn-ers, but he really does not talk about how thatmight be done in classrooms. He ignores, as oth-ers do, the conditions that are needed to createan issues-centered learning environment in boththe classroom and the school. (This need forattention to school and classroom climate andthe hidden curriculum is affirmed in CaroleHahn's research chapter on pages 25-41 of thisbook.) However, the importance of the Evansrationale is in its explicit relationship betweensocial studies and developing critical citizens fora democracy (see chapter 28 by Evans andBrodkey, below, pp. 254-64.)

2. The Shaver RationaleNo one has done as much to heighten the

awareness level of the profession to the impor-tance of developing rationales for the socialstudies than James P. Shaver. His writings on thesubject are legion, and those developing suchrationales are well advised to consult them. Hisown rationale for issues-centered education(Shaver 1960 1977a, 1977b) emphasizes issuesthat are drawn from the personal experiences ofstudents, the social science disciplines, and/orsignificant concerns of society. Necessarily, theseissues can be described as value-laden, havingboth ethical implications and competing truthclaims. Teachers must create a context wheresocial issues engage learners, relating the issue tothe personal concerns of students wherever pos-sible. Shaver has further emphasized that issues-centered education must be interdisciplinary innature, including not only the social sciences, butliterature and the arts as well as an awareness ofcurrent and relevant research.

3. The Engle-Ochoa RationaleThe rationale put forward by Engle and

Ochoa (1988) places strong emphasis on the rela-tionship between an issues-centered social studies

curriculum and the distinctive role of the citizen,particularly the citizen in a democracy. Democ-racy, in their view, is the preferred form of govern-ment because of its potential to afford dignity toeach individual by way of its significant valuessuch as freedom, equality, and justice. Recognizingthat this democratic society has a long way to goto realize its full potential, Engle and Ochoa criti-cize current practices in the social studies thatemphasize textbooks, lectures, and memorizationand discourage students from thinking for them-selves. Such practices might fit citizenship educa-tion in nations with autocratic forms of govern-ment; but they clearly contradict democraticbeliefs and practices. Instead, Engle and Ochoaadvance an issues-centered curriculum tied tointellectual processes that contribute to reflectivedecision-making abilities in citizenscitizenswho will understand and hold reasoned valuecommitments to democratic principles and prac-tices so that this democracy is preserved, nour-ished, and expanded. Most indicators (voter apa-thy, dependence on images created by the media,etc.) reveal that the public at large does notdemonstrate the democratic values and practicesthat sustain and expand democracy. Learningmust center on the use of facts and values in mak-ing decisionsa complex intellectual process.

An important aspect of the Engle and Ochoarationale resides in the concepts of socializationand countersocialization and the relationshipbetween them. Socialization is an inescapableprocess in all cultures as a means to preservingcultural values and traditions in the next genera-tion. Here, parents, teachers, peers, and themedia teach very young children to fit in andconform to the existing social order. At theseages, socialization is highly conforming andneither reflective nor analytical; that is, veryyoung children often absorb cultural values quitemindlessly. However, as youth mature intowould-be citizens for a democracy, they mustbecome skeptical, questioning, and critical.Democratic citizens must be proactiveknowl-edgeable and challenging regarding the issuesthat manifest themselves in their public lives.The aim of countersocialization is to fosterindependent thought and social criticism that isso crucial for democratic citizens. Counter-socialization calls for a consciously reflectiveprocess where students learn to ask challengingquestions and probe for thoughtful and respon-sible answers. The following questions are repre-

sentative:How do we know that a particular statementis true? (Validating truth claims; evaluatingevidence)

What must be done to improve specificsocial conditions such as crime, homeless-ness, foreign policy, inequalities, etc.?

How can I justify my decisions? (Whatvalues? What evidence? What logic?)

In the Engle-Ochoa framework, knowledgeis seen as tentative in nature and is always opento further investigation. Their vision placesequivalent emphasis on content (knowledge) andintellectual process, which are inextricably inter-twined. Content takes the form of social issuesthat citizens face. The social science disciplinescan and do strengthen the understanding ofsocial issues. Knowledge, or truth, claims in thosedisciplines can also serve as the basis of studentinvestigation. Salient statements in textbooks canbe used as hypotheses to be tested for their truthvalue in the classroom. For example:1. How did the Japanese perceive their first

encounter with Admiral Perry? How doesthis view, as presented in Japanese textbooks,differ from the view in U.S. textbooks?

2. Lincoln freed the slaves, but was he a reluc-tant emancipator?

3. The oldest U.S. public building is not onthe East Coast where the colonists landedbut in New Mexico. Is this statement true?How can we find out? What is its meaning?

Such statements and questions confront stu-dents with controversy and the opportunity tovalidate truth claims over others. They may learnthat, in many if not most cases, we are not able toreach the truth with complete certainty.

Engle and Ochoa believe that skepticismon any matter is the basis upon which issues-centered education is built. Any serious scholarworking in the social science disciplines is moreconcerned with the unanswered questions in thediscipline than with mimicking the so-calledfacts. Are facts really the facts? How do the factsreveal the bias and ideology of those reflecting?Social studies educators must guide citizensto ask: What are the facts? Are they facts or opin-ions? What meaning do these so-called factshave? Because the range of doubt is so vast, so isthe range of matters issues-centered educationcan present. There is no shortage of issues to con-

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sider and all knowledge must be related to issues.The Engle-Ochoa rationale describes teach-

ing as highly interactive: the teacher and studentsare both learners and teachers concurrently. Theteacher facilitates, probes, and learns. Studentsinvestigate, probe their fellow learners and theteacher, and are engaged in the rigorous studyof social issues, involving intellectual analysis,decision making, and social action.

The inherent curiosity of learners can betapped to enhance learning. Problematic scenariosare likely to capture their interest more effectivelythan the mere coverage of linear topics can do.Engle and Ochoa recommend socializing the veryyoung to democratic values by way of biographiesof a widely diverse set of heroes and heroines whorepresent the cultural mix of our population andspeak to democratic values through real-life sce-narios. This process of countersocialization canresult in a reappraisal of beliefs and ideas acquiredthrough the conventional socialization process.

Citizens who have engaged in a thoughtfuland critical analysis of their beliefs and whorecognize the complexity of public issues andpublic opinion are more likely to contributeeffectively to the negotiated consensusrequired for meaningful and active democra-tic life. (Engle and Ochoa 1988, 51)

Preparing for Criticismsof Issues-Centered Education

Critics of issues-centered education comefrom many sources and raise various arguments.Those educators who are advancing issues-centered education must be mindful of somearguments critics may raise when presenting arationale for issues-centered education.

Loyalty to Nation throughthe Study of History Argument

Some critics feel that issues-centered educa-tion sublimates or diminishes the role of historyor other social sciences to one of subordination.Critics argue that issues-centered educationerodes attachment to nation because it character-izes history, and especially written history, asproblematic and conflictive and not focusedon the nation's heroes, heritage, and positiveaccomplishments. The American Federation ofTeachers (Gagnon 1989), as well as other groups,also emphasize the goal of loyalty to the nation.

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Contrary to the charges of some critics,issues-centered education values history andother disciplines that shed light on contemporarycitizen dilemmas. History and the social sciencesand issues-centered education are not mutuallyexclusive. These disciplines provide perspectives,research, and scholarship that strengthen the cit-izen's hand in addressing social issues. However,while these disciplines provide knowledge that issomewhat dependable, this knowledge is alwaysopen to intellectual challenges, and, furthermore,the social sciences do not supply all of the wis-dom needed to make sound public decisionsbased on democratic values.

In fact, some critics may argue that if issues-centered education becomes the order of the day,entire sets of important events such as the Warof 1812, westward migration, and even theworld wars may be omitted and ignored in thecurriculum and that diminished attention tothese events will reduce loyalty to the UnitedStates as a whole. This point overstates the case.No curriculum can teach everything; selection isalways required. Further, selection is always guid-ed by values, either implicitly or explicitly.No curriculum is value-free. Conventional socialstudies practices also reflect a value base. Thisauthor believes that issues-centered educatorscome closer to the realities of democratic citizen-ship than the conventional social studies curricu-lum through their emphasis on social issues anddeveloping the capacity for critical thinkingskills. Young people need guidance when itcomes to values and value decisions. Periodically,the school is likely to challenge the values of thehome. Neither the school nor the classroomteacher can reflect all the differences in familyvalues that exist in a particular class of students.Despite conflicting community views, studentsmust gain experience in addressing controversialissues and value dilemmas as they influencepublic decisions.

The Great Books ArgumentMortimer Adler (1982) and others who

support education via "great" books and "great"literature feel that individuals can only receivea complete education through reading thesematerials. Issues-centered education couldundoubtedly identify many penetrating publicissues in the great books identified by the GreatBooks Foundation. However, the intellectualprocess of problem solving and public decision

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making needs explicit attention in the imple-mentation of an issues-centered education fordemocratic citizens. It is also interesting to notethat the Great Books Foundation is currentlyidentifying contemporary as well as classicalworks, seemingly to attract the current genera-tion of learners.

The Changing Teaching Model ArgumentEducating teachers so they can engage their

students in both the content and intellectualprocesses of issues-centered education is anextremely difficult task because it involves notonly a change in the ways we teach more interac-tively but also involves a substantial change in therole of teachers from an authoritative stance toone more facilitative and supportive, yet probing.

This concern has some merit. However, justbecause something is difficult to do doesn't meanit cannot or should not be done. Given the needto heighten the education of citizens, a deeperand more thoughtful teacher education programat both the in-service and preservice levels isclearly in order for professionals who will imple-ment social studies in our schools. Universities aswell as schools have some rationale building andcurriculum work to do.

The Essential Knowledge ArgumentOccasionally, some criticsespecially

essentialistswill complain that issues-centerededucation is too amorphous, too vague about itscontent and not specific enough about its intel-lectual process. Essentialism is that school ofthought that claims that essential knowledge orcontent that is necessary for all students can andshould be identified. Such vagueness, accordingto these critics, prevents setting explicit standardsand undermines accountability.

It is true that issues-centered education spec-ifies content in categorical rather than specificways (e.g., if social studies centers on socialissues, clarifying which issues students address isleft to local schools and teachers). Learning isbelieved to be most effective and knowledgemost useful when it is related to an issue thatapplies to student-related concerns as well as toextant issues in the larger society. Unfortunately,the content of the social studies curriculum isoften defined by textbooks produced for anational market, a condition that nourishes stan-dardization of the curriculum, standardized tests,and in too many cases, mindless teaching.

<a)

A last note of caution: Documents, such as theAmerican Federation of Teachers (1987) publi-cation, can be seductive because they provide arationale that issues-centered education canaccept. However, their conclusion that history isthe major discipline seems to be a complete non-sequitur. History is far from being the only sourceof knowledge and wisdom, and other social sci-ences, literature (All the Kings Men, The LastHurrah, etc.) and the arts can provide greatinsights into persistent social issues.

Building the RationaleThis chapter has emphasized ideas central to

building a rationale for an issues-centered cur-riculum. Involving a broad base of professionaland community participants in the rationale-building process at the local level is critical.While educators must acknowledge the contri-butions of theorists and curriculum specialistsin rationale building, those most responsible forimplementing the issues-centered approachesmust play key roles in the planning process.Broad participation in the early stages is essentialto the success of both a sound rationale as well asfostering the necessary local support for imple-mentation of an issues-centered curriculum.

The rationale itself must address the relation-ship of issues-centered education to a democracyand to democratic values, which must be defined.In a democratic society, issues-centered edu-cation is critical because a democracy has distinc-tive features that demand much stronger partici-pation from its citizens than other politicalsystems. Education for informed and thoughtfulcitizenship in a democracy must reflect thoseessential characteristics of skepticism, indepen-dence, and decision making.

We must also be mindful of engaging thelearner and demonstrate sensitivity to the climateof the classroom and the school. A sound ratio-nale must address the critical factors that influ-ence all curriculum building, i.e., the nature ofknowledge; the nature of learners or learning; thenature of teachers and teaching; and the nature ofglobal and domestic society with all aspects ofdiversity. Examining assumptions in regard tothese concepts can result in a more comprehen-sive and thoughtful rationale as well as a moremeaningful social studies curriculum.

In presenting some of the argumentsadvanced by critics of issues-centered education,the author advises those building rationales to

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prepare for local resistance and initially respondwithin their statements.

The comparative process used in examiningthree issues-centered rationales resulted in theidentification of commonalities, differences, andomissions. This process, expanded and deepened,could be applied to rationales that have been cre-ated since the writings of John Dewey (1933,1961) and could also be applied to rationalestatements yet to be developed in local settings.Since the rationales reviewed all supportedissues-centered education, it is not surprisingthat a high degree of similarity was found. Moredetailed analysis could identify finer distinctions.Future efforts could promote a basis for moresubstantial dialogue and scholarship regardingissues-centered education.

In addition to this chapter, educators develop-ing rationale statements can look to otherresources for assistance. Research related toissues-centered education (see Carole Hahn'sarticle on research in this Handbook) providessignificant touchstones for rationale developmentas well. Since issues-centered education gives riseto a distinctive model of teaching and learningone differentiated from conventional social stud-ies practiceit may also be instructive to reviewJoyce and Weil's (1986) models of teaching, cate-gorized in terms of syntax, principles of reaction,social systems, and support systems.

AcknowledgmentParts of this manuscript were written by

Shirley H. Engle prior to his death.

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at the History of Issue-Centered Approaches."The Social Studies 80 (1989a): 178-84.

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Gagnon P. Democracy's Half-Told Story. Education for

Democracy Project. Washington, D.C.: AmericanFederation of Teachers, 1989.

Hartoonian, H. M. "The Social Studies: Foundationsfor Citizenship Education in Our DemocraticRepublic," The Social Studies 76 (1985): 5-8.

Hunt, Maurice P., and Lawrence E. Metcalf. TeachingHigh School Social Studies: Problems in Reflective

Thinking and Social Understanding. 2d ed. New YorkHarper and Row, 1968.

Joyce, B., and M. Weilz. Models of Teaching. 3rd ed.

Englewood Cliffs, NJ.: Prentice-Hall, 1986.Massialas, B. G., and C. B. Cox. Inquiry in the Social Studies.

New York McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1966.Newmann, Fred. "Priorities for the Future: Toward a

Common Agenda." Social Education 50 (April/May1986): 240-50.

Oliver, D., and J. R Shaver. Teaching Public Issues in the

High School. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1966.Shaver, J. P. "Lessons from the Past: The Future of an

Issues-Centered Social Studies Curriculum." TheSocial Studies 80 (September/October 1989): 192-96.

Shaver, J. P. "Needed: A Deweyean Rationale for SocialStudies." The High School Jourria160 (1977a): 345-52.

Shaver, J. P. "Implication from Research: What ShouldBe Taught in Social Studies?" In Educators' Handbook:

A Research Perspective, edited by V. Richardson-

Koehler, 112-38. New York Longman, 1987.Shaver, J. P, ed. Building Rationales for Citizenship

Education. Bulletin 52. Washington, D.C.: NationalCouncil for the Social Studies, 1977b.

Shaver, J. P. "Rationales for Issues-Centered SocialStudies Education." The Social Studies 83 (May/June1992): 95-99.

Shaver, J. P., 0. L. Davis Jr., and S. Helbum. "The Status of

Social Studies Education: Impressions from the ThreeNSF Studies." Social Education 43 (1979): 150-53.

Stanley, W. and J. Nelson. "Social Education for SocialTransformation." Social Education 50 (1986): 528-30,532-40.

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Three Rationales for Issues-Centered Education

CONCEPT

n ature ofknowledge

n ature ofteachers and

teaching

n ature oflearners and

learning

n ature ofsociety

diversity

EVANS SHAVER ENGLE AND OCHOAKnowledge is tentative, not Knowledge is seen as both ten- Since knowledge is tentative

absolute, and is always in need of tative and testable. It is relevant in nature, all claims to knowledgeverification. The thoughtful citizen when it provides insight into social may raise questions and foster skep-is always skeptical of truth claims. dilemmas. Knowledge that con- ticism. Content (knowledge) andThere is little, if any knowledge cerns citizens provides the basis for intellectual processes are inextricably

that can be defined as absolutely testing truth claims whether they intertwined. The social science disci-essential, yet knowledge is critical- are found in the disciplines, in social plines strengthen the understandingly important to the complete issues, or in the interests and expe- of social issues. Students investigateunderstanding of social issues. riences of the learner. This view of

knowledge is interdisciplinary.truth claims from textbooks, lectures,video, and/or newspapers. This viewof knowledge is interdisciplinary.

Teaching is a facilitative pro-cess that helps students defineissues and resolve problems. It isnot merely a matter of direct teach-ing, lecturing or textbook reading.

The jurisprudential model ofteaching helps the learners learnhow to resolve public issues (Oliverand Shaver 1966). Based on Socraticdialogue, it seeks to challenge stu-dents' thinking about their choicesand decisions, as well as the valuesinvolved in such choices. Teachersare more than facilitators; they poseareas of conflict in values, focus stu-dents on the need to justify theirposition on issues, and consistentlyprobe students for the strongest evi-dence justification possible.

Teaching is highly interactive:teacher and students are bothlearners and teachers concurrently.The teacher facilitates, probes, andlearns. Students investigate, probetheir fellow learners as well as theteacher, and are engaged in the rig-orous study of social issues, whichinvolves intellectual analysis, deci-sion making, and social action.

Learning is an active andreflective process engaged in bylearners who are more likely to beenergized by examining contem-porary and controversial issuesthan by chronological treatmentsof history.

Learners must be viewed as cit-izens who, if properly motivated,can be energized to be concernedabout social issues, both public andprivate. Learning is an active andreflective intellectual process that isintricately tied to the content andprocesses needed to address publicissues. To build effective citizensfor a democracy, learners mustconfront these matters in intellec-tually thoughtful ways.

Learners are curious and thiscuriosity can be tapped to enhancelearning. Socialize the young todemocratic values by way ofbiographies of heroes and hero-ines. Countersocialize youth tofoster independent thought andsocial criticism that is crucial topolitical freedom.

Whether conceived at domes-tic or global levels, society is prob-lematic, conflictive, and constantlychanging. These public issuesimpact our lives, whether we givedeliberate thought to them or not.It is the thoughtful analysis ofsocial issues and how they impactthe lives of citizens and peopleeverywhere that must form thebasis of the social studies curricu-lum in a democracy.

Society, especially a democraticone, is plagued by value dilemmas(conflict) that need thoughtful andcritical attention by its citizens ifconflictual issues are to be alleviat-ed or resolved. Conflict character-izes democratic public life.

Society, both global anddomestic, is persistently problem-atic, conflictual, and pluralistic.It is constantly changing. In recentyears there has been fairly wide-spread recognition that manyissues facing citizens in thisdemocracy have not only implieddomestic obligations but also man-ifest a global reality. Such issuesmay be addressed in many parts ofthe school curriculum.

INot explicitly addressed. Not explicitly addressed Not explicitly addressed

1 BEST COPY AVAILABLE

THE HISTORICAL IMPERATIVEFOR, ISSUES-CENTERED EDUCATIONDu Jac L. Nelson

The historical imperative for organizingsocial studies around social issues is con-ceptual, or intellectual. The power ofissues-centered education lies in the con-text of its social and intellectual traditions,providing the main conceptual fabric of this

chapter:The roots of social studies education lie inhuman issues and in efforts to develop andtest knowledge.

Knowledge derives from issues that permeatethe earliest to the latest developments inhuman thought.

Humans construct forms of knowledge ina time and place; these forms are likely tochange and deserve skeptical examination.

Restrictive or rigid forms of knowledge areinconsistent with the nature of humanknowledge and the complexity of humanissues.

It is time to return to an issues focus andreliberate schools and students from rigidformalism.

Issues and Social Studies TeachingPervasive human issues remain at the center

of the human condition and at the core of knowl-edge. The legitimate study of society, humanknowledge, and competing views, therefore,requires a focus on issues. This imperativehis-toric and contemporaryshould be the hallmarkof social studies teaching.

Good teachers find that fulfilling this obliga-tion is difficult but necessary. Charles Beard, theprogressive historian and leading figure in socialstudies education in the 1920s and 1930s,addressed the idea of social studies and itscomplex expectations for teachers:

Amid all the fuss and feathers, there is sub-stance, there is reality, in social studies. ... itwill be said that the growth of social studiesplaces on teachers an impossible burden, itcompels them to deal with controversial ques-tions. ... They are in a different position fromthat of a teacher of Latin or mathematics.They cannot master their subject reasonablywell and settle back to a ripe old age early inlife. The subject matter of their instructionis infinitely difficult and it is continuallychanging. If American democracy is to fulfillits high mission, those who train its youthmust be among the wisest, most fearless, andmost highly trained men and women thisbroad land can furnish. (1929, 372)

The social studies foundation most consistentwith Beard's statement is the study of issues.

Finding the Roots of Social StudiesDavid Saxe (1992a) criticized authors of

standard histories of social studies (Wesley1937; Johnson 1940) for assuming that the fieldbegan with the traditional teaching of history inschools. That literature traces origins of the fieldback only to a 1916 National EducationAssociation Committee on the Social Studies orto late nineteenth- and early twentieth-centuryAmerican Historical Association committees.Saxe challenged the limited and limiting viewthat the field's orientation was traditional histo-ry teaching, showing that social studies actuallyhad its beginnings in issuesin the social wel-fare and humanitarian literature earlier in thenineteenth century. Contemporary social studiesin the United States owes at least as much alle-giance to social issues for its founding and ori-entation as it does to the discipline of history.

0 IQ

The basic concept of social studies instruc-tionto develop competent civic participantshas roots far deeper and more widespread than arecent century or a single nation. Social studiescan be traced back far beyond the first use of theterm. The elemental roots of social studies rest inhuman issues that inform the human conditionand organize human knowledge through theneed to find resolutions. Social studies followsfrom the earliest of human experiences. It is thishistory, not a set of formal dates, that positionsthe imperative for issues study at the core.

Increasing Complexity of Human IssuesLife in any society at any time is complex.

Sadly, even at the end of the twentieth century,pure survival is still the prime concern for some,but many confront problems of life and societybeyond those of essential existence. Improve-ments in life quality, civilization, and knowledgehave themselves produced more complicatedlives and more complex human issues. Medicalknowledge has increased life expectancy andimproved public health but created other prob-lems related to aging, the political economy ofhealth care, and ethical questions about dyingand equality of treatment. Advances in commu-nication and transportation contribute toincreased human issues around privacy, pollu-tion, and national sovereignty. Technologicaldevelopment has increased the pace and thehorizons of human existencebut with a collat-eral increase in life's complexity. Individual andsocial choices have become and will continue tobe more complex.

Among civilization's improvements is theglobal expansion of democracy. Political and eco-nomic life for predemocratic common people wascomparatively simple, though humanly debasing.With democratic ideas, people were offered morecomplicated responsibility coupled with increas-ing freedoms. Democracy expects decision mak-ing after consideration of diverse evidence andperspectives so mass education, became a neces-sary condition for democracy and a primary com-ponent of improved quality of life and civiliza-tion. Such educational expansion contributed toa more complex life. Education can create frus-trations because it increases expectations andconfusion concerning the indeterminate qualityof truth and incisive criticism of contemporarysociety. Few would argue that increased democ-racy and improved education are not worth the

increased complications, but the result is thatmore issues need to be confronted.

Global democratization in societies andschools offers less separation between the worldof affairs and the world of scholars than was thecase in older western civilizations. America rep-resented a break from the classical tradition,which made scholarship a leisure class activityunrelated to the world of action or human issues.Classically, scholars were expected to contem-plate great thoughts and avoid contact with thepractical issues of life. Ancient class distinctionsseparated those presumed to be naturally suitedto the life of the mind from those suited toaction, whereas modern democratic educationassumes that students of all classes engage inconsideration of issues.

Criticism and the Developmentof Knowledge

For thousands of years, humans were essen-tially predatory and nomadic, but, as one eco-nomic historian noted, "in the course of time,particular skills and techniques were inventedand developed, the cutting of stones, the makingof special weapons, the building of transportvehicles" (Cipolla 1964, 18). Prehistoric datasuggest that humans discovered many of theirmost important adaptations to the environmentand social life in the millions of years beforerecorded history. Increasing sophistication intrying and testing ideas and practice is a markof human life. Paleoanthropologist RichardLeakey said, "The urge to know is a defining fea-ture of humanity" (1992 [with Lewin], 23).

Social studies, including ideas about thenature and purpose of knowledge, emerged ashumans tried to understand and cope withhuman problems. Animism, witchcraft, astrolo-gy, myth, science, humanities, and social sciencedeveloped as ways to explain the human condi-tion. Although schemes of absolute truth ordogma have emerged in every time period, ourunderstanding of knowledge carries the expecta-tion of criticism and of disagreement with ideasand actions. That approach challenges dogmaticanswers to human problems. Criticism has beena part of social life throughout human history,but as Bottomore (1968, 4) noted:

It is only in societies which have becomeliterate, possess economic reserves, havedeveloped an urban life and in some mea-

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sure a professional intellectual class, thatany sustained criticism of the working ofsociety is possible.

Dissenters challenged early versions of sci-ence and humanities. Sometimes critics sufferedheinous punishments for their dissent, but crit-ics served to test ideas and patterns of thought.Superstition, alchemy, and moral trial by fire arepre-scientific and pre-humanities efforts toorganize knowledge for understanding and forcoping with human issues. The working of themind on problems and solutions is a topic ofsocial study, a very large body of philosophic,religious, and psychological literature going backthrough recorded history.

Scientific and intellectual inquiry flourishedin early India, China, and Africa. In the millen-nium preceding the birth of Christ, ethical teach-ings involving the relation of nature to humandestiny were a feature of early Indian Veda(hymns related to knowledge). Upanishads writ-ings of that time, as well as Buddhism, point outthat reality is beyond time and space. Mayer(1960, 32) claims that western cultures have dif-ficulty understanding these ideas because weare so "intensely conscious of historical events,"and do not do as well in grasping reality as awhole as those who share Indian concepts.

Dogmatism Interrupts DevelopmentWestern cultures consider the medieval peri-

od as intellectually dark, one of conformity anduniformity. In actuality, there was significant dis-sent. Even though the main thread was ortho-doxy in knowledge, consistent with religious doc-trine, there were deviations based on increasingsecularization and more flexible ideas of knowl-edge. The dominant view, however, incorporatedstrictures that religion imposed and the authori-tarian nature and formal categories of knowledgethat scholasticism stressed.

During the Middle Ages, knowledge wascodified into the Trivium (grammar, rhetoric, andlogic) and the Quadrivium (arithmetic, geome-try, astronomy, and music), solidifying what wasthen conceived to be the ultimate structure ofknowledge for the leisure classesthe seven lib-eral arts. Not liberal in the sense of liberatinghumans through education, the form of educa-tion was "bookish," reading from and recitingmemorized material from books (Butts 1955). Bythis time the formal codification of knowledge in

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the West superseded human issues and hadbecome a set of prescribed and static ideas linkedto religion and social class. That codification, aswe know, did not adequately explain or enlightenhumankind, and its static quality limited intellec-tual activity and consideration of human issues.

The original seven liberal arts from themonasteries are not what we now call liberal arts.As Butts (1955, 177) indicated, "In the realm ofintellectual affairs, the center of gravity began toshift from the religious to human experience."It also marked a return to human issues as socialstudy. The Renaissance emerged as a challengeto religious domination and to establishedauthorities, even as it embraced the classical tra-dition of knowledge.

Such evidence of traditional codifications ofknowledge, including dogma from classical peri-ods and formal religion, is readily found in theAmerican colonies. An early colonial example ofthe intellectual limitations often placed uponschools is in the Massachusetts School Law of1647 (The Deluder Satan Act), which orderedevery township of fifty households to teach chil-dren to read the Scriptures and foil Satan. Socialeducation of this time was often religious indoc-trination, not the examination of issues, and thedogmatic approach to religion exempted legiti-mate issues analysis.

At various times in history, the static dogmaof established subjects, the absolutism of reli-gions, and excessive nationalism have restrictedknowledge and education. Copernicus rediscov-ered and recast ideas from ancient Greekastronomers like Aristarchus of Samos, whosework had been defamed by stoic philosophers asoutside existing ideas of knowledge. Galileo, inproving Copernicus right, suffered attack fromreligious zealots. Traditional scholars and reli-gious leaders ridiculed Charles Darwin's workwhen first presented (Russell 1959). Scholarlyparadigms organize the structure of knowledge,and religion assists in understanding the humancondition, but their rigidity can also restrictthinking and nontraditional scholarly inquiry inthe human quest for knowledge (Kuhn 1970b;Skybreak 1984; Nencel and Pels 1991).

Scholastic and static forms of knowledgewere challenged after the Renaissance. FrancisBacon (1606), despite his undemocratic premisethat social status should determine the level ofeducation available, argued that theory be testedby experience, that social progress depended

upon applying knowledge to problems of dailylife (Cressy 1980). In more recent times, MerleCurti (1956) documented the evolution of ten-sion between scholastic intellectuals and realhuman issues in the United States, showing thatU.S. democracy assisted in closing that gap, eventhough tensions still remained at the middle ofthe twentieth century.

Nationalistic pride also constructs static andfalse boundaries for knowledge, limiting exami-nation of human issues. Traditional school-levelhistory and civics often incorporate myths thatbrook no scholarly challenge or skepticism.Studies of nationalistic history and civics taughtin schools show that nations manipulate theirown histories, creating and sustaining myths, toinspire and perpetuate national chauvinismthrough schooling (Merriam 1934; Key 1961;Nelson 1971, 1976). The United States is amongthose nations most actively perpetuating nation-alistic myths through history teaching (Pierce1933; Beale 1936; Gellerman 1938; Billington1966; Nelson and Weltman 1990). History pro-fessor Nancy Shoemaker (1993, A48) comment-ed, 7 wasn't sure I wanted to teach it [a course on theAmerican West] again. The myth of the West was justtoo powerful. The mythological baggage that studentsbrought to the course continually surprised me. "Herstudents had completed the standard school cur-riculum of U.S. history with myths taught astruths from the discipline rather than as humanissues subject to skepticism and criticism. By themiddle of the nineteenth century, the center ofsocial studies in common schools had shiftedfrom dogmatic religion to nearly-as-dogmaticuncritical nationalism. Nationalistic interest fol-lowing the War of 1812 led to significantlyincreased teaching of U.S. history and related cit-izenship training. The new religion of the secularschools was nationalism, a dogma that was notissues-centered. Rather, the goal was inculcatingpatriotic loyalty, not debating. Formalizednationalistic history and civics were the mainmeans of this instruction.

Religious dogma is no longer a core of socialstudies education, but nationalistic influenceremains significant. It represents traditionaluncritical citizenship training similar to previousinflexible codifications of knowledge. Whileabsolute answers make some feel secure, intellec-tual challenges to this limitation of knowledgeand of pedagogy continue to arise.

Rigid scholastic, dogmatic religious, and

uncritical nationalistic education notwithstand-ing, conceptions of knowledge change. In onesense traditional non-issues approaches to school-ing have been temporary interruptions in thelong-term development of knowledge. Despiteefforts to codify and rigidify learnings, the corepurpose of knowledge remains: to provideinsights into potential answers for human issues.

Current philosophic writing raises the ques-tion that we may be in a new period of scholasti-cism, emphasizing technical, mechanical, andmaterialistic distinctions between categories ofknowing. That literature recognizes that "thelifeblood of philosophy is argument and counter-argument," a continuing philosophic revolutionand challenge to old beliefs about knowledge(Hamblyn 1987, 333). This debate is also aboutsocial studies content as an intellectual issue.

Myth and Theory as Constructsfor Knowledge

Joseph Campbell (1990) examined theprocess of comprehending and responding tohuman issues, using myths from differing cul-tures to show their transformation over time inexplaining the human condition. An AmericanNavaho Indian myth follows the evolving matu-rity of young people through a series of humanissues, none of which would be resolved by for-mal study of a current single subject field. Asian,African, and other myths have similar themeshuman problems and knowledge developmentas a focus for understanding and overcoming.The Greek myth has Prometheus stealing thesecret of fire for humans to provide them themeans to reason, understanding, and the civiliz-ing artsthe bases for knowledge. Homer's Iliadand Odyssey are examples of interpretations ofhuman issues. While the stories are inconsistent,they try to record old events as they provide aworld view, a myth or interpretation of life.Greek, Indian, Egyptian, and other mythsattempted also to explain life after death (Russell1957). Myths, mingled with observable evidence,attempt to explain human and superhuman life.

Many myths, of course, are detrimental tohuman progress and knowledge, keeping humansin the shackles of ignorance and under theoppression of superstition. But myths not onlypredate and surround our ideas of knowledge,they also permeate those ideas and the categoriesof knowledge we construct and use. Commonlydefined as false stories, myths are also properly

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defined as traditional stories intended to explainphenomena or customs (which is actually thepreferred definition in standard English dictio-naries). The result of scholarly work that explainsthe phenomena described in these traditionalstories is an improvement of existing knowledge.The topic of knowledge is itself a proper socialstudies subjectanother human issue worthy ofstudy and consistent with the historic and futuredevelopment of civilization. The process of argu-ment and counterargument to improve knowl-edge is used in issues-centered education in socialstudies. Students deserve the intellectual oppor-tunity and academic freedom necessary to engagein such arguments; issues-centered educationoffers that potential.

Myth can be applied, at least metaphorically,to theoretical constructs in separate disciplines.Philosopher of history Peter Heehs (1994) notedthe "interpenetration" of history and myth; theyare not distinct and separate. History is not truth,but interpretation as a form of myth, a point alsomade almost a century ago by historian SydneyFisher (1913).

The idea of myth does not denigrate scholar-ly theory, nor does it suggest that theories arefalse. It does suggest that they are theories, nottruth, and should be subject to skepticism even asthey are tentatively accepted as ways to help us toexplain phenomena. Many earlier theories ofphysical and mental phenomena have beenshown to be false as knowledge has become moresophisticated. Presumably, this knowledge revo-lution will continue for as long as we can foresee.A major premise of knowledge, and thus, ofsocial studies is therefore that things change.

The Copernican Revolution, revising existingideas that the earth was flat and the center of theuniverse, occurred because of the possibility andpower of skepticism about existing theories(Kuhn 1970a). Similarly, Darwin's theoriesreplaced existing theory on the origin of livingthings in the mid-nineteenth century, over thestrong objections of scholars and theologianswhose beliefs or reputations rested on previousviews. Does that mean that current conceptionsof Copernican and Darwinian theories areirrefutable truth? No, they are just more contem-porary and sophisticated theories, acceptable tomainstream scholars and supported so far byavailable evidence. There is still dispute. Someorthodox religions oppose Darwinism and otherpeople question the social application of

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Darwinism. And Russell suggested, althoughfacetiously, that the flat-earth society may havebeen right despite Copernicus (Russell 1928).

Issues and the Weakness ofSingle-Subject Approaches

Not only do the separate disciplines have thepotential for rigid scholasticism, but no individ-ual subject is adequate to deal with the complex-ity of human issues. By imposing serious limita-tions, and squeezing, any of the humanities orsocial sciences could frame an issue solely withinits own narrow borders, but that does not accountfor the intellectual loss created by such limitsand compression. Examining only historian-approved documents on a human issue such aspoverty or war may be exhaustive for the student,but is not exhaustive as an intellectual enterprise.It would leave out current or historian-ignoredphilosophic, economic, political, sociological,psychological, literary, scientific, ethnic, legal,religious, or other dimensions. Issues rangebeyond the arbitrary limits of traditional subjects.Time is larger than conventional history; space islarger than conventional geography; and humansare more than the sum of separate studies in soci-ology, economics, political science, religion, law,education, women's studies, ethnic studies,anthropology, psychology or other traditional oremerging social sciences.

Regarding the narrowness of social science dis-ciplines, sociologist Robert Lynd (1939, 16) wrote:

So, despite our (social scientists) protesta-tions that everything is interdependent,preoccupation with our specializationstends to put blinkers on us social scientistsand to make us state our problems as if theyconcerned, in fact, isolated economic, orpolitical, or sociological problems.

Pervasive human issues do not come neatlypackaged and formally organized along the linesof formal subjects. Such issues as crime, war, andhunger are not simple and are not simply exam-ined only through the lenses of historians oreconomists or other social scientists. Informationand interpretations from history are valuable inunderstanding and coping with contemporarylife; information and interpretations from socialsciences, literature, philosophy, other humanities,and the sciences are also valuable in compre-hending and dealing with human issues. Poverty

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and discrimination, for example, can be exam-ined using history, political science, geography,economics, and psychology. Sociology, anthro-pology, law, religion, education, literature, philos-ophy, and the arts and sciences provide otherimportant knowledge about their causes andeffects. The whole topic, however, is more thanthe sum of these parts. A separatist curriculumthat requires students to study national history,economics, political science, sociology, psycholo-gy, law, and geography in compartmentalizedsegments as though each had no relation to theother is unlikely to provide students with suffi-cient opportunity to examine and understandthose human issues as holistic concerns.

Early twentieth-century social studies educa-tors recognized the need to shift from static his-tory teaching to issues. Prior to the establishmentof the National Council for the Social Studies,teachers recognized that issue study was moreimportant than standard history (Stockton1919). Harold Rugg (1921) suggested that socialstudies diminish the grip of professional associa-tions of historians on the school curriculum,eliminate nonessential military and politicaldetails, and focus on crucial issues.

Good teachers have long recognized seriouslimits in standard disciplinary history instruction.Tyler Kepner, a 1930s high school social studieschair and the only member of the College BoardCommission on History who refused to sign itsfinal report endorsing increased traditional histo-ry instruction, wrote in the first issue of SocialEducation:

One cannot long discuss the curriculum inthe social studies without frankly acknowl-edging the strained relations between theproponents of history and the advocates ofthe other social studies. ... the fact remainsthat the historians still like to assign to histo-ry the role of the city cousin who looks withdisdain upon her naive country cousintheother social studies. ... it may be that a fun-damental difference in aims and purposesexists in the teaching of the social subjects atthe school and college levels. (1937, 82-83)

Social studies, then, is itself an issue, andexploring issues requires evidence and interpreta-tions from a variety of conventional and uncon-ventional fields of study.

Issues and Integrationin Social Education

Questions coming from human issues aremore significant than the possible answersproduced by any single subject. Issues developquestions of personal and social importance tostudents and scholars, the basis of knowledge.Single disciplines provide useful approaches toinformation, answers, and perspectives to con-sider specific parts of the questions. For socialeducation, however, the focus should be on thewhole of knowledge, skeptical examination ofideas, and the search for knowledge. Social stud-ies incorporates the broad study of society, toinclude human prehistory and the future as wellas the forms and types of human knowledge. Itexplores questions such as: What is it to behuman? To be social? To know? To engage incivic life? To make decisions? To be ethical? Tobe competent? These questions elicit differentanswers in different settings and different timeperiods. Wraga (1993, 202) noted it well:

Because societal problems are complex andthey transcend conventional subject divi-sions, civic competence depends upon inte-grating knowledge from a variety of subjects.... the ability and inclination to integrateand apply knowledge constitute an essentialcivic competence.

The intellectual rationale for issues-centeredsocial education involves more than a single sub-ject. Biologist and ethnologist Gregory Bateson(1979, 8), criticizing the form of separatist sub-ject-field education found in western culture,wrote, "Break the pattern which connects theitems of learning and you necessarily destroyall quality." He noted that science is based onpresuppositions that deserve critical examinationin schools rather than teaching as truth: "Scienceprobes, it does not prove" (32). In literature,writer Doris Lessing (1993) expressed a similarconcern with the pattern of connections. Shesees a parallel between intellectual defects result-ing from compartmentalized thinking and theillogical separations of categories of knowledgein schools and libraries. Political theorist HaroldLaski (1929, 567) hoped that: "The studentlearns that knowledge is, after all, a seamless weband that our categories are, at bottom, merelyways of arranging conveniently the facts we haveacquired." Whitehead (1929, 23) also recog-

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nized that "you may not divide the seamless coatof learning." And Dewey (1897) remarked onthe natural involvement of individuals in humanissues, pointing out that education developsfrom the individual's involvement in the socialconsciousness.

Charles Beard (1929, 369) presented a simi-lar rationale for the centrality of human issues insocial studies:

Human beings live not by election statisticsand battle alone, but also by industry, byhomekeeping, by co-operation with theirfellows, by all the arts of love, joy, and admi-rationas Ruskin put it. In a democracy theschools simply cannot ignore the demandsof life, keep aloof from its pressing problemsof choice and conduct. ... Those who haveput aside their professional pride [historiansand social scientists] and fixed their mindson their pupils and the world of struggle,sacrifice, and perplexities in which pupilsmust live have come to [recognize] oneobject, namely, to throw light on the way oflife in which boys and girls must walk.

Good teachers, those transformative intellec-tuals whom Henry Giroux (1985) advocated,would agree. Both knowledge and teaching arecomplex and dynamic, more than can be encom-passed in a single, conventional subject. Issuesoffer a framework that stresses interrelation-shipsthat seamless webwithin knowledge,and relies on human interest in the developmentof civilization. Issues have a historic and perva-sive role in framing, interpreting, and challengingthat social consciousness.

Issues and School KnowledgeHuman issues occur in the earliest human

societies and continue through the latest. Thatcomment seems obvious, but the essentiality of itis lost in the conventional history-based and stat-ic social studies curriculum. Dewey (1938, 18, 19)pointed to this problem in traditional education:

Since the subject-matter as well as standardsof proper conduct are handed down fromthe past, the attitude of pupils must, uponthe whole, be one of docility, receptivity, andobedience. ... The traditional scheme is, inessence, one of imposition from above andfrom outside. It imposes adult standards,

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subject-matter, and methods upon thosewho are only growing slowly toward maturi-ty. The gap is so great that the required sub-ject-matter, the methods of learning and ofbehaving are foreign to the existing capaci-ties of the young ... that which is taught isthought of as essentially static. It is taught asa finished product, with little regard eitherto the ways in which it was originally builtup or to changes that will surely occur inthe future.

Progressive, reconstructionist, and criticaleducators have been discontent with traditionalformalistic approaches that hide, sterilize, orignore social problems (Cremin 1961; Giroux1988; Stanley 1992). Although they differ signif-icantly on many issues, they express a vision of ademocratic society that requires the examinationof social problems as a focus of school study. Thestrong intellectual and democratic premises thatunderlie this view are at odds with static forms ofknowledge which have permeated schools.Dewey (1961, 8, 9), discussing the necessity in ademocracy of relating human issues to schoolknowledge, identified the problem in compellinglanguage:

There is the standing danger that the mate-rial of formal instruction will be merely thesubject matter of the schools, isolated fromthe subject matter of life-experience. Thepermanent social interests are likely to belost from view. ... As formal teaching andtraining grow in extent, there is the dangerof creating an undesirable split between theexperience gained in more direct associa-tions and what is acquired in school.

A 1993 report by editors of Science noted thattraditional mainstream paradigms in the socialsciences are undergoing serious rethinking basedon renewed interest in human problems ratherthan through discipline-enhancement. Science(1993, 1796) further reported:

All these new questions are being raised inthe context of a disciplinary structure that isno longer very well suited to them. ...Trouble is, traditional disciplinary bound-aries are nowadays being blurred and bentalmost out of recognition to accommodatenew torrents of new knowledge, to respond

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to the demands for socially relevant research... and to reflect the fact that the problemsof greatest moment today have to be tackledby multiple approaches.

The essence of the purposes of knowledgeto provide understanding of and potential solu-tions for human problemsis not what tradi-tional social studies instruction provides. Rather,traditional social studies aims to teach formaldisciplinary information and perspectives to stu-dents in learning settings where criticism is dis-couraged. For example, the curriculum proposedby the National Commission on Social Studies inthe Schools (1989), a commission established bythe American Historical Association with thesupport of some leaders of the National Councilfor the Social Studies, postponed studentengagement in social issues until after they havebeen subjected to about eleven years of tradition-al history and geography lessons. These lessonsappear to be a return to a codification of statichistory from the early twentieth century (Nelsonand Weltman 1991). Presumably, this proposalrests upon the idea that long-term formal studyof traditional history and geography is necessarybefore one can comprehend a social issue. Thatpresumption denies the complex and dynamicnature of issues, knowledge, and human motiva-tions. It also denies the historical imperative forhuman issues as the center of social education.

Issues provide a more suitable and naturalframework for organizing social studies instruc-tion than is provided by the conventional, social-ly constructed, and intellectually limited cate-gories of knowledge such as history, the separatesocial sciences, or other common disciplinarystructures.

Issues-Centered Education andCurrent Conservative Reforms

The basic idea that human issues are the realfocus of human interests and should be the focusof social studies schooling is not an extraordinaryposition; indeed, it appears self-evident. But tra-ditional schools emphasize formal and sterilestructures of knowledge, i.e., separate subjectstaught as static factual information. And tradi-tional schools diminish the study of human issues,often because issues are perceived as too fluid andtoo current to be academically respectable.

It is ironic that traditional schools and disci-plines dominate social studies instruction, while

human issues dominate the lives of students andteachers. Thoughtful teachers and students findthe disparity between the imperative for thesocial study of issues and the traditional issue-free approach of schools perplexing. This pointis not new Dewey (1910) considered subject-matter instruction "worse than useless" when itdid not connect with problems existing in thestudent's experience, and Alfred NorthWhitehead (1929, 13) pleaded against the prolif-eration in schools of "inert ideas ... ideas receivedinto the mind without being utilized, or tested."

The idea that problems and issues should becentral to the enterprise of education, however,must be reconstructed during each cycle of con-servative school reform. The study of human andcontroversial issues that expect students toengage in critical thinking is an early victim ofsuch school reforms. Traditional and progressiveeducators disagree over the relative value andbest approach to discipline-based or issues-cen-tered knowledge structures. Another debate isover the extent to which students are capable ofcritical thought.

Much conservative educational reformadvocates static organization of knowledge withan overemphasis on testable information, tech-nocratic and deskilling limits on teaching, andscholasticism (Apple 1970; Aronowitz andGiroux 1983; Presseisen 1985; Purpel 1989;Perrone 1991). The conformist compartmental-ization of knowledge of today's typical schoolsappears unrelated to human issues. This tradi-tionalist approach has not been strikingly suc-cessful in producing critical thinking or aninformed populace. Instead, it appears success-ful only in separating societal interests fromschooling and in boring students with staticdetails of history.

Issues-centered education challenges the tra-ditional and common subject-centered form ofsocial studies instruction in schools. Conservativeschool reform assumes that basic education isstudent learning of and testing on traditional for-mal structures of subjects. Issues-centered educa-tion assumes that issues are basic and that sub-jects are valuable in providing information andideas, but are not adequate social education inthemselves. Issues appear messier and less con-trollable than neat chronological outlines of stan-dard nationalistic history or highly structuredlessons on skills and information from geographyor other social sciences. Human issues usually

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have no clear-cut and obviously true answers.They would not be issues if the answer was obvi-ous. Many teachers find comfort and ease in tra-ditional social studies teaching of factual infor-mation on nationalistic history, physical geogra-phy, economic chart reading, or definitions ofterms in sociology or political science. That kindof teaching can be done to all classes of studentsover several years of practice in a career. Thematerial is easily testable, and can quickly bemade into seatwork and memorization tasks.

Issues, however, are more complex, moredynamic, and more engaging than traditionalsocial studies teaching. Progressive teachers andstudents realize the sound pedagogy behindusing the vitality of important issues to energizeinstruction and stimulate interest. They alsointuitively or intellectually recognize that highquality social studies instruction must focus onhuman issues. In addition to the contemporaryreasons for issues-centered education, there arehistoric groundings for recognizing issues as cen-tral to social studies instruction.

The Mandate forIssues-Centered Education

Throughout human existence and across cul-tures and regions, issues have been at the core ofthe human quest for knowledge. Issues providemotivation, challenge ideas, inform scholars andstudents, and set criteria for judging progress incivilization. They represent the cauldron withinwhich myth, theory, fact, value, and perspectivemix with multiple realities. Over the course ofhuman development, social education has been amajor focus of social and intellectual life. Thateducation requires engagement in human issuesand consideration and modification of socialknowledge.

Existing paradigms, theories, and identifiedprinciples of the disciplines that undergird theseparate subjects are similar to myths; theyattempt to explain phenomena and they are oftenstories considered plausible or valuable to the ini-tiated. For a society interested in civilizationaland intellectual progress, we must require a levelof skepticism and criticism and a willingness toconsider thoughtful alternative views. That posi-tion states an essential purpose of education, andparticularly of social educationdeveloping crit-ical inquiry about human issues.

Although absolutistic answers to humanproblems have been presented in various historic

22

times and geographic settings, these have beenaccepted only by true believers of that time andplace. They interrupt the development of knowl-edge. Even in highly restricted communities ofmandated religious conformity, dissenters anddisbelievers exist. Leakey (1992 [with Lewin],23), reflecting on his years of study of the originsof humankind, stated: "Absolute truth is like amirage; it disappears as you approach it." At anytime a very small number of absolute disciples ofa particular ideology believe they have truth andsuffer no indecision; but, in common existenceover time and place, human lives are entwinedwith personal and social issues, issues unboundby the strictures of a particular subject.

Bertrand Russell (1959, 313), summarizingthe history of western philosophy, stated: "It isrecognized quite freely ... that the sum total ofwhat man knows is vanishingly small. Whatseems in the end more important is that oneshould pursue knowledge." That pursuit, saysRussell, is "linked with freedom," and requires noavenue to be "closed by artificial strictures" (313).Artificial strictures include disciplinary dogmaand boundaries that limit thinking and discour-age skepticism.

People live in diverse situations and condi-tions; difficult choices and perplexing problemsvex all societies. Although each generation meetsand tries to cope with its own set of problems,fundamental human issues remain for people inmodern and postmodern times (Stanley 1992).The future will not hold less complexity or fewerhuman issues. That change occurs is not disput-ed. At issue is the nature of change, regress orprogress, and humankind's attempts to influencethe direction of change.

The challenge for education is to provideappropriate means for comprehending and cop-ing with personal and social issues. Schoolsshould be locations for identifying and criticallyexamining significant human issues and forthoughtful consideration of potential answersand consequences. The social studies bear specialresponsibility for this examination of issues andresponses. This requires exploration of diverseevidence and interpretations, and it requirespractice in thoughtful decision making. Legiti-mate social studies instruction necessarily incor-porates human issues and knowledge develop-ment as the oldest and most pervasive of humaneducational activities. The study of human issuesprovides opportunity for the pursuit of knowl-

32

edge in a setting of freedom. This is the histori-cal imperative for the centrality of the study ofissues-an intellectual and democratic mandate.

ReferencesApple, M. Ideology and Curriculum. London: Routledge,

1970.

Aronowitz S., and H. Giroux. Education under Siege:Conservative, Liberal and Radical Debate over

Schooling. Granby, Mass.: Bergin and Garvey, 1983.Bacon, F. The Advancement of Learning. Book I. 1606.

London: Macmillan, 1892.Bateson, G. Mind and Nature. New York Bantam, 1979.Beale, H. Are American Teachers Free? New York

Charles Scribner's Sons, 1936.Beard, C. "The Trend in Social Studies."Historical

Outlook 20 (1929): 369-72.Billington, R.A. The Historian's Contribution to Anglo-

American Misunderstanding. New York Hobbs,Dorman, 1966.

Bottomore, T B. Critics of Society. New York PantheonBooks, 1968.

Butts, R. E A Cultural History of Western Education.

New York McGraw-Hill, 1955.Campbell, J. Transformation of Myth through Time.

New York Harper and Row, 1990.Cipolla. C. M. The Economic History of World Population.

Baltimore, Md.: Penguin Books, 1964.Cremin, L. The Transformation of the School.

New York Random House, 1961.Cressy, D. Literacy and the Social Order. Cambridge,

England: Cambridge University Press, 1980.Curti, M. American Paradox: The Conflict of Thought and

Action. New Brunswick, NJ,: Rutgers UniversityPress, 1956.

Dewey, J. Democracy and Education. New York

Macmillan, 1961.Dewey, J. "My Pedagogic Creed." In John Dewey: The

Early Works, 1882-1898. Vol. 5.1897. Carbondale,Ill: Southern Illinois University Press, 1972.

Dewey, J. How We Think. Boston: Heath, 1910.Dewey, J. Experience and Education. 1938. West

Lafayette, Ind.: Kappa Delta Pi, 1963.Fisher, S. 'The Legendary and Myth-Making Process

in Histories of the American Revolution." TheHistory Teacher's Magazine 4, no. 3 (1913): 63-71.

Gellerman, W. The American Legion as Educator.

New York Teachers College Press, 1938.Giroux, H. 'Teachers as Transformative Intellectuals."

Social Education 49 (May 1985): 376-79.Giroux, H. Schooling and the Struggle for Public Life.

Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1988.

Hamblyn, D. W. A History of Western Philosophy.

New York Viking/Penguin, 1987.Heehs, P. "Myth, History, and Theory" History and

Theory 33 (1994): 1-19.Johnson, H. The Teaching of History in Elementary and

Secondary Schools. New York Macmillan, 1940.

Kepner, T. 'The Dilemma of the Secondary-School SocialStudies Teacher." Social Education 1 (1937): 81-87.

Key, V. O. Public Opinion and American Democracy.

New York Knopf, 1961.Kuhn, T The Copernican Revolution. Cambridge Mass.:

Harvard University Press, 1970a.Kuhn, T The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. 2d ed.

Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1970b.Laski, H. 'Teacher and Student." The Century

Magazine 117 (March 1929): 566-77.Leakey, R., and R. Lewin. Origins Reconsidered

New York Doubleday, 1992.Lessing, D. Presentation given at the Rutgers University

Colloquium, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 7 October1993.

Lum, P The Growth of Civilization in East Asia.New York S. G. Phillips Books, 1969.

Mayer, F. A History of Educational Thought. Columbus,Ohio: Merrill, 1960.

Merriam, C. Civic Education in the United States.New York Charles Scribner's Sons, 1934.

National Commission on Social Studies in the Schools.Charting a Course: Social Studies for the 21st Century.

Washington, DC: National Council for the SocialStudies, 1989.

Nelson, J. "Nationalistic Education and the Free Man."In Humanistic Frontiers in Education, edited by R P.Fairfield. Englewood Cliffs, NJ.: Prentice-Hall, 1971.

Nelson, J. "Nationalistic vs. Global Education." Theoryand Research in Social Education 1 (1976): 33-50.

Nelson, J., and B. Weltman. "Ideologies in CivicValues." Paper presented at the International Societyfor Political Psychology Annual Scientific Meeting,Washington, DC, May 1990.

Nelson, J. "Charting a Course Backward."Social Education 55 (1990): 412.

Nencel, L., and P. Pels, ed. Constructing Knowledge:Authority and Critiques in Social Sciences. London:

Sage, 1991.Perrone, V. A Letter to Teachers. San Francisco, Calif.:

Jossey-Bass, 1991.Pierce, B. Citizens' Organizations and the Civic Training

of Youth. New York Charles Scribner's Sons, 1933.Presseisen, B. Unlearned Lessons. Philadelphia, Pa.:

Falmer, 1985.Purpel, D. The Moral and Spiritual Crisis in Education.

Granby, Mass.: Bergin and Garvey 1989.

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Rugg, H. "How Shall We Reconstruct the Social Studies

Curriculum?" The Historical Outlook 12 (1921):184-89.

Russell, B. Skeptical Essays. New York W. W. Norton,

1928.Russell, B. Understanding History. New York

Philosophical Library, 1957Russell, B. Wisdom of the West. London: Rathbone

Books, 1959.Saxe, D.W. "Framing a Theory for Social Studies

Foundations." Review of Educational Research 62

(1992a): 259-77.Saxe, D. W. "An Introduction to the Seminal Social

Welfare and Efficiency Prototype: The Founders of1916 Social Studies." Theory and Research in Social

Education 20 (1992b):156-78.Science editors. "New Life Ahead for Social Sciences."

Science 261 (September 24,1993): 1796-98.Shoemaker, N. 'Teaching the Truth about the History

of the American West." The Chronicle of HigherEducation 40 (October 27,1993): A48.

Skybreak, A. Of Primeval Steps and Future Leaps.Chicago: Banner Press, 1984.

Stanley, W. B. Curriculum for Utopia. Albany, N.Y.:

State University of New York Press, 1992.Stockton, J. 'Teaching Current Events." The Historical

Outlook 9 (1919): 13-15.Wesley, E. B. Teaching the Social Studies. New York

Heath, 1937.Wraga, W. G. "The Interdisciplinary Imperative for

Citizenship Education." Theory and Research in SocialEducation 21 (1993): 201-31.

24 34

RESEARCH ON ISSUES-CENTERED SOCIAL STUDIESbo Carol Hahn

For many years social studies educatorshave advocated the use of issues-centeredinstruction on philosophic grounds, simi-lar to those put forth in the first chaptersof this handbook. But skeptics and believ-ers alike have wondered whether empirical

evidence exists to warrant its use. This chapteraddresses the question: Is there evidence thatissues-centered social studies yields benefits? Theanswer must first be qualified in that studies con-ducted in particular contexts in the past cannotprove or predict what will happen in a future set-ting, and available research tends to be correla-tional, not causal. That is, researchers studyingparticular classrooms found that issues-centeredinstruction was associated with various phenom-ena; they did not establish cause-and-effectrelationships as one might in a laboratory.Examining the available research can, however,be insightful to those considering the implemen-tation of issues-centered teaching because thereis reason to believe that when this approach isused under certain conditions, students may likesocial studies, and may develop higher-orderthinking skills, participatory political attitudes,and an awareness and concern about global orother important societal issues. But before exam-ining the research base for such possibilities, afew cautions are in order.

First, despite numerous calls for issues-cen-tered social studies instruction over the years, thefew schools that offered such programs have notreported their effectiveness. Consequently, noevidence exists from long-term participation.Nevertheless, researchers pursuing diverse linesof inquiry have identified a number of positiveoutcomesand some obstacleswhen studentsexperience issues-centered social studies instruc-tion for short periods in their schooling. All of

the studies reported here are focused on samplesof middle and high school students. That is notto say that issues-centered teaching cannot occurat the elementary school level; indeed, many ele-mentary teachers design interdisciplinary unitsaround issues (Angell and Avery 1992). At thistime, however, there is not a cumulative researchbase for that age level.

Additional cautions relate to the definitionand nature of issues-centered instruction. Theeditors of this handbook define issues-centeredinstruction as a teaching approach that usessocial issues to emphasize reflective and oftencontroversial questions in contemporary and his-toric contexts as the heart of social studies. Theapproach encourages students to become morethoughtful about the way they view social life,rather than seeking right answers to unproblem-atic questions, while it engages them in the chal-lenges and dilemmas citizens confront. In earlierdecades, issues-centered instruction had slightlydifferent emphases and went by different names.For example, in the 1940s and 1950s social stud-ies authors (Quillen and Hanna 1948) wrote of a"problems approach" that applied John Dewey'sideas to the tasks of preparing young citizens.This approach was most commonly used in U.S.history and "Problems of American Democracy"courses. Students were encouraged to selectproblems for investigation that interested themand concerned society. In the 1950s and 1960sHunt and Metcalf (1955, 1968) extended thetradition with "reflective inquiry" into the "closedareas" of society. They proposed a systematicmodel for analyzing problems that integratedvalue, semantic, and empirical analyses. Theirwork was followed by two differing streamsone that emphasized "inquiry" into intellectualissues with a disciplinary focus and one that rec-

ommended a "jurisprudential" approach to ana-lyzing enduring dilemmas in which core socialvalues were in conflict. (Massialas 1963, Oliverand Shaver 1966)

Previous chapters in this handbook havemore thoroughly explicated the distinctionswithin an issues-centered tradition. This chapternotes that researchers working from differingperspectives, using differing methodologies andemphases, focused on different features withinthe approach with the result that from onedecade to the next, researchers shed light on aclassroom scene from different angles. Someresearchers included verbatim notes of selectedclassroom dialogues; others described a particularset of issues-centered materials. Yet, othersassumed that a particular approach was used,and/or asked students if they felt comfortableexpressing their opinions on issues. In truth, theresearch base for issues-centered instructionrelies on studies of an amorphous dynamic "inde-pendent variable" because no two days of issues-centered instruction were/are the same. What theteachers and many of the researchers shared wasa belief that students ought to be activelyengaged in discovering knowledge useful to themin reflecting upon issues that face citizens acrosstime and social contexts.

Throughout this chapter are references tothree components of issues-centered teachingcontent, pedagogy, and climate. Various research-ers focus on differing parts of that triad, and theirfindings overlap with different emphases.Nevertheless, it is clear that the three separateparts of that equation alone are not sufficient.Combined, however, they can make a differencein achieving the goals of social studies. That is, ifstudents 1. study issues-centered content, 2. arein classes where discussions, research projects,debates, simulations, or writing assignmentsencourage them to consider differing views orinterpretations of issues, and 3. they perceive theclassroom climate as sufficiently supportive sothey are comfortable expressing their own viewsand considering those of others, then achievingsocial studies goals in the knowledge, skill, andattitude domains is likely.

Dominant Patterns of Social StudiesInstruction and Student Attitudes

Despite many calls in the past for issues-centered teaching, rarely do teachers promotesystematic inquiry into contemporary and his-

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toric social problems, encourage students toweigh arguments and express their opinions onvalue conflicts in the society, and create a class-room atmosphere that is accepting and support-ive of diverse viewpoints. Indeed, in a study ofMichigan high school social studies teachers,only 26 out of 150 randomly selected teacherssaid they held discussions of social issues ona regular basis (Massialas, Sprague, and Hurst1975). Most who research "typical" social studiesclasses conclude that classes tend to be textbookbased, dominated by teacher talk with some stu-dent recitation, and devoid of controversial issues(Goodlad 1984; McNeil 1986; Shaver, Davis,and Helburn 1979). Given those general trends,it is not surprising that researchers found thatmany students do not like social studies and sayit is boring and unrelated to the real world(Schug, Todd, and Berry 1984; Shaughnessy andHaladyna 1985; Shaver et al. 1979). Further-more, researchers found that, although socialstudies classes can be effective in increasingknowledge about specific topics, instruction has anegligible influence on student attitudes andbehaviors (Ehman 1980a; Grossman 1975/1976;Langton and Jennings 1968; Litt 1963; Miller1985). Remarkably, the research reviewed in thischapter stands in stark contrast to this negativelitany. It demonstrates that under particularconditions social studies instruction can havepositive effects on students. Moreover, it revealsthat issues-centered social studies instruction, inparticular, holds much promise.

Several researchers, for example, found thatstudents would like to experience issues discus-sions more than they do (Long and Long 1975;Remy 1972). In studying the classes of 17Michigan teachers who said they regularly helddiscussions of social issues, Sugrue (cited inMassialas et al. 1975) found that, on the whole,students in those classes tended to like theirteacher and class.' Examining more closely thedifferences between classes where inquiry meth-ods provided a structure for issues discussion and"opining" classes where students merely airedtheir views, Massialas et al. (1975) found thatstudents liked inquiry teachers and classes betterthan opining teachers and classes. Students in theinquiry classes felt their discussions hadan order and purpose and that teachers were sen-sitive to their ideas.

In an Illinois study, social studies studentswho experienced controversial issues discussions

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had positive feelings toward their social studiescourses, textbooks, and teachersin contrast tostudents without such exposure. The correlationsbetween reported issues discussions and studentssaying they liked social studies were substantial.70 for junior high school students and .65 forsenior high school students (Long and Long1975). At a time when many educators and thepublic are concerned with making schools morehumane communities for young citizens, suchfindings are important. But just what is issues-centered teaching and learning? What does itlook like inside real classrooms?

Characteristics of Issues-CenteredClasses and Teachers

In recent years researchers studying teachersand classrooms have gained insights into theroles of teachers and students in classes thatmight be called issues-centered. Although notusing the term issues-centered in her study offour teachers' social studies classes, Bickmore(1991, 1993) revealed the dimensions of twocomponents of issues-centered instructioncontent and pedagogy. Central to her analysis ofthe use of conflict or controversy in social studiesclasses were two concepts she called conflictualcontent and conflictual pedagogy.

Conflictual content includes the use of contro-versial material or the stimulation of criticism byincluding perspectives from different cultures,different ideologies, and divergent sources ofinformation. In Bickmore's study, Tom, a U.S.history teacher, organized each unit aroundcentral concepts or problems, and presented mul-tiple viewpoints about those ideas. For example,he made the westward expansion unit problem-atic by attending to Native American viewpoints.Additionally, Tom showed that historians ofteninterpret historical information differently by, forexample, presenting differing views on why theUnited States entered World War I. To presentconflictual content, Tom supplemented the text-book with many examples of differing view-points, and he frequently brought in currentevents as analogies and perspectives to illuminatehistorical concepts. Ruth, a world studies teacher,also approached content as problems or conflictsthe students would analyze to better understand.Central to her curriculum were differences andconflicts between cultures, countries, ideologies,and ethnic or economic groups. Her goal was forstudents to acquire information and become tol-

erant of differences. She tried to present ideasthat her students might build upon in futureclasses or out-of-school experiences. Thus, sheused conflictual content but not pedagogy.

Conflictual pedagogy is the process whereby ateacher encourages students to confront conflictsthat either occur spontaneously in the classroomor are teacher initiated. By frequently invitingdivergent student opinions, Sarah, a world stud-ies teacher, used conflictual pedagogy; however,she did not employ conflictual content. Tom usedconflictual pedagogy as well as content. Ken, thefourth teacher, used neither conflictual contentnor pedagogy in his teaching of U.S. history2

Bickmore concluded that conflictual curricu-lar content was "necessary but not sufficient" toteach for democratic citizenship. For the mostpart, students who were exposed to conflicts inRuth's world studies content but did not engagein confrontation with the issues, were passivelearners. An exception occurred when the classwas physically organized on sides of thePalestinian-Israeli conflict and directed toexpress any and all opinions to each other.During that session, more students participat-edmore frequently and more extensively interms of number, length, and quality of respons-es than in any other lessons. Students gavedetailed reasons for their opinions, and, inresponding to objections from the other side,they clarified and elaborated their arguments.Conflictual content was reinforced by the use ofconflictual pedagogy.

Tom's class exemplified the many ways thata teacher can prepare students for participatorycitizenship by using issues-centered content andpedagogy (Bickmore 1991). It also revealedsome of the difficulties that can arise. His histo-ry curriculum was complex and challengingforthe teacher to prepare and for students to learn.Not every class period focused on controversy,but at some time in every week and in every unit,students engaged actively in decision making orproblem solving about historic or contemporaryissues. Moreover, not every student was engagedevery day. Sometimes there was confusion orfrustration, and sometimes the gaps in participa-tion and achievement seemed to increase duringcontroversial issues discussions. Sometimes con-frontation of conflict stimulated student interestand brought previously nonparticipating stu-dents into the dialogue; other times it seemed tohave no effect.

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Rossi (1995) observed in-depth study in anissues-centered social studies classroom. He con-cluded that in-depth issues instruction is not apanacea because of dilemmas it creates for theteachers and the demands it places on students.

Other recent research on teachers, while notfocusing on issues-centered teaching per se, fur-ther illuminates that topic. Several researchersassociated with Lee Shulman at Stanford Univer-sity obtained useful insights concerning thediverse ways teachers center instruction on issues.Gudmundsdottir (1988) found that two "expert"history teachers used conflict and controversy toachieve their goals of developing students' capac-ity for independent and critical thought andreducing their indifference. One teacher, David,used controversies and their interpretation as con-necting links in his classes, emphasizing thatdoing history means interpreting and comparingdiffering perspectives on issues and events.Additionally, he frequently drew analogiesbetween historical controversies and currentevents or student realities. The other teacher,Harry, viewed himself as a conflict historian andfrequently presented contrasting opinions abouthistorical events to his classes. Unlike David,Harry focused on texts, making only occasionalreferences to current events and student realities.He used readings to supplement the students'textbook and to highlight controversies and sim-ulations to stage conflictual situations.

Wineburg and Wilson (1988) interviewedand observed expert teachers as they taught theRevolutionary War period. One teacher high-lighted a controversial historic issue by havingher students read differing primary and sec-ondary accounts in preparation for a role-playeddebate about the legitimacy of British taxation inthe North American colonies. The teacher's goalwas for students to understand that "there weretwo points of view, that there was legitimacy toboth sides" (18). She further wanted students toparticipate actively in conflict by taking differentpositions and inventing solutions to problems.

Mason (1990) interviewed and observedexpert world history teachers in Georgia. She, too,found that expert teachers used historic issues, his-torical debates, and contemporary analogies regu-larly in their teaching. These studies are importantin revealing that excellent or "expert" teachersshare a willingness to encourage students toexplore contentious issues, using both content andpedagogy to give students practice in decision

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making about issues that citizens face. This standsout in contrast to the studies of large numbers ofteachers and classrooms, where "average" or "typi-cal" teachers de-emphasize or avoid controversialmaterial in order to maintain classroom controland cover large amounts of material (Goodlad1984; McNeil 1986; Shaver et al. 1979).

Summary. These qualitative studies of socialstudies teachers' beliefs and of naturally occur-ring classroom interaction reveal a sense of whatoccurs in issues-centered classes. Potential bene-fits of issues-centered teaching are opportunitiesto model democratic discourse in a pluralisticsociety, stimulate student interest and toleranceof diverse views, and convey the conflictualnature of scholarly discourse and community life.But the question remains: What difference doesissues-centered instruction make to studentlearning? Is there research to indicate that stu-dent knowledge, skills, and values may be affect-ed by such an approach?

Student Outcomes andIssues-Centered Instruction

Since the earliest debates over the form thatsocial studies should take, the advocates of whateducators now call issues-centered instructionhave argued that in a democracy the appropriatepreparation for citizenship is to give studentspractice in exploring problematic issues facingsociety. They advocated that, through such prac-tice, students would not only acquire the knowl-edge they would need as adult citizens, but, moreimportantly, they would develop the necessaryabilities to critically analyze public issues and toparticipate in a democracy Over the years specialprojects demonstrated that such outcomes wereassociated with the use of problems-or issues-centered practices.

Critical or Higher-Order ThinkingOne of the earliest studies to measure the

effects of issues-centered instruction was con-ducted in the 1940s by the staff of the StanfordSocial Education Project (Quillen and Hanna1948). Teachers volunteered to teach an eleventh-grade U.S. history course or a twelfth-gradeProblems of Democracy course using one of threeapproachesproblems, topical, or chronological.A problems approach was defined as an approachthat applied Dewey's method of reflective inquiryto areas of public concern that could be resolvedby finding a solution to the problem from among

3

several alternatives. At the beginning and end ofa school year, the Stanford researchers measuredthe students' critical thinking abilities as well astheir knowledge and commitment to a number ofsocial attitudes.

The evaluators concluded that seniorsexposed to a problems approach as compared tomatched students in classes that used a topicalapproach made significant growth in the follow-ing areas: critical thinking, study skills, the use oflibrary and research skills, and social studiesknowledge.3 Students in the problems group alsomade more progress toward consistency and cer-tainty in their views than did the topical group.For the juniors the differences between the prob-lems and chronological groups were not as clearcut. Neither group significantly improved in crit-ical thinking. The chronological group studentsshowed more growth on the tests of social stud-ies knowledge, but the problems group studentsseemed to become more consistent and certain oftheir views on the measure of social attitudes.4

In the 1960s four researchers at IndianaUniversity similarly examined the relationshipbetween students' critical thinking abilities andthe use of a "reflective inquiry" approach to socialstudies instruction. In the Indiana Experimentsin Inquiry (Massialas 1963), teachers of experi-mental group classes presented "springboards"that contained discrepant or other puzzlinginformation and encouraged students to try toresolve the problematic situation through aprocess similar to the one used by teachers of theproblems approach in the Stanford investigation.When using the inquiry approach, rather thanasking questions for the purpose of obtaining acorrect answer, the teacher probed to elicitexplanatory hypotheses about human behavior,which students then tested with evidence.5

The four studies revealed some evidence,although not conclusive, that the use of aninquiry approach could facilitate students'higher-order thinking (Cousins 1963, Cox 1963,Elsmere 1963, Massialas 1963). In one studyCousins concluded that a class of eighth-gradestudents studying U.S. history using an inquiryapproach made statistically significant meanscore gains on the Watson-Glaser CriticalThinking Appraisal and on a teacher-construct-ed test of reflective thinking. The students alsomade significant gains on a standardized test ofsocial studies knowledge.6In another of the stud-ies, Elsmere concluded that high school students

who regularly used a problem-solving approachin their U.S. history class scored significantlyhigher on two researcher-designed tests measur-ing ability to use the problem-solving steps andknowledge of U.S. history than did comparisongroup students; they also did better on delayedposttests than did the comparison group?

However, neither Massialas, who studied fourworld history classes, nor Cox, who studied fourU.S. history classes, identified statistically signif-icant differences between students in reflectiveinquiry or comparison classes on standardizedtests of critical thinking and knowledge.8Nevertheless, the teacher-researchers' daily anec-dotal diaries and tape recordings of several class-es led both Massialas and Cox to conclude thatstudents in the inquiry group excelled over stu-dents in the comparison group in their ability toengage in critical or reflective thinking, despitethe test results.

One of the most extensive research projectson issues-centered curriculum and studentthinking was the evaluation of the HarvardSocial Studies Project (Levin, Newmann, andOliver 1969; Oliver and Shaver 1966). Projectstudents were taught to analyze controversialpublic policy issues using a "jurisprudential"approach, which relates a contemporary publicissue to cases and raises ethical, legal, factual,and definitional questions. Unlike the emphasison deductive reasoning characteristic of muchcritical thinking research, the project directors'approach emphasized the clarification of two ormore legitimately held points of view as theybear on public policy issues and emphasizeddialogue between teacher and students andamong studentsincorporating both issuescontent and pedagogy. Researchers examinedthe effects on students of using the curriculumfor three years in a senior high school and forfour years in a junior high school in middle-class Boston suburbs. The junior high materialspromoted an analytic approach to value issues ingeography, U.S. history, and current events.Comparing the experimental group students toa comparison group on a variety of measures,the evaluators concluded that the issues-cen-tered junior high students were better able toanalyze argumentative dialogues. Furthermore,the time spent in the analysis of issues did notreduce the amount of traditional content thestudents learned.

The senior high school units in the Harvard

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Project focused on controversies arising fromenduring problem areas such as equality, morali-ty, and responsibility Historical and fictionalcases were used to stimulate discussion aboutconflicting values. The project students per-formed better than the comparison group of sim-ilar ability on a concept application test and on astructured dialogue analysis test called the SocialIssues Analysis Test (SIAT).9 As for acquiringtraditional content, the average-ability projectstudents did as well on a standardized contenttest as comparison group students of similar abil-ity on a Problems of Democracy test; however,they did less well on a U.S. history test.

After almost a 15-year hiatus of research onissues-centered curriculum and the developmentof higher-order thinking skills, researchers work-ing with the Channel One news programsrecently tested the effects of conducting struc-tured public issues discussions about issues raisedin some broadcasts ( Johnston, Anderman,Milne, Klenk, and Harris 1994). During "YouDecide" segments, students heard conflictingviews on an enduring public issue that had sur-faced in a current news event. Eight teacherswere trained in the use of public issues discussionstrategies similar to the Harvard Project'sjurisprudential approach. The teachers used thestrategies when their students discussed the YouDecide segments over a three-month period. Thecomparison group was made up of students inthe same school enrolled in the same subject;they viewed the programs, but their teachers hadno particular training to lead discussions.Students in both groups participated in a con-structed dialogue session before and after thetreatment. Additionally, they completed a PublicIssues Analysis Test that was adapted from theSLAT to assess their ability to critically analyze apublic issues discussion. The experimental groupstudents scored significantly higher than the con-trol group students on the written measure, buttheir oral performance was not noticeably better.Experimental group students also did better on atest of current events knowledge than did thosein the comparison group.lo Moreover, theresearchers claimed that lower-ability studentsseemed to benefit the most when the structuredpublic issues discussions were combined withnews viewing (22).

An objection that is sometimes voiced by crit-ics of issues-centered teaching is that it is fine foraverage and above-average students, but is too

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difficult for low-ability students. That criticismwas challenged in a study of slow learners inBritish Columbia (Curtis and Shaver 1980).Experimental group students examined newspa-per articles and booklets on housing problemsand conducted a community survey of attitudestoward the local housing situation. At the con-clusion of the unit, experimental group studentsdemonstrated increased scores on a test of criticalthinking as compared to comparison group stu-dents. They also showed decreased levels of dog-matism and increased levels of self esteem 11Additionally, in responding to open-ended ques-tions, experimental group students were morelikely than comparison group students to expressbeliefs that citizens could make a difference inimproving housing conditionsindicating anincrease in political efficacy.

Summary. One of the most important yetmost difficult goals to achieve in social studiesis the development of critical analytic abilitiesthat will enable citizens to make informed deci-sions about public policy issues. Issues-centeredteaching is a promising approach for the devel-opment of such higher-level cognitive thinking.Successfully implementing that approach, how-ever, is not easy. Most projects described hereused a complex instructional model for the sys-tematic analysis of public issues with carefullystructured instructional materials and trainedteachers. Underlying the projects was a beliefthat young people can learn to investigate con-troversial social issues and come to a moresophisticated understanding of human behaviorby considering alternative views. The next sectionreveals why the classroom climate in which thosediscussions and investigations occur is of para-mount importance.

Participatory Political Attitudesand Behaviors

A line of inquiry often cited for supportingan issues-centered approach to social studies isone derived from studies of youth political social-ization. In particular, political socializationresearchers find that students who perceive thatthey are encouraged to investigate and discusscontroversial issues and to express their opinionsdevelop political attitudes that support participa-tory citizenship. On the other hand, studentswho recall few opportunities to express theiropinions about controversial public policy issuespossess less positive attitudes toward participa-

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tion, including low levels of political interest andpolitical efficacythe belief that citizens caninfluence government decisions.

Research by Ehman was particularly impor-tant in identifying a connection between adoles-cent political attitudes and a "classroom climate"in which democratic discourse is modeled. Tooperationalize the concept of classroom climate,Ehman developed a Classroom Climate Scale,which contained items to measure the extent towhich students perceived that their social studiesteachers dealt with social problems, discussedboth sides of issues, and took neutral positionson issues (Ehman 1969). One item on the scalealso asked whether students felt free to expresstheir opinions in their social studies classes.

In the first study in a series, Ehman foundthat students in a Detroit high school who hadhigher scores on the Classroom Climate Scalereported higher degrees of controversial issuesexposure in their classes, had taken more socialstudies classes, and had higher scores on the scalemeasuring political efficacy than other students.Additionally, students in open-climate class-rooms also reported higher levels of political par-ticipation and a sense of citizen duty and lowerlevels of cynicism, although the magnitude of therelationships were "quite low indeed" with thehighest correlation coefficient being .25 for cli-mate and participation (Ehman 1969).

Within the sample Ehman (1969) comparedAfrican-American and European-American stu-dents in open and closed classroom climates andfound that a closed climate was associated withnegative outcomes for both black and white stu-dents. In closed climates, both groups reportedlow levels of political efficacy, participation, andcitizen duty. Further, white students in theclosed-climate group additionally expressedrelatively high levels of political cynicism.12Clearly, the mere presence of controversial issuesin the curriculum is not sufficient to bring aboutpositive student attitudes; when issues are pre-sented in a closed climate, there can be negativeconsequences.

On the other hand, Ehman and subsequentresearchers found that an open classroom climateis often associated with positive student politicalattitudes. For both the black and white Detroitstudents who experienced an open climate, therewas a positive correlation between issues expo-sure and sense of citizen duty. Additionally, forthe African-American students, there were posi-

tive correlations between reported issues expo-sure in an open climate and a sense of politicalefficacy and participation and a negative correla-tion with cynicism.13In this study, however, therewas virtually no relationship between open cli-mate and those variables for white students(Ehman 1969). In later studies of adolescents, inwhich findings were not broken down by race,researchers found positive correlations betweenan open classroom climate and political efficacyand interest (Baughman 1975; Blankenship1990; Ehman 1980b; Hahn 1991; Hahn andTocci 1990; Harwood 1991). Most recently in astudy I conducted in England, Germany,Denmark, the Netherlands, and the UnitedStates, I found similar positive correlationsbetween an open climate and adolescents' report-ed levels of political interest and efficacy (Hahn,forthcoming).

By supplementing questionnaire data withclassroom observations in the Detroit class-rooms, Ehman (1970) discovered clues to whatteachers can do to facilitate issues-centered dis-cussions. Defining a "normative mode" as whenthe teacher or students made value-laden state-ments or asked value-oriented questions charac-terized by words such as should, ought, good, orbad, Ehman related the amount of time eachsocial studies teacher's class spent in the norma-tive mode to the political attitude change scoresof students exposed to particular teachers. Animportant finding was that very few value discus-sions occurred, which is consistent with laterobservational studies of social studies classes(McNeil 1986; Shaver et al. 1979). Nevertheless,Ehman did find that students who were exposedto the few teachers who raised value issues exper-ienced a very slight increase in political efficacyover two years, but he emphasized that the rela-tionship was too small to be considered mean-ingful. Unfortunately, subsequent researchershave not explored this question to determinewhether effects would be greater when morediscussion of value issues occurs.

Additionally, Ehman found that students inmore normative classrooms appeared to becomemore politically cynical, or less trusting of gov-ernment officials, as indicated by their responsesto political trust items. In later studies, research-ers similarly found an inverse relationshipbetween open climate and students' level ofpolitical trust (Baughman 1975; Long and Long1975; Zevin 1983). On the other hand, I did not

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find in my recent cross-national study that cli-mate and trust were negatively correlated (Hahn,forthcoming). This may mean that if teachersand students regularly make evaluative com-ments in issues-centered classes, high school stu-dents may sometimes move away from the ideal-istic trusting view of government officials that isoften found among young children to a morerealistic and somewhat skeptical view of politi-cians and governmental decision makers.

With a sample of students in nine midwest-ern high schools, Ehman (1980b) found that stu-dents who recalled that a wider range of viewswas explored in social studies classes, as com-pared to students who recalled only one perspec-tive being presented, had higher levels of bothschool and society-wide political interest andconfidence. Also, they were more trusting ofother students and school adults, more trusting insociety, and more socially integrated than theirpeers. Finally, in this study as in the earlier one,students' perceived freedom to express theiropinions during issues discussions was thestrongest predictor of positive attitudinal out-comes with regard to both school and society.

Adding to the work on attitudes, otherresearchers identified political behaviors associat-ed with an open classroom climate that might befound in an issues-centered class. For example,Long and Long (1975) examined the connectionbetween student reports of their political behav-iors outside the class and their perceptions oftheir social studies classroom climate. To assessstudent political behaviors, the researchers askedstudents how frequently they discussed politicalmatters with friends and family, how frequentlythey followed current events in the media, andthe extent of their participation in student activ-ities, such as student government, clubs, andsports. An open classroom climate that was char-acterized by discussion of controversial issuescorrelated positively with responses on the polit-ical behavior index.14

Summary. Although for the most partresearchers used samples of convenience and thecorrelations they found between climate and polit-ical attitudes were quite modestusually rangingbetween .20 and .40the consistency of findingsacross studies is impressive. Discussions in issues-centered social studies classes characterized by aclimate of openness and acceptance of diverseviewpoints and student opinions may be associatedwith positive civic outcomes. Students in such

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classes, as compared to students without that expe-rience, are more likely to develop 1. an interest inthe political world, 2. a sense that they and citizenslike themselves can have some influence on politi-cal decisions in a democracy, and 3. a belief thatcitizens have a duty to be actively engaged inpolitics. Further, they are likely to report feelingintegrated intorather than alienated fromtheschool culture and the wider society.

Political socialization studies also caution afew concerns. First, when issues are presentedin a closed climate, students may acquire negativeattitudes toward political participation. Second,when students regularly examine issues and heardiverse views, they may become skeptical ofpoliticians. Although some would call that ahealthy skepticism, others may be troubled bysuch an outcome.

Tolerance of Dissent and Supportfor Civil Liberties

Closely associated with the political social-ization literature on students' political attitudesand behaviors are four studies that focus on tol-eration of dissent and support for civil liberties.Philosophic rationales for issues-centered dis-cussion emphasize that in a democracy studentsshould consider differing views so that theydevelop skills and attitudes for evaluating com-peting claims in the "free marketplace of ideas."It is hoped that they will then come to valuedissent, pluralism, and civil liberties that protectdiversity and democracy.

Importantly, several studies seem to confirmthe realization of that goal. For example,Grossman (1975/1976) found that for a sampleof California high school students, the numberof controversial issues courses they had takenwas related to the students' toleration of dissentand their participation in dissent activities, suchas protests.15 Further, Baughman (1975) foundthat students who perceived their ninth-gradecivics classes to have open, or what he called"participatory" climates, showed higher levels ofsupport for rights guaranteed by the Bill ofRights than did their peers in closed-climate,low-participatory classes. Evaluations of severalcurriculum projects have reinforced the findingin these studies that controversial issues discus-sions in social studies classes were associated,however slightly, with student support for freeexpression and tolerance of dissent. Further,those evaluations provide descriptions of both

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the content and processes of some issues-centered instruction.

For example, Goldenson (1978) examined theeffects of an issues-centered unit of instructionabout civil liberties. During a three-week cur-riculum unit, students in a working-class highschool near Minneapolis were exposed to a seriesof issues that involved the application of abstractconstitutional principles to concrete situations.Group research projects on topics such as searchand seizure, freedom of religion, freedom ofexpression, and due process of law were the focusof the unit. Students spoke with communitymembers, including police, lawyers, and repre-sentatives of the American Civil Liberties Unionto hear varied and often conflicting perspectiveson their topics. Twenty percent more of the stu-dents who participated in the experimentalissues-centered program than of the comparisongroup students reported attitude changes insupport of civil liberties, and experimental groupstudents showed an increased level of concern forthe issues presented in the case studies. Interest-ingly, Goldenson speculated that the methods,which encouraged students to research an issueabout which people disagreed, affected studentsmore than the particular materials.

Recently, the evaluators of another issues-centered curriculum project found similarly pos-itive effects in terms of increasing students' scoreson a scale measuring civic tolerance, a willingnessto extend rights to all groups (Avery, Bird,Johnstone, Sullivan, and Thalhammer 1992).Tolerance for Diversity of Belief (Avery, Sullivan,and others, 1993) is a four-week curriculum unitin which junior high school students exploreissues associated with freedom of expression andbelief. The authors incorporated a variety ofactivities into the program, including role-play-ing, analysis of case studies, and mock interviews.The purpose of the project was to facilitate stu-dent understanding of the psychological, socio-logical, and historical dimensions of intoleranceand tolerance. Toward that end, students wereconfronted with concrete scenarios and asked todecide for themselves what limits, if any, shouldbe placed on freedom of expression in a democ-ratic society. Experimental group students, ascompared to the control group students, signifi-cantly increased their scores on a PoliticalTolerance Scale over the treatment period. Mostexperimental group students moved from mildintolerance to mild tolerance. Moreover, four

weeks following the conclusion of the treatment,the differences persisted.16

In another recent study, Broudy (1994, 8)measured the effects of a civics program onstudent attitudes supportive of civil liberties.The experimental program, We the People, wasdescribed by researchers as one in which studentswere encouraged to give their opinion about con-stitutional issues.

The researchers concluded that students whowere exposed to the experimental program weremore supportive than comparison group studentsof the rights of free speech, freedom of assembly,and due process for diverse groups. Furthermore,the experimental group students reported higherlevels of political efficacy and political interestthan did comparison group students.17 The stu-dents who were the most willing to extend civilliberties to diverse groups were those who hadparticipated in competitions where they had to"explain and defend their points of view and lis-ten carefully to the viewpoints of others" (27).

Summary. Issues-centered instruction oncivil liberties and tolerance can be effective inincreasing students' knowledge of the subjectmatter as well as improving their attitudes towarddissent and the rights of all to express their ideas.Knowledge and attitudinal outcomes occur whenthe classroom or extracurricular activity modelsdemocratic discourse in which all ideas, no mat-ter how controversial, can be explored. Althoughthe evaluators of curriculum projects did notmeasure classroom climate, it is possible thatbecause the teachers volunteered to teach curric-ula focusing on free expression issues and inquiryinto value conflicts, they had themselves internal-ized those principles and reflected them in theirteaching practices.

Global Knowledge and AttitudesIn recent years, global education has itself

become an issue in social studies. In anotherreview, Leming (1992) concluded that, for themost part, global education curricula had notbeen effective. Indeed, in studies whereresearchers were unable to document the ways inwhich global issues materials were implemented,few if any differences were found between stu-dents exposed to global issues and those whowere not (Armstrong 1979; McAlvin 1989;Smith 1977; Soley 1982).18 However, in thosecases where students were encouraged to discusscontroversial global issues in an open classroom

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climate, positive changes (in attitudes towardglobal issues) occurred.

In one study that yielded positive outcomes,Kehoe (1980) compared different approachesto teaching about the Universal Declaration ofHuman Rightsa common topic in global edu-cation. He examined the effects of two days oflessons about human rights issues on eighth-grade students in one middle-class urban school.In one experimental group, the teacher leddiscussions of cases whereby situations in variouscountries contravened articles in the Declaration,such as examples of slavery in the world today.During the discussion, the teacher-researcherasked questions to stimulate consideration of cul-tural differences and universal ethical principles.He encouraged students to consider the consis-tency and underlying value premises of theirpositions. In the second experimental group, or"investigation" group, the students briefly dis-cussed in small groups their understanding of thearticles in the Universal Declaration, then theyindividually read news articles and wrote theirposition on contraventions of human rights prin-ciples. The third groupa comparison groupviewed a filmstrip on the United Nations.Students in both treatment groups that exploredhuman rights issues in the context of large groupdiscussions and individual investigation weremore likely than comparison group students tosay that a practice condoned in a given culturewas wrong if it contradicted the provisions of theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights.19

By making classroom observations and byadministering a classroom climate scale to stu-dents, Blankenship (1990) determined that anissues-centered global education program used inconjunction with classroom discussion in an openclimate was associated with the development ofworldmindedness and an interest in global issues.He investigated the relationship between class-room climate and global attitudes and knowledgein high school international relations and worldaffairs courses where students used the issues-centered materials, Great Decisions. Blankenshipreported that the program developers encouragedthe use of a variety of instructional methodsincluding value analysis and decision making "toenable students to examine controversial publicpolicy issues." Blankenship found a positive cor-relation between climate and global attitudes 20Although this particular study had importantlimitations (a self-selected sample of students in

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an elective course, no comparison group, andmany students did not complete both the pretestand posttests), this line of inquiry is worth pur-suing in the future. Additionally, this is one of thefew studies related to issues-centered instructionin which the researcher analyzed the data by raceand gender. Female students perceived the class-es to be more open than did male students andAfrican-American students perceived them to bemore open than did European-American stu-dents. Hopefully, future studies will explore fur-ther the relationships among race, gender, class,issues-centered teaching, and student outcomes.

A second global education study that attend-ed to content, method, and climate, conducted ineight Bay Area California high schools, was theevaluation of part of the Stanford and theSchools Study called the American Schools andthe World project (Duggan, Grossman, andThorpe 1986; Torney-Purta and Lansdale 1986).The evaluators found that teaching strategies,rather than issues content, yielded differences instudent understanding and appreciation of inter-national material. The most effective teachingstrategies included using divergent questioningstyles, giving students conflicting sources ofinformation to investigate, and encouraging tol-erance for democratic dissent. Moreover, stu-dents reporting that they felt free to expressopinions different from the teacher's was a sig-nificant predictor of both global knowledge andconcern for global issues (Torney-Purta andLansdale 1986).21

Similarly, in a study of four Michigan highschools, Yocum (1989) found that global educa-tion courses were a significant predictor ofglobal attitudes ifand only ifstudents per-ceived that their class discussed issues and thatthey felt comfortable expressing their views.Yocum separated the 618 sample students intothose who took a course with a global emphasisand those who did not. He then compared theirpretest and posttest scores on a scale measuringglobalmindedness. He also examined scores onthe discussion index of the Classroom Environ-ment scale, which contained items similar tothose on the Classroom Climate scale used byother researchers. Controlling for pretest scores,he found that the courses did not have an effecton globalmindedness, except when level of class-room discussionor climatewas taken intoaccount. However, Yocum cautioned, even thenthe differences were substantively minimal; to

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bring about substantial change may demandmore intense and lengthy interventions.

Summary. When attention to the triple vari-ables of content, pedagogy, and climate results inpresenting content from multiple perspectives,using interactive pedagogical strategies, andmaintaining an open classroom climate, thenessential ingredients for effective issues-centeredinstruction in global education, as well as in othersocial studies content areas, appear to be present.In particular, there is some evidence that studentsmay increase in their knowledge of global issuesand in attitudes of globalmindedness and con-cern for global issues. When they have theopportunity to actively engage in decision mak-ing about global issues, they may develop a morecomplex understanding of the international arenaand of global issues; they may also experience areduction in stereotyping about other peoplesand cultures. Given the recent interest in globaleducation, it is hoped that there will soon bemore research to add depth to understanding theways in which global issues-centered instructioncan be most effective.

Discussion and Questioningin Issues-Centered Teaching

Because the controversial nature of any issuecan be confronted or avoided by the questionsthat a teacher asks and how a teacher responds tostudent comments and questions, research onquestioning patterns and discussion is importantto examine. The British educational philosopherDavid Bridges (1979) argued that primary attrib-utes of a discussion are that understanding andjudgment of the issue under consideration aredeveloped, more than one point of view isoffered, and participants are open to differingpoints of view. Bridges believed that discussion isan essential component of democracy because itreflects democratic values and processes includ-ing rationality, decision making, commitment tofairness, and respect for others' opinions, feelings,and interests.

Such discussion is particularly appropriateto issues-centered classes, whereas the morefrequently found recitations will not achieve thegoals Bridges identified. Numerous researchershave identified the predominance of recitation insocial studies classesand unfortunately, manywell-intended teachers believe they are leading adiscussion of an issue when they ask studentsquestions about a reading, video, or current event

when in reality they are leading a recitation(Larsen and Parker 1994). During recitation theteacher seeks a known or correct answer. In theirreview of research on discourse and interaction insocial studies classes, Wilen and White (1991)limited their use of the term discussion to dis-course that does not include recitation. CitingGage's 1969 definition, they highlighted featureswhereby a teacher engages "two or more learnersin a cooperative examination and comparison ofviews in order to illuminate an issue and con-tribute to the learners' understanding" (Wilenand White 1991, 489). Wilen and White con-cluded from their synthesis of research that intrue discussions, the pace slows, both student andteacher remarks are longer than in recitations, thetone drops to a quieter, more intimate one, andthere are pauses. The sequence of speakerschanges from teacher-student-teacher to morestudent-to-student interaction between teacherinterventions.

To enhance the breadth and depth of studentparticipation in issues-centered discussions,teachers can incorporate practices supported byresearch on questioning. Redirecting can be use-ful in increasing the number of students who par-ticipate in a classroom discussionan importantgoal if one's rationale for issues-centered teachingis to prepare students for dialogue in a participa-tory democracy. For example, in a discussion of anissue, a teacher may, without first commenting ona student response, redirect a question to severalstudents with such questions as, "Does anyoneelse have an idea or opinion about that?" "Whatdo you think about that?" Also, teachers can usesuch nonverbal cues as eye contact to encourageadditional students to enter a discussion.Probingthe use of either verbal or nonverbalcues to encourage students to elaboratemayalso enhance issues-centered discussions.

Another point about questioning is troubling.Several researchers found that students from lowsocioeconomic status homes and those of lowability are less likely than their high ability andhigh socioeconomic peers to be asked high level,divergent, and evaluative questionsfor whichthere is not a single right answer (Wilen andWhite 1991). Such a pattern is not only unjustbut unwarranted because there is no evidence thatlow ability and low socioeconomic students areany less able than their peers to work effectivelywith issues-centered approaches. Indeed, such anapproach may be particularly motivating for them

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and bring more students into discussions if teach-ers offer opportunities for all to reflect upon chal-lenging and personally meaningful questions(Bickmore 1991, 1993; Curtis and Shaver 1980).

Finally, researchers distinguish discussionsfrom "bull sessions" in which opinions are mere-ly exchanged.22 Roby (1988, 171, cited in Wilenand White 1991) claimed that when participantsmerely argue about the "rightness" of their ideasrather than thoughtfully "entertain[ing] thevalidity of more than one idea," they are notengaged in a discussion. A discussion, then, oftenrequires a teacher to skillfully lead students toevaluate one another's comments with attentionto evidence, logic, and consideration of conse-quences and values.

Effective discussions can occur in smallgroupsor "on-line" with computers as Torney-Purta (1990) observedas well as in whole classsessions. Several chapters in this handbook pre-sent varied formats for effective discussion.

New Research Directionsin Issues-Centered Instruction

Researchers are currently pursuing severaladditional lines of inquiry that are yieldinginsights relevant to issues-centered instruction.For example, because issues-centered instructionrequires students to thoughtfully analyze com-plex issues without a single correct answer, recentresearch on dialectical thinking, problem solving,and thoughtfulness is relevant.

Parker and colleagues have applied the prin-ciple of scaffolding to help middle and highschool students reason about public issues(Parker, Mueller, and Wendling 1989; Parker,McDaniel, and Valencia 1991). They have beensuccessful in teaching students a process ofdialectical thinking in which they interrogate anumber of positions and supporting argumentsincluding their own, and reflect upon the cogni-tive and affective processes they used in con-structing their arguments and counterarguments.Thus, students develop critical thinking andmetacognitive abilities that are needed to reasonwell about social, political, and economic issues.Additionally, Voss has conducted research onproblem solving by experts and novices whenthey tackle social, economic, and political prob-lems. Recently, Carretero and Voss (1994) havebegun to direct their work toward learning andteaching in social studies. 23

If one purpose for using an issues-centered

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approach is to develop students' higher-orderthinking abilities in social studies, then thecharacteristics of classes and schools that aresuccessful in promoting thoughtfulness will beinstructive. In particular, educators who want toimplement issues-centered instruction will gaininsights from the work of Newmann (1991, 426)and his colleagues on social studies classrooms,departments, and schools that promote thought-fulness (see Theory and Research in Social Education19, no. 4 Fall, 1991). Further, in planning evalua-tions of their programs, they should take heed ofNewmann's point that "success in meeting higherorder challenges in a specific content areademands in-depth knowledge in the area, not sim-ply general skills and dispositions." Perhaps futureresearchers investigating issues-centered instruc-tion will be able to demonstrate greater effects onstudent thinking than did the early studies atStanford, Indiana, Michigan, and Harvard ifcontent-specific assessment instruments are usedto measure high-level thinking and the treatmentincludes issues content, conflictual pedagogy,and a supportive classroom climate for the open,careful examination of controversial issues.

Another area that warrants further attentionis one identified by Bickmore (1991) in her casestudies of four classes. She noted than in classeswith issues content and pedagogy as well as inthe other classes, the vast majority of studentsmost of the time did not speak up, initiate dis-cussion, or participate in collective evaluation ofideas. She noticed that across all classes fromone third to one half of the class "had learned atrick of invisibility." When students did speak inclass, it was often in a drill format, filling inshort answers to a teacher's convergent ques-tions. Further studies are needed to determinewhether issues-centered classes can be createdthat engage all students in the exploration ofsocial issues. Bickmore's case studies also illus-trate that diverse students in the same classroomexperience issues-centered instruction different-ly and that even the most masterful issues-cen-tered teachers face difficult challenges. Bickmoredeliberately selected teachers in schools withmixed ethnic, economic, and ability levels so thatshe could attend to differential effects of the useof conflict on differing students. She noted,however, that she could only infer from herobservations about the effects of the differentteaching styles on particular students. Futureresearchers might shift the focus from classroom

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interaction to student information processing byanalyzing student interviews. Thus, they couldassess the different meanings diverse studentsmake from issues-centered instruction.

Issues-centered educators, like all educators,can benefit from new research on the instruction-al implications of gender, race, ethnicity, and class.There is some indication that females and maleshave differing interests in and ways of thinkingabout public issues (Hahn 1996). Political social-ization researchers have identified differingeffects of race, class, and ethnicity on attitudestoward democratic participation. Researchersstudying culturally sensitive pedagogy (Irvine1990; Hollins, King, and Haymen 1994) pointout that by making changes in content, pedagogy,and climate, educators can better help so-calledminority youth perceive social studies as morepersonally meaningful. Researchers studying theoutcomes and processes of issues-centered teach-ing in the future should pay much more attentionto variables of gender, race, class, and ethnicitythan they have done in the past.

Finally, with attention to the ways differentstudents are affected by issues-centered instruc-tion, researchers should investigate such instruc-tion at the elementary school level and the long-term effects of issues-centered teaching over theschool years. The ultimate question is whetherindividuals and a democratic society benefitwhen youth experience an issues-centered civiceducation. In the end, do they become reflective,participating adult citizens? The answer to thatquestion remains the yet unfulfilled challenge ofsocial studies teachers, curriculum developers,teacher educators, and researchers.

ConclusionsDespite the limited research evidence that is

available, social studies educators who make acommitment to issues-centered instruction arelikely to find that their students become moreinterested in the political arena, develop a greatersense of political efficacy and confidence, andbecome more interested in the issues that theyhave studied as well as knowledgeable aboutthem. Moreover, when issues content, conflictualpedagogy, and an open classroom climate arecombined, more students may participate in classdiscussions, and express more reflective thinkingand in-depth understanding than they wouldotherwise. Furthermore, students are likely toenjoy social studies more and to perceiVe that

social studies instruction is useful for under-standing the world around them. As readersbuild cases for the use of issues-centered curricu-lum, pedagogy, and climate in social studiesclasses, they should realize that insights gainedfrom research in other settings can be helpful.With more issues-centered schools to study inthe future, researchers can determine the long-term effects of such programs with diverse stu-dents in diverse settings. The benefits for stu-dents and society will be many, and teachers whouse an issues-centered approach will find theirwork a stimulating and continuing challenge.

AcknowledgmentThanks to Ann Angell, Patricia Avery,

Beverly Armento, Lee Ehman, Anna Ochoa,Ronald VanSickle, and the four anonymousreviewers who read earlier drafts of this chapterand made helpful suggestions.

ReferencesAngell, A. V., and P. G. Avery "Examining Global

Issues in the Elementary Classroom." The SocialStudies 83 ( May/June 1992): 113-17.

Armstrong, P. M. "The Effect of Global StudiesInstructional Materials on Dimensions of the GlobalAttitudes of Middle School Students." Ph.D. diss.,Indiana University, 1979. Abstract in DissertationAbstracts International40 (1979): 3731A.

Avery, P. G., K. Bird, S. Johnstone, J. L. Sullivan, andK. Thalhammer. "Exploring Political Tolerance withAdolescents." Theory and Research in Social Education

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Zevin, J. "Future Citizens: Children and Politics.Teaching Political Science 10 (1983): 119-26.

1 Students who believed that students had a right toexpress their opinions in class liked their class, and somefelt their teacher was one of the best they ever had.However, those who gave little credence to studentexpression and who did not like to participate in class dis-cussions were more negative in their evaluations.

2 Examining the perspectives of teachers such as Kenmay help us to understand why the majority of teachersdo not use an issues-centered approach. Ken wanted allstudents to be successful, and he did not want to embar-rass slow students, so he was careful not to give studentstasks that would be too difficult for them. For that rea-son, on most days Ken had students work independentlyreading or doing worksheets, and once a week they hearda speaker or viewed a film. Social studies knowledge waspresented as "unchanging fragments of neutral data"(Bickmore 1991, 95).

3 The sample for this study consisted of 465 studentsin five schools with predominantly white populations inwestern states. Instruments developed by the staff of theEight Year Study of Progressive Education were used tomeasure critical thinking and social attitudes, whereasstandardized tests of U.S. history and contemporaryissues information were used to measure knowledge. Thecriteria set for "significant growth" was the gain in meanscore for a treatment group on the posttest over thepretest mean, which, if divided by the standard error ofthat difference, would yield a critical ratio of three ormore, indicating that the difference was too great to bedue to chance (Quillen and Hanna 1948, 156). Studentsin treatment groups were matched by intelligence, age,reading ability, and socioeconomic background.

4 Interestingly, the researchers said they thought thatthe competence of the teacher was more important to theuse of the problems approach than was the subject mat-ter or the age of the students (178-79). Having rated allteachers on a checklist of teaching behaviors, they notedthat the U. S. history teachers were not as strong in theirteaching ability as were those who taught the seniors, andit was the authors' judgment that the problems approachrequires superior teaching. The report of the StanfordResearch project did not include specific descriptions ofthe eight classes that were studied so it is not possible todetermine whether the three treatment groups varied inthe controversial nature of content that was presented, inthe number of positions or perspectives considered on anissue, or the extent to which students were encouraged to

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express their opinions. Those features of issues-centeredinstruction may have been more difficult to implement ina problems approach where the content was history thanin a course designed to focus on social problems.

5 Subjects in three of the Indiana studies were stu-dents in the university laboratory school; those in thefourth study attended another high school in the state.The four researchers administered pretests in Septemberand posttests in December or January; one furtheradministered a delayed posttest 12 weeks after the con-clusion of the treatment.

6 The t-test differences between pretest and posttestscores were 5.18 (p <.01) on the Watson-Glaser test, 4.90(p <.01) on the teacher-designed test, and 5.18 (p <.01)on the standardized knowledge test. No comparisongroup was used.

7 The t-test differences between experimental andcomparison groups on the posttests were 10.09 (p <.001)on the problem-solving measure and 2.37 (p.<.05) on theknowledge test. On the delayed posttests, the t-test dif-ferences were 11.42 (p<.001) on the problem-solving testand 3.49 (p <.01) on the knowledge test.

8 Differences between groups on the test of criticalthinking were t=1.40, F (1.40) for the world history class-es and t=.37, F (1.27) for the U.S. history classes.Differences between groups on the knowledge tests weret=.77, F (1.53) for the world history classes and t=.29, F(1.34) for the U.S. history classes. Massialas speculatedthat it was possible that the researchers serving as theteacher for both treatments, and possibly inadvertentlyusing the same approach with both groups, could haveaccounted for the finding of no difference on the stan-dardized instruments.

9 On the open-ended SLAT, the project group per-formed substantially higher than the comparison group(experimental group mean 48.6, s. d. 13.6 compared to amean of 34.8 for the comparison group).

10 The differences between the groups were: for thewritten analysis of an issue, Beta .28, p.<.001 and on thecurrent events knowledge measure, Beta .21, p<.001.

11 On the critical thinking test, adjusted posttestmeans for the experimental and comparison groups,respectively, were 27.12, and 22.96, Eta .03, p<.01. Meansfor dogmatism were 132.67 and 148.48, Eta .09, p<.01.Means for self-esteem were 132.67,148.48, Eta .09, p<.01.

12 In the dosed-climate condition correlations for black

and white students, respectively, were: for political efficacy,

-.20 and -.32; for participation -.30 and -.66; for citizenduty, -39, -52; and for political cynicism -.05, and .45.

13 In the open-climate condition, the correlationsbetween climate and citizen duty were .13 for blacks and.24 for whites. Additionally, for blacks, the correlationsbetween open climate and political efficacy, participation,

and cynicism, respectively, were .29, .43, and -.28.14 The correlations between open climate and politi-

cal behaviors were .60 for junior high media use and .40for senior high discussions with friends and family; allother correlations were .10 to.31. Contrary to other stud-ies, however, Long and Long found a negative correla-tion between issues discussion and political efficacy (-.24for junior high and -.27 for senior high school students).That they did not ask whether teachers maintained aneutral position regarding issues nor whether studentsfelt comfortable expressing opinions may hold the key tothe apparently contradictory findings.

15 The correlation between toleration of dissent andparticipation in dissent activities was .11. However, stu-dents' perceptions of freedom to express their views inclass had only a negligible positive correlation with toler-ation of dissent (.07).

16 To measure the effects of the curriculum on ninth-grade students, the researchers administered pretests,posttests, and delayed posttests to experimental and com-parison groups in two rural schools with predominantlywhite populations and one urban school where the popu-lation was 44 percent people of color. The differencebetween the experimental and comparison groups' changescores on the Political Tolerance Scale was p=.002, effectsize .15. On the delayed posttests, the mean tolerancescores of the experimental group students remained high-er than their mean pretest scores (p= .000, effect size .63),but neither their dislike of their least-liked group nor theirthreat perception changed significantly (p=.755, effect size.04). That is, although they still did not like a group andbelieved they were dangerous, they were willing to extendrights to the group.

17 The experimental group consisted of 861 studentsin 30 classes that used the text With Liberty and Justice forAll, produced by the staff of the We the People project.Comparison group students (n=490) were in U.S. histo-ry or government classes taught by members of theNational Council for the Social Studies who were notusing the same text. The differences between groups forsupport of free speech, assembly, and due process, respec-tively, were t= 6.85, 5.38, and 2.56. The differences forpolitical efficacy and political interest, respectively weret=6.32 and t=8.51.

18 Armstrong (1979) and Smith (1977) found noeffects on student attitudes, comparing students exposedto two or more units in the Global Studies Project devel-oped at Indiana University. Soley (1982), on the otherhand, did find that middle school students who complet-ed six units of the Global Studies in Geography Project(also based at Indiana University) exhibited reduced levelsof ethnocentrism and increased ability to recognize thatothers in various cultures have perspectives different from

their own. McAlvin (1989) compared students exposed toThe Developing World program developed by staff of theWorld Bank to students exposed to a more traditional areastudies approach to geography. She concluded that nei-ther content, strategies, nor grade level significantly affect-ed posttest attitude scores (148). The data with regard toknowledge gains were inconclusive, varying depending ongrade level, ability group, methods, and content used.Because the researchers did not report observational dataon how the various curricula were actually implemented,it is not possible to determine whether or not issues-cen-tered content was taught in such a manner that studentsconfronted issues, weighed alternatives, and expressedtheir opinions in an open climate.

19 The differences between the two treatment groupsand the comparison group saying that contraventionswere wrong were t=2.20, p<.03 and t=2.59, p<.01.Students in the investigation group scored significantlyhigher on knowledge of the law than did students ineither the discussion or control group (t=3.95, p<.01,t=4.65, p<.01). Students in the discussion group weremore accepting of customs that were not contraventionsof the Universal Declaration than were students in thecontrol group (t=2.53, p<.01).

20 At the conclusion of a semester-long course in onesoutheastern metropolitan area, students completedquestionnaires measuring their global knowledge andglobal attitudes. Additionally, Blankenship analyzedteachers' daily logs and observers' checklists. Two obser-vations were made in each class to assess climate and howthe issues-centered program was taught. The correlationbetween climate and attitudes, as measured by the ques-tionnaires, was .32. The mean score on the classroom cli-mate scale was 4.6 on a 6-point Likert scale, leadingone to believe that students perceived the climate to berelatively open. However, observers noted that, whenthey were present, most class time was spent in lectureand recitation rather than in open discussion.

21 For knowledge: Betas .22, p<.001, .13, p<.001; and

for attitudes: Betas .16, p<.01, .09, p<.01.22 The research conducted by Massialas and his col-

leagues at the University of Michigan distinguishedbetween opining and inquiry classes for that reason(Massialas et al. 1975).

23 Other research on learning theory is applicable toissues-centered instruction as well as to other approachesto social studies. The chapter on issues-centered eco-nomics instruction by Armento, Rushing, and Cook inthis handbook demonstrates the use of learning princi-ples related to motivation, prior knowledge, and restruc-turing of existing schema.

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Parf T 10: Refieclive TeactilIntroduction bq Buron C. Massialas

This section deals with teaching methodsand attendant curriculum concerns inreflectively analyzing social issues in theclassroom. Each of the contributors offersan instructional model or a curricular para-digm which has over the years withstood

the test of time.In presenting their respective instructional

models, the contributors share a number of com-mon characteristics. First of all, they believe thatthe classroom should be a microsociety wheredemocratic concepts and methods prevail.Instruction is connected to learning in an envi-ronment which emphasizes student direct partic-ipation in discussion and related activities. Socialissues form the focus of instruction and learning.These issues stem from inconsistencies in ourculture, inconsistencies in which our classroomparticipants have a personal stake. All contribu-tors emphasize the method of reflection, i. e., themethod which one employs in order to subject theissue at hand to critical analysis. This analysisincludes the application of such skills as definingkey concepts, probing the evidential base of asser-tions and knowledge claims, identifying and artic-ulating positions, clarifying values which underliepositions, and tracing the consequences of actingon these positions, etc. Finally, the contributorsagree that the organized disciplines of knowledge,e. g. anthropology, history, political science, geog-raphy, sociology, economics, psychology, play animportant role in the process of examining values.

The section opens with a chapter on criteriafor selecting issue-based content. It is followedby chapters dealing with reflective teachingmethodologies and related activities. The chapteron content selection by Byron Massialas clearlymakes the case that social issues should form thecenter of classroom learning and instruction.

Pralegies

Recent changes in the social structure of theschool and the influence of the hidden curricu-lum more or less compel teachers to deal withissues directly and systematically. Content is thusconsidered to be emerging as various culturalinconsistencies or social issues envelop the stu-dents and their teachers into emotional con-frontations. The values school actors bring to theclassroom form the springboard of a curriculumwhich is based on experience as its core. In thiscontext, selection of content is predicated on theapplication of five key criteriarelevance, reflec-tion, action, practicality, and depth of under-standing. The end result of instruction based onthis type of curriculum is reasoned social action.

The chapter by Rodney Allen on the Engle-Ochoa model exemplifies a decision-makingclassroom procedure for resolving social prob-lems, contemporary or historic. Probing ques-tions on the part of all classroom participantsform the heart of the reflective process ofdecision makingquestions seeking definition,evidence, speculation or policy recommenda-tions. One of the results of this reflective processis to arrive at a reasoned solution of the initialproblem to be followed, to the extent possible,with political action, i.e., "to exercise politicalinfluence toward implementing justifiabledecisions..."

The jurisprudential or public issues approachconceptualized by Oliver and Shaver (chapter byLaurel Singleton and James Giese) presentsanother model for classroom instruction onsocial issues. The model is centered on policyissues which are controversial, i.e., conflictingvalues underlie the various positions. The goal isto systematically analyze the policies and therelated values. A type of Socratic exchange isnormally implemented in the classroom to clar-

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ify meaning and identify authoritative sources ofevidence to justify participants' positions onpublic concerns. All this exchange takes place ina democratically organized classroom environ-ment. In this environment students learn torespect each other and to carefully reason out thecontroversial issues at hand.

The social inquiry model conceptualized byMassialas and Cox (as rendered by Jo AnnSweeney and Stuart Foster) draws from JohnDewey's complete act of thought in dealing withissues or indeterminancies in one's culture.Springboards generated by all classroom partici-pants create the problematic situationa situa-tion which fosters the application of such inquiryprocesses as hypothesizing, defining, exploring,evidencing, and generalizing. Validation ofhypotheses or confirmation of a solution to aproblem is the end-in-view of classroom deliber-ations. The ultimate goal of this deliberationclassroom process is, as quoted by the authors, forstudents "to outline steps to be taken, roads to betraveled, utilizing both analytic and creativeprocesses and skills." The lesson on the issue ofallowing a student to have a "pony tail" in schoolis an example of how the process of social inquirycan be implemented in the classroom.

The chapter on critical pedagogy and socialeducation by Cleo Cherryholmes further elabo-rates and makes salient the critical skills needed byindividuals to understand and meet the challengesof their environment. It is argued that studentsneed to probe deeply into assertions which makeknowledge-claims, whether these are offered byteachers, a textbook author, a curriculum guide-line, courses of study, or tests. By clarifying thelanguage used in daily classroom communicationsand by critically analyzing the implicit values inthese exchanges, students and their teachersbegin to control their political and social environ-ment rather than being controlled by it.

The chapter by Joseph Onosko and LeeSwenson on designing issue-based units offerssuggestions on how to gather materials and relat-ed activities so that issues can be systematicallyand reflectively examined in class. The lessonshould begin with a good central issue, an issuewhich would meet such criteria as whether or notthe issue is important, debatable, manageable,reasearchable, memorable and interesting. A wellthought out springboard (a unit grabber) shouldmotivate students to engage in higher orderthinking. The important idea that teachers con-

structing an issues-centered unit need to remem-ber is to avoid delivery of a "fragmented" lesson.

The chapter on discussion methods by RonEvans and Jeff Passe seeks to synthesize ideason how to apply various discussion-generatingtechniques in the classroom. The authors offerconcrete examples on how classroom participantscan engage in fruitful exchanges on social issues.

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CRIT RIA FOR ISSUES-CENTEREDCO ENT SELECTIONbq Bqr 6. Massialas

s I have argued elsewhere (Massialas1989), individual and social problems haverecently penetrated the walls of schoolswilly-nilly. In the past, schools were chil-dren's sanctuaries where they were pro-tected from the ills and conflicts of the

larger society. The school presented a Pollyannaview of life, and traditional textbook-based con-tent was an effective tool in separating schoolfrom real life. Teachers taught social studiesespecially world and U.S. history and geogra-phyeither as a chronology of events or as a listof places on a map that students committed tomemory for future use.

In this traditional environment, youth's dailypressing issuesdrugs, possession and use ofweapons in schools, teenage pregnancies, trans-mission of venereal diseases and other sexuallytransmitted diseases, including AIDS, to name afewwere, and continue to be, ignored. Socialproblems have now become part of school life.Yet as surveys indicate, educators are reluctant toaccept the fact that the school as a sanctuary hasbeen violated. They are reluctant to proposechanges in the curriculum to address the burningissues that the students bring to school from thelarger social environment. (Hahn 1991)

I believe that the systematic study of socialissues should be the core of the school program,and selecting the content for such a curriculum iscritical. The traditional disciplines must onlyprovide a resource for the reflective analysis ofsocial and personal issues. Reflective emphasis onissues would give students rational and democra-tically based models to cope with the inevitableconflict and controversy in their lives.

The Individual, Social Issues,and the Hidden Curriculum

In 1955, Hunt and Metcalf proposed thatschools develop curricula based on a catalog of"cultural inconsistencies," namely, deeply seatedbeliefs held by groups in a society that aredifferent from each other, especially in the "closedareas" of subjects that are considered taboo in theclassroom (sexuality, etc.). Educators thought thisan unrealistic proposal. Today, more than fortyyears later, their proposal makes more sense thanever. First of all, we know that very little or nolearning takes place unless the individual isinvolved personally in the topic of presentationor discussion. It is very difficult to imagine how apresentation of the Hundred Years War or theNapoleonic Wars, by itself, will aid students inresolving problems they bring to class that day.Very rarely will the teacher connect a description ofthe European wars with a contemporary problem.

Another reason for focusing on social issuesor cultural inconsistencies is that students, teach-ers, and other school personnel are inescapablyinvolved with them. As numerous studies haveindicated, the "hidden curriculum" significantlyinfluences school learning. Factors connectedwith race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic sta-tus, and linguistic backgroundthe basic staplesof the hidden curriculumas well as classroompsychological milieu, make an important differ-ence in what is learned, how it is learned, and forwhat purposes. For example, students learn to beapathetic, dependent on authority, accepting ofthe structural inequity of the American econom-ic system, and passive in adopting second-classcitizenship roles in society (Goodlad 1984;Bowles and Gintis 1976; Anyon 1988; Apple1988; Giroux and Penna 1979; Dreeben 1968).Because passivity and dependence is forced onto

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them, minorities are usually negatively affectedby the hidden curriculum. Memory work is typi-cally emphasized with minority students. On theother hand, the hidden curriculum usually sup-ports students of the mainstream, as they learn,through it, the values of leadership and indepen-dence. Critical thinking is typically emphasizedwith mainstream students. Obviously, the con-tent of the hidden curriculum is tantamount tothe content of the social issues curriculum.

The hidden curriculum reflects the socialcleavages, the cultural inconsistencies, and thesocial controversies of society. If students were tosystematically study the social structure of theirschool instead of the structure of knowledge ofeach subject, they would be involved directly insocial issues instruction. In this sense, the schooldoes not need to fabricate individual or socialproblems. The problems are part of the school'snatural setting. These are real problems in theDeweyan sense, since all students are experiencingdifficulties that must be overcome. Isn't it appro-priate that these problems and issues, largely stem-ming from the hidden curriculum, be subjected tosystematic study and critical analysis resulting inreasoned action? The springboards and the data ofreflection are there, but are school people willingto use them as the prime content of instruction?

Selecting Issues ContentThe traditional way educators select social

studies content for instruction in today's class-rooms is dysfunctional. Traditional curriculumbuilding is based on the disciplines of knowl-edgehistory and the various social sciences.The content of these disciplines is, for the mostpart, devoid of issues or problems that are ofutmost importance to individual students andtheir communities.

Hunt and Metcalf (1955, 214) drew a signif-icant distinction between content based on thescholarly disciplines of the social sciences andreflective content:

the content of reflectionin contrast to thecontent of history, political science, geogra-phy, and so onincludes every relevantaspect of the mental and physical environ-ment in which a given act of thoughtoccurs, everything a thinker brings to bearon a problem.

In How We Think, John Dewey (1933) rea-

soned that an act of thought begins when anindividual experiences a felt need. He or shethen moves on to explore alternative solutions tothe difficulty, projecting and testing implicationsand logical consequences. During the processof thinking, the individual draws upon relevantresources, including previous personal experi-ences as well as information contained in thetraditional social sciences. In this process, "con-tent assumes an emergent character. From thestandpoint of a learner, it comes into existence asit is needed; it does not have a life independentof its own" (Hunt and Metcalf 1955, 215).

When educators prepare to select social issuescontent, they will discover a significant distinc-tion between content in the traditional disci-pline-based mode and emergent content. Thecontent in state- or district-approved textbooksbest represents the traditional mode. How muchof this content is pertinent to solving the prob-lems that occur in students' daily lives? The rele-vance of the textbook's content to students' feltdifficulties apparently varies, depending on thesubject. For example, sociological content mightbe more relevant than historical content. In allcases, however, prepackaged material present-ed as if it were the product of scholarly researchin the field but "simplified for pedagogicalpurposes"does not, by itself, fulfill the individ-ual's need to solve immediate problems. Theseproblems might be thought of as personal, but, asHunt and Metcalf (1955, 220) point out, they areusually results "of problem-generating features ofthe culture." For example, an unemployed personmay struggle with his or her personal finances,but unemployment stems from a larger societalproblem as well as regional or local employmentand production policies. Traditional texts andother prepackaged materials rarely address thesepersonal and societal needs.

The emergent content mode focuses on soci-etal and personal problems. Because content is notstatic, it emerges from the social context whereindividuals interact with each other. Contentcomes not only from the curriculum and the text-books, but from the experience of students andteachers interacting through classroom discussion.

Proposed Criteria forContent Selection

I suggest five key criteria for content selec-tion: relevance, reflection, action, practicality, anddepth of understanding.

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1 THE CRITERION OF RELEVANCE.II Educators responsible for content selectionmust ask these key questions to determine rele-vance: How does the curriculum relate to the stu-dents and the social context in which they findthemselves? In other words, is the content ofdaily classroom lessons, textbooks, videos,teacher presentations, student assignments andreports, or computer-generated programs relatedto the concerns of students as they go about mak-ing decisions in their lives, in and out of school?How does the curriculum of the classroomaddress an increasing number of students' con-cerns about safety in the schools? How does thecurriculum relate to the concerns of minority stu-dents (especially, racial, ethnic, and linguisticminorities) who, a priori, are routinely consideredthe culprits in any order-disruption incidents?How does the curriculum relate to the careeraspirations of young men and young women whoare forced, primarily through the hidden curricu-lum, to avoid entering fields dominated by theopposite sex? How does the curriculum relate toproblems encountered by children of single-parent families?

Questions on critical issues and problems ofchildren and youth are numerous. The answer, inmost cases, is that the curriculum as it presentlyexists has very little or no relevance to the burn-ing issues of the students, issues many of whichstem from larger societal issues. (Shaver 1989).Such issues and problems are extensions of cur-rent societal issuesgun control, schooling forminorities, employment opportunities for menand women, aid to dependent children, sex edu-cation in the schools, sexual harassment, etc.

Curriculum relevance could be achieved ifsuch a criterion is applied. Traditional subjectcontent would be used in class simply to providethe data and the arguments that relate to theissue at hand. In the issues-centered environmentproposed here, prior experience of studentswould be part of the core material exploredsystematically.

THE CRITERION OF REFLECTION.1U Educators responsible for content selectionmust ask these key questions to determinereflection: Does the content trigger thinking?Does the content engage the students in takingpositions that can be explicitly grounded? Doesthe content (including the experiences of stu-dents) provide opportunities for all sides of the

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issue to be presented and critically analyzed? Arethe materials that support different positions onthe issue reliable? Are the student experiencesgeneralizable?

Reflective content must open and not closediscussion and rational thought. If it leads toindoctrination, as was the case of some coursessuch as "Americanism versus Communism,""Problems of American Democracy," or"Citizenship," then the opportunity for criticalor reflective thinking is stifled. If reflection islimited to just some classroom participants,including the teacher, then the curriculum or thecontent item should be excluded from consider-ation altogether. The role of the teacher, ofcourse, is pivotal in this type of classroom. Theteacher must foster a climate that provides for anexchange of views on issues based on establishedrules of logic and evidence. In this environment,students begin to internalize the value that ideasand positions on issues are as good as thegrounds that support them when presented inopen forum. (Massialas, Sprague, Hurst 1975)Content and methods of learning and instruc-tion are inseparable components of the processof reflective thinking.

THE CRITERION OF ACTION. Educa-tors responsible for content selection must ask

these key questions to determine action: Will theinclusion of the curriculum item or springboard(whether from traditional sources, the emergingexperiences of students in a social context, orboth) be likely to result in some plan of action?In other words, will the critical and systematicanalysis of the curriculum items at hand produceaction? Or will the ringing of the bell terminatediscussion and deliberation? For example, will areflective discussion of safety in the schools leadto a class proposal to the school authorities for aschoolwide policy change on the matter? Willthis proposal lend itself to a follow-up and actu-al student participation on matters concerningschool safety including safety on school buses?Could this also be connected with issues of safe-ty in the students' neighborhood?

While the content may lead to critical think-ing, it is also necessary, if social conditions are tobe changed in a desirable way, to lead to somesocial action. Social action that takes place as aresult of reasoned deliberation is consistent withthe principles of democracy that emphasize citi-zen participation and involvement in all matters

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of individual and public concern. Given the con-flicts and cultural inconsistencies of our times,the social-issues curriculum can no longer beviewed as a source for purely academic debatewithout consideration for student and teacherinvolvement in the process of social change.

THE CRITERION OF PRACTICALITY.11 Educators responsible for content selectionmust ask these key questions to determine prac-ticality: Is the emerging curriculum or programof studies usable? Given the state of affairs inschools, where the traditional is emphasizedand bureaucratically sustained, will change, asproposed here, be feasible? If administrators,teachers, and parents are not ready for a drasticchange, should there be some accommodation orcompromise? Are there some paradigms thatprovide students with the opportunity to focuson social issues within the confines of the tradi-tional curriculum, subject by subject? Are appro-priate resourceshuman and materialavailableto support the effort?

Even a meticulous construction of a curricu-lum based on a catalogue of "cultural inconsis-tencies" or social issues (Hunt and Metcalf 1955)would not ensure, by itself, its use in the class-room. The teacher must feel at ease with theissues before finding appropriate ways to includethem in instruction, possibly within the contextof traditional materials. Examples of ways tointegrate social issues instruction with tradition-al subject-based content are available in the liter-ature (Engle 1989; Hunt and Metcalf 1955;Massialas and Cox 1966; Oliver and Shaver1966;1974). The realities of educational deci-sion-making, as indicated by Shaver (1989),make the inclusion of this selection criterionimportant. The outcome of the movement toreplace the traditional program with the NewSocial Studies is a glaring example of failure toconsider practicality in curriculum planning(Massialas 1992).

CDEPTH OF UNDERSTANDING. Educa-tors responsible for selection must ask these

key questions to determine depth of understand-ing: Does the curriculum promote or hinderreflection on perennial or persistent problems ofhumankind? Do the curriculum, and the teachersapplying it, allow the classroom participants toconnect the issue or problem at hand withrelevant sources, sources that relate to similar

occurrences experienced by people in differenthistorical periods, cultures, or regions?

For example, issues related to immigrationunavoidably concern a great number of studentsattending schools in the United States as well asin other parts of the world. In the United States,the recent influx of Haitians and Cubans intoFlorida brought the issue of immigration to theforefront and became a national concern. Bothlegal and illegal immigration affect the lives ofchildren and youth in many parts of the country.Many students are either immigrants or aredirectly involved with children of. immigrantsand such issues and policies. Immigrants' hous-ing, employment, education, and health, are allof vital concern to them. But other students havea key interest on the topic because immigrationdirectly affects them as well. How will the newimmigrants be absorbed by the local communi-ty? Will there be enough jobs for them, or willthey displace others? Where will the new immi-grants live? Where will the children of the newimmigrants go to school? How will the newimmigrants maintain their health? Will the newimmigration create additional cleavages andconflicts in society? Should a policy of assimila-tion or multiculturalism be implemented?

The relevance of the topic to the lives of stu-dents makes it almost obligatory for its systemat-ic treatment in the social studies classroom.At this point, in addition to current reportsextracted from newspapers, magazines, radio andtelevision broadcasts, and reports of personalexperiences and observations, teachers may sug-gest that immigration, being a persistent occur-rence worldwide, may be understood better bystudying relevant historical events. For example,students may research historical sources includingtextbooks dealing with the new arrivals to theUnited States during the period 1880 to 1920.Where did the immigrants come from? Whatwere their cultural backgrounds? Were their valuesystems, customs, mores, habits, and languages, inconflict or in harmony with those of the old resi-dents of the new world? What were the conse-quences of this massive immigration for the newimmigrants and for the old residents? What werethe effects of the policy of assimilation on the newimmigrants? Do we agree or disagree with such apolicy and on what grounds? Should the samepolicy prevail today? What are some personal andsocial implications if the same policy prevails?What action can we personally or collectively take

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to change an immigration policy which weconsider to be unfair? If we have taken action,what strategies have we employed? Were thesestrategies successful or unsuccessful? Explain.

As shown in the example above, it is obviousthat linking a perennial problem of humankind,a problem that relates to a current personal andsocietal concern, to sources in history and thesocial sciences contributes to depth of under-standing. The approach is also practical (meet-ing another criterion) because teachers unavoid-ably use commercial textbooks and other tech-nology-generated materials in the classroom.These materials can provide a source of informa-tion to address what Engle and Ochoa (1988)refer to as definitional and evidential questions.The point to be made, however, is that classroomdeliberation is a necessary but not sufficient con-dition to bring about social change. Actionshould always follow reflection and debate of thesocial issue at hand.

Curricular FrameworksA curricular framework that selects content

carefully, reflective of the criteria recommendedhere, is the Public Issues Series developed bythe Harvard Social Studies Project (Oliverand Shaver 1966; 1974). The Harvard Project'scurriculum focused on the analysis of public con-troversy and used inquiry-type approaches toprobe into recurring policy issues in U.S. history.Materials were prepared in the form of curricu-lum units with case studies relating to a particu-lar topic and period in U.S. history. For example,a unit on the rise of organized labor (AmericanEducation Publications [AEP] 1967) raisedquestions about employer-employee relations inthe context of the public interest and traces theserelations from the beginning of U.S. industry tothe 1966 airlines strike. Basic questions include:"How free should an employee be to conduct hisbusiness as he sees fit? How far do workers' per-sonal rights extend?" (AEP 1967, back cover)Each case study or springboard that the bookletpresents is accompanied by a section on "Persist-ing Questions of History." These questions askstudents to take a position on various manage-ment-labor issues in the context of U.S. history.For example, "Is it fair to organize a slowdown ofworkers at the time the company is working on amajor order?" (35) Thus while students bring tothe forefront their personal values, they also con-sider various precedents in U.S. society and cul-

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ture. U.S. constitutional principles, especiallythose focusing on individual freedom and humandignity, provide a methodological framework foranalyzing the public issues at hand. The Harvardgroup's approach may be thought of as a "cur-riculum infusion approach" where the traditionalcontent of the social studies, best representedby the adopted textbooks, is infused with moti-vating springboards that raise significant valuequestions, the answers to which have importantpersonal and societal implications. The studyin-depth of history or government centersaround the study of significant public issues.

Another curriculum framework that system-atically develops a program of studies focusing onsocial issues is that of Hunt and Metcalf (1955;1968). These authors envisage that selection ofcontent in the social studies should be based on

1. the problematic or controversial areas ofthe culture (the closed areas);

2. the individual beliefs, values, and knowledgeof students; and

3. related data from the social sciences.(1968, 288)

Drawing from all of these sources, a "core"curriculum can be formed that is "problem cen-tered, and organized on the basis of a series ofapparent contradictions in belief in problematicareas of the culture which we might expect to beshared by most students." (Hunt and Metcalf1968, 291) In 1968, the authors identified sevenbroad problematic areas of culture, acknowledg-ing that there could be more. These areas were:power and the law; economics; nationalism,patriotism, and foreign affairs; social class; reli-gion and morality; race and minority-group rela-tions; sex, courtship, and marriage. Each prob-lematic area would be organized in sequence andwould constitute blocks of time in the socialstudies program. Two or three of these special-ized core areas would be studied each year. Fromthe practical standpoint, selection of a givenproblematic area of culture by the teacher shouldbe based on several criteria including whether ornot the topic is too controversial or "too touchy"for the local community and whether the teacherhas competence in dealing with the subject.Naturally, the authors assume that the method ofreflection would be applied in the classroom asthe participants deliberate in suggesting possiblesolutions to the cultural problems at hand.

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My own position for a defensible social issuescurriculum framework is similar to that of Huntand Metcalf with two possible exceptions.Certainly, we must attend systematically to theproblematic areas of our culture delivered as acore social studies curriculum. But, as I arguedearlier, since the school is no longer society'ssanctuary but society's exact replica, we mustselect the content based on the critical issues per-tinent to each school and its surrounding com-munity. The issues-centered curriculum shouldbegin with these issues since they are directlyrelevant to students' lives. Their treatment in theclassroom should be expanded, however, to in-depth investigations of the larger societal prob-lems. Is it a perennial problem of humankind?How is the problem treated in societies else-where, and how was it treated in the past? Whatwere the conflicting points of view represented inthe controversy and how were they rationalized?These questions would inescapably encourageclassroom participants to look at sources fromhistory and the social sciences in addition to theirown experiences. How can the problem at handbe resolved? What are the alternatives and whatare the consequences for actions on these alterna-tives? Against which standards should the choiceof alternatives be measured? It is obvious thatthese types of questions would promote students'reflective thinking. The critical examination ofthese school-based issues in a larger societal con-text would increase students' decision-makingcompetence as well as enhance the student's selfconcept and sense of social and political efficacy.Research in this area supports this conclusion(Hahn 1991).

The second point of departure from the Huntand Metcalf curriculum model is the degree towhich the program of studies encourages socialaction. As discussed in connection with the thirdcriterion for the selection of content, reflectionon issues, by itself; may not produce involvementand action. For example, why do minority stu-dents have proportionately more school suspen-sions than mainstream students? Is the practicejust? Is it fair? What can be done about it? Whataction are we taking to change this condition?Has our action been successful? These are someof the questions that must be raised in order toprompt students, teachers, parents, administra-tors, and community leaders to act. Ongoing,responsible social action, then, is the ultimategoal of all social issues instruction. The curricu-

lum should have a built-in mechanism wherebysuch action is encouraged and implemented.Naturally, the school-related issues, which as pro-posed here, form the basis of the core curriculum,are more prone to action than larger societalissues such as the issue related to a dispropor-tionate number of minorities being dismissed inprivate businesses compared to members of themajority. The relative proximity of the social issueto all the actors involved in it, makes the school-generated, issues-centered curriculum a mostappropriate instrument promoting in-depthanalysis of a personal/social issue, reflection andcommensurate social action.

The proposal for a school-derived, socialissues curriculum stems from the assumption thatthe proper role of the teacher in the classroom isthat of defensible partisanship, which Massialasand Cox (1966, 175) described:

Defensible partisanship assumes that theteacher inevitably makes preferential choic-es among competing ethical alternativesand creates the conditions in the classroomfor choices based on the most rational crite-ria. The teacher takes the position thatmethods of value analysis and discussionwhich are consistent with our democraticideals produce the most defensible conclu-sions. Thus the teacher is partisan forselecting the method of inquiry as the mostappropriate means to adjudicate values andfor taking a stand on a social issue based onthe process of inquiry.

Such a teacher is partisan in issues selection,but this partisanship, as in the actual treatmentof issues, is always open to criticism and ques-tioning. Since by definition issues are student-based, the teacher is mainly responsible in pri-oritizing and defending the sequence. If teach-ers accept the defensible partisan role, theywould have to reject such traditional teacherroles as the uncritical perpetuator of the statusquo, the indoctrinator, the teacher as impartialcoordinator, or the role of functioning underconditions of ethical neutrality.

Given the rationale above, I have offered fivekey criteria for selecting content. This proposalassumes that content is not static, but ratheremerges from the social context where individu-als interact with each other. Relevance, reflection,action, practicality, and depth of understanding

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Table 1: Criteria in Selecting Issues-Centered Content

RelevanceDoes the content relate to the students and thesocial context in which they find themselves?Is the content related to the concerns of studentsas they go about making decisions in their lives,both in and out of school?

ReflectionDoes the content trigger thinking?Does the content engage the students in takingpositions that can be explicitly grounded?

ActionWill the critical and systematic analysis of thecontent produce action?

PracticalityIs the emerging content or program of studiesusable?

Depth of UnderstandingDoes the content promote or hinder reflection onperennial or persistent problems of humankind?

are critical criteria in developing a defensibleissues-centered curriculum.

We are at a critical juncture in our education-al development. There is consensus that schoolrestructuring is necessary. Will this restructuringentail the restructuring of the curriculum toattend to the needs of children and youth con-fronted with an increasing number of conflictingcultural alternatives? Is the profession ready toassume leadership in this regard or will it be con-tent to proceed on the mode of business as usual?

ReferencesAmerican Education Publications. The Rise of

Organized Labor. Middletown, Conn.: AmericanEducation Publications, Public Issues Series/HarvardSocial Studies Project, 1967.

Anyon, J. "Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum ofWomen." In Curriculum: An Introduction to the Field,edited by J.R. Gress, 366-89. Berkeley, Calif:McCutchan, 1988.

Apple, M. W. "The Culture and Commerce of theTextbook." In Curriculum: An Introduction to theField, edited by J. R. Gress, 390-407. Berkeley, Calif:McCutchan, 1988.

Bowles, S., and H. Gintis. Schooling in Capitalist

America: Educational Reform and the Contradictions of

Economic L. New York, N.Y.: Basic Books, 1976.Dewey, J. How We Think. New York, N.Y.: D. C. Heath

and Company, 1933.Dreeben, R. On What Is Learned in School. Reading,

Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 1968.Engle, S. H. "Proposals for a Typical Issues-Centered

Curriculum." The Social Studies, 80 (1989): 187-91.Engle, S. H. and A. S. Ochoa. Education for Democratic

Citizenship: Decision Making in the Social Studies. New

York Teachers College, Columbia University, 1988.

SO

Giroux, H., and A. Penna. "Social Education in theClassroom: The Dynamics of the HiddenCurriculum." Theory and Research in Social Education7(1979): 21-42.

Goodlad, J. I. A Place Called School. New York, N.Y.:

McGraw-Hill, 1984.Hahn, C. L. "Controversial Issues in Social Studies."

In Handbook of Research on Social Studies Teaching and

Learning, edited by J. P. Shaver, 470-80. New York,

N.Y.: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1991.Hunt, M. P., and L.E. Metcalf. Teaching High School

Social Studies: Problems in Reflective Thinking and

Social Understanding. New York, N.Y.: Harper andBrothers, 1955.

Hunt, M. P., and L.E. Metcalf. Teaching High SchoolSocial Studies: Problems in Reflective Thinking and

Social Understanding. 2d. ed. New York, N.Y.:Harper and Brothers, 1968.

Massialas, B. G. "The Inevitability of Issues-CenteredDiscourse in the Classroom." The Social Studies 80(1989): 173-75.

Massialas, B. G., and C. B. Cox. Inquiry in SocialStudies. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill, 1966.

Massialas, B. G. "The 'New Social Studies'Retrospect and Prospect." The Social Studies 83(1992): 120-24.

Massialas, B. G., N. F. Sprague, and J. B. Hurst. SocialIssues through Inquiry: Coping in an Age of Crises.

Englewood Cliffs, NJ.: Prentice-Hall, 1975.Oliver, D. W., and J. P. Shaver. Teaching Public Issues in

the High School. 1966. Logan, Utah: Utah StateUniversity Press, 1974.

Shaver, J. P "Lessons from the Past: The Future ofan Issues-Centered Social Studies Curriculum."The Social Studies 80 (1989): 192-96.

Spener, D. "Traditional Bilingual Education and theSocialization of Immigrants ". Harvard EducationalReview 58 (1988): 133-53.

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THEFORhg Roy

SCENARIO

NGLE-OCHOA DECISION MAKING MODELCITIZENSHIP EDUCATION

eq F. Mien

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rs. Diaz's high school United States his-tory class is beginning to study theagrarian movement that began after theCivil War and culminated in thePopulist Party, influencing nationalelections in 1892 and 1896. The stu-

dents elected to focus upon the movement in theGreat Plains. Dividing into groups, studentteams use different textbooks and references togather information on the state of the agrarianeconomy on the Plains during this era. Theirtexts inform them about climate and weatherpatterns (drought), overexpansion of agriculturalproduction on marginal farmland spawned byspeculation and railroad development, decline inreal farm income, and the resultant conse-quences for the quality of life. The studentslearned that the Depression of 1893, capping adecade of decline, brought wide spread econom-ic distress and bitter feelings. Between 1889 and1894, 11,000 Kansas farm families lost theirlands through bank foreclosure; nine out of tenfarms in Kansas and Nebraska changed hands,many lay abandoned for a decade. Many farmfamilies were left homeless, while the number oftenant farmers, working others' land, doubled tomore than two million.

Working with Mrs. Diaz, the students devel-op a bulletin board display of photocopied pic-tures showing life on the Great Plains in the1880s and 1890s.. Adding to the pathos of thisdisplay, one group discovers the transcript of aletter written to Kansas Governor Lewelling onJune 29, 1894, by a farmer's wife living inMendota, Kansas (Kansas State HistoricalSociety, Topeka):

Dear GovernorI take my Pen In hand to let you know thatwe are Starving to death. It is Pretty hard todo without any thing to Eat hear in thisGod for saken country[.] [[W]e would ofhad Plenty to Eat if the hail hadent cut ourrye down and ruined our corn andPotatoes[.] I had the Prettiest Garden thatyou Ever seen and the hail ruined It and Ihave nothing to look at[.] My Husbandwent a way to find work and came homelast night and told me that we would haveto Starve[.] He has bin in ten countys anddid not Get no work[.] It is Pretty hard fora woman to do with out any thing to Eatwhen She doesent no what minute She willbe confined to bed[.] If I was In Iowa Iwould be all right[.] I was born there andraised there[.] I havent had nothing to Eatto day and It is three o clock[.] well I willclose rite Soon From Mrs. Susan Orcutt

Mrs. Diaz is pleased with the students'response to the letter. They focus upon Mrs.Orcutt's desperation about the loss of controlover her life and about her family's wellbeing.The quandaries of poor, debtor farmers on mar-ginal Western land are made vivid by Mrs.Orcutt's words. One group tells Mrs. Diaz thatthey want to investigate Mrs. Orcutt's sense ofisolation as a stranger in Kansas from Iowa. Whywould she feel more secure in Iowa? What werethe social support networks available to her thereand by implication to others in their nativestates in the 1890s? Was Robert Frost (1914) in"The Death of the Hired Man" right when hewrote that home "is the place where, when youhave to go there, they have to take you in?" Mrs.Diaz knows that later, after students examine

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Mrs. Orcutt's Kansas and Iowa, she can broadentheir reflective inquiry to ask about familial andcommunity obligations to "take in" their delin-quent children, their elderly, their homeless, andothers in despair.

A second group wants to examine Mrs.Orcutt's political acumen in writing to GovernorLewelling. What did she expect the governor todo in response to her plight? What did the lawsof Kansas allow? What private resources mightthe governor muster? Why did Mrs. Orcuttwrite, in the 1890s, to the state governor ratherthan to her elected officials in the nation's capitalcity? Mrs. Diaz was especially pleased with thisgroup's interest, because she was planningto turn to greater questions of the obligation ofgovernment to manage the economy and to takeresponsibility for the hardships and disasterswhich befall citizens, both economic and natural.

A third group declares its intention to focusupon agrarian protest through political organiza-tion. From their earlier studies, students inferredthat agrarians would join together to seek reliefby influencing, or even controlling, government.Students are interested in emerging politicalleadership and farmers' mastery of political par-ticipation skills. Again, Mrs. Diaz is pleased withher students' choice. As they examine this histo-ry, she will engage their attention in questions oflegitimate and inappropriate protest and rebel-lion within a democratic credo. Under what con-ditions may people protest or rebel and withwhich appropriate strategies and force?

For this history class at Washington ParkHigh School, cooperative inquiry initiates threegroups' in-depth examinations of historic socialproblems, with contemporary analogues, wheredecisions must be made. Mrs. Diaz's studentswill use personal experience and knowledge fromhistory, social sciences and the humanities toreflect upon the nature of the problems, the pol-icy options open to decision makers and theconsequences of the option chosen and justifiedin dialogue with one another.

hirley H. Engle and Anna S. Ochoa(1988) created their decision-makingmodel to help students and their teacherslink social studies teaching and learning todemocratic ideals. They realize that demo-cratic societies are beset with grievous

problems and disharmonies, but the systematic,in-depth examination of these problems and

S2

reflection upon social conflicts are the best prepa-ration for mature participation in any democracy.Conflicts, problems, and issues are not only thetest of democratic government, they are thewhetstone of democratic citizenship education.The Engle-Ochoa decision-making modelrequires students to identify and carefully definesocio-civic problems, to use multiple sources ofinformation, to reflect upon value assumptionsand diverse perspectives, to lay out alternativesolutions or courses of action, and to make choic-es and justify those choices with reference totheir grasp of democratic values.

Philosophical OrientationThe most basic value of democracy, accord-

ing to Engle and Ochoa (1988), is respect forthe dignity of the individual. With this declara-tion, Engle and Ochoa begin to reveal theirconception of democracy in the Western liberaltradition, grounded in limited government, indi-vidual liberty, and active participation. In thistradition, representative government requiresa citizenry capable of knowing and doing thepublic good; the people must have the civicintelligence necessary to maintain a democraticsociety. When individuals know and do the pub-lic good, they are not performing individual acts,but engaging in shared public practices. Citizenslearn and relearn public virtues and civic valuesin social contexts by interacting in a communitywith others. The learning of civic values and pat-terns of curbing self-interest for a common goodare wrought through interactions with fellowcitizens who feel a common political kinship,or what Wilson Cary McWilliams (1973) callsthe idea of fraternity. In this tradition, citizensare committed to acting in ways which preservecommunity, local to national to global, anexpanding sense of others, bound over to one'sself in a common life, where self-interest iscurbed out of regard for others. The individualis known to exist, function, and thrive, only in ademocratic social context.

Citizenship education for Engle and Ochoais decidedly political education. They expectteachers and schools to model democratic valuesand behavior in their treatment of students, inthe open exploration of issues, and in their orga-nization of students for learning. The classroomand the school should be a community wherelearners democratically engage in the study ofconflict and the active rational discussion of

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problems, where persons may disagree anddebate different points of view.

Schools and social studies programs are per-ceived as sterile, inane, and oppressive (Engle,1977) and as failing to deal rigorously withcurrent social problems (Engle, 1960, 1985).Traditional social studies curricula are no longerrelevant to helping students cope as informed andactive citizens in a changing society. Social educa-tion focused upon single disciplines, rather thansocial concerns, is perceived as unconscionable(Engle and Longstreet, 1972). Social studiesshould address the solving of social problems, andnot impose political bias on students or engagethem in the slavish mastery of information.

In another paper, Engle (1986b) suggestedthat social studies educators have rejected issues-oriented teaching because teachers are comfort-able teaching as they were taught (including whatthey were taught). This leaves them incompetentto deal democratically with controversy anduncertainty Teachers and school leaders canavoid conflict by textbook teaching, remote fromthe life experience of learners and their parents.Textbook publishers thrive on the expositorymethod, while exposition and textbooks are fixedin the constellations of conventional thinkingamong parents and elected officials who influ-ence curriculum (see Apple, 1993). Engle(1986a) observed: "Ancient beliefs hold thateducation means that elders instruct the young,not that they work out problems together."

Seeing education as the process of encultura-tion, Engle and Ochoa (1988) argue for a politi-cal education within the social studies curriculumwhich provides socialization into the ideas ofdemocratic culture and a counter-socializationwhich builds critical capacity, political skills, and aprofound skepticism into the civic dispositions oflearners. Problem solving, reflective inquiry andcritical thinking are both instructional activitiesand instructional goals in schools which take theircivic education duties seriously. Henry Giroux(1988) used the concept "emancipatory rationali-ty" to capture the essence of Engle and Ochoa'sintensive regard for schooling which liberatesthrough reflective inquiry on social problemswhile building commitment to the core valueswhich hold democratic communities together.

Ever more threatening to the status quo inschooling, Engle and Ochoa (1988) want areflective inquiry which does not simply lead tofurther inquiry. Their proposal expects an issues-

centered inquiry which engages learners inpolicy recommendations, and grants them freechoice in avenues for learning. They want schoolsto be launching grounds not only for learningand the development of democratic commit-ments: they anticipate students participating incommunity life, including politics (Engle, 1972).To expect action is not to determine what theaction should be. Their conception of citizenshipeducation, which rejects conventional schooltextbook and curriculum impositions, does notimpose specific participation or actions as educa-tional outcomes.

The origins of the Engle-Ochoa conceptionof citizenship education are to be found in theDeweyan notion of reflective inquiry (Dewey,1933; Griffin, 1992). Dewey urged educators toopen sensitive areas of social life to responsibleexamination and to educate, not by exposition,but with an interactive teacher-student dialogue,wherein facts, inferences, generalizations, andconclusions would be questioned by students aswell as their teachers. Dewey advocated the studyof real social problems reflectively so as to beinclusive of the students' concerns and experi-ences. Recognizing that so much of school learn-ing was disconnected from students' experience,Dewey urged the study of social problems to bet-ter insure connectedness to students' experience,to help learners make connections, and to providefuture insights and applicationsa generativeknowledge with rich ramifications in the civiclives of learners.

Some Curriculum Implicationsof The Model

Given the perceived irrelevancy of the currentsocial studies curriculum and its numbing effecton teaching, Engle and Ochoa (1988) suggest twocomplementary reforms. First, they would cele-brate the route taken above by Mrs. Diaz ofWashington Park High School when she regular-ly included the in-depth study of social problemswith contemporary significance in her U. S. histo-ry course. In this shift, teachers would abandonthe expository mode to teach in a hypotheticalmode centered on questions and the quest foranswers, rather than the mastery of others' knowl-edge. "Questions and criticism would need to beencouraged over ready answers," and, accordingto Engle and Ochoa (1988) "The whole processshould be directed to opening minds to new pos-sibilities rather than closing them" (p. 116).

Second, the other option described by Engleand Ochoa (1988) requires a most fundamentaltransformation in how history and social sciencesare taught. The discipline-focused courses wouldgive way to courses which integrated the socialsciences and focused them upon the examinationof social problems. Geography, for example,might be taught with economics and focusedupon world environmental and developmentproblems. Sociology and anthropology mightcenter on understanding the problems of humanculture, tribalism, and conflict. Psychology mightcombine with law studies for an intensive mini-course on crime and corrections across cultures.

Most important is the emphasis upon impor-tant social problems and active student learningwhich regularly rises above the roar of problems,alternatives, and hypotheses on specific issues, toaddress what might be called mega-queries aboutvalues and value conflicts in democratic credos.For .example, students might reflect upon suchquestions as:

Under what conditions should individualsdisobey legally constituted authority?

Do all citizens have a right to participation inthe institutions by which they are governed?Is increased political participation bycitizens desirable? What advantages anddisadvantages might come from greaterparticipation?

Must liberal democratic theory be revised inlight of changing circumstances? How dowe account in our theory for greater inter-dependence, greater complexity, and therapid impact of national and global medianetworks?

Is the toleration of divergent views andpractices a rational, democratic policy?What are the limits of toleration?

In a democratic society human dignity is afundamental value and persons are respectedas persons, but is there a concomitant oblig-ation that we respect or approve of a person'sor a group's behavior or lifestyle? What arethe connections between freedom of expres-sion, for example, and liberty in behavior?

Based upon their philosophical orientation,Engle and Ochoa (1988, 128-129) encapsulatetheir curriculum views into seven principles:

The curriculum should be highly selective of a11 relatively small number of topics or episodes,each of which will be studied in great depth. The

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effort to cover superficially a large number oftopics would be abandoned.

n The topics of episodes to be selected should beh those with the greatest potential for encourag-ing thinking, or even controversy, about mattersof fact, or about matters of historical interpreta-tion of events in the past, or about alternative res-olutions to social problems in the present. Topicsor episodes that cannot be conceived as problem-atical would be omitted from the curriculum.

7 Students should continually be asked to makejudgments about such matters as what really

are the facts, how facts should be interpreted,what should be done about a problem or, if theproblem is historical, what should have beendone differently. Students should continually beasked to make value judgments as to whetherthe decisions made or about to be made, past orpresent, are good or bad. The study of suchproblems needs to be open-ended, in the hypo-thetical mode, and without pressure for closurefor a correct answer.

I Geography, history, and the other social sciencedisciplines will be treated not as an end product

or summary of supposed knowledge to be accept-ed as true and then memorized but rather as alter-native sources of information to be utilized inresolving questions such as those suggested above.

Since questions of what is good and what is4.] bad are involved in most or all of these kinds ofquestions and since models for thinking aboutquestions of good and bad are more likely to befound in the humanities than in the social sci-ences, selections from literature, art, music, reli-gion, philosophy, and journalism would be uti-lized alongside and on a par with selections fromthe social sciences and history in the thoughtfulstudy of any topic, episode, or problem. Forinstance, historians have much that is importantto say about the institution of slavery, but so doauthors like Harriet Beecher Stowe, WilliamLloyd Garrison, and Stephen Crane.

The curriculum should utilize relatively large0 quantities of data (much more than could pos-sibly be held in memory) from a variety ofsources (more than could possibly be encom-passed in a single textbook) to study in depth arelatively small number of topics.

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The firsthand experience of students andteachers would be respected as one of the

important sources of information bearing on anyquestion or problem.

The Instructional ModelLike John Dewey's conception of constructive

thought in How We Think (1933), the Engle andOchoa (1988) process model of a problem-oriented instructional encounter should not beconceived as a lock-step, sequential formula to befollowed by teachers and students. The model isdynamic. While the phases in their model are"numbered," Engle and Ochoa are not advocat-ing simplistic linear thinking. Study groups canredefine their problem, add alternatives forexamination, recast value assumptions as they lis-ten to other voices in the community, and revisetheir decisions when justifications turn out to beless than satisfying.

The use of the Engle-Ochoa model assumesthat the teacher continues to create an open andinformed classroom environment where the freeexchange of ideas is not only possible but cele-brated. The only restrictions on dialogue are thoseimposed by available evidence, reason, and demo-cratic values. The model also assumes aninformed teacher who has collected reasonableamounts of resources for students' continuingengagement in the study of a social problem.

PHASE 1:Orientation to a Problem Area

The teacher uses questions and high-interestspringboards to engage students in reflection.These materials will suggest conflicts and contro-versy surrounding a contemporary or historicsocial problem. The exploratory discussion ofthese materials should identify the conflicts andcontroversy, some of the values and feelingsinvolved by the parties to the controversy, and theemergent blockage in the cultural, social or polit-ical systems which causes or sustains the problem.

The teacher's use of a springboard in PhaseOne is to raise incongruitiesto create what read-ing teachers call the "disruption of expectation."For example, the teacher presents evidence of thecurrent cost of health care for the poor withoutuniversal health plans. Students who have beenarguing about the additional cost of nationalhealth insurance are taken back, given pause, bythis unexpected, incongruent information. Engle

and Ochoa (1988, 88) discuss this use of cognitivedissonance and its effect on initial student motiva-tion to explore a problem area. Mrs. Diaz's unex-pected discovery and use of the Susan Orcuttletter (see Scenario) instantly personalized historicinformation, giving it a face, a pathos whichbreathed life into the social problem.

PHASE 2:Identify and Define One Problem

Students continue to manipulate informa-tion, adding to the materials and ideas under dis-cussion. As an outcome of these discussions, thestudents select and define one issue or problemfor investigation and decision making. Theteacher and class will decide whether the entireclass shall address a common problem or, as inthe case of Mrs. Diaz's class, groups of studentselect to examine different issues. Whatever thedecision, it is important that students carefullystate their problem clearly, agreeing upon themeanings of concepts used in that definition, andachieve consensus upon its worth as a problemfor collective in-depth study.

The teacher has been using probing questionsin Phases One and Two, and continues to do so,engaging students in posing definitional, eviden-tial, speculative, value and policy questions. Theteacher serves as a model of reflective inquiryof thoughtfulnessgetting students to follow theexample. Definition questions request the con-textual meaning of the use of a concept"Whatdoes hate crime mean as you are using it today?"Evidential questions request factual support fora claim and challenge the basis for accepting a"fact" or a claim purporting to be true"How doyou know that his motivation was racial hatred?""Upon whose property was the cross burned?"Speculative questions are imaginative and oftenaddress predicted consequences-7f he had notscreamed an ethnic slur, what might the charges be inthis courtroom today?" 7f you tack on additionalpenalties for crimes involving racial, ethnic, genderor religious hate, what do you think will be the effectin our communities?" Value questions ask aboutinherent value assumptions by discussing priori-ties"Which is more important to you today, pro-tecting the dignity of particular groups of persons or

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preserving rights to free expression?" Policy ques-dons ask about positions on issues or solutions toproblems"Should affected interested groups use thesuggested human relations policy to remove booksfrom the library which they perceive as offensive?"

PHASE 4:Identify Value Assumptions

Which are the values to be enhanced orfavored in deciding upon any solutions to thesocial problem under examination? Why favorthese values over others? Students must reflectupon their own frames of reference and the valuesand interests inherent in their perspectives, and inthe perspectives of their sources of informationwhen they study this problem. Students shouldseek out informants with differing points-of-viewand value orientations, in order to broaden theirown perspectives. But the main task in PhaseFour is to initially determine the values to be usedto make and to justify a decision in Phase Six.

Decision making involves choices amongalternative courses of action and these choices areselected based upon the projected consequencesof each feasible alternative available. Often a deci-sion on a social problem will involve an actionplan or strategy which is multifaceted and pursuesseveral complementary courses of action. In PhaseFive it is necessary that students and their teacherperceive the alternatives available and then deter-mine their feasibility and imagine the likely con-sequences flowing from each possibility "Can youdo X, that is, do we have the resources or can weget them?" "If we do X, then what will happen?How many needy will get basic health care?"Student research and the teacher's use of "If...,then... ." questioning are vital to this phase andthe persistence in the reflective study of an issue.It should not be surprising for students to go backand redefine the problem during these dialogues.

PHASE 6:Reach and Justify a Decision

The students rank order their alternatives(with the consequences) given the values thatthey wish to enhance or favor in their decision.Given the uncertainty of predicting conse-

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quences, students may select several alternativesto function together in an action plan. Thisaction plan would be justified with the strongestreasons, arguments, and evidence available to thedecision makers, while they also give reasons forrejecting other courses of action. Student deci-sions are open to the same skeptical querieswhich they used on others' information andideas. Bias, foggy evidence and polemics are to beidentified and questions brought to bear.

This phase is implied by the Engle-Ochoamodel, but not overtly stated. At the culminationof their study, students should have the experi-ence of proclaiming their findings to a significantaudiencethe school board, newspaper editors,congressional delegation, a state legislative staffmeeting, or a community assembly. Somethingshould happen to engage others in responding tothe students' investigations, showing that theirconcerns and endeavor are reflected in theirbroader community of citizens. These outcomesmight include volunteer action or political action.

Also, students should have the time to reex-amine the process of their investigation. Whichskills were developed further? Which turns werewasted? Which errors of judgment were fruitfulerrors, leading to insights? And, how mightstudents enhance their procedures on the nextoccasion for problem study?

ConclusionIn 1894 Mrs. Susan Orcutt took her pen

in hand to petition her government to solve aproblem she faced along with her family andneighbors. Using this letter as a remnant ofMrs. Orcutt's nineteenth century civic education,Mrs. Diaz's students at Washington Park HighSchool studied the problems and the inherentsociopolitical issues faced by Mrs. Orcutt in orderto further their comprehension of American his-tory and to further their own political education.The conceptual model provided by the lifeworkof Professors Shirley H. Engle and Anna S.Ochoa served Mrs. Diaz's students well. Theissues identified and examined were as engagingas they were profound. In Mrs. Diaz's Americanhistory course, students could periodicallyexamine public issues in depth and connect pastproblems with current realities. Problems and

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Syntax of the Engle-Ochoa Model

PHASE 1:Orientation to a Problem Area

The teacher uses questions and high-interestspringboards (e.g., video, newspaper clippings, artphotographs, literature, and other texts) to estab-lish a backdrop and engage students in reflection.

PHASE 2:Identify and Define One Problem

Students manipulate information, values and feel-ings to identify an issue or problem worthyof in-depth study.Students carefully state that problem or issueclearly, with agreed-upon meanings of concepts,and achieve consensus upon its worth as a problemfor in-depth study.

PHASE 3: Engage Students bythe Use of Probing Questions.

Teachers and students pose and search for answersto definitional, evidential, speculative, value ques-tions, and policy questions, increasing the level ofintellectual exchange in the classroom.Students draw upon print, electronic, and othercommunity resources in their quest to developthoughtful responses to the probing questions.

PHASE 4: Identify Value AssumptionsStudents will reflect upon their own frames of ref-erence which shape their view of the problem andits explanation and resolution.Students might gather other perspectives, withimplicit values, on the issue under examination tobroaden their perspectives.

Students will decide upon the values which theywill use to decide what should be done to solve aproblem or to resolve an issue.

PHASE 5: Identify Alternatives andPredict Consequences

Through research and discussion, students will layout the alternative policies (courses of action) andpredict the consequences which might resolve theissue or solve the problem under examination.The teacher probes students' ideas with "Whatif..." and "If..., then..." style questions to sustaina reflective classroom climate.Students and the teacher will consider alternativessuggested in light of the values established earlier.Which alternatives are most consistent with our goals?

PHASE 6: Reach and Justify a DecisionStudents will rank their alternatives (and the pre-dicted consequences of each).Students will select the better alternative policies orcourses of action and justify them with the strongestreasons, arguments, and evidence; students mustgive reasons for rejecting other alternatives.

PHASE 7: (Implied by Engle and WandProclaim the Results and Reflect uponthe Process

As a culmination of study, students will share theirpositions and justifications with others in class andin the larger community of citizens.Teachers and students reflect upon the process ofissue-oriented studywhat it meant and how theymight enhance the reflective procedures.

contexts may change, but fundamental mega-issues endure and return in new forms and con-texts for civic reflection and action. Mrs. Diazsensed Engle and Ochoa's zest for the study ofcivic issues within groups, wherein students maydevelop their group investigation skills and coop-erative learning skills. The cooperative learningand group dynamics research of Thelen (1954,1967), Slavin (1983), and Sharan (1990) areespecially appropriate to complement the Engle-Ochoa decision making model for civic educa-tion. It was not by chance that Mrs. Diaz's stu-dents divided into groups and did their investiga-tions and deliberations cooperatively..

ReferencesApple, Michael W. Official Knowledge: Democratic Educa-

tion in a Conservative Age. New York Routledge, 1993.

Dewey, John. How We Think. Boston: D. C. Heath, 1933.

Engle, Shirley H. "Decision-Making: The Heart ofSocial Studies Instruction." Social Education 24:6

(October 1960), 301-304.Engle, Shirley H. "Needed: A Democratizing of the

Schools?" Unpublished mss. ED 073020 llpp., 1972.Engle, Shirley H. "The Search for a More Adequate

Definition of Citizenship Education." Unpublishedmss. ED148720. 12pp., 1977.

Engle, Shirley H. "A Social Studies Imperative."Social Education, 49:4 (April 1985), 264-265.

Engle, Shirley H. 1986a. "Decision-Making: The Heart

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Theme: Hate CrimeArea of Discussion:Attempts in democratic communities to fos-ter civility and freedom of expression whileaddressing the perceived problem of hatecrime.Teacher Preparation: The teacherhas collected newspaper clippings, magazinearticles, and court decisions on hate crime.She has identified sources of information,speakers, and contact persons for studentinquiries.

PHASE 1: OrientationThe teacher provides copies of data charts

which reveal crimes against persons who arein various racial, ethnic, gender, religious,and sexual preference categories within theUnited States. Students examine these dataand conduct an open discussion whereinviews are shared. As the discussion proceeds,the teacher provides a newspaper clipping andshares a story of hate crime in their school,without using the concept "hate crime."

PHASE 2: Identify andDefine a Problem

The teacher provides more clippings oncurrent happenings and asks students to lookfor commonalities in the data, and then tolabel these commonalities. The discussion attimes focuses upon one news article on crossburning or another on telephone harassment.Students develop the label "hate crime" anddiscuss the meaning and parameters of thisproblem. The teacher provides the Anti-Defamation League definition and the stu-

dents watch an ADL video on this topic:Hate crimes are unlawful actions to fright-

en or harm an individual because of his or herrace, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.They can range from verbal intimidationand harassment to damage and desecrationof property, to physical violence and murder.

The students learn that almost every statehas a hate crimes statute. Most states collecthate crimes data and issue annual reports.

PHASE 3: Probing QuestionsUsing articles from the teacher, students

begin to discern types of hate crimes, motiva-tions/causes for hate crimes, and the extent ofhate crime in their area. They arrange forspeakers and do telephone interviews. Throughe-mail, students gather information and hatecrime stories from other schools and regions.

PHASE 4:Identify Value Assumptions

Students interview judges, legislators, andattorneys, to gather stories on hate crime andto discern the values in conflict. Is hate crimenew? If so, why now? How do commitmentsto pluralism and diversity conflict with tradi-tional and emerging understandings of free-dom of expression. Should we separateactions from motives, behavior from expres-sions? How might respect for dignity of allpersons chill freedom of expression in ademocracy?

PHASE 5: Identify Alternativesand Predict Consequences

Students sort through their information

collection, and turn to court decisions aswell as law enforcement and legal systeminformants. Students examine Supreme Courtdecisions in Dawson v. Delaware (1992), Texasv. Johnson (1989), and R.A.V. v. St. Paul, MN(1992), and then, turn to Wisconsin v.Mitchell (1993).

What are the situations which arise sur-rounding hate crimes? What are the points ofdisagreement in society and its law? What arethe alternatives open within the body of lawsociety might create? What are possible con-sequences from each alternative? Are legalsystem remedies adequate to the task? Whatare the non-legal system alternatives andtheir consequences?

PHASE 6: Reach andJustify a Decision

Students develop an action plan, selectingalternative courses of action while rejectingothers and providing an argument to supportthose decisions.

PHASE 7:Proclaim and Reflect

Students proclaim the results of theirdeliberation with school officials and offer anaction plan for the school dealing with hatecrimes and hate crime prevention. Later,selected students report to the local bar asso-ciation and a debate is arranged for a forth-coming school assembly. Meanwhile, studygroups meet to review their examination ofhate crimes and note needed improvementsfor future social problem investigations.

of Social Studies Instruction." ContemporaryEducation, 58:1 (Fall 1986), 13-17.

Engle, Shirley H. "Late Night Thoughts about the NewSocial Studies." Social Education, 50:1 (January1986b), 20-22.

Engle, Shirley H., and Wilma S. Longstreet.A Design for Social Education in the Open Curriculum.New York Harper & Row, 1972.

Engle, Shirley H., and Anna S. Ochoa. Education for

Democratic Citizenship: Decision-making in the SocialStudies. New York Teachers College Press, 1988.

Giroux, Henry A. Teachers as Intellectuals: Toward a

Critical Pedagogy of Learning. Granby, MA: Berginand Garvey, 1989.

Griffin, Alan F. A Philosophical Approach to the Subject-

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Matter Preparation of Teachers of History. Dubuque,

IA: Kendall-Hunt for the National Council for theSocial Studies, 1992.

McWilliams, Wilson Carey. The Idea of Fraternity in

America. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973.

Sharan, Shlomo, Editor. Cooperative Learning: Theoryand Research. New York Praeger, 1990.

Slavin, Robert. Cooperative Learning.

New York Longman, 1983.Thelen, Herbert. Dynamics of Groups at Work. Chicago:

University of Chicago Press, 1954.Thelen, Herbert. Classroom Grouping for Teachability.

New York Wiley, 1967.

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PREDEIA Lau

Introduction

ARING CITIZENS TO PARTICIPATE INOCRATIC DISCOURSE: The Public Issues Model

I R. Singleton and James R. Giese

At the heart of strong democracy is talk."Benjamin Barber (1984)

"Let us begin with a simple proposition:What democracy requires is public debate, notinformation ... We do not know what weneed to know until we ask the right ques-tions, and we can identibithe right questionsonly by subjecting our own ideas about theworld to the test of public controversy."

Christopher Lasch (1990)

These statements [by Barber and Lasch]reflect beliefs at the heart of the jurispru-dential inquiry model for teaching publicissues. This model, developed by theHarvard Social Studies project during the1960s and 1970s, rests on the idea that

citizens in a democracy differ in their views andpriorities and that democratic values often con-flict when applied in specific cases. The resolu-tion of complex public issues within democraticsociety requires citizens to negotiate their differ-ences through careful analysis and public discus-sion. Helping students develop their abilitiesto take part in this conversation is thus a critical,if not the foundational, aspect of social studieseducation.

The public issues model posits that U.S. citi-zens must possess several characteristics. First,the citizen must be familiar with the values ofAmerican civic culture as embodied in theConstitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration ofIndependence. Second, the citizen must haveskills for clarifying and resolving various kinds of(e.g., political, social, and economic) issues.These skills include being able to gather andweigh evidence, to analyze the legal and ethicalissues involved, to evaluate arguments on various

sides of a case, and then to synthesize facts,issues, and arguments in making the best possibledecision. Third, the citizen must be a passionate,committed participant who is motivated to useher skills and knowledge in concert with othercitizens to arrive at new understandings and thebest possible decisions.

The Legal/Ethical Values FrameworkIn the United States, resolution of public

issues occurs, at least in part, through discoursebased on shared civic commitments. Accordingto Oliver and Shaver, two of the developers of thepublic issues model:

In dealing with problems of public conflictand controversy, the American nation hasboth inherited and developed a traditionthat government and law should be the out-growth of public debate. Important to thistradition is the value placed on the dignityand worth of each individual and, as a corol-lary, the value placed on reason and persua-sion in resolving disputes among peoplewith different definitions of human dignityand the conditions that promote it. Fromour point of view, a major goal of the societyis to develop a public awareness that thesebasic values should be respected and appliedas standards for making public policy(Oliver and Shaver 1966, pp. 81-82).

The public issues model assumes several gen-eral legal/ethical values upon which Americanconstitutional democracy rests. Some of theseideals are procedural and guide the manner inwhich democratic government operates. Proce-dural ideals include the rule of law, consent ofthe governed, due process, equal protection ofthe law, federalism, and limited government.Other ideals are more substantive and deal with

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specific ends of legitimate governmentalaction justice, liberty, public safety and securi-ty, the general welfare, and the like.

These ideals of American civic culture shouldhelp guide us in developing public policies ofall kinds. Often, however, controversy arises whentwo (or more) general democratic values or prin-ciples are in conflict with one another. Whenthese situations occur, the public issues modelassumes that the best policy stance involves arational balancing among fundamental values.That is, citizens and their representatives mustmake compromises between or among conflictingvalues, but these compromises should violate eachcontending value to the least extent possible.

For example, Oliver and Shaver (1966) sug-gest that if we view freedom of speech as anabsolute ideala value to be protected at all costsand in all situationsit is virtually impossible todeal with situations in which it might be desir-able to limit the right to free speech when it con-flicts with the value of public safety. Should asidewalk speaker be prevented from continuinga speech to a hostile crowd that is about to vio-lently remove him from his platform? Should theAmerican Nazi Party be allowed to conduct aparade through a predominantly Jewish commu-nity if violent confrontations between the twogroups are likely? Viewing the values of Ameri-can civic culture on a continuum allows us toconsider possible policy alternatives.

The public issues model first focusesstudents' attention on case studies dealing withlimited factual situations rather than on sweepingsets of events. While the situations are limited inscope, they are powerful because they may belinked conceptually to enduring dilemmas facedby people living at widely varying times and indiverse places. Examples of these include:

Should citizens in northern states before theCivil War have defied the Fugitive Slave Law?

Who was responsible for assisting the urbanpoor at the turn of the centuryvoluntaryorganizations or government?

Should the publication of scientific researchin nuclear physics in the 1930s have beenbanned to prevent the information frombeing available to Nazi scientists?

Each of these issues, although grounded in aparticular time period, embodies persistent valuedilemmas faced by democratic societies. One canthink of numerous instances in which citizens, or

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officials acting in their stead, have faced issuesregarding when government authority should bechallenged, the issue underlying the first exampleabove. The second issue revolves around ques-tions of how we define and balance public andprivate interests; these questions have playedthemselves out in many different arenas and timeperiods. The final issue centers on yet anotherrecurring question: What reasons (if any) justifykeeping new knowledge secret?

How should particular events, episodes, orissues be selected for inclusion in the curriculum?There is no single answer appropriate for allclasses. Two major criteria, however, should bekept in mind: 1. the overall importance of theissues to the society and body politic in which weall live and 2. the possible personal significancethe stories and issues might have for ourselvesand the particular students we are teaching.

The availability of materials on a topic mayalso be a factor influencing the choice of specificcases. Among the sources that can be used are sto-ries and vignettes, research data, primary sources,journalistic narratives, textbook accounts, andinterpretive essays. In addition, students' experi-ences and concerns may provide possible casematerial.

Because of the complexity of the discussionprocess, the initial cases probably should be rela-tively simple. We would also argue that "less ismore" in that any single case should be treated indepth over a fairly lengthy period of time.Relatively short, one-time debates about complexpublic issues should be avoided.

Clarifying and ResolvingPublic Issues through Discussion

The ability to discuss issues rationally andcivilly does not develop without experience andreflection. The public issues model provides avehicle for helping students develop not only theability to ask the right questions and seek rele-vant information, but to pursue their questions ina way that advances democratic values.

Any given situation or case can stimulatecontroversy and disagreement in a number ofdirections. For example, consider the followingsituation related to the issue of immigration:

In 1988, a Hmong man living in Denverpracticed his culture's traditional way offinding a wife"marriage by capture." LeeFong took his teenaged bride from her

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home and paid her family a $3,000 dowry.They were married for three months. Thenthe girl went to the Denver police, chargingFong with kidnapping, sexual assault, andmenacing (Glade and Giese 1989).

This case might provoke disagreement andraise questions on several levels. The discussionof Lee Fong's case might first turn to questionsof fact or explanation. For example, was the bridetaken against her will, or did she, in fact, consentto the marriage and then later change her mind?Did Lee Fong realize that the Hmong custom of"marriage by capture" violated U.S. laws and cus-toms? How widespread is this practice amongHmong people in the United States?

A second area of possible disagreementinvolves the meaning of words or phrases. In thecase above, for example, opinions on whetherthe legal system should be tolerant of offensesthat result from different cultural traditionsmight hinge on what is meant by tolerant or whatbehaviors are included as offenses.

The third area of possible dispute involvesjudgments about what should or ought to bedonejudgments concerned with the legitimacyand rightness or wrongness of actions and policySuch ethical or value issues might be expressed asfollows: Should immigrants give up culturaltraditions that are in conflict with customs andlaws in the United States? Should the legal sys-tem be more lenient on offenders whose actionswere based on cultural traditions at variance withthe dominant culture? Should immigration poli-cy be based on similarity between Americanculture and that of the immigrant's native land?

Although the various types of issues are oftenintertwined in discussion, distinguishing amongthem makes clear that there are various avenuesof inquiry available in the classroom. Further-more, recognizing the various types of issuesallows students to apply appropriate strategiesin advancing discussion.

rACT EXPLANATION ISSUES. Factualissues are disagreements about the descriptions

or explanations of events. There are many kindsof factual claims, some involving little generaliza-tion and some involving a great deal. "The Fongfamily immigrated last month" is a claim abouta specific event that occurred recently. "Immi-gration increased rapidly in the late 1800s andearly 1900s" summarizes a large amount of data

BEST COPY AVAILABLE

and infers a trend over several years. "The UnitedStates will develop more restrictive immigrationpolicies over the next 40 years" is a predictioninvolving several future events. "Koreans emi-grate from their country because they do not sup-port the actions of the Korean government" sum-marizes a large number of events and includes anexplanation of why these events have occurred.

The various types of claims may be based onwide-ranging types of evidence. For example, theinitial claim above may be based on personalobservation or firsthand accounts. In contrast,the third claim, which makes a prediction aboutfuture events, may be inferred from interviewswith public officials, public opinion polls, andhistorians' accounts of other time periods inwhich immigration was restricted.

Some disagreements over factual claims occurbecause relevant evidence is not available. Otherdisagreements, which tend to be more difficultto resolve, occur because the evidence availableis interpreted differently by different people. Toassess the accuracy of conflicting claims, a discus-sant would need to know on what kind of evi-dence the claims are based and the line of reason-ing that each individual used in developing thepositions being promulgated.

In discussion, factual claims may be support-ed in a number of ways:

Appealing to "common knowledge" or"common sense." "Common knowledge"or "common sense" is a relatively weak sourceof evidence, since it suggests no additionalprocess by which to resolve the disagreement.

Citing personal observations. Personalobservation is of somewhat limited use inthe study of public issues, since few of ushave the opportunity to actually witnessthe events. For this reason, we rely heavilyon the reports of others, in hopes thatthey can provide reliable information.

Reference to an authoritative source. Whenreferring to an authoritative source, however, wealso must inquire into the quality of the author-ity. Is the authority really an expert? Is thereinformation about the authority indicatingthat he/she has a personal bias on the topic?Do different authorities make contradictoryclaims, or do authorities support each other?If there are differences, where do they lie?

At times, factual claims can be tested by gath-ering more evidence. At other times, finding the

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information needed may be difficult if notimpossible. If students cannot take time out togather more evidence or if the evidence neededsimply does not exist (as is the case in many pol-icy contexts), they can use one of the followingstrategies to continue discussion: 1. the groupmay agree to stipulate that the discussion willproceed on the basis of one set of facts or factualclaims, or 2. the members of the group mayagree to bypass or temporarily ignore the issue,using other arguments to make their cases.

EFINITIONAL ISSUES. Definitional issuesrevolve around how people use words or phras-

es in discussion. For example, two people mightdisagree on whether a group was oppressed. Oneperson might say oppressed means having nopolitical freedoms, while the other person holdsthat oppressed means being in a degrading situa-tion due to someone else's actions (e.g., withouta job because of governmental policies).

Some definitional disputes are only labelingproblems. There is no disagreement on thenature of the thing begin labeled, but over theappropriate label. For example, in different partsof the country, flavored carbonated water may becalled "tonic," "soda," or "pop." Two strategiescan move discussion along by helping reachagreement on definitional issues that are primar-ily labeling problems:

Stipulation. People can agree to use a wordconsistently in a specific way. ("Wheneverwe use the term responsible, we mean con-sciously causing an event to occur.")

Use of an authoritative source. Discussantscan use a dictionary or other authoritativesource to find support for the particular useof a word or phrase.

More common and more difficult to resolveare definitional disputes in which people disagreeover the nature or quality of an action beingnamed. For example, a key question in discussingimmigration issues may be the meaning ofAmerican. One of the major problems in theprocess of definition is the need to arrive atenough precise criteriastandardsto identifythe term under discussion. Thus, resolving defin-itional disputes involves two steps: 1. selectinggeneral criteria for a definition and 2. decidingwhich examples fit the criteria.

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71E1 CAL OR VALUE ISSUES. Ethical orLvalue statements suggest that some object, per-son, or conduct is good or bad and that this qual-ity is based on an important general principle,such as peace and stability, security from physicalharm, or equal treatment before the law. Valueconflicts are at the core of most controversiesregarding public policy decisions. For example,consider the following:

Controversial Policy Question:VALUE CONFLICTS

? Should rap or heavy metal music becensored? Freedom of speech versus moralsof the majority

? Should the federal governmentfund universal health care for allAmericans? Individual well-being andhuman dignity versus business autonomy andindividual choice

? Should the United States intervenein Rwanda? Human rights versus nationalself-determination

A public policy concerning any of these issuescannot be decided upon without violating a valueheld by some people. The challenge in discussingthese issues is finding the policy alternativesthat least violate important democratic values.

Discussants who recognize value statementscan use several strategies to challenge or supportsuch statements:

Use of a respected or venerable source.Value statements may be justified by show-ing that they are supported by a source thatmost people consider sacred, respected, orvenerable. For example, the statement "Rapmusic should not be censored" might be sup-ported by reference to the First Amendmentor the words of Thomas Jefferson.

Prediction of a valued consequence. Policypositions and value judgments are oftenused together to show that support of aparticular policy will lead to a desirableend or will avoid undesirable consequences.

Analogy. One of the most powerful techniquesfor clarifying our thinking on ethical-valueissues is to suggest that an issue might beresolved differently in one or more related cases.

7 2

To illustrate, consider the following conver-sation, in which two students are dis-cussing the case of Mrs. Webster, whooperates a small rooming house in her ownhome. The city had recently expanded itsfair housing ordinance to forbid discrimi-

nation against homosexuals. Nevertheless, Mrs.Webster evicted Mr. Smith and Mr. Jonesbecause she believed they were gay and her reli-gion teaches that homosexuality is wrong.

Sam: The government should not tell Mrs.Webster how to run her business.

Rayna: Suppose Mrs. Webster ran a restaurant. Inorder to save money, she served leftoverfood the next day. Occasionally the foodspoiled and customers got sick, but sincemost of the customers were transient,moving through town, they never reallycomplained. Do you think the govern-ment should force Mrs. Webster to abideby certain health standards?

Sam: Yes, of course.Rayna: Well, that's government control. I

thought you were opposed to governmentinterference with a person's business.

Sam: Well, a restaurant is different from arooming house. It affects a person's health.

Rayna: Having a place to live also affects yourhealth. If Mr. Smith and Mr. Jones cannotfind a place to stay and have to sleep out inthe cold, Mrs. Webster is hurting themmaybe even more than a person who justhas a stomachache from old food.

Sam: But this is her own home. She shouldn't beforced to open her home to people who makeher feel uncomfortable or who would causeother renters to move out (Singleton 1989).

The analogy may force discussants to makedistinctions and qualifications that strengthenand clarify their positions on important valueconflicts. Sam can no longer say that he is alwaysagainst government control of business; he isobviously for some government control undercertain conditions, which serves to qualify andstrengthen his position.

The use of analogies also allows teachers andstudents to make connections across time andplace. For example, the decision faced by Ameri-can colonists when they chose to defy the estab-lished authority of the British government inorder to protest unjust laws may be compared to

similar decisions made by civil rights activists inthe 1960s and contemporary anti-abortion pro-testers. Furthermore, powerful analogies may(and should) be drawn from the students' and theteacher's own personal experiences.

The Discussion/Conversation ProcessIn the classroom, the point of discussing pub-

lic issues is to use the power of both critical andcaring relationships to educate individuals andthe group. In applying the public issues model,the teacher becomes a facilitator, helping stu-dents to make productive conversations witheach other. To prepare students for such discus-sions, teachers must focus considerable attentionon creating a climate supportive of authentic dis-course and developing students' discussion skills.

CLASSROOM CULTURE AND DISCUSSION.A major challenge in discussing controversial

issues is to achieve sufficient unity and harmonywithin the group so that conversation leads toproductive problem solving. People with oppos-ing views do not have to adopt a combative oravoidance posture in conversations. Instead, thediscussion process helps them press towardmutual clarification and exploration, to see dis-cussion as a process of inquiry, and to value thewhole group for its unique ability to provide asetting in Which this can happen.

Significant conversation about public issuesis in some ways like a team sport. When we arecaught up in a soccer or basketball game, theessence of the situation is not a separate egodoing something but rather a set of relationshipsamong the various players. Each requires the useof personal disciplined techniques but also theletting go that happens when a team is playingwell together. An exciting conversation cannotbe constructed by an individual; it requires thewholehearted involvement of a group. There is akind of alternative pulse between the letting goto express one's most significant and authenticfeelings and ideas and the skilled personal andgroup reflection that gives direction to thesemoments of letting go. If trust is not sufficient topermit letting go, the game will never beplayedno significant conversation will happen.Likewise, if no disciplined critique of the con-versation occurs, the quality of the discussionmay hardly merit participation.

To achieve a discussion that can truly educateindividuals and the group, all members

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of the group must be involved, and all must hearand understand, as best they can, the feelingsand ideas of members of the group. In classroomdiscussions, student talk is most often channeledthrough the teacher, but it is important for theteacher to encourage students to talk directly toand try to understand each other. In addition,the teacher is encouraged to model certain atti-tudes toward the discussion of public issuescareful listening, respect, and the willingness tochange one's mind.

ISCUSSION SKILLS. To take part in productivediscussions of public issues, students need a

variety of skills, many of which require breakingunproductive habits they employ in casual con-versation; that is, they must learn techniques ofdisciplined discussion. Among these techniquesare 1. sensitivity to what others are saying,2. stating the issue over which discussants dis-agree, 3. setting an agenda and pursuing it withsome degree of continuity, 4. making explicitthe changes or transitions in the conversation,5. dealing with potential roadblocks, and6. reflecting on the discussion process.

1 Sensitivity. Conversations often seem to goII around in circles because the participants don'tseem to be talking about the same issue, eventhough they are on the same general topic or prob-lem. They do not respond to one another's state-ments. When this happens, people are not beingsensitive to one another. Being sensitive usuallyinvolves making a conscious effort to connect thespeakers with the issues being expressed. Some tipsthat can be helpful to students include the following:

Put yourself in the other person's place tounderstand what that person is saying andhow he or she feels.

Show understanding and acceptance throughsuch nonverbal behaviors as gestures, eyecontact, posture, and facial expression.

When a person has finished speaking, tryrestating the person's most importantthought or feeling.

If there seems to be confusion about theissue under discussion, clarify by summariz-ing the statements of several of the peoplewho have spoken.

Stating the Issue. Discussion often begins byhconcentrating on one aspect of a situation. Ina complicated situation, many different opinions

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are soon thrown into the discussion. One of thefirst challenges of disciplined discussion is tosort out how many different things are beingsaid about different issues or topics. Anotherimmediate need is to identify points of agree-ment and disagreement. These steps allow theparticipants to focus on a limited number ofissues and pursue them systematically.

To state issues clearly, it is useful to translatethe main positions, or opinions that people have,into questions. Stating the issue in questionform focuses the discussion on a specific topicthat requires reasoning and justification.

Sometimes it is necessary to stop and sum-marize the nature of the issue over which you aredisagreeing. One advantage of this skill is that itprovides focus and direction for the discussion.A second major advantage of stating issuesexplicitly is that it tends to broaden the discus-sion and show how a number of similar situa-tions can be related, compared, and contrasted.

Setting an Agenda. An agenda is a list of issuesthat a group agrees to consider in the course of

a discussion. When a group begins discussing acomplicated situation, different people see differ-ent issues. Each usually talks about the issue he orshe thinks is most important and is insensitive tothe issues that others see. One way of dealingwith this problem is to list all the issues that seemimportant. The discussants then decide whichissues they wish to discuss and in what order.

Having made this decision, members of thegroup can remind one another of what points arerelevant and what points are not. If someonejumps to the third issue when the group is stillentangled in the first, he or she can be remindedthat this contribution is not relevant at this point.

Pursuing issues with continuity is important.Changing issues too quickly tends to disruptattempts to clarify or resolve basic disagree-ments. The systematic pursuit of an issue meanssticking with it long enough to deal with itsproblems thoroughly.

Making Clear Transitions. There are points'Tin discussion where it is useful to leave oneissue and move on to another. An argumentbetween two discussants may become so dead-locked that no agreement is likely. They maythen agree to disagree and to take up anotherissue related to the general topic. Another mem-ber of a group may see that there is a prior issue

that must be settled before the issue under dis-cussion can productively be explored.

When someone chooses to change the issueunder consideration, he or she should make thisknown with an explicit transitional statement,explaining why a change of issue at that pointwould move the discussion forward. When mak-ing a transition, it may be helpful to summarizethe differences between the two discussantsbefore moving on to the next issue.

j Potential Roadblocks. For discussion to beproductive, students also need to recognize

roadblocks and develop strategies for dealingwith them. Such roadblocks may include failureto listen and pursue issues systematically, monop-olizing the conversation, proof by repetition, per-sonal attack, and worry about winning the argu-ment. Two potentially difficult roadblocks resultwhen participants have little or no interest inthe controversial situation and therefore feelunmotivated to participate in the conversation or,conversely, have such deep interests and convic-tions that it is difficult for them to be reasonableabout the topic. These two problems speak to thenecessity to select issues carefully.

Reflecting on the Disucssion. Involving stu-dents in reflecting on the quality of the discus-

sion may be.one of the most direct paths to pro-ductive discussion. During a discussion, a groupcan pause and ask "What's happening now?" Thegeneral questions below can be used to determineif the discussion is moving along productively or"going in circles":

What issues have been discussed?What positions were taken, and by whom?Was agreement reached on any issue? Which ones?What things helped move the discussion

along?What things bogged the discussion down

or made it unproductive?What things should be discussed next? Why?

While the answers to these kinds of questionswill help students reflect on and improve theirdiscussion skills, they are not the ultimate deter-minant of whether a discussion has been produc-tive. In order to better measure the quality ofdiscussion, we would advocate the followingbenchmark When positions are more complex(in the sense of including distinctions, qualifica-tions, stipulations, etc.) than when the discussion

began, then the discussion has been productive.

Final ThoughtsOpen-ended issues that involve emotion-

laden value commitments present both a risk anda challenge to teacher and students. The risk liesin a person's sense of frustration when confront-ed with ambiguity, the lack of clear answers, orthe difficulty of arriving at logical justificationsfor "gut-level" feelings. The challenge lies inachieving the sense of satisfaction and intellectu-al accomplishment that a productive discussionof such an issue generates. The teacher's goalshould not be to have students master tidy bits ofinformation, but to have students understand thecomplexity of a problem and be able to maketheir positions reflect that complexity. Consensusmay not be reached, and doubts may remain, butthis is a more authentic outcome than leavingstudents submerged in isolated, decontextual-ized, and meaningless bits of information.

ReferencesBarber, Benjamin. Strong Democracy: Participatory Politics

fora New Age. Berkeley, CA: University of CaliforniaPress, 1984.

Glade, Mary Elizabeth, and James R. Giese. Immigra-tion: Pluralism and National Identity, The PublicIssues Series. Boulder, CO: Social Science EducationConsortium, 1989.

Lasch, Christopher. 'Journalism, Publicity, and the Lost Art

of Argument" Gannett Center Journal(Spring 1990).

Newmann, Fred M. Clarifying Public Controversy: AnApproach to Teaching Social Studies. Boston: Little,

Brown, 1970.Oliver, Donald W., and James P Shaver. Teaching Public

Issues in the High School. Boston: Houghton Mifflin;reprinted by Logan, UT: Utah State UniversityPress, 1966.

Public Issues Series (Boulder, CO: Social Science

Education Consortium, 1988-1993).Singleton, Laurel. The Civil War: Teacher's Guide, Public

Issues Series. Boulder, CO: Social Science EducationConsortium, 1989.

AcknowledgementThe authors are deeply indebted to Donald W.

Oliver and Fred M. Newmann, who have provided lead-ership in the SSEC's work republishing the Public IssuesSeries, which they originally conceived and developed atHarvard. For more information on the approachdescribed in this chapter, we would refer you to Oliverand Shaver (1966) and Newmann (1970).

TEATHRtin Jo

NINO CONTROVERSIAL ISSUESUGH MASSIALAS AND COX INQUIRY

n Cutler Mellen and Stuart Foster

n 1966 Massialas and Coxl explained to socialstudies teachers the process of inquiry andreflective thinking as a methodology foraddressing some of modern society's mostcritical questions. They asserted that, becauseit was not possible to define a distinguishable,

homogeneous, and stable modern culturein the United States, the conventional role ofeducation as a means of preparing children forcitizenship within a dominant culture should bein question. Because of the rapid pace of change,the pluralistic nature of society, and the complex-ities of the modern era, it was no longer the roleof education to transmit the values of a singledominant culture. Rather, because of existingtensions, Massialas and Cox (1966, 3) saw mod-ern society as a "culture in crisis." They declaredthat education, through critical inquiry, shouldultimately perform the function of harmonizingsociety's divergent elements and controversies. Byconfronting the major conflicts and tensionswithin society, Massialas and Cox envisionedschools as agents for change and classroomsas environments in which students solved theproblems of the modern era, ultimately improv-ing society The authors recommended thatschools accept their role as the "'progressivereconstruction' of the culture. There the school isdeliberately critical and creative in its selectionand examination of the values of the society"(22). Based on this assertion, the goal of educa-tion, therefore, would be "the reflective examina-tion of values and issues of current import" (12).

The U.S. social fabric during the 1960sincluded the ideological struggles of the cold war,social conflicts over racial equality, the cata-strophic effects of the Vietnam War, and culturalfragmentation evidenced by student radicalismand a chasm between traditional and emergent

values. Massialas and Cox described this periodof rapid change in which youth felt "a loss ofidentity" amidst a tide of "disruptive racial, reli-gious, ethnic, social prestige, and other cleav-ages." They believed schools had a responsibilityto engage students in the study of these crises.Educators should seek to "prepare citizens whoare capable of dealing with this crisis in rationaland creative ways" (21).

Massialas and Cox's proposition is as relevantfor today's social studies instruction as it was inthe 1960s. Although issues such as the Cold Warand Vietnam no longer dominate society, manyof the other social "crises" have persisted. Argu-ably, racial conflict, crime and delinquency, thebreakdown of the family, inner-city tensions, andglobal inequalities describe today's society muchas they did the United States in 1966. The beliefthat schools must deal critically and actively withsocial issues is still pertinent.

The Function of Social StudiesTeaching

The position of social studies in the curriculumis central to the inquiry-based approach. Socialstudies, according to Massialas and Cox, shouldnot ask students to absorb a static culture, butrather to engage in examining the society's chang-ing norms and values. "The social studies curricu-lum should be comprised of a series of encounterswith ideas about mankind" that stimulate thelearner to "discover new knowledge of and newsolutions to social problems" (24). Social studiesshould, therefore, be directed toward certain goals:1. It should furnish the forum for the analysis

and evaluation of normative propositionsor value judgments about man and society.

2. It should operate within the requisitesof inquiry that relate the development of

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hypotheses and ideas about social relation-ships to supporting evidence.

3. The end results of inquiry should be theproduction of a body of tested principlesand generalizations about human relationsand societies. The social studies classroomshould afford the student the avenue forthe creative venture. (24)

The pervasive notion that the social studiesclassroom is a theater for examining controversialissues is central to the process of inquiry. Accordingto Massialas and Cox, "controversial issues havesocial, emotional and cognitive dimensions" (52).Such issues provide a framework for rich andmeaningful thought and discussion, and by wrest-ling with the problems of modern society througha scheme of investigation, the outcomes can be"conducive to the achievement of our prime goal,the decision making citizen" (54). Consequently,the teacher has to make a conscious decision toexamine values in a systematic manner. "Once thisdecision is made, the classroom becomes the forumof inquiry into social values" (174).

Characteristics of the InquiryClassroom

To critically examine social issues, Massialasand Cox asserted that students would engage inthe "constant agony" of reflection and reflectivethinking, defined as "a process of identifyingproblems of fact and value, assessing them in viewof the assumptions in which they are grounded,and subjecting them to proof in terms of certaincriteria" (90). By evaluating the process in theclassroom and by drawing on several studies ofreflective thinking, Massialas and Cox concludedthat the process of inquiry and reflection pro-gressed through identifiable phases. The authorsexplained, however, that the social studies class-room must take on three main characteristicsbefore inquiry can begin:1. The classroom should engender "an open

climate for discussion." All comments andpoints of view are valued, and all ideas meritcritical examination.

2. In the reflective classroom, hypothesesbecome the focus of discussion. The under-standing of a certain issue should be elicitedthrough the continual evaluation of hypothe-ses through discussion and negotiation.

3. "The functional application of facts tosupport hypotheses." The class should

explore hypotheses by examining the validityand reliability of the evidence supportingthem. Clarifying and validating evidence areof paramount importance to the inquiry'soutcome.

Massialas and Cox were careful to point outthat "facts" are not sacrosanct and absolute buthuman judgments about reality In the reflectiveclassroom, students should deliberate upon andcontinually question such judgments. They mustappreciate that nowhere in the social studies doesan objective, verifiable reality exist, and that ascitizens, it is not possible to make factual deci-sions simply based on objective analyses of data.Rather, they may make decisions only after con-siderable reflection and as a result of judgmentsgrounded in the best available evidence.

The teacher's role in an inquiry-based class-room is significant. For Massialas and Cox, theteacher is not an authority figure directing theclass toward predetermined conclusions but a"manager or co-ordinator of inquiry" (62). Theteacher participates in the process of inquiry andinjects his or her views in a sensitive and democ-ratic way, thereby validating his or her own posi-tion. The authors termed this activity defensiblepartisanship.

The student's role in the process of inquiry iscentral. For successful inquiry the student mustbe actively involved, taking the position of partic-ipant and discoverer. The process directs the stu-dent toward making effective choices regardingcrucial social issues. Massialas and Cox asserted,"It is important that young people know how todiscriminate critically among choices and toavoid unreflective acceptance of `rime- honoredprescriptions" (155).

Ultimately, Massialas and Cox argued that, byfollowing certain phases of investigation, stu-dents would arrive at dependable generalizations.Generalizations are not solutions nor finalanswers, but choices that represent "the mosttenable solution to the problem based on allavailable evidence" (119). Generalizations, there-fore, must always be tentative and considered anapproximation of reality. Thus, the process of dis-covering these generalizations is as meaningful asthe outcome. Massialas and Cox continuallyreturned to this essential goal:

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It should be remembered that the purposeof the social studies enterprise is not only

7 7

Co The Social Studies Inquiry Model

There are six proposed phases in the SocialStudies Inquiry Model. These phases,Massialas and Cox argued, are central tothe effective analysis of controversial issuesand form the basis of exemplary teaching

materials. Often the phases are interrelated andoverlap, not always following a sequential order.Even though the phases, described below, out-line how the process of inquiry may operate, theteacher must keep in mind the fluid and dynam-ic nature of inquiry.

Orientation PhaseThe teacher essentially presents to students a per-

plexing or controversial issue over which there is gen-uine conflict. The aim is to engage students in inquiryand help them define and clarify a given problem.Hypothesis Phase

The students and teacher develop one or morehypotheses for the purposes of investigating andexploring the problem. The teacher focuses discus-sion on the hypotheses, guiding students in formulat-ing ideas about the nature of the problem and its pos-sible resolution.Definition Phase

The students clarify the meaning of the terms ofeach hypothesis to facilitate effective communication.Clarity of meaning is essential for a class to achieve afocused discussion. The teacher must keep the "defi-nition" principle in place throughout all phases of themodel.Exploration Phase

During the exploration phase, dimensions of the

hypotheses as search models are developed andextended, and multiple hypotheses may exist simulta-neously. The students critically examine, evaluate,and reevaluate the meanings, implications, and logicof each hypothesis. Because the nature of the explo-ration is diverse and chaotic, the inquiry process mayoften lack formal coherence. The "chaos," however,has a purpose because students are actively engagingin inquiry and exploration.Evidencing Phase

In this phase, the inquirers gather evidence anddata to support or reject each hypothesis as defined.Insufficient data may limit the inquiry at this phase,or suggest that further investigation is unwarranted.The evidencing process may also reveal opinions,belief systems, or philosophical issues. As a conse-quence, students must deal with issues that involvemore than tangible facts, e.g., feelings, values, atti-tudes, and standards.Generalization Phase

In this final phase, students express the solution tothe problem, but, according to Massialas and Cox, thegeneralization phase "is never taken to represent afinal truth. Its tentative nature is recognized" (119).Consequently, although the group may have carefullyfollowed the inquiry phases and arrived at "a solution,"this can never be any more than the best possiblestatement under the circumstances. Other hypothesesand "solutions" may also be acceptable. In addition,students should appreciate that there is no obligationto arrive at a definitive conclusion because the processof inquirynot the generalizations reachedis theessence of the Social Studies Inquiry Model.

to identify dependable generalizations, butto be able to outline steps to be taken,roads to be traveled, utilizing both analyticand creative processes and skills. All theseare indispensable elements and constituteinseparable components of the new socialstudies. (138)

Applying the Inquiry Modelin the Social Studies Curriculum

In the social studies, students regularlyencounter topics in which the lives of individualpeople are affected by the decisions of others.Human experience necessitates conflict, contro-versy, consensus, and cooperation. For discipline-

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specific examples and the sample lesson plandescribed belowand in many other instancesthe Social Studies Inquiry Model may be usedeffectively in the social studies classroom.

Discipline-Specific IssuesWorld and U.S. history is an area of .study

with numerous examples of human conflict andissues of personal and national freedom. Issuessuch as the rights of indigenous peoples are man-ifest throughout the world and have historicaland contemporary significance. For example, theclaims of Palestinians, Native Americans, theIrish, or the peoples of the former Yugoslaviaall have deep roots in historical experience andare relevant to our understanding today's world.

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In addressing such issues, students will gain valu-able insights into how past experience shapes themodern world and how today's global tensionsand problems are difficult to resolve.

In world geography, students might exploreissues such as the population explosion andwhether national governments have the right tocontrol population growth. Because environmen-tal issues are central to the subject, students canbe encouraged to weigh a society's need for fac-tories, houses, roads, and tourists against thedesire to preserve the natural environment.

In economics, students might analyze therole of national government in the managementof a country's economy and evaluate, for exam-ple, the efficacy of increased taxation andincreased government interference in business.Students might also inquire into the costs andbenefits of schooling, health insurance, anddefense, all in an effort to appreciate the eco-nomic forces shaping their lives.

In civics and U.S. government, studentsmight wrestle with issues such as freedom ofspeech, abortion, smoking in public places, andgun control in order to understand the nature ofsociety, institutional power, and human freedom.By confronting important social questions, stu-dents learn to appreciate that many issues are noteasily resolved.

The "Pony Tall" LessonThis sample lesson deals with a student's free-

dom and a Texas school board's institutionalpower. The lesson walks through the phases inthe Social Studies Inquiry Model.

Orientation Phase. In the first phase stu-dents learn about a perplexing or controversialissue, which centers around the conflict over hairlength between an eight-year-old boy (supportedby his parents) and a local Texas school board.The students, in adopting the role of the schoolboard, will address and resolve the issue, if possi-ble. However, before students learn any specifics,the teacher asks the class to establish a dress/appearance code for an elementary school inTexas. Students should have no prior knowledgeof the actual problems faced by the particularTexas school board.

The teacher implements the lesson using thefollowing guidelines:1. Divide the class into groups of approximately

five students each.2. Inform the class that each group, acting as a

school board, will draft a set of rules govern-ing aspects of personal appearance for a schoolin a small semirural community that is gener-ally conservative and traditional in outlook,composed of citizens who are strong support-ers of the local schools.

3. Guide the groups in formulating a code ofappearance appropriate for a school in such anarea. The code may be in the form of a gener-al statement, or it may be a specific, itemizedlist of what is acceptable and what is not.Students may wish to draw up a more specif-ic code first, then formulate a more generalpolicy statement later.

4. Facilitate each group in sharing its code withthe class in a general discussion. Ask eachgroup to write down the key elements of theircode on an overhead transparency to helpfocus discussion.

5. Encourage other class members to commentupon and critique each proposed dress code.Encourage students to defend their adoptedpositions. For example, if groups suggest differ-ent codes for girls and boys, or different codesfor different ages, or that the school shouldhave no dress code, then students shoulddiscuss the consequences of such decisions.

6. Ask each group to meet again to discuss thefeedback and refine its code. When the stu-dents are satisfied that they have arrived at thebest code for their school, the teacher shoulddistribute the newspaper article describing anactual Texas school dress code.

7. After the students have read the article,Ask each group to discuss the issue and iden-tify the key problem the school board in thedistrict must address. Each group should writea short statement that explains what the prob-lem is. For example, "The school board's prob-lem is a lawsuit by the student's parents on thebasis of sex discrimination. The parents arguethat the length-of-hair rule applies to boysonly and is, therefore, discriminatory"

8. State that each group represents members ofthe Texas school board. They must confrontthe issue and contemplate the problem.

Hypothesis Phase. This phase of the SocialStudies Inquiry Model asks students to form ahypothesis about the dress code issue. In thiscontext students are concerned with analyzingand reflecting on: What is a desirable code ofpersonal appearance in school? How will the

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The situation described in the given example concerns Toungate v. Bastropindependent School District, 842 S.W. 2d 823 (Texas App.1992)

School's policy makes boy with ponytail a lonerBy Christy Hoppe

Dallas Morning News

BASTROP, Texas For six weeks, ZachToungate has jumped off the bus in the scatteredmorning light and said goodbye to his elemen-tary school classmates.

He heads, alone, to his dreary 10- by 13-footclassroom, its windows covered with butcherpaper, and sits in one of the six chairs. He eatsthere because he's not allowed in the lunchroom.

During recess he goes to the blacktop, butplays by himself, bouncing a basketball his moth-er gave him. He cannot attend the art and choirclasses he liked.

What separates 8-year-old Zachariah fromhis classmates is a wispy 7 inches of hair.

Zach has a ponytail. Not much of one,because the thin strand falls from the base of hishairline. Otherwise, he wears a burr.

But the tail is enough to violate a BastropIndependent School District dress code adoptedthis year that prohibits a boy's hair from touch-ing his shirt collar.

September and Stanley Toungate haverefused to force their son to cut the tail that heloves. The school board has refused to make anexception to the rule and since Oct. 5 has rele-gated Zach to an "alternative education setting,"reserved primarily for disciplinary problems.

The battle of wills is now being fought incourt while Zach sits alone each day, taught by aprocession of substitute teachers.

In his isolation, Zach is learning mostlyabout principle and how much it can cost, even athird-grader.

He says he misses his schoolmates, the choirclass he barely got to attend and his regularteacher. He also has awakened at night, moaningand scared.

"I've had bad nightmares," Zach said at homein Bastrop, 30 miles east of Austin. "I dreamed Iwas in that room and I couldn't get out and it keptgetting smaller and it crushed me. It was bad."

But, with all the logic of his age, he argues forhis ponytail.

"I just want it. I like the way my hair looks."September Toungate said she has listened to

arguments from the Mina Elementary Schoolprincipal and school board members, but "theydidn't give me any reasonable answer, other thanthat they want all little boys to look exactly alike."

Appearance, she said, is for the parents todecide. Her son's hair is well-groomed, and hehas the right to wear it as he likes.

"I'm not going to make him cut his hair," saidthe mother, who at 29 is too young to have beenpart of the rebellious 1960s.

With both children in school, she is studyingto be a nurse.

"I'm trying real hard to raise my children tonot judge someone by appearance, not by skincolor, not by sex, not by hair length, not by any-thing but what's inside of them," she said.

Bastrop School Superintendent Paul Flemingadmits that the ponytail flapnow at six weeksand with no end in sighthas "gone a lot furtherthan it should have gone."

He has rejected compromises offered by thefamily of pinning up the offending tail, tucking itunder a shirt collar or allowing Zach to wear a wig.

Fleming said there is only one solution, andit is easy: Cut the tail.

"It would be a simple matter to cut the child'shair and fight the rule," he said. "If the boardwere to change its mind or the court were to rulewe could not set hair-length rules, then the kidcould grow it back."

The Toungates have sued the school districtfor discrimination, alleging that the hair-lengthrules are gender-based and unfairly apply solelyto boys.

Fleming said the courts long have upheld theright of school boards to establish and enforcedress codes.

Reprinted by permission of the Dallas Morning News.

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SO BEST COPY AVAILABLE

establishment of such a code affect the schoolboard's dilemma?

Hypotheses may be rich and varied, and suchdiversity should be encouraged. Some studentsmay hypothesize about the amount of controlany organization should have over individuals,while others may hypothesize that a clearlydefined code is essential to the smooth function-ing of any organization.

Definition Phase. A pervasive feature ofthe Social Studies Inquiry Model is the need todefine words and expressions. Through this les-son, such terms as "sensible," "appropriate,""offensive," "liberal," "conservative," and "objec-tionable" may be expressed and must be defined.Students should be aware that terminology maybe misleading, confusing, or vary in meaningdepending on the context. Such considerationsare central in the discussion of controversial issueswhere language often is value-laden. For example,what is considered "shocking" to one individualmay be considered "liberal" by another, and whatis considered "suitable attire" differs from individ-ual to individual.9. Seek definitions from each group based on

the language of each dress code. Clarify themeaning of each. Reach consensus for under-standing.

Exploration Phase. During this phase thestudents develop and extend the drafted codes.The aim of exploration is to "locate internalinconsistencies, develop a coherent theory, andextend the search toward needed evidence" (332).A part of such critical reflection is challengingand reevaluating the original statements andpositions. The teacher should emphasize thatmodifying, reconsidering, or possibly abandoningearlier positions is a sign of careful analysis andcritical thinking.1 0. Ask each group to reexamine its draft and,

where appropriate, alter its code in the lightof classroom discussion. The group shouldspend time considering how the boy's situa-tion relates to the proposed code. Eachgroup should discuss the issue and how eachgroup member would react if they wereactually on the school board.

1 1. Guide each group in preparing a statementdescribing how they would resolve the issue.

1 2. Encourage each group to share its decisionwith the class as a whole.

1 3. Summarize the position of each group onthe blackboard, and lead a discussion on thedifferences between groups. One group maydecide that the boy should be allowed inschool because he does not violate theirdress code, whereas another group wouldnot allow the boy into the school because hedoes. Encourage discussion also about thecriteria used in making their final decision.

Evidencing Phase. The purpose of the evi-dencing phase is to allow students to test theirhypotheses through the use of available evidenceand resources. This may require students to usenewspapers and magazines as a resource and toresearch in libraries, places of work, and areas ofspecial interest. They may use legal precedents,state regulations, the opinions of public figures,and codes of practice, which are examples thatform part of a culture and its norms and will helpstudents understand a wider decision framework.Students must engage actively in the process ofsocial inquiry and not learn exclusively frommaterials provided by the teacher.1 4. Encourage students to find evidence that

will help them more clearly evaluate theproblem. In this instance, students would beexpected to locate and examine their ownschool dress/appearance code; to investigateother workplace codes; to identify state reg-ulations; to discuss such issues with peers,parents, and other community members; toresearch the issue by investigating any schol-arly research on the issue (e.g., studies onthe relationship of appearance and dress tostudent achievement); or to uncover previ-ous examples of such controversies and con-sider how they were resolved in court casesand rulings.

1 5. Allocate discussion time for students toshare and discuss their evidence both in theiroriginal group and with the class as a whole.

Generalization Phase. The final phase of theSocial Studies Inquiry Model requires the stu-dents to try to resolve the problem. If they werethe school board, what would they do? Whatwould be the implications of such actions? Howdoes their position relate to their hypothesesregarding, for example, the nature of institution-al power? The students should realize that thiscontroversial issue is difficult to resolve and thata resolution may not be possible.

71C)

Dress Code

The actual dress code at the time the ponytail controversy began.Students are expected to come to school well-groomed and appropriately dressed every day. Hair will be

clean and properly combed, and clothing will be neat and clean. Boys' hair must meet the following guide-lines: The rear length must be no longer than to the bottom of a regular shirt collar. On the sides, the bot-tom of the earlobe must be visible. In the front, the length cannot be longer than the top of the eyebrows.Afro style is limited to a maximum of 3 inches in length.

Special rules about dress include:1. All students may wear shorts.2. T-Shirts with writings or drawings on them are not to be vulgar or in poor taste.

Fish net shirts and tank tops are not acceptable.3. Shirts must be hemmed and cover the shoulders and stomach.4. Boys are not allowed to wear earrings or studs.S. Thongs are unacceptable footwear.6. Headgear will not be permitted inside buildings (i.e., hats, caps, etc.) during the regular school day.

Parents can help the children participate in the physical education program by dressing them appropri-ately. The P.E. teacher recommends tennis shoesboots and sandals are not safe. Girls may wear pants orshorts under dresses. The teacher further recommends pullover tops and pants so children can move freelyon the floor without the discomfort of buttons and zippers. When purchasing school clothes, please keepin mind these guidelines.

1 6. Encourage the students. to arrive at a bestpossible outcome based on their hypotheses,codes of appearance, deliberations, and theevidence supporting or rejecting their posi-tions. Their final proposal should not bedescribed as a "conclusion" but a "general-ization," which is tentative in nature andmay be changed in light of new evidence,further reflection and continued inquiry

1 7. Require each student, if you wish, to pre-pare a final class paper that outlines theprocess his or her group used to arrive at thefinal "generalization."

1 8. Distribute copies of Document 1 andDocument 2, which are the 1990 and 1993-94 codes of appearance in the actual Texascourt case, Toungate v. Bastrop IndependentSchool District. Ask students to compare thetwo codes and comment upon their differ-ences. Pose to students whether the newcode will likely prevent future controversiesover dress and appearance from arising. Theteacher may ask through the process:

In drawing up your code of personal appear-ance, did you all agree? Over which issueswas there disagreement? What happenedwhen you disagreed?Did any one individual dominate the group?Why do you think this was? Did some

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members of the group contribute less thanthe others? If so, why was this?Did your group change its mind or reexam-ine its position at any phase? Why did thisoccur? Did any particular individual orargument change your point of view?Did any particular evidence strongly influ-ence you? Which evidence? Why?

The Inquiry Process. Central to this inquirymodel, and even more important than the finaloutcome, is the process the students utilized. Asa consequence, the teacher must spend time dis-cussing, analyzing and evaluating the process ofinquiry as it evolves.1 9. Conduct a final discussion that focuses on

the whole issue of dress codes and studentrights. Revolve it around questions such as:

What rights do students have at school?What authority do schools have over students?How important do you think appearance isin society?Do you think that "giving in" to parentswould be better than causing a great dealof tension and controversy?Are there some principles that should beupheld by institutions?What are the most important principlesand rules that should govern student

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Student Grooming and Dress Code

1993-94 codes as set out in the Parent/Student Handbook.Generally, a strong relationship exists between a student's appearance and his or her conduct. Good grooming and appropriate dress are

encouraged and expected of the students enrolled in the district. A student's grooming, dress, and conduct not only relate to the student, butreflect on the student's family, school, and community. The following shall apply:

Administrative Guidelines1.The principal will be the authority in

all decisions regarding the groomingand dress code. Any provision not cov-ered in the code, or any interpretationof the code, or any exception to the codewill be the administration's responsibility.

2. Upon recommendations from the princi-pal, the Superintendent has the authorityto add to the dress code prohibitionof any identifying marks, hairstyles,clothing, etc. associated with gangsor gang activities.

3. The grooming and dress code appliesto all students enrolled in the BastropIndependent School District while at theschool, or while participating in a schoolsponsored or school-related activity.

4. Compliance with the grooming and dresscode will be checked each day.

General1. Cleanliness will be expected at all times.2. Students shall come to school looking

clean and neat and wearing clothingand exhibiting grooming that will not bea health or safety hazard to the studentor others. The district prohibits pictures,emblems, or writings on clothing thatare lewd, offensive, vulgar, or obscene, orthat advertise or depict tobacco products,alcoholic beverages, drugs or any othersubstance prohibited under policyFNCF(L) and prohibits any clothing

or grooming that in the principal's judge-ment may reasonably be expected tocause disruption of or interference withnormal school operations.

3. See-through attire will not be permitted.4. The midriff must be covered in a normal

standing, sitting, or moving position.5. Clothes are to be worn only as originally

designed by the manufacturer.6. Appropriate undergarments must be

worn but not visible.7. Shoes must be worn.8. Metal or hard taps on shoes will not be

permitted.9. Sunglasses may not be worn inside

building unless prescribed by a doctorfor inside use.

10. Jewelry that in the principal's judge-ment would interfere with instructionor disrupt the regular educationalprogram will not be permitted.

11. Headbands, neckbands, legbands,or armbands will not be permitted.

12. Hats and caps may not be worn insidethe building.

13. Visible tattoos that, in the principal'sjudgment would interfere with instruc-tion or disrupt the regular educationalprogram, will not be permitted.

14. Shirts and blouses must be kept proper-ly zipped or buttoned, and no low-neckor low-back garments will be permitted.

15. Tank tops will not be worn.16. Clothes that have holes or that are cut

up will not be permitted.17. Cut-offs, biker shorts, and wind shorts,

or warm-ups are not to be worn toschool. (Warm-ups that resemble slacksare permitted.)

18. Walking shorts are permitted, and mustbe to the bottom of the fingertips whenstanding straight and arms are helddown.

Specific Guidelinesfor Boys' Grooming1. Faces must be completely clean shaven

(no beards or mustaches of any style).2. Hair must be neat and clean. The rear

length must be no longer than to thebottom of a regular shirt collar. On thesides, the bottom of the earlobe mustbe visible. In the front, the length cannotbe longer than the top of the eyebrows.Afro style is limited to a maximum of3 inches in length.

3. Wearing of earrings or studs is notallowed.

Specific Guidelinesfor Girls' Grooming1. Split skirts for girls may be worn if they

meet the dress requirements for length.2. Girls' skirt lengths must be no shorter

than 3 inches above the knee.3. Dresses with spaghetti straps or exposed

backs are not permitted.

behavior in schools?Should parents have more power in decidingthe nature of their child's education?Should children of different sexes be treateddifferently in school? Why? Why not?What, if any, human rights do you thinkare denied to students in schools?Such a discussion provides an important

entry point into fundamental political, social,philosophical, and historical issues centered onsubjects such as civil disobedience, the need forcontrol for organizational efficiency, the nature ofauthority, human rights, the stability of institu-

tions, totalitarianism, and individual freedom.After following the Social Studies Inquiry

model and reflecting on the outcomes andprocesses involved, the student will have activelyparticipated in the intellectual process of criticalinquiry, and the classroom will have in effectbecome a laboratory for actively reflecting andresolving social issues.

ReferenceWassialas, Byron G., and C. Benjamin Cox.Inquiry in

Social Studies. New York McGraw-Hill Books, Inc., 1966.

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OrientationEstablish groupsGroups decide on a code for student appearancein schoolPresent codes for class discussionFormulate or modify codes in groupsafter discussionIntroduce newspaper articleIdentify the problems posed by the social issuecovered in the newspaper articleGroups become the school board and addressthe problem

HypothesisStudents create hypotheses in groups

ExplorationStudents relate their codes and hypotheses tothe problem faced by the school boardDiscuss the problem in groups in order to arrive

at a position on the issueA representative from each group shares thegroup's position with the classDiscuss and evaluate the groups' positions inclass discussion

EvidencingStudents seek evidence on the issueStudents share the evidence they accumulate ingroup and class discussion

GeneralizationsForm generalizationsDiscuss generalizations in group discussionGroups justify their decisions to the class (withdecisions being grounded in the best evidenceavailable)Assess the process of inquiryDiscuss the entire problem in relation to widersocial issues

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CRITICAL PEDAGOGY AND SOCIAL EDUCATIONbq Cleo . Cherrqholmes

CONSENSUS AND CONFLICT

Critical pedagogy is a vague and ambiguousterm. It gained currency in England in thelate 1960s in reference to teaching prac-tices related to the "new sociology of edu-cation." Beginning in the 1970s andextending to the present in the United

States, critical pedagogy has referred, more orless, to the teaching complement of curriculumtheory's "reconceptualist" movement (Pinar1975). This movement has never been unifiedand continues to defy easy description. In theUnited States it is historically related to such"reconstructionist" educators of the pre-WorldWar II period as John Dewey and Charles Rugg.It also exhibits influences from various westernEuropean intellectual developments that rangefrom phenomenology to critical theory to post-structural and postmodern thought. Recently,critical pedagogy in the United States has incor-porated ideas from literary criticism and theory,various strands of feminist thought and practice,and pragmatism. Even though critical pedagogyhas been written about from time to time by,among others, Henry Giroux (1983), KennethKickbusch (1985), Nancy Lesko (1988), WalterParker (1986), Thomas Popkewitz (1980),Bill Stanley (1992), Tony Whitson (1991), andthe author (Cherryholmes 1991), it has neverbeen a major theme in social education.

Why should this be the case? Why shouldsocial educators show little interest in theseapproaches to thinking about society and itsproblems? Here is one answer. When they thinkabout society, many social educators, along withsocial scientists and historians, implicitly, if notexplicitly, distinguish between social consensusand social conflict. Social conflict in its various

forms always poses a threat to whatever civilpeace and stability we are fortunate enough tohave. By demarcating consensus from conflict,we are encouraged to emphasize the consensualand agreeable aspects of social order, therebyturning our attention away from its darker side.Our collective fears of social distrust, civil unrest,and the potential for societal disintegration, thisanswer goes, is so threatening that it is temptingsimply to ignore them.

A consensus-conflict distinction, however, isartificial and quickly deconstructs. Social consen-sus always presumes and cannot exist withoutsocial conflict. Social consensus, whenever wefind it, exists because previous conflicts have beenresolved or put aside, at least for the time being.But, unless we happen to be living in a utopiaat the end of history, we are likely, I believe, toexperience renewed social disagreements andconflicts that, in turn, will be superseded by socialagreements. The link between this argument andcritical pedagogy is that the latter assumes that1. criticism is important and integral to aresponsible study of society and to a healthysocial order, and 2. criticism itself raises thespecter of social unrest and conflict that bringsrelated fears and anxieties from the backgroundinto the foreground.

Critical pedagogy is complex and marked bynumerous disagreements and contradictions.In this chapter I have chosen to highlight onlya few of its themesthose that draw from lin-guistic philosophy, critical theory, and pragma-tism. My central focus is on criticism becausesocial education, as we know it, has alwaysassumed the importance of social criticism eventhough social educators historically have given itlittle attention.

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Language, Speech, and CriticismLanguage and speech are almost never dis-

cussed, analyzed, or criticizedand are rarelymentionedas a part of social education. This issurprising because our social life, our knowledgeof it, and our teaching about it cannot exist with-out language and speech. Social educators uselanguage to describe, explain, cajole, or praise, butneither language nor speech are subjects of study.It is important to distinguish between languageand speech in developing this line of argument.Language is constituted by words and the rulesby which they are put together. A seemingly infi-nite number of things can be spoken or written.Speech, however, refers to what is spoken andwritten. Social education makes up only a tinyfraction of what can be said. A critical social edu-cator is interested, among other things, in thisquestion: Why do we choose to say the things wedo and not something else?

One assumption about language that seemsto animate social education is that language is avalue-neutral medium that educators necessarilyuse but is not itself profitable to study. This issometimes called a descriptivist view of languagebecause it conceptualizes language in a descrip-tive way to make statements that are true or falseor meaningless. In this view language is passiveit can be used to say things but not do things.This view of language, which has had and retainswidespread intuitive appeal, has been discredited,however, for forty years. Why it is flawed pro-vides some insight into the reasons many criticaleducators are trying to reconceptualize importantaspects of curriculum and teaching.

J. L. Austin (1968) in How To Do Things withWords pointed out that many statements are nei-ther true nor false nor meaningless. Statementslike "I bet you that Bill Clinton will be reelectedpresident in 1996" are actions. They are not sim-ply true or false, and certainly they are not mean-ingless. This line of investigation leads to theconclusion that all statements are actions. Here isthe reasoning. The word statement is structurallyambiguous. A statement means, in one sense,"what is stated"; this is speech as description. Astatement means, in another sense, "the act of stat-ing"; this is speech as action. Every statement is anaction, and some statements can be true or false.

What, one is entitled to ask, does this have todo with social education? One implication is thatvalues always precede speech, and a second is thatvalues always precede facts. The effect is to

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deconstruct the fact-value distinction that hasbeen an article of faith for decades among socialeducators. Here is the argument:1. Statements are actions.2. Actions cannot be taken without reference

to criteria, standards, or values.3. Therefore, values always precede speech.

Whenever one makes a statement, it is becauseone believes it is worth making; it is worth makingmore than another statement; it is the kind ofstatement one is entitled to make; and so on.

Factual statements, because they are state-ments, are also actions that are products of valuejudgments. Factual statements, such as "for com-parable work women tend to be paid less thanmen," or "for the last twenty years, an increasingpercentage of children have been living below thepoverty line," embody value judgments.

Teachers and students can expose and criti-11 cally inquire into the values, beliefs, ideolo-gies, and points of view represented in thefactual claims of their textbooks, curriculumguidelines, tests, and courses of study.

Social studies textbooks often purport to pro-vide simply a "factual" account of, say, U.S. histo-ry, world geographic regions, or world history.Textbooks describe and sometimes attempt toexplain political developments, military victoriesand losses, and cultural differences, for example.Because values always precede speech, socialstudies textbooks may be factually correct butthey are not value-free. Textbooks result fromchoices about who and what to include, who andwhat to exclude, what to praise, what to con-demn, and so on. Notwithstanding the fact thatthey are the products of many decisions, text-books usually present themselves (are presentedby publishers and authors) as providing a "natur-al" account of their subject"this is just the waythings are," "this is just the way things hap-pened." But historical events can be described, ascan any event or object, in an indefinitely largenumber of ways. Each description and each text-book presents a point of viewone among many.When reading textbooks, social educators shouldoccasionally think of themselves and their stu-dents as social critics instead of simply viewingtextbooks as authoritative sources of information.Critical educators would like to see social educa-tion come into the intellectual latter half of thetwentieth century by discarding the outdated

descriptivist view of language and the fact-valuedistinction.

Clarity and CriticismTo say the obvious, communication is as

important to social education as language. It alsois often overlooked. Whether communicationtakes the form of textbooks, classroom interac-tions, computer exercises or simulations, or oth-erwise, it is easily taken for granted. But clarityand cooperation are important both for the effec-tive communication of ideas and information andfor their criticism. H. P. Grice, a noted Britishanalytic philosopher, believes that much of ourcommunication is a cooperative effort with acommon purpose. His observations about effec-tive communication, which he summarizes inwhat is called Grice's Cooperative Principle, areuseful in thinking critically about socialeducation. Grice's (1975, 48-52) CooperativePrinciple has four parts:1. Quantity (provide as much information as

needed and no more);2. Quality (avoid saying something that you

believe is false or for which you have noevidence;

3. Relation (make it relevant); and4. Manner (be orderly, brief, clear, and avoid

ambiguity and obscurity).

As odd as it might seem, perhaps one of themost productive uses of criticism occurs in thecontext of cooperation. An important effect ofcooperation in communication is to produceclarity. At its simplest, clarity in communicationwill lead to agreement or disagreement, either ofwhich lays the basis for future intellectual devel-opment and understanding. Grice's principle isuseful in avoiding disagreements brought aboutby foggy, fuzzy, ambiguous, or obscure communi-cation that might otherwise pose as criticism.111 Teachers should promote clarity in class-1111. room interactions in order to enhance criti-cal insights or, at least, indicate when clarity isnot desirable.

Sometimes, to be sure, we desire to be playful,obscure, and poetic in what we say in order toexplore ideas and their consequences. But as wewend our way through the mazes of our thoughtsand arguments, it is useful to distinguish betweendisagreements that arise from our inability toexpress ourselves clearly and disagreements aboutideas themselves. Clarity is important in advanc-

ing criticism and understanding.

Power and CriticismIt would be an excessively narrow and ideal-

istic view of criticism if it were to be restricted tothe observation that facts are not value-free.Where do our values come from? The values andpreferences of teachers and students come fromsomewhere; they do not appear out of nowhere.The knots of power in which all of us find our-selves are the source of many of our values andpreferences. By power I mean asymmetricalsocial, political, and material relationshipsamong people that lead some to be rewarded andothers to be deprived. These inequalities, in turn,are based on differences among people in pos-sessions or characteristics, and power is deter-mined by the relationships that emanate fromthese differences. In this way power becomesembedded and crystallized in social institutionsand cultural habits because such inequalitiesoften are perpetuated from one generation to thenext (Cherryholmes 1988).

Social education is one social institution andcollection of habits that can either contribute tothese inequalities and our beliefs about them orcan expose them to open deliberation and criti-cism. Because social education purports to edu-cate about what we know and understand aboutsociety, it necessarily includes education in thevirtues that support existing power structures.These virtues and power arrangements make oursociety what it is. Critical educators believe thatit is important to open up this aspect of socialeducation and make it an explicit part of the cur-riculum instead of letting it remain hidden.

OD Teachers and students can critically111111.mquffe into the exercise and effects ofpower in society as well as how power operatesto constitute social studies education (text-books, curriculum guides, tests, scopes andsequences, etc.).

One effect of discussing and criticizing theeffects and exercise of power in social studieseducation is to promote social self-understand-ing. Here is the line of reasoning. For an individ-ual to be socialized into a societyto be a mem-ber of society as it wereshe must first learn andthen explicitly accept its social norms and values.But we are rarely remindedor rarely choose toremind ourselvesthat our society is the out-come of a series of choices in addition to hap-

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penstance. Our societies give the appearance ofbeing "natural"that this is just the way theyare and could not be otherwise. But things couldbe otherwise. For example, freedom of expressionand congregation, which are in the First Amend-ment, could have been excluded from the Bill ofRights. Had this happened, our current concep-tions of political protest, legitimate scope of themass media, and definitions of pornography, forexample, would likely be different. By criticallyinquiring into the exercise and effects of powerthat structure society, teachers and students canunderstand more fully who they are as membersof society, how things got that way, and becomeincreasingly aware of the existence of alternatives.Values precede facts, and power precedes speech.

Criticism and the ClassroomSocial educators are sometimes seduced into

believing that their classroom is not part of thoseaspects of society that are proper subject matterfor their curriculum. The temptation is to believethat what they should be studying is "outside"and not "inside" the classroom. This is based,however, on a false distinction between those"subjects" who study society and the "objects" oftheir study. This is one form of the subject-object distinction that characterizes much ofmodern thinking about the nature of the socialsciences; it would be surprising if it were notshared by many social educators. That peoplewidely believe and act upon a distinctionbetween subject and object perpetuates an ideol-ogy of control. The problem with the distinctionis that it is not possible to draw a firm and cleardistinction between what is "inside" and what is"outside" the classroom. Teachers and studentsare products of the same historical and socialtrends and processes that mark the larger socialworld. Classrooms are distinguished by differ-ences in authority, expertise, gender, ethnicity,age, and abilityas is the larger world.

Jurgen Habermas, an important contempo-rary German philosopher and critic, has outlineda theory of communicative competence that sug-gests a number of avenues that social educatorscan take if they should choose to investigate howthey and their students interact. He argues thatnormal communicative interaction proceedssmoothly as long as four criteria are satisfied.1. What is said is understandable.2. The speaker is sincere.3. What is said is truthful.

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4. The speaker and hearer agree on the values andnorms of what is said. (Habermas 1979, 65)

The first and second criteria, for the mostpart, are minimum requirements if social educa-tion is to occur at all. If classroom communica-tions are not understandable or if someone'ssincerity is questioned, normal interaction isinterrupted. These interruptions, Habermas con-tends, can be rectified by further communication.If words are used that are new or complicated,one offers explanations and elaborations until anacceptable level of understanding is achieved. Ifone's sincerity is doubted, the problem is solvedlikewise; communication continues until thequestion of intention is resolved.

0

If Teachers and students can monitor andcriticize their classroom interactions in

terms of the biases, values, prejudices, andpoints of view, including those expressing theperspectives of class, gender, ethnicity, age, etc.

When the third and fourth criteria for normalinteraction become problematictruthfulnessand normative agreementit becomes muchmore difficult to bring about resolution.Habermas's arguments along these lines, howev-er, suggest what social educators can try in theirclassrooms. He has yet to deal with normativedisagreement in detail, but in the case of truth-fulness, he proposes that we should proceed towhat he calls critical discourse. He acknowledgesthat speech is shaped and formed by values,power, ideology, ignorance, and bias. Given this,how does one move the communication to agree-ing about what is truthful and not distorted orbiased? What is required is an ideal speech situ-ation. He poses: If we could describe a speech sit-uation (classroom interaction) that is not distort-ed, what would it look like? Here is his answer:1. The discourse should be non-dominated and

symmetrical where every participant, teacherand students, is accorded equal status andpower.

2. Each participant may make any comment,challenge any statement, question anytheoretical or ethical orientation.

3. All interests must be represented.4. The discourse cannot be allowed to turn into

a contest. Voting, debating, and other strategicbehaviors and outcomes are prohibited.

5. The goal is to follow the best argument untilconsensus is achieved. (Habermas 1979)

Critical discourse is demanding. Social edu-cators should attempt critical discourse only onirregular and, perhaps, rather rare occasions. Butcritical discourse is well suited for teaching socialissues because the latter invite the controversyand disagreement for which critical discourse isdesigned. On those occasions when the norms ofcritical discourse are invoked, the power andinterests of the society and classroom becomequickly illuminated.

Pragmatism, Aesthetics, and CriticismAmerican pragmatists, beginning with

Charles Sanders Peirce and William James at theturn of the century and continuing through JohnDewey and into the present to Richard Rorty,Donald Davidson, and Cornel West, havebrought criticism into the public arena in a num-ber of creative ways. Here is Peirce's 1905 versionof the pragmatic maxim:

The method prescribed in the [pragmatic]maxim is to trace out in the imagination theconceivable practical consequencesthatis, the consequences for deliberate, self-con-trolled conductof the affirmation ordenial of the concept; and the assertion ofthe maxim is that herein lies the whole ofthe purport of the word, the entire concept.(Thayer 1984, 493)

Many implications of Peirce's maxim for crit-icism in social education are quite straightfor-ward. For example, if one is interested in deter-mining the meaning of a policy proposal or courtdecision or administrative ruling or an interpre-tation of an historical event, one proceeds byestimating its consequences. By focusing on thepractical consequences of an idea or proposal,pragmatists contend, many needless disagree-ments can be avoided.

Teachers and students should pragmaticallyappraise the meaning of social phenomena

and the aesthetics of ordinary experience, con-sidering what kind of society they wish to livein and what kind of lives they wish to live.

If criticism is pursued pragmatically, a numberof implications follow. Here is an abbreviated list:1. Pragmatists do not make sharp distinctions

between the text of a concept or idea and itscontext. In order to understand what an ideameans, pragmatically speaking, is to put it

into the context of its application.2. Pragmatists think holistically. They try

to avoid fragmenting tasks, routines, andresponses because to do so is to ignore someconsequences and, as a result, may becomeless pragmatic.

3. Pragmatists do not make sharp distinctionsbetween fact and value or theory and prac-tice. This is because the consequences ofany set of factual statements have evaluativeimplications and each value position leadsto some facts instead of to others.

4. Pragmatists are fallibilists. They assume thatwhatever they think they know and believecould be in error. They expect that whateverstrategies they pursue will at some time befound wanting.

5. Pragmatists believe in democracy.This is related to the earlier discussion ofHabermas's critical discourse. If some peopleand their critical perspectives are excludedfrom our conversations, then we are morelikely to overlook possibly some conse-quences that may turn out to be importantin achieving our purposes.

6. Pragmatists are guided by the aesthetics ofordinary experience. The consequences theyseek are pleasurable, joyful, satisfying, pro-ductive, beautiful, ethical, efficacious, andfit together.

7. Therefore, criticism from a pragmatic per-spective is a continuing conversation andexperiment, a discourse on the consequencesof thinking, if you will, about what is beauti-ful, what our ideas mean, what democracymeans, and how we wish to live our lives.

The pragmatists address, I believe, the ques-tion that animates social education as well as crit-ical pedagogy: Why do we do what we do? Theiranswer: In order to lead beautiful, satisfying, pro-ductive, and pleasurable lives. It is remarkablehow far removed most of the time we are frompragmatism and its aesthetic impulses. Evidencefor this last observation is provided by the factthat we rarely pose questions of aesthetic conse-quence either to ourselves or to others. Perhapspragmatism, aesthetics, and the criticism theyrequire are too demanding to be seriously includ-ed in social education. If that is the case, all of us,I believe, will be the lesser for it.

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ReferencesAustin, J. L. How To Do Things with Words. New York

Oxford University Press, 1968.Cherryholmes, Cleo H. Power and Criticism:

Poststructural Investigations in Education. New YorkTeachers College Press, 1988.

Cherryholmes, Cleo H. "Critical Research and SocialStudies Education." In Handbook of Research on Social

Studies Teaching and Learning. edited by JamesShaver, 41-55. New York Macmillan PublishingCo., 1991.

Giroux, Henry. (1983). Theory and Resistance in

Education: A Pedagogy for the Opposition. Boston,

MA: Bergin and Garvey, Publishers, Inc.Grice. H. P. "Logic and Conversation." In Vol. 3. of

Syntax and Semantics, edited by Peter Cole and JerryMorgan, 41-58. New York Academic Press, 1975.

Habermas, Jurgen. Communication and the Evolution ofSociety. Boston: Beacon Press, 1979.

James, William. Pragmatism. 1907. Indianapolis, Ind.:Hackett Publishing Co., 1981.

Kickbusch, Kenneth. "Ideological Innocence andDialogue: A Critical Perspective on Discourse in theSocial Studies," Theory and Research in Social

Education 13, no. 3 (1985): 45-56.Lesko, Nancy. Symbolizing Society: Stories, Rights and

Structure in a Catholic High School. London: FalmerPress, 1988.

Parker, Walter. "Justice, Social Studies and theSubjectivity/Structure Problem," in Theory andResearch in Social Education 14, no. 4 (1986):277-295.

Pinar, William. Curriculum Theorizing: TheReconceptualists. Berkeley, Calif: McCutchanPublishing, Co., 1975.

Popkewitz, Thomas. "Global Education as a SloganSystem," in Curriculum Inquiry 10, no. 3 (1980):303-316.

Stanley, William. Curriculum for Utopia: Social

Reconstructionism and Critical Pedagogy in the

Postmodern Era. Albany, NY: State University ofNew York Press, 1992.

Whitson, Tony. Constitution and Curriculum.London: Falmer Press, 1991.

HO 90

DIS USSION METHODS INAN SSUES-CENTERED CURRICULUMbq Jef Passe and Ronald W. Evans

Classroom discussion is an essential elementof an issues-centered curriculum. Wilenand White (1991) define discussion as "aneducative and structured group conversa-tion between teacher and students aboutsubject matter at the higher cognitive

levels." Discussion provides opportunities for stu-dents to reach several educational goals, includinga depth of knowledge, rationality, commitmentto fairness, development of critical thinking skills,a strengthening of oral expression and listeningcomprehension, development of insight into thevalues of oneself and others, and practice inthe democratic process (Bridges 1979). Withoutdiscussion, an issues-centered curriculum isunlikely to progress past a cursory review of thetopic and with shallow reflection.

Classroom discourse has long been present inschools, but not always in a manner that pro-motes the goals of an issues-centered curriculum(Wilen and White 1991). Teachers who chooseto emphasize the study of issues must considerthe following factors:

Teacher impartialityCreating an atmosphere conduciveto discussion

Choice of topicsBackground knowledgeThe role of the teacherTeacher questioningDiscussion managementDiscussion formatConcluding the discussion

If handled properly, classroom discussion canbe instrumental in student growth and, ultimate-ly, in the development of democratic citizens.Poor implementation, however, can promotecynicism, intolerance, shallowness, and docility.

In other words, it can negate the very curriculargoals it was designed to strengthen.

Teacher ImpartialityA longstanding belief by many educators is

that teachers must maintain strict neutrality in allcontroversial discussions. In an issues-centeredcurriculum, which is built upon controversy, theteacher's role would be considerably restrictedif implemented in such an environment. Kelly(1986) takes issue with this approach, citing sev-eral impediments, the most practical of which isthe difficulty inherent in maintaining a neutralposture. Can teachers conduct a discussion on anissue that is near and dear to their hearts, such asabortion rights, racial discrimination, or teachersalaries, without tipping off their feelingsthrough body language, voice inflection, orwords? Most adults would agree that they couldnot do so. Besides, why would they want to?

One popular reason for maintaining neutrali-ty is the threat of indoctrination of the studentsby the teachers. Teacher influence over studentopinions, however, may be overrated. Researchon the development of political socialization hasyet to show convincing evidence that schools,negatively or positively, affect students' attitudestoward political issues (Nelson 1991). The role ofthe family, however, is certainly a powerful one,especially in the early years (Sunal 1991); theinfluence of mass media (Splaine 1991), peers(Cusick 1991), and the church must also be con-sidered. Without more definitive research find-ings, it must be concluded that political socializa-tion is a complex process with multiple factors.One teacher among the dozens that childrenencounter throughout their lives is unlikely toindoctrinate children to a significant degree.

Of greater concern than undue influence by

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teachers is the development of democratic mod-els. Kelly (1986) argues that students need tolearn how to present an argument in a responsi-ble manner, and that teachers can demonstratehow to do so with integrity. Addressing the con-cern that students' opinions will be unfairlyswayed by teacher power, Kelly urges teachers toexercise impartiality rather than neutrality. Beingneutral is refusing to take a side, which addsnothing to a debate and often frustrates studentswho are willing to risk sharing their own opin-ions. Impartiality, on the other hand, has teacherssharing their opinions but also encouraging dis-senting opinions and discouraging parroting.Teachers exercising impartiality appear to havethe best chance of developing students' skills inclassroom discourse, which is a goal that is ofgreater import than having students agree withthe teacher. The key is remaining true to thegoals of the curriculum.

Creating an AtmosphereConducive to Discussion

One aspect of impartiality is creating a class-room climate in which all student opinionsreceive respect. If students believe that theiropinions will subject them to ridicule, emotionaloutbursts, or discrimination, they will refuse toparticipate. To avoid the specter of a discussion inwhich no opinions are expressedone of thegreat teacher nightmaresground rules must beset and enforced. While many of these guidelinesappear to be mere common sense or basic class-room management, they are often ignored, pro-moting student dissatisfaction with classroomdiscussion.

The primary rule for any group discussion isthat only one person speaks at a time; basic eti-quette insures that the speaker's opinions will beheard by everyone, thus avoiding the inefficiencyof debaters repeating one another's points orcriticizing arguments that were never expressed.It also precludes the possibility of students inter-rupting one another when a disagreeable state-ment is made. While calling on raised hands maylimit the spontaneity of a conversation, it is thestandard for any large meeting.

A second key rule is that discussion be mod-erated. When students engage in one-to-onedebates without moderation, they quickly digressinto shouting matches with little intellectualquality. A system of rules, such as Robert's Rulesof Order, while cumbersome, can help maintain

an impartial climate while students practice thesystem. Teachers should usually serve as discus-sion leaders because they can also interject ques-tions, provide background knowledge, and serveother pedagogical functions in addition to beingmoderator. At certain points, however, allowingstudents to serve as moderators aids developmentof their own leadership skills and allows theteacher to take on other roles.

A third rule, which is more difficult toenforce, is the prohibition of eye rolling, groans,and other disrespectful behavior. For many stu-dents, those gestures appear to be ingrained intheir personalities, but teachers must outlawthem anyway. The best strategy for achieving thismay be a simple appeal to the students' senseof fair play, with a discussion of the negativeconsequences on individuals' self-esteem, class-room climate, and the quality of the discussion.If teachers can state this rule firmly and enforceit by banishing violators from the discussion,students will be more willing to appreciate therule and abide by it. Ultimately, the sense of com-fort that results from a positive classroom climatewill reinforce students' observance of the rules.

Choice of TopicsSuccessful discussions seldom arise sponta-

neously. They are more likely to be the result ofteacher planning. Choosing the right topic fordiscussion is a primary responsibility for teachersin an issues-centered curriculum. Presumably,any discussion will be based on topics for whichthe students have already indicated an interest.Even so, there are other considerations that willinsure maximum discourse.

Discussions must be based on an issue thatstudents seek to explore. Without some sort ofintellectual curiosity, the discussion will neverevolve. Piaget's concept of disequilibration maybe helpful for teachers who wish to choose effec-tive discussion starters. When people are con-fronted with a situation that does not match theirexpectations, they become intent on resolving thediscrepancyor, equalizing the disequilibration.In a discussion, disequilibration is relievedthrough the exchange of views.

It is not difficult to achieve disequilibration inan issues-centered curriculum because there areso many issues that are difficult to resolve: Whydo peoplebe they criminals, assassins, philan-thropists, political leaders, or teachersbehavethe way they do? What should be done to solve

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the problem of pollution or war, hunger, home-lessness, or poor school lunches? What will bethe effect of a new health care policy or deficitreduction or in-school suspension?

One key to successful discussion is contro-versy. When students disagree, they may beexposed to viewpoints that they never have heard,resulting in further disequilibration. Dialoguebetween disagreeing parties promotes the self-reflection and analysis that is part of the criticalthinking model (Beyer 1985). This goal can alsobe achieved without controversy, such as whenstudents agree on something but for differentreasons. In planning discussion topics, teachersshould anticipate the range of responses studentswill offer, to insure that sufficient disequilibrationtakes place.

Certain topics lend themselves to us as whatRoby (1988) calls "perennial puzzlers." These arethe questions that have appeared in scholarly dis-cussions since the earliest days of academia.Some are open-ended, focused on defining jus-tice, truth, or the nature of humankind; others aremore dialectic, such as the nature versus nurturedebate. Value conflicts, such as those studied byKohlberg (1984) and Gilligan (1982), almostalways make good perennial puzzlers: Is stealingpermissible to save a life? Is it ever okay to lie?Schuncke and Krogh (1983) have developed aseries of decision stories that create value con-flicts that are particularly vexing for children inthe lower elementary grades.

Most topics in an issues-centered curriculumlend themselves to value discussions because theyinvolve decisions. Any decision requires a consid-eration of conflicting values. Schools, for exam-ple, are constantly choosing between rules thatpromote efficiency but possibly violate freedom.Communities must sometimes choose betweenproperty rights and equality. Individuals mustdecide whether to sacrifice short-term benefitsfor long-term goals. Teachers can promote high-level discussions if they look for the value con-flicts inherent in issues.

Background KnowledgeBefore students can operate at a high level

concerning a particular issue, they need back-ground knowledge (Passe 1988). Children cannotoffer solutions for the problems in the MiddleEast without an overview of the history, geogra-phy, politics, and culture of that region. They can-not delve into the beliefs of slaveholders without

learning about conditions in the nineteenth cen-tury. If teachers are disappointed with the qualityof student discourse, they would be wise to exam-ine how prepared their students are to discusstopics at high levels. While much learning cantake place during a discussion, sometimes directinstruction is necessary beforehand.

The Role of the TeacherThe greatest stress on the teacher in an

issues-centered curriculum is promoting an hon-est and fair discussion of the issues. The literatureon classroom discourse identifies several possibleteacher roles, including moderator, mediator,proponent, and devil's advocate, some of whichmay be played simultaneously. Most teacherstake on several roles during the same discussion(Roby 1988).

Teachers must monitor themselves to deter-mine the best role to play at certain times.Without careful self-reflection, teachers mayneglect a role that could be helpful in achieving agoal, or worse, may subvert it. As a case in point,suppose a student makes a remark that provokesa strong reaction from several perspectives, suchas blaming the poor for their poverty. When stu-dents are eagerly waving their hands to react tothe comment, the teacher may be tempted tostrictly serve as a moderator, passively insuringthat each student is called upon in turn. In a best-case scenario, the teacher would have alreadyprepared the students for the expected flood ofopinions, by attempting to identify the range ofviewpoints. These perspectives could then bereviewed at the conclusion of the debate. The keyfor the teacher is anticipating the course of thediscussion by noticing cues.

Another temptation may be to raise the levelof tension by egging on students. While addingliveliness to the discussion, this strategy could beharmful because it may promote an unhealthyenvironment for rational discussion. Teacherswho are vigilant at monitoring the situation willpromote the goals of the lesson and avoid lettingthemselves or the students be drawn into a debatethat challenges the opinion but also poisons theatmosphere.

Teacher QuestioningDuring a discussion, the teacher's strategy of

questioning can be effective in promoting curric-ular goals. Two key determinants of an effectiveissues-centered discussion are ownership of the

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answer and leadership of the discussion. If theteacher has the answer and the leadership, theclassroom discourse is more like a quiz show,with no real discussion taking place. If theteacher has neither the leadership nor the answer,the discourse is more of a free-for-all, with only aslight chance of achieving depth and focus (Roby1988). Ideally, the teacher should maintain dis-cussion leadership with no one person owningthe answer. That permits the teacher to guidestudents toward higher-level thinking.

During the course of discussion, questionsshould be geared toward higher-level thinking.An open-ended questionsuch as What shouldbe done about?avoids either/or choices andencourages creative problem solving. Affectivequestions, such as those addressing the valuesbehind a decision or the feelings of individuals orgroupswhich can only be inferred and are,therefore, not owned by anyonepromote self-reflection and insight into the belief systems ofothers (Taba 1967).

"Wait time" (Rowe 1978) is essential inpromoting the kind of thoughtful, meaningfuldiscourse that characterizes a strong discussion.Increasing the length of pauses after a question isasked and before the teacher responds to theanswer has been shown to significantly increasestudent achievement. In an issues-centereddiscussion, the need for thoughtfulness is para-mount. Poorly thought-out comments distractstudents from the central issues and often provokeanimosity. Thoughtfulness is also crucial in maxi-mizing the degree of participation, as hesitantstudents have additional time to prepare theircomments.

Discussion ManagementBecause questions are so efficient during

recitation, teachers sometimes overuse them indiscussion (Dillon 1983). A teacher who asks aquestion usually has the answer, so students tendto avoid the creative thought, critical thinking, orcareful listening to classmates that discussionentails. A discussion may develop the more nat-ural tone of a conversation if teachers use waittime or statements instead of questions inresponse to student comments.

Klinzing and Klinzing-Eurich (1988) recom-mend that teachers not always respond to studentanswers and instead let other students react.Providing a response to every student commenttends to move the discussion back to the front of

the room, placing considerable power in thehands of the teacher. This results in a type ofinquisition, instead of a free-flowing exchange ofideas between students. The atmosphere for gen-uine conversation becomes perverted whenteachers talk too much. Besides, the ultimate goalis student empowerment that will lead to person-al and societal benefits. Those who can listen toone another without the constant intervention ofa moderator may be begt suited to the demandsof both the interpersonal and political arenas.

This is not to argue that teachers shouldnever interject comments. To skirt the linebetween a discussion and a free-for-all, teachersshould look for opportunities to raise the level ofdiscourse. At certain points, a probing questionor the contrasting of student utterances can movethe discussion in a positive direction (Klinzingand Klinzing-Eurich 1988). Probing questions,which encourage students to clarify or expand ontheir ideas, have been correlated with general stu-dent achievement (Brophy and Good 1986).Such questions are particularly valuable in anissues-centered discussion. Unclear statementsare common in public discourse, especiallyamong those with little experience at it, such aschildren. A probing question can avoid misun-derstanding and promote communication.

One type of probing question that is oftenoverlooked is the kind that asks for evidence tosupport a particular point. Teachers can help stu-dents strengthen their arguments by asking forsupporting data (Russell 1988). Of course, stu-dents can eventually learn to ask for such evi-dence themselves, thus removing the teacherfrom the role of arbiter. Either way, the result ofthis strategy should be higher-level arguments.

Teacher comments can serve other purposesbesides higher-level thought. At times, a humor-ous comment may be needed to reduce tension.A lengthy or convoluted discussion may requireperiodic summaries. Certainly, if the teacherbecomes aware of the need for additional back-ground information, an interjection is essential(Passe 1984). In general, however, less teacher talkand more student talk is the goal (Flanders 1970).

Discussion FormatMany teachers find it helpful to employ a

variety of formats for structuring different por-tions of a discussion. In this section we willdescribe formats that we believe teachers willfind helpful in conducting discussions in both

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small- and large-group settings.Small-group discussion may take a variety of

forms, including groupwork and cooperativelearning. Small-group discussion may be used forbrief periods. Dyads or triads, for example, can beformed to get students talking for a few minutesprior to a full-group discussion or other activity.Groupwork can be employed for portions of aclass period, fifteen to forty minutes or more,depending on the question being discussed andthe time necessary for completion. Cooperativelearning groups can continue over the course of aunit, a semester, or even longer.

Like any discussion, groupwork will be moreeffective if a few simple guidelines are followed.As Cohen (1986) writes, small-group discussionworks best when groups are limited to four or fivemembers, students are placed in heterogeneousgroups (based on gender, ethnicity, and academicskills), students are held accountable for the workof the group and for their individual contribu-tions, and students have an interesting decisionto make or problem to resolve.

Large-group discussion can include a varietyof formats and activities ranging from paneldiscussions and debates to mock trials and simu-lations. Large-group discussion formats varydepending on whether roles are assigned, onwhether the full class participates at all times, andon the type of structure guiding the discussion.The discussion can focus on various kinds ofproblematic questions related to issues of the past,present, or future. Several styles of formatsSocratic, council, and Quakerallow for full par-ticipation of all class members during the entireactivity, but also provide strict guidelines forparticipation. In every format, the structured dis-cussion of the full group is followed by commentand question.

Format StylesSocratic. Students sit in a horseshoe pattern

(if feasible), with the teacher at the opening of thehorseshoe or moving about inside. The teacherdirects questions about a thought-provokingselection of text (not a textbook) to individualstudents, asking them to explain the meaningof a particular passage, define the issue posed, takea stand on the author's viewpoint, react to theopinion of another student, or provide evidence tosupport a contention, etc. (Adler 1984).

Council. Students sit in one large circle. Atalking stick is passed from student to student.

Each person has the opportunity to speak, onlywhen he or she has the stick. The guidelines areto talk honestly, be brief (one minute), and speakfrom the heart.

Quaker. Students sit in a large circle.Individual students may stand and move into thecenter of the circleone person at a timewhenmoved to speak. Individuals may speak until theyhave completed all they want to say. Other thanthe individual speaking, students sit in silencethroughout the activity; no questions or com-ments are allowed. Objects related to the topicmay be used as props for student commentary;for example, on gender issues a Barbie doll or abaseball could be used.

Fishbowl. Students work in small groupsdiscussing an issue or problem and send a repre-sentative from their group to sit inside the fish-bowlan inner circle of concentric circles.Student representatives inside the fishbowl dis-cuss the issue or problem and attempt to reacha consensus. Students outside the fishbowl maycommunicate with their representatives by pass-ing notes (Grambs and Carr 1991).

Panel Discussion. A small group of students,seated in front of the class, hold a discussion on atopic, issue, or problem. Discussion is led by amoderator, usually the teacher. What will emergeis an informal conversation that is not as formal-ly structured as a debate.

Debate. Two teams of students debate a reso-lution, pro versus con, in front of a class audience.The teams are given time to prepare argumentsand counter-arguments. An opening statementfrom a member of the pro team is followed by arebuttal statement from the con team, and theneach member of the team is allowed a statementin turn, followed by rebuttal from the opposition.Following open debate and questions from thefloor, team members may be asked to drop orreverse their roles.

Role Playing Debate. This is debateenhanced with specific biographical or situation-al roles. A debate on a zoning ruling, for exam-ple, might include an industrialist, a labor leader,and an unemployed worker.

Role Playing for Social Values. A smallgroup of students prepares for and acts out a skitportraying a difficult, value-laden issue. Followingthe first enactment, the class discusses alternativechoices, and members of the class are asked to actout their choices and the consequences they thinkwill follow (Shaftel and Shaftel 1967).

Variations on Format Styles

There are many other variations on theseformats, including the town meeting, con-gressional debate, presidential cabinet dis-cussion, and personal decision making.Teachers should keep in mind the follow-

ing aspects of conducting large-group discussionactivities, especially when conducting one of themore complex ones:

Set a context for the activity, providing sufficientbackground for the students so that they knowthe key facts and are clear about the key issueand its importance.

Make sure the central question or resolution issimple, direct, and clear. The positions to beassumed by participants (pro, con, various roles,etc.) must also be clearly specified.

Clarify procedures for students in advance andset behavior guidelines.

Allow students time to prepare for the activityby studying their roles, ask questions, etc.If only a select number of students is involvedin an activity, appoint "understudies" for keyroles in case of absence.

Write brief role descriptions for students,building in argument and evidence. A preferredoption, when feasible, is to have studentsresearch their roles or positions.

Ask students to think like the people in the rolesthey will play, and to argue from that viewpoint.

Serve as moderator for the activity. After theclass has gained experience with the exercise,appoint a student as moderator.

After the activity, have a debriefing and connectthe issue studied and the method to futurelessons: What have we learned about this topic?What do we believe now? Why? What havewe learned about participating in this type ofdiscussion activity?

Mock Trial. Students assume the roles ofjudge (or a panel of judges), lawyers, witnesses,bailiff, jury, etc. After being given role descrip-tions, students conduct a mock trial and jurydeliberation.

Simulation. This is an activity in which stu-dents re-create an environment simulating somesocial situation of the past or present. This activi-ty involves individual and group decision making.

Concluding the DiscussionMost public forums use discussion as a

method of resolving differences. Political leadersare expected to vote on a course of action andimplement it. Most classroom discussions do nothave that expectation. The major emphasis ofschools, and of the issues-centered curriculum inparticular, is on process. Therefore, there is noharm in students merely agreeing to disagree, butthis is often overlooked. Many classroom discus-sions end when the bell rings. That usually signi-fies an enthusiastic class session in which somany hands were raised and so many ideasabounded that teachers and students lost track ofthe time. Having a discussion end because timeruns out will happen occasionally, but it shouldbe the exception rather than the rule. Teachershave a responsibility to end discussions in a man-

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ner that maximizes learning.If a discussion involves a variety of opinions,

students need an opportunity to tie the differentviewpoints together. Most children are not adeptat looking at the gestalt of the discussion, and aremore likely to focus on particular argumentsor incidents. Teachers can help students lookfor common or disparate themes by asking themto analyze the discussion. Students can also beasked to create a summary of what was said.

It is essential that students perform this func-tion, rather than the teacher. Students need topractice the skill and will not do so if the teacherdoes it for them. Of course, younger children willneed help in this process, but teachers should stillavoid putting words into their mouths. Often,when students are asked to analyze or summa-rize, their perceptions are quite different from theteacher's. This is a perfect opportunity for forma-tive evaluation.

Summaries and analyses do not have to takeplace in full-class sessions. All too often, it is thebrightest or most verbal students who offer sum-maries and analysis while the rest of the class doesnot attempt to do so. Arranging students in pairsor small groups will allow the same processes totake place, but with more participation. Havingstudents write a summary or analysis in their

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notebooks maximizes the level of participationand also improves the quality of the students'notes. After all, most students do not take notesduring discussions unless the teacher remindsthem to do so at certain points (although theknowledge that comes from the discussions maybe even more valuable than notes based on directinstruction).

Journal writing is an excellent strategy forprocessing a discussion. This time for contempla-tion of the different viewpoints and reflectionupon the student's own role in the discussionmay make for a better understanding of the topicand of the self. A major body of research hasidentified student writing as a powerful learningtool (Gilstrap 1991).

In addition to summarizing, analyzing, andprocessing discussions, students may also focuson subsequent courses of action. Should the dis-cussion be continued? Should some sort of reso-lution be proposed? Is social or political actionviable? In other words, what do students want todo about the issue that has been discussed? Thisquestion, of course, may lead to an entirely newdiscussion, but it is a worthy one because itemphasizes that discussion does not have to bejust for discussion's sake.

All of these approaches to concluding a dis-cussion require time. When there are insufficientminutes during a class period to end a discussionproperly, plans should be made to do so at thebeginning of the next sessionotherwise, stu-dents may not grasp the key ideas of the discus-sion, see their implications, or evaluate the expe-rience. Teachers who are aware of the time will bemore likely to manage the discussion to promotemaximum learning.

ReferencesAdler, Mortimer. The Paideia Program: An Educational

Syllabus. New York Macmillan, 1984.Beyer, B. K. "Critical Thinking: What Is It?"

Social Education 49 (1985): 270-76.Bridges, David. Education, Democracy, and Discussion.

Windsor, England: National Foundation forEducational Research, 1979.

Brophy, J. E., and T L. Good. "Teacher Behavior andStudent Achievement." In Handbook of Research on

Teaching, 3rd edition, edited by M. C. Wittrock.New York Macmillan, 1986.

Cohen, Elizabeth. Designing Groupwork. New YorkTeachers College Press, 1986.

BEST COPY AVAILABLE

Cusick, P. A. "Student Groups and School Structure."In Handbook of Research on Social Studies Teaching and

Learning, edited by J. P. Shaver. New YorkMacmillan, 1991.

Dillon, J. T. Teaching and the Art of Questioning.

Bloomington, IN: Phi Delta Kappa, 1983.Flanders, N. E. Analyzing Teaching Behavior. Reading,

Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 1970.Gilligan, C. In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and

Women's Development. Cambridge, Mass.: HarvardUniversity Press, 1982.

Gilstrap, R. L. 'Writing for the Social Studies."In Handbook of Research on Social Studies Teaching and

Learning, edited by J. P. Shaver. New YorkMacmillan, 1991.

Grambs, Jean D., and John C. Carr. Modern Methods inSecondary Education. Fort Worth: Holt, Rinehart andWinston, 1991.

Kelly, T E. "Discussing Controversial Issues: FourPerspectives on the Teacher's Role." Theory andResearch in Social Education,14 (1986):113-38.

Klinzing, H. G. and G. Klinzing-Eurich. "Questions,Responses, and Reactions." In Questioning andDiscussion: A Multidisciplinary Study, edited by

J. T. Dillon. Norwood, N. J.: Ablex, 1988.Kohlberg. L. Essays on Moral Development, Vol. 2,

The Psychology of Moral Development. New York

Harper and Row, 1984.Nelson, J. L. "Communities, Local to National, as

Influence on Social Studies Education." In Handbookof Research on Social Studies Teaching and Learning,

edited by J. P. Shaver. New York Macmillan, 1991.Passe, J. "Developing Current Events Awareness in

Children." Social Education 52 (1988): 531-33.---. "Phil Donahue: An Excellent Model for Leading a

Discussion." Journal of Teacher Education 35 (1984):

43-8.Roby, T W. "Models of Discussion". In Questioning

and Discussion: A Multidisciplinary Study, edited by

J. T. Dillon. Norwood, N. J.: Ablex, 1988.Rowe, M. B. Teaching Science as Continuous Inquiry.

2nd edition. New York McGraw-Hill, 1978.Russell, T L. "Questions and Arguments." In

Questioning and Discussion: A Multidisciplinary Study,

edited by J. T Dillon. Norwood, N. J.: Ablex, 1988.Schuncke, G. M, and S. L. Krogh. Helping Children

Choose. Glenview,Ill.: Scott-Foresman, 1983.Shaftel, Fannie R., and George Shaftel. Role Playingfor

Social Values: Decision Making in the Social Studies.

Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice Hall, 1967.Splaine, J. E. 'The Mass Media as an Influence on

Social Studies." In Handbook of Research on Social

Studies Teaching and Learning, edited by J. P. Shaver.

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New York: Macmillan, 1991.Sung, C. S. "The Influence of the Home on Social

Studies." In Handbook of Research on Social Studies

Teaching and Learning, edited by J. P. Shaver. NewYork: Macmillan, 1991.

Taba, H. Teacher's Handbook for Elementary Social

Studies. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 1967.Wilen, W. W. and J. J. White. "Interaction and

Discourse in Social Studies Classrooms." InHandbook of Research on Social Studies Teaching and

Learning, edited by J. P. Shaver. New YorkMacmillan, 1991.

88 S8

DESIb Jose

Lee

NINE ISSUE-BASED UNIT PLANSJ. Onosho

wenson

I. INTRODUCTION

pp

11ow to" discussions of planning toooften focus on the daily lesson ratherthan on the unit's overall design,whether it be among social studiesteachers in schools or in practitionerjournals and even in some instruction-

al methods books. The unit becomes nothingmore than the sum total of daily lessons address-ing various facets of a topic, event or period oftime. When this orientation to planning is com-bined with a bloated curriculum and didacticinstruction, is it any surprise that student learn-ing is fragmentedl, superficial2, and passive3?While we readily acknowledge that numerousother barriers in and out of school contribute tothis kind of student learning (Gross, 1989;Onosko & Newmann, 1994; Shaver, Davis &Helburn, 1979), we believe that ill-conceivedunit design plays an important role.

In this chapter we provide a 5-part frame-work for issue-based unit planning that enablesdaily lessons to become more than the sum oftheir parts, and that promotes active, cohesive,in-depth student learning. The five main featuresof the framework are:1. a central unit issue2. an introductory "grabber"3. lessons that link to the central issue4. richly detailed source material; and,5. one or more culminating projects.

A sample unit plan is also provided to illus-trate this design model.

II. A Central Unit IssueRationaleToo many social studies units are designed

around a list of facts, names, concepts, events

and/or topics. This often leads to fragmentedteaching and learning, broad and superficial con-tent coverage, and lower-order cognitive tasks.Units designed around a central issue, however,provide a distinct shape or "backbone" that linkdaily lessons into a cohesive whole.4 A centralissue also ensures that students will be faced withan intellectual challenge, for without a challeng-ing task there is little motivation or need to think.In addition, the exploration of an issue servesto check content coverage, thereby reducing thelikelihood of fragmented, superficial treatmentof subject matter. A reduction in coverage isnecessary if students are to develop dispositionsand skills associated with higher-order thinking(Newmann, 1988; Onosko, 1991; Wiggins,1989). Finally, teachers become facilitators ofstudent inquiry and knowledge construction(rather than dispensers of ready made under-standings) when units possess a central issue.

Consider the potential for fragmentation andsuperficial understanding in a unit designedaround the topic, The Revolutionary Period.As stated, the topic provides very little directionfor teachers and students. All social, political,religious, geographic, and economic aspects ofthe period are appropriate for study. (Historytextbooks usually reflect this encompassingapproach.) When a unit lacks focus, too often theteacher's content selection is diverse, lengthy andfragmented. Worse yet, no selection at all occursas the teacher indiscriminately attempts to covereverything. Bewildered students during and aftersuch an experience typically ask: "How doeseverything fit together?", "I'm confusedwhatdoes this have to do with what we did the otherday?", or, "It seems that all we do is memorize allthese events from the past." Even many teachershave difficulty explaining how their daily lessons

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link together into a coherent whole. Students arereduced to consumers of fragmented bits ofinformation and ideas rather than challenged tobecome productive thinkers and problem solvers.

Compare the above topical approach to anissue-based approach framed around the follow-ing question, "Were the Colonists Justified inRevolting from England?" Knowing they mustwork throughout the unit to answer this chal-lenging question, students are engaged from thestart.5 Students must learn about the contentiousrelations between England and the colonies,assume the perspectives of both sides, considerthe legitimacy of civil disobedience in this andpossibly other contexts, and then decide whetherthey could support the actions of the revolution-aries. The central issue enables the teacher andstudents to identify (and therefore narrow) whatcontent is needed for study (i.e., British andAmerican actions that generated tension and theunderlying rationales for these actions), andprovides a purposeful and challenging reasonfor studying the period (i.e., to take a position onthe central issue).6

Not only is it more difficult to control contentwhen units are structured around a topic ratherthan an issue, there is a greater chance that con-troversy will be minimized or avoided altogether.For example, the Vietnam War could be taughtas a matter-of-fact, "and-then-this-happened"serialization of events, or students could be askedto summarize the views of the Johnson Admini-stration, Ho Chi Minh and the Vietcong, thestudent war protesters, WWII veterans, etc.,without having students themselves think abouttheir own views or consider the validity of theperspectives they have summarized. However,when an issue structures a unit of study (e.g., WasU.S. Intervention in Vietnam Justified?), contro-versy assumes a prominent place in classroomactivities. In short, social studies topics becomeopportunities for inquiry only when specificunresolved issues are raised.

Finally, a central unit issue helps teacherscontrol the urge to address too many issues dur-ing a unit of studyparticularly ancillary or tan-gential issues. For example, instead of focusinganalysis on whether or not colonists were justi-fied in revolting from England, some teachersmight add the following marginally relatedissues: What enabled the colonial militia todefeat the better equipped and trained Britishforces? Should John Adams have defended the

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British soldiers implicated in the BostonMassacre? Was France justified in providing aidto the colonists during the Revolution? Couldthe War have been won without the militaryleadership of George Washington? How shouldLoyalists have been treated during the war? and,Was it in the best interest of Native Americansto fight on either side during the War? Whileeach of the above issues can provide an opportu-nity for serious inquiry, the sheer number anddiversity of issues precludes its occuranceunless, of course, a semester is devoted to theAmerican Revolution! The result is fragmentedand superficial treatment of complex issues.Typically it is coverage pressure that compelsteachers toward overinclusion during unitdesign.? Structuring a unit around a central issuecan check this tendency and ensure directed,sustained, and challenging inquiry.

Table 1 on the next page offers examples ofhow topics can be transformed into central issues.

Creating A Good Central IssueIssues in the social studies can be classified in

a variety of ways. Some issues are grounded inthe past (e.g., What alternative, if any, would yourecommend to Jackson's "Indian" removal poli-cy?), others involve the present (e.g., How shouldnuclear waste be disposed?), while others projectinto the future (e.g., What would happen if abor-tions were outlawed?). Many issues can be classi-fied as disciplinary as they emerge fromor are linked to scholarly work in particulardisciplines (e.g., from economicsIs raising theprime lending rate the best way to control infla-tion? or from anthropologyWere neanderthalsabsorbed into the Cro-Magnon populationor killed off?). Other issues are interdisciplinaryand require the appropriation of information andideas from two or more fields of study; for exam-ple, Should all-girl math classes be created toimprove girls' math achievement? (education,law, psychology, sociology, political science).Policy issues (e.g., Should the U.S. accept gays inthe military? Should Town X build a new pool?)and perennial issues (e.g., When does publicsafety override the rights of the individual?When is civil disobedience justified?) have alsobeen identified and recommended for study.Issues can also be classified as primarily factual(e.g., Would an embargo have Iraq to withdrawfrom Kuwait?), definitional (e.g., What is a U.S.vital interest?), ethical (e.g., To what extent

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TRADITIONAL UNITThe Women's Movement

Exploration in the New World

ISSUE-BASED UNITHas the Women's Movement of the last three

decades helped or hurt American society?Are the New World explorers to be praised or

condemned for their efforts?The First Amendment and Free Speech'- When, if ever, should free speech be limited?

Immigration

Global Pollution

The Legislative Branch

Immigration: Who should get in and Why?

What should the U.S. do about global pollution?

Does Congress have too much power?

The Cradles of Civilization -s- What makes a culture a "Civilization"?

should the state help the unemployed?), legal(e.g., Were Bakke's constitutional rights to equalprotection violated?), or aesthetic (e.g., Whatmakes a work of art a masterpiece?). Presumably,social studies teachers will explore many of theabove types of issues with their students.8

Four criteria to keep in mind when creatingan issue are suggested below.

1. Is it Controversial? Because issues are debat-able (by definition), this criterion may seem quiteunnecessary. However, it is sometimes unclear ifa question selected for study constitutes an issue.Assess whether or not multiple perspectives exist;that is, can reasonable arguments be constructedwhich reflect opposing viewpoints on the ques-tion. If opposing perspectives cannot be identi-fied, is it due to an inherent lack ofcontroversy in the question or the teacher's (orstudents') lack of current understanding? As anexample, the question, "Did the New Deal Endthe Great Depression?" is not an issue becausemost historians agree that VVVVII was the deci-sive catalyst of economic recovery. A much moredebatable question (and therefore issue) is thefollowing: "Was the New Deal a failed socialexperiment?" Here students must weigh the ben-efits and costs of a variety of federal programs,consider philosophical issues regarding theappropriate size and role of government, and soon. Checking the "debatableness" of a question(or proposition) in the early planning stages ofa unit will reward teachers and students withmore lively, engaging discourse later on.

2. Is the Issue Important? Defining what is an"important" issue is beyond the scope of thischapter, however, the Handbook's introductorychapter attempts to address this difficult matter.In light of the immense size and contentiousnature of the social studies field it is unlikely thatconsensus will ever be reached on what counts asan important issue. We defer to the judgementof social studies teachers in the selection ofissues for study, acknowledging that (a) reason-able people will disagree on what counts as animportant issue, and that (b) even if consensuscould be reached, the set of agreed upon issueswould probably exceed what could be thought-fully explored. Nonetheless, we encourage teach-ers to consider the following questions whenidentifying issues for study:

Is it an issue that has been debated in the pastand continues to be debated? In other words, is it apersistent, enduring issue? Examples include thefollowing: What resources should be publiclyowned and how should their use be regulated?When is the state justified in limiting the freeexpression of its citizens?

Is it a matter of public concern that requires civicjudgement or decision making? For example, civicjudgement and action are necessary when disagree-ment arises over the placement of a new towndump, a state roadway initiative, a Congressionalbill, and so on.

Do scholars in a discipline or across disciplinestend to agree that the issue is important?Issues thatcapture the attention of most scholars in or acrossdisciplines are probably worthy candidates forstudy. As an example, consider the following:

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Will continued depletion of the ozone layer leadto catastrophic global warming? or, To whatextent does television violence contribute to vio-lence in society?

Is an understanding of the issue likely to promotestudents' development? A wide range of issues havethe potential to help students become moremature and socially responsible. Issues that mightserve this purpose include: What responsibilitiesdo you have to yourself and society? For the mostpart, is peer pressure a good or bad thing? Aresome moral beliefs better than others or are theyall just opinions?

3. Is the Issue Interesting? If the number ofimportant social studies issues exceeds what canbe thoughtfully explored with students, thenselect a subset of important issues that studentsare also likely to find interestingand that theteacher already finds interesting (especially sinceteacher enthusiasm can significantly influencestudent learning). Having identified an issue ofimportance and interest, further enhance stu-dent interest (and motivation) by constructing aprovocative phrasing. Compare, for example, thefollowing two questions involving similar analy-ses: "What Caused the American Revolution?" and'Did the Founding Fathers Revolt Because ofGreed?" Student interest is more likely to beperked by the irreverent suggestion that greedmotivated the founding fathers compared to arather bland and all too common query aboutcausation.

Interest can also be enhanced by phrasingthe issue in a memorable way. Take, for example,the following issue on homelessness stated as aproposition which is provocative but not memo-rable: "There are actually very few economic,political, social, or religious efforts that our gov-ernment can attempt to help solve the problem ofhomelessness in the United States today." Morememorable ways to state this issue include thefollowing: "Government's efforts to help the homelessare futile.; "What policies do you recommend to helpthe homeless ?; or, 'How would you combat homeless-ness if you were the President?"

Finally, consider weaving an ethical dimen-sion into central issues as students cannot resistinvitations to make assessments of right v. wrong,good v. bad, proper v. improper, and so on. Forexample, most students would prefer to grapplewith the ethically-charged question, "Would youhave supported or protested the Vietnam War

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Effort?"than the factual question, "What primar-ily led Americans to either support or protest theWar?" Both queries contain issues; however, thelatter is a factual issue focusing on the reasons forAmerican support or opposition to the war,whereas the former requires both an understand-ing of these reasons and an ethical judgement ofthe appropriateness of U.S. involvement.

4. Can the Issue be Researched Effectively?Even the most important and interesting issuesare rendered useless if resource materials cannotbe acquired or are written at a level inappropri-ate for students. Successful issue analysisrequires materials that reflect the perspectivesand underlying rationales of the competing"camps", not just the viewpoint of one side ora very select few. These materials help triggerstudent interest and must promote studentexpertise. Presumably, important facts and ideasrelated to the issue will be revealed and contest-ed areas explored. These materials might includelively readings, such as eye-witness accounts andother primary source materials, or images andpictures that provide a "visual text" for students.Some "digging" by the teacher prior to actualstudy can help determine if sufficient materialsare available. Note that most textbooks fail asresources for issues analysis because they typical-ly contain inadequate detail, are rarely framedaround issues, and do not present competingperspectives when they do address issues(Kahane, 1984; Loewen, 1995).

III. An Introductory "Grabber"An introductory grabber is an activity at the

very beginning of a unit that draws students intothe material and introduces the unit's centralissue. The grabber might involve a film clip, pri-mary document, short story, slide show, set ofdata, song and lyrics, brainstorming session withstudents, simulation, poem, quote, political car-toon, writing activity, field trip, or guest speaker.Whether brief (10 minutes) or long (1 or 2 classsessions) and whatever the format, an effectivegrabber triggers student interest in and revealsthe teacher's enthusiasm for the upcoming unit.Introductory grabbers may include a brief lookat some of the perspectives or positions onemight adopt on the central issue. Studentsthemselves may be asked to take a preliminarystand orally or in writing, knowing, of course,that it is preliminary and that viewpoints are

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subject to change as the investigation details per-spectives and reveals new information.

The opening lessons of a unit are most criti-cal for unit success. Failing to capture studentinterest and imagination may result in students"checking out" or remaining marginally engaged

for the remainder of the unit. Too manyteachers expend their greatest effort at the

end of a unit during "mop up", "salvage

the unit" review sessions rather than at thebeginning when the crucial task of engagingminds must take place. The assumption behindthe need for a grabber is that poor student per-formance in social studies is due primarily tosome combination of student disinterest and lowmotivation, not deficiencies in students' cognitivecapacities, abilities, or prior knowledge (Dweck,1986; Keating, 1994).

A Classroom "Grabber"

For a variety of innovative and effectivepractical ideas on how to increase studentengagement throughout a unit of study, seeBower, Lobdell & Swenson's (1994),History Alive. An example of a unit grabber

is provided below:

Begin class by showing students 6-10 slides depict-ing life during the Industrial Era. Some slides con-vey a very positive image of the era (e.g., robust,clean, engaged workers forging steel, or ships andtrains busily hauling cargo), while others reflectappalling working and living conditions (e.g., chil-dren standing at an assembly line, crowded tene-ments). Following an analysis of each slide, pose the

unit's central issue: Was the Industrial RevolutionGood for the United States? Drawing upon informa-tion culled from the slides and prior knowledge, stu-dents brainstorm possible "pro" and "con" responses.End class by informing students they will eventuallybe asked to take a position on the issue. Briefly sum-marize for students some of the interesting primaryand secondary source materials they will study dur-ing the unit to help them in their analysis (e.g., diaryaccounts of life during the period, film excerpts).Ask students to think about the kinds of additionalinformation they will need to better inform theirdecision making (e.g., infant mortality rates, averageworker salaries, and other quality of life indicatorsbefore and during the Industrial Revolution).

IV. Connecting Lessonsto the Unit's Central Issue

Structuring a unit around an issue increasesthe likelihood but does not guarantee that indi-vidual lessons will add up to more than the sumof their parts. To assume a purpose beyond theirown internal coherence, lessons need to besequenced in ways that advance students' under-standing of and ability to answer the centralissue. There is no one correct way to sequencelessons to achieve this purpose, primarily becausethere is no one correct way to think about anissue. However, we provide a few general curricu-lum and instructional suggestions on how to con-nect lessons to the central unit issue.

Curriculum SuggestionsIdentify competing arguments and perspec-

tives advanced by opposing sides to an issue.These perspectives can serve to guide the designof daily lessons. For example, students in a psy-chology class might address the question, "Whydo we dream?" Two or more lessons could be

devoted to Freud's theory that dreamsrepresent repressed ideas and experiences that theego attempts to keep submerged in the uncon-scious. Next, students might spend two or moredays exploring Jung's view that dreams are sym-bolic expressions (not repressions) that provideimportant opportunities for self-discovery, indi-viduation, and wholeness. Other perspectivesmight include Adler's view that dreams provideinsight into impending decisions (rather thanreflect unresolved conflicts from the past), orCrick's dismissal of dreams as a series of mean-ingless images resulting from REM and otherbrain processing activities. Following exposure toa handful of theorists, students would begin toformulate their own position on the nature andpurpose of dreams.

A second way to link lessons is to identifykey concepts, events, persons, and other termsthat students need to effectively address thecentral issue. These key elements then serve tostructure daily lessons. They should not be taughtas ends in themselves, but rather explored in the

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context of students' growing understanding ofthe issue. For example, in a unit exploring thequestion, "Were the Colonists Justified inRevolting from England?", students must con-sider a series of British and American actions andreactions (e.g., Sugar Act, Stamp Act,Townshend Acts, Boston Tea Party BostonMassacre) and also come to understand impor-tant concepts (e.g., virtual v. direct representa-tion, social contract, civil disobedience) in orderto answer the central issue.

A third approach that is probably leastfamiliar to teachers but may be the mostimportant is to identify the various sub-ques-tions and sub-issues that need to be analyzedin order to effectively address the central issue.As noted earlier, Newmann & Oliver (1970)have provided a very helpful conceptual modelthat distinguishes between five types of issues;policy, ethical, definitional, factual, and legal. Forexample, to address the policy issue of whetheror not State X should adopt the death penalty, anumber of related sub-issues emerge: Will thedeath penalty reduce a state's homocide rate?(factual issue); When, if ever, is a state justifiedin taking a human life? (ethical issue); By whatlegal means can an execution be stayed? (legalissue); and, What is the difference between 1stand 2nd degree murder? (definitionaUlegal).

Regardless of the method used to coherentlylink lessons, the teacher (and eventually the stu-dents) must identify and understand the com-peting perspectives, important sub-questions,and key concepts and terms related to the centralissue if honest, authentic inquiry is to occur. Theteacher must also ensure that students areexposed to "best case" presentations of the vari-ous perspectives, though the order in which theyare explored can vary.

Instructional SuggestionsProminently display the central issue some-where in the room for easy and frequentreference.

* Remind students of the overall unit goal atthe beginning of each lesson (i.e., to answerthe unit's central question).

Explain to students or have them explain howtoday's lesson relates to the central unit issue(whether it be the exploration of a sub-issue,particular perspective on the issue, or keyevent, concept, or person).

At the end of a lesson show students or have

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students explain how today's activity con-tributed to their growing knowledge ofthe central issue.

Briefly explain to students (or have themdetermine) the next day's activity and howit will relate to the central issue.

Scaffold reading and other homework assign-ments by explaining how the activity con-tributes to the mission of answering thecentral issue.

V. Richly Detailed Source MaterialWhat is richly detailed source material? One

way to describe these materials is in relation tothe dominant social studies resourcethe text-book! Textbooks typically exhibit a paucity ofdetail and are rarely framed around questionsor issues. The presentation of material oftenlacks coherence or meaningful organizationwithin and across chapters. Textbooks tend tomake claims and offer conclusions with littleempirical or logical support and, therefore, are oflittle help in promoting students' critical think-ing (Kahane, 1984). Concepts are presented butgo undefined, or concepts are defined but exam-ples are not given. The writing is typically banaland devoid of controversy (Fitzgerald, 1979;Tyson-Bernstein, 1988), and on rare occasionswhen issues are mentioned, competing perspec-tives are not summarized. Too often the cumula-tive effect is fragmented and superficial learningby disengaged students.

Richly detailed source material ("rich detail"),on the other hand, triggers student interest andpromotes students' subject matter expertise.Students learn about competing viewpoints andtheir underlying rationales. Important facts arestated and contested factual claims explored.Concepts receive elaboration, including the pre-sentation of examples, counterexamples, andanalogies. Rich detail also facilitates students'empathic entry into issues that might otherwisehave remained personally remote and overlyintellectual. Rich detail includes lively readings,such as eye-witness accounts and other primarysource materials, or images and pictures thatprovide a "visual text." In short, rich detail helpsstudents become and remain interested in explor-ing and developing a perspective on the unit'scentral issue.

Examples of rich detail from the sample uniton cults (see Appendix A) and from other illus-trative issues mentioned in this chapter, include:

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videotape of Federal agents storming theBranch Davidian compound;

movie excerpt of the Jonestown Massacre;an excerpt on the meaning of dreams fromJung's (1964) Man and His Symbols and,

statistics on homicide rates before and afterthe implementation of capital punishment.

VI. Culminating ProjectsCulminating projects ensure active student

learning and greatly increase the likelihood ofstudents gaining both in-depth and cohesiveunderstanding of an issue. These activities givestudents opportunities to share the fruits of theirlabor; that is, to explain or share their under-standing of and perspective on the central issue.They are not traditional pen and paper tests,though one format could be a well-crafted essayor position paper that is shared with others.Culminating projects often encourage groupinteraction and creativity, and appeal to multiplelearning styles. Examples include a speech, skit orplay, a radio broadcast, "live" or videotaped tele-vision newscast, a whole class or small groupdebate, poster display, newspaper publication,metaphorical representation of an idea, person orevent, or a small group presentation. Regardlessof format, culminating projects ask students toshare their own perspectives on the unit's centralquestion, not the teacher's or some other author-ity's perspective (though at some point theteacher may want to share his/her perspective).Units may contain more than one culminatingactivity. For example, a class might spend a day ortwo discussing or formally debating the proposi-tion, "Hate speech should be regulated" A dayor two later student small groups might presentposter board representations of the kinds ofhate speech and expression, if any, they believeshould be regulated.

Culminating projects are motivating as stu-dents realize the end result is not just a writtentest privately graded and returned by the teacher,but rather an opportunity to demonstrate theirunderstanding and intellectual prowess to peers.These activities are also motivating because stu-dents prefer working on collaborative projectswith their peers (Goodlad, 1984). To capitalizeon their motivating power, we recommend thatstudents are introduced to project options andrequirements at the beginning of a unit.

Culminating projects are a powerful means todevelop students' thinking, and not only because

the central unit issue must be addressed. Manystudents are very insecure about their ideas.Culminating projects, due to their public nature,provide students access to the ideas of others andserve to confirm the validity (or at least reason-ableness) of their own thinkingboth whenworking collaboratively in a team and whenobserving the presentations of other individualsand groups.

Three culminating activities can be found inthe sample unit on cults in Appendix A (seeLessons 10-12). First, students address the cen-tral unit issue in a roundtable discussion. The dis-cussion is scored by the teacher to encourageall students to participate and to enhance thequality of dialogue (see Chapter 31 by D. Harrisfor details on scored discussions). Second, stu-dents are to create a one-half hour videotaped orlive, in-class "special report" that addresses thecentral issue. For instance, students mightinclude in their presentation actual or mockinterviews with current or former members ofcults to discover how these cult and ex-cult mem-bers answer the central issue. Students mightdiscuss with legal experts the ramifications ofkidnapping and deprogramming or attemptingto limit cult members' right to free speech. Third,students are to write a position paper articulatingtheir position on the central issue. Outstandingpapers will be read in class. All papers will bemade available for peers to read.

VII. Final ThoughtsTo further increase curriculum integration,

issue-based unit design can be applied at thecourse level. Course-level issues to considerthroughout a year's study of U.S. history mightinclude: Is the Historical Record of the U.S. One ofProgress or Simply Change? Does Our HistoryJust ibl the Claim that the U.S. Was and Still is a"Land of Opportunity?" or, Overall, Does theHistory of the U.S. Make You Proud to be anAmerican? In a world cultures course studentsmight continually return to the question, Are theWorld's Cultures Essentially Similar or Different?In a Civics/Government class students mightcontinually revisit the question, WhatResponsibilities, If Any, Do You Have as a Citizenin a Democracy? World history students might beasked to construct a year-end culminating projectthat addresses the following question: WhatLessons from History Can Help Us Create a BetterWorld Today?

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Unit Issue: "What, if anything, should we do about cults?"Lesson 1: DAY ONEINTRODUCTORY GRABBER

Students watch a videotape (5 minutes)of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco,Texas turn into a fiery inferno when raided byFederal agents, and watch excerpts of amade-for-T.V. movie on the JonestownMassacre (10 minutes). Students then sharetheir understanding of the events leading upto the two disasters. The teacher providessupporting information. Next, the teacherposes the following questions for studentresponse: Might the Jonestown Massacrehave been avoided? Could the BranchDavidian firestorm have been avoided? Bothquestions are addressed. Indirectly, studentshave already begun to consider the unit's cen-tral question: What, if anything, should wedo about cults? Students are introduced tothe central question. The class agrees thatmore needs to be known about cultstheirbeliefs, activities, etc. The class then brain-storms a list of images and ideas about cultsdrawn from their personal knowledge.INTRODUCE CULMINATING ACTIVITIES

Near the end of class students areinformed that a round table scored discussionof the central issue will occur at the end ofthe unit and that 4-5 person teams will pro-duce half-hour video-taped "special reports"or in-class presentations that explain whatthey believe should be done about cults.

Lesson 2: DAY TWOFOCUS SUB-QUESTION:

What exactly is a cult?As a class they read a newspaper article

describing the history of the Jonestown cultand its leader, Jim Jones. Then in their 4-5person teams, students attempt to construct aworking definition of cults based upon yes-terday's work and today's reading. The classreconvenes, each group reports the funda-mental characteristics or attributes of cultsthey have identified, and the whole class thendevelops a working definition of cults. At theend of the lesson students are given two arti-cles to read and a writing task for homework(see Lesson 3 for details).

Lesson 3: DAYS THREE & FOURFOCUS SUB - QUESTION:

Are the two organizations we readabout last night cults?

Students come to class prepared to statewhether or not they think the two organiza-tions (the Mormons and the Nazi Party)they read about for homework are cults. Thepurpose of the lesson is to further develop aworking definition of cults and to show stu-dents that one must think of cults on a moreor less" continuum rather than in discrete"yes or no" terms. The teacher leads a wholeclass discussion in which students share theiranalyses. Teacher questions include the fol-

lowing: Do either of these organizationshave similarities with the Jonestown groupor the Branch Davidians? Does either orga-nization reflect your working definition of acult? For homework students are given anarticle by an expert on cults who attempts toidentify essential features of cults. Studentsare asked to determine if their working defi-nition of cults should be modified in light ofthis article.

Lesson 4: DAY FIVEFOCUS SUB - QUESTION:

Does our definition of a cult match thatof the expert?

In a whole class discussion studentssummarize the expert's definition and com-pare it to their working definition. Studentsthen determine if they want to modify theirworking definition. (The definition thatemerges typically includes the followingcharacteristics: charismatic leader, physicaland psychological isolation, apocalypticvision of the future, controllers of the neworder following the apocalypse, manipula-tion and mind control, and so on). Forhomework they read about two more organi-zations (a drug rehab center called MarathonHouse and a notorious cult of the late1970's/early 80's called Synanon) and decidewhether or not they are cults.

We hope the above framework for designingissue-based social studies units contributes toyour teaching success with students. Though theintellectual and time demands this frameworkplaces on teachers and students exceed those oftraditional textbook-driven units of study, therewards for everyone make it all worthwhile.

ReferencesBower, B., Lobdell, J. & Swenson, L. History Alive.

San Francisco: Addison-Wesley, 1994.Dweck, C. "Motivational processes affecting learning."

American Psychologist 41, no.10 (1986): 1040-1048.

Fitzgerald, F. America Revised NY: Vintage Books, 1979.

Goodlad, J. A Place Called School: Prospects for the Future.

New York McGraw-Hill, 1984.Gross, R. "Reasons for the Limited Acceptance of the

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Problems Approach." The Social Studies(September/October, 1989): 185-186.

Jung, C. Man and his Symbols. New York Dell, 1964.Kahane, H. Logic and Contemporary Rhetoric. Belmont,

CA: Wadsworth, 1984.Keating, D. "Critical Periods for Critical Thinking: The

Adolescent in School." In Schooling & Society, editedby F. Miller. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 1994.

Loewen, J.W. Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your

American History Textbook Got Wrong. New YorkThe New Press. 1995

Newmann F. "Can Depth Replace Coverage in theHigh School Curriculum?" Phi Delta Kappan 68,no.5 (1988): 345-348.

Newmann, F. & Oliver, D. Clarifying Public Controversy.

Boston: Little, Brown, & Co., 1970.Onosko, J. "Comparing Teachers' Thinking about

Promoting Students' Thinking." Theory and Research

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Appendix A: continued

Lesson 5: DAYS SIX & SEVENFOCUS SUB - QUESTION:

Does our working definition help usidentify cults?

Over two days students discuss whetheror not the two organizations described in thehomework readings are cults and whether ornot their working definition helped themin their assessments. Through discussionstudents discover that their definition hasdiscriminating power and that they now pos-sess a clear enough understanding of cultsto return to the central issue.

Lesson 6: DAY EIGHTFOCUS SUB-QUESTION:

What can be done to stop cults?In today's whole class teacher-directed

discussion, students brainstorm and discusspossible actions to stop cults, regardless ofwhether or not they personally think suchactions should be used. A variety of ideas aregenerated. Typically, at least five kinds ofinterventions are suggested (see Lesson 7 fordetails).

Lesson 7: DAYS NINE & TENLIBRARY RESEARCH:

Students search for information andarguments to determine whether or not thefollowing approaches to stop cults should beadvocated: (a) kidnap and deprogram; (b)

limit a cult's right to free speech and expres-sion; (c) identify in advance the kind of per-son likely to join a cult and intervene beforeit happens; (d) shut down the cult (usingphysical means if necessary); or,(e) nothing. Questions that are typically pur-sued with respect to the above five approach-es are: Is it legal to kidnap a cult member?Does deprogramming work? Is it a good ideato curb the speech of some members of soci-ety? Is it constitutional to do so? Are thereeffective ways to identify personality typeslikely to join cults? Should the governmentstep in and shut them down, including theuse of force if necessary? Why is doing noth-ing the best course of action?

Lesson 8: DAYS ELEVEN & TWELVEFOCUS SUB - QUESTION:

How does our research inform our per-spectives?

For two days in large and small group for-mats the class discusses and continues toresearch the questions listed in Lesson 7above. Students share important informationand ideas and take notes. For homework,students continue to review their researchmaterials in preparation for tomorrow's teammeetings.

Lesson 9: DAY THIRTEENPREPARING FOR THE SCORED DISCUSSION:

Teams meet to formulate an agreed uponresponse to the central issue in preparationfor the scored discussion activity on Day 14.

Lesson 10: DAY FOURTEENCULMINATING ACTIVITY:

Students engage in a roundtable discussionof the central unit issue: What, if anything,should we do about cults? The teacher willscore the discussion (see Harris, Chapter 31).

Lesson 11: DAYS FIFTEEN & SIXtEENCULMINATING ACTIVITY:

Videotaped "special reports" are shown orlive presentations are given by each team thatreveals their response to the central issue. Iftime remains, students individually begin toorganize and write a position paper thataddresses the central unit issue.

Lesson 12: DAY SEVENTEENCULMINATING ACTIVITY:

Students are given one class period tooutline and begin to write their positionpaper. The essay is due in two days. Studentswill be given an opportunity to rewrite theiressay. Outstanding essays will be read aloudnext week in class and all essays will be dis-played for classmates to read.

in Social Education, 17 no.3 (1989), 174-195.Onosko, J. "Barriers to the Promotion of Higher-Order

Thinking." Theory and Research in Social Education

19, no.4 (1991): 341-366Onosko, J. & Newmann, F. "Creating More Thoughtful

Learning Environments in Secondary Classroomsand Schools." In Advanced Educational Psychology:

Creating Effective Schools and Powerful Thinkers,

edited by J. Mangieri & C. Collins Block.New York Harcourt Brace & Jovanovich, 1994.

Shaver, J., Davis, 0., &Helbum, S. 'The Status of SocialStudies Education: Impressions from Three NSFStudies." Social Education 43 (February, 1979): 150-153.

Tyson-Bernstein, H.A Conspiracy of Good Intentions:America's Textbook Fiasco. Washington, D.C.: Council

for Basic Education, 1988.Wiggins, G. (1989). "The Futility of Trying to Teach

Everything of Importance." Educational Leadership,47 (1989), 44-48.

1 Fragmented learning refers to the unsystematic,unorganized way in which students are exposed to infor-mation and ideas. Fragmented learning is revealed whenstudents are unable to connect information and ideaswithin and across lessons and units, even though theseconnections may be readily apparent to the teacher.Various facts, ideas, events, generalizations and so on maybe acquired, but these learnings seem to occupy separate,isolated compartments in students' minds. Teachers cancheck for content fragmentation in their own units in thefollowing ways. List 10-15 facts, events, ideas, and/orpeople that were addressed in class over the past week orthat appeared on a recent exam. Ask students if theseitems can be connected in some meaningful way.Similarly, ask students to generate 10-15 facts, events,ideas, and/or people from a recent unit and then havethem create an outline or diagram that connects theseitems in a meaningful way.

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2 Superficial learning refers to students' limited expo-sure to most everything they study in social studies.Rarely are students asked or allowed to explore materialin-depth. This situation prevents students from acquiringrich, complex, nuanced, and personally constructedunderstanding of ideas, events, and issues, and ensuresthat lower- rather than higher-order thinking dominatestheir cognitive activity. Note that superficial learning isdifferent from fragmented learning, though the two bar-riers often occur together. One can imagine studentsgaining a cohesive (non-fragmented) understanding ofthe events and underlying causes that led to UnitedStates entry into World War I, yet their understanding issuperficial as they cannot explain any event or cause inmore than a few sentences. Conversely, one can imaginestudents gaining in-depth (non-superficial) understand-ing of various New Deal programs, yet their understand-ing is fragmented as they cannot make connectionsbetween the various programs or see the relationshipbetween these programs and the underlying philosophyof the New Deal.

3 Passive learning refers to students receiving thetextbook's and/or teacher's repackaged declarative state-ments about knowledge constructed by experts and otherauthorities. Didactic teaching and other transmissionforms of instruction shove students from the playing fieldto the sidelines, reducing their participation in knowledgeconstruction to that of an inactive, disengaged spectator.Instead of developing the intellectual abilities (and dispo-sitions) needed to construct knowledge, student-specta-tors simply comprehend and recall the performances (orconstructions) of others.

4 A fundamental assumption of this model is thatstudents are capable of analyzing an issue at the sametime they are developing knowledge of it. Stated anotherway, students need not spend days or weeks on contentacquisition before they are allowed to wrestle with anissue. A related assumption is that students are less ableto learn and remember information and ideas withoutthe organizing and motivating power of an issue (or someother question or problem).

5 Issue-based curriculum design need not be exclu-sively teacher driven. Central issues can be identified bythe teacher, students, or botheither before the analysisbegins or during the early stages of study. A potentialproblem with this approach is that teachers may have lit-tle time to determine if resource materials are available toadequately address the issue selected by students. On theother hand, with greater ownership of the curriculum,students are more likely to experience the activity asauthentic and intrinsically valuable.

6 If there is a desire or need to study other aspects ofthe period (e.g., various religious issues of the time, the

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colonists' contentious relations with Native Americans),additional issue-based units, brief or long, could follow orprecede the present unit. An alternative approach is toembed these tangential topics (maybe a day or two oflessons) into the current unit of study. This, of course, hasa fragmenting effect on student thinking and learning.

7 The source of this coverage pressure is often teach-ers' substantial subject matter knowledge which leads toover-inclusion of topics and issues. This has led one out-standing social studies teacher to observe: "The more ateacher knows, the more important it is that the teacherhave an effective pedagogy to hold the information inrestraint" (Onosko, 1989). A central unit issue serves tokeep teachers' knowledge in check.

8 Systems or methods of classifying issues overlap;that is, many issues can be labelled as more than one type.Consider, for example, a few of the issues just mentioned:How should nudear waste be disposed? (present, policy);What would happen if abortions were outlawed? (future,factual); Were neanderthals absorbed into the Cro-Magnon population or killed off? (past, factual, discipli-nary). See Newmann &Oliver (1970) for a more detaileddiscussion of the types of issues one might encounterwhen exploring issues of public controversy

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Pali Tr ree: .01tral Diversh,Introduction On Jesus Garcia

This section of the Handbook, dealing withissues-centered education and culturaldiversity, focuses on the relevancy of issues-centered education for exploring the con-cept of cultural diversity and the status ofminorities and other marginalized groups

in social studies instruction. The selected authorspromote a definition of social studies that is com-mitted to helping young children develop theability to make informed and reasoned decisionsfor the public good as citizens of a culturallydiverse, democratic society in an interdependentworld. They view issues-centered education as anapproach to the teaching of social studies thataddresses many of the criticisms teachers, stu-dents, parents, and representatives of pressuregroups have directed at social studies education.

The authors are: Sharon L. Pugh, a facultymember in the School of Education andDirector of the Learning Skills Center atIndiana University, who specializes in issuesrelated to language and literacy; Gloria Ladson-Billings, who writes in the area of curriculumand social studies and minority education and isa member of the Department of Curriculum andInstruction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; Hilda Hernandez, who researches andteaches in the areas of bilingual education andlanguage acquisition; and Devon Metzger, whofocuses on issues relating to social studies andteacher education. Professors Hernandez andMetzger are faculty members in the Departmentof Education at California State University,Chico. Jesus Garcia is Director of Social StudiesEducation at the University of Illinois atUrbana-Champaign, and is involved in teachereducation. Jesus teaches courses in social studiesand multicultural education.

Ladson-Billings begins by drawing a distinc-

tion between multiculturalism and multiculturaleducation in "Multicultural Issues in theClassroom: Race, Class, and Gender." She arguesfor support of Banks' definition of multiculturaleducation: "to restructure curricula and educa-tional institutions so that students from diversesocial-class, racial and ethnic groupsas well asboth gender groupswill experience equal edu-cational opportunities." She contends that inmany social studies classrooms, teachers fall shortof seriously addressing this goal because "thedominant theories or paradigms that shape theway information, curriculum, and pedagogy arepresented in schools prohibits this type of inte-gration (race, class and gender) of thought."However, her experiences in teacher educationlead her to believe that students are interested insocial studies issues and problems and enjoyexamining them from multiple perspectives. Sheconcludes by offering teachers ways of insertingrace, class, and gender into the social studiescurriculum and re-constructing instruction intoan issues-centered approach.

Hernandez and Metzger focus on language-minority students to argue for issues-centerededucation. The authors begin by briefly describ-ing the fears and concerns language minoritystudents bring to the classroom and argue that"teaching for democracy" brings about the shar-ing of power, giving teachers the opportunity toprovide students with "voice" when making cur-ricular decisions. Issues-centered education inclassrooms with language-minority studentsprovides teachers the opportunity to focus on stu-dent strengths while addressing their academic,personal, and social needs. Hernandez andMetzger believe that issues-centered educationallows teachers to develop social studies programsthat address the issues and problems that are rel-

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evant and important to students while introduc-ing them to main ideas in social studies. Theauthors believe that issues-centered education isa valuable approach with language-minoritystudents because of the interaction of ethnicity,social class, religion, education, and language.And as the authors conclude, "it involves studentsin social action projects that bridge home, schooland community, and promote language and criti-cal literacy development." Certainly the newparadigm the authors are suggesting is issues-centered social studies.

In "Challenges and Realities: Issues-Centered Education in Multicultural Environ-ments," Pugh and Garcia describe the status ofsocial studies in public education and the conser-vative forces influencing education The authors,employing a definition of multicultural educationwith a global perspective, argue for a curriculumthat includes student perspectives and addressesconceptual learning in the social studies. Theyconclude by lobbying for an issues-centeredsocial studies in which instruction is based ondialogical reasoning.

1001 1©

MULRACtill Glo

INTRODUCTION

(CULTURAL ISSUES IN THE CLASSROOM:CLASS, AND GENDER

'a Ladson-Billings

0

ver the past few years there has been agrowing controversy over the issues ofmulticulturalism and multicultural educa-tion. Scholars and activists from a varietyof perspectives have argued the relativemerits or shortcomings of these issues

(Asante 1991; Banks 1993a; Graff 1992; Leo1990; Schlesinger 1991). This chapter addressesthe specific issues of race, class, and gender, whatis happening in classrooms around these issues,and what possibilities exist for improving class-room experiences involving them.

The terms "multiculturalism" and "multicul-tural education" have become commonplace inU. S. society, but their meanings are not stan-dardized. For the purpose of this chapter, I usethe term "multiculturalism" to refer to the polit-ical and/or ideological position that groups thatare diverse in race, ethnicity, gender, linguistics,ability, or sexual orientation can co-exist, appre-ciate, understand, respect, and learn from eachother. This does not necessarily imply formaleducational structures. For example, it is impos-sible to turn on a television in the United Stateswithout seeing a variety of representations ofpeople (no matter how stereotyped or distorted),particularly in commercial advertising. Thisinclusion of "differences" is not the direct resultof multicultural education, but rather of thepolitical and social changes demanded by variousgroups of people. It reflects the society's increas-ing multiculturalism.

The term "multicultural education," accord-ing to Banks, is "an educational reform move-ment whose major goal is to restructure curriculaand educational institutions so that studentsfrom diverse social-class, racial, and ethnic

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groupsas well as both gender groupswillexperience equal educational opportunities"(Banks 1993a, 102). Many scholars have workedon creating conceptual and theoretical schema, aswell as a consensus, from which to discuss thegoals, meanings, and scope of this emergent field(see for example, Banks 1989; Gay 1992; Gibson1976; Sleeter and Grant 1987). The scholarly lit-erature, although widely varied, does providesome common themes about what is meant bymulticultural education. For the purpose of thischapter, I use Banks' definition when referring tomulticultural education.

Although volumes can be (and have been)written about the issues of race, class, and gender,this chapter will focus on selected aspects of thatliterature that are either directly related to or havesome bearing on schooling and classrooms. Itwill conclude with a survey of strategies for con-sidering these issues in classrooms, and provideexamples of these strategies at work in variousschools and school-related organizations.

Considering Race in the ClassroomIssues of race are avoided in U. S. classrooms

for the same reasons that they are avoided ineveryday life. We have not found ways to talkabout them without feelings of rancor and guilt.Lee (1993) informs us that "[Questions of racehave been included in all US population censusessince the first one in 1790" (86). But Omi andWinant (1993a) argue, "[T]heories of raceof itsmeaning, its transformations, the significance ofracial eventshave never been a top priority insocial science" (9). They argue also that popularnotions of race as either an ideological constructor as an objective condition both have shortcom-ings (Omi and Winant 1993b). Thinking of racestrictly as an ideological concept denies the reality

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of a racialized society and its impact on people intheir everyday lives. On the other hand, thinkingof race solely as an objective condition denies theproblematic issues of racial categorization. Howdo we determine who fits into which racial cate-gories? To which race do the offspring of raciallydifferent parents belong?

So complex is the notion of race (and its usein U. S. society) that even when it fails to "makesense" we continue to employ it. According toNobel laureate Toni Morrison (1992),

Race has become metaphoricala way ofreferring to and disguising forces, events,classes and expressions of social decay andeconomic division far more threatening tothe body politic than biological "race" everwas. Expensively kept, economicallyunsound, a spurious and useless politicalasset in election campaigns, racism is ashealthy today as it was during theEnlightenment. It seems to have a utility farbeyond economy, beyond the sequesteringof classes from one another, and hasassumed a metaphorical life so completelyembedded in daily discourse that it is per-haps more necessary and more on displaythan ever before. (63)

Studies of the role and impact of race in edu-cation have a long history. In the 1950s Clarkand Clark's (1940) study of doll color preferencewas used as legal evidence to combat segregatedschooling in the United States. In a compre-hensive review of the literature on racial andethnic attitudes, Banks (1993b) documents thatchildren are aware of their race and ethnicity atan early age and "can be helped to develop morepositive racial attitudes if realistic images of eth-nic and racial groups are included in teachingmaterials in a consistent, natural, and integratedfashion" (241). However, Banks (1993c, 24) alsosuggests that "curriculum changes linked withissues related to race evoke primordial feelingsand reflect the racial crisis in American society."Scholars and social commentators such as CornelWest (1992) and Studs Terkel (1991), respective-ly, have argued that (public) talk about race con-tinues to confound Americans.

No matter what position one takes on thesalience of race in U.S. society, there is no denyingits import vis-a-vis social, political, economic, andeducational inequality. The comparison between

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black and white children is striking. Irvine (1990)cites statistics from the Children's Defense Fund,the College Board, and the Carnegie Quarterlythat demonstrate this sharp contrast. For example,compared to white children, black children aretwo to four times as likely to

die before adulthood because of inadequateprenatal or postnatal health care condi-tions, abuse, or murder;

live in a single-parent household becauseof parental death, separation, divorce,or no marriage;

live in foster care or custody of a childwelfare agency;

be poor, and live in substandard housing withan unemployed teenage mother. (xiii-xvi)

The contrast continues at school:Black students, particularly black malestudents, are three times as likely to bein a class for the educable mentally retardedas are white students, but only one-half aslikely to be in a class for the gifted ortalented.

Black students are more likely than whitestudents to be enrolled in general and voca-tional tracks and take fewer academicallyrigorous courses.

Blacks continue to score significantly lowerthan whites on the Scholastic Aptitude Test(SAT). (Ibid.)

High school drop-out rates for urban blacksare close to 50 percent.

What opportunities for studying race as acritical issue exist in our schools? Unfortunately,typical course offerings and textbooks avoidsubstantive discussions of race and ethnicity Ingeneral, race is confined to discussions of slaveryand/or the civil rights movement. These curricu-lum patterns hold even though students aresurrounded by racial and ethnic realities in theircommunities, the media, and their schools.Rather than rely on bland textbook descriptions,teachers can seize upon these pervasive racialmessages to engage students in serious consider-ations of race.

Teachers serious about confronting issues ofrace and racism can begin by having studentsexamine the racial dynamics in their own school.Students can participate in action research tolearn about race and racism. They may choosesome of the following topics: How many stu-

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dents of various races and ethnicities attend aparticular school? Why? How many students ofcolor are enrolled in honors and advanced place-ment classes and in vocational and general class-es? How many students of color have been sus-pended or expelled? How many students of colorare in special education classes? What is thedrop-out rate for students of color? What is theparticipation of students of color in extra-curric-ular activities, such as student government, band,orchestra, or sports? A systematic examination ofthis kind of demographic information shouldprovoke questions about the school's role inreproducing inequality. Each time studentsuncover a pattern of participation (or enroll-ment), they should be encouraged to ask, "Why?"

In addition to an examination of the school'sdemographic information, students should beencouraged to look at perceived and actual acts ofracism, prejudice, and discrimination. Onceagain, surveys can be employed to capture stu-dents' perceptions and documentation of dis-crimination. Grant (1984) has shown that blackgirls, for instance, are on the margins of both theteacher's "sphere of influence" and that ofnumerous peer groups. To examine the accuracyof Grant's assertion, students could interviewgroups of students to determine dating and peer-group patterns or student-teacher relations.

Students need accurate information aboutissues of race and racism both in their local envi-ronment and throughout the larger society. Theway to get that information is through a combi-nation of primary and secondary sources. Thus,while conducting their own research, studentsshould be reading the first-person accounts ofpeople of color throughout history. Readings byJames Baldwin, Richard Wright, Toni Morrison,Alice Walker, Maxine Hong Kingston, CarlosBulosan, Mary Crow Dog, and others can pro-vide students with opportunities to understandhow others see the world, as well as help themquestion their own assumptions. In addition toreading, students need the chance to view filmsand videos from other than the dominant per-spectives. Films such as El Norte, Daughters of theDust, Dim Sum, and The Lemon Grove Incidentdemonstrate that realities are socially and cultur-ally constructed and that students must work tounderstand multiple perspectives.

The Failure to Include Classin the Classroom

Sociologist William Julius Wilson argued inThe Declining Significance of Race (1978) thatclass, and not race, was the determining factor inthe deplorable life circumstances of inner-cityChicago residents. Lauded by conservatives anda leery liberal constituency, Wilson's thesis placesus in the somewhat untenable position ofacknowledging class in a society that has longdiscounted it or denied its existence.

Despite the very real presence of class strati-fication, the United States has been a nation thatprides itself in muting its class distinctions. Thus,the folk wisdom has insisted that individual striv-ings and hard work in our "meritocratic" societyafford people the opportunity to transcend classlines and barriers. Students in U. S. classroomsstudy rigid caste distinctions in India and infeudal Europe. However, the lens of class strati-fication rarely, if ever, turns on our society. As aculture, we talk about class in an almost meta-physical way. Election-year sloganeering plays onpopular fears about a "shrinking middle class"because of the almost total identification with themiddle class by our citizens.

Our failure to teach effectively about class istied to our lack of understanding about how classoperates in our society and a fear that substantivediscussions about class are "un-American." Thefear that class discussions border on the un-American is linked to our understanding of classas a central unit of analysis for Marxist theorists.Thus, talking about class is seen as a way ofemphasizing social divisions and challenging cul-tural unity. Consider, for example, that during theinfamous 1992 Los Angeles riots (or rebellion)after the acquittal of police officers in the RodneyKing beating case, several media commentatorsnoted that the destruction of South CentralLos Angeles was partially "class warfare," as evi-denced by the participation of Latinos, AfricanAmericans, and whites. However, soon after thefires of Los Angeles died down, this class warfarewas converted to a "race war."

Our failure to acknowledge class does notdiminish its impact upon our lives. Wilson (1978)reports that the "long-term poor"those who arepoor for eight or more yearsconstitute 60 per-cent of those in poverty at any one time. Thisgroup, often referred to as the "underclass" is com-posed of, according to Gorder (1988)

a substantial number of female-headed

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households (83 percent)people who are employed but unableto make it on their salaries (43 percent)

children under the age of five (60 percent)families with an average of two childrenparents whose average age is twenty-nine (68)One of the places that class issues manifest

themselves is in the unequal distribution ofincome. According to the U.S. Bureau of theCensus (1988), the top 20 percent of the popula-tion earned 43.7 percent of the total income,while the bottom 20 percent earned 4.6 percentof the total income. The 5 percent of the popula-tion who received the highest income earned 17percent of the total income. These huge incomedisparities serve to exacerbate issues of inequalityand class tensions.

Class issues also manifest themselves inschools and classrooms. Teacher expectations(Winfield 1986), curriculum and instructionaldecisions, assessment, and organizational poli-cies are regularly informed by class. Indeed,much has been written about the school perfor-mance of poor children (under the rubric of a"cultural deficit," or being "culturally deprived,"or "culturally disadvantaged"), but scholarlyissues of class largely have been absent fromK-12 classrooms.

Research and intellectual paradigms of thepast that suggested that the poor were responsi-ble for their own low school performance contin-ue to hold sway in the minds of educators. Anexample of this framework is Bloom et al. (1965),who argued that:

... the roots of [poor children's] problem mayin large part be traced to their experiences inhomes which do not transmit the culturalpatterns necessary for the types of learningcharacteristic of the larger society (4).

What can teachers do to critically engage stu-dents in issues of class? At a basic level, a seriousstudy of the labor movement will provide stu-dents with an opportunity to examine how theworking class was formed in a nation that boast-ed an egalitarian philosophy and disdain for royalhierarchy. Studies of economic trends in variouscommunities may help students to understandfluctuations in the homeless population, crimestatistics, and job opportunities.

Teacher Paul Sylvester (1994) reported thathis third graders were capable of creating a class-

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room economy that replicated their surroundinglow-income community. Sylvester developed asystem of "paying" his students for their class-room jobs, one of which was cleaning the gerbilcage. After one weekend, the students discoveredthat the gerbil cage was missing. Sylvester, whohad moved the cage to another classroom,explained that the gerbil cleaning jobone ofthe "highest paying" in the classhad moved tothe "suburbs." The students had to figure outhow they could continue to do that job or replaceit with a comparable job. Sylvester's reason formoving the gerbil cage was to simulate the factthat 60,000 jobs had left the city within the pre-ceding few years.

In my ethnographic research with successfulteachers of African American students (Ladson-Billings 1994) one of the teachers had a keeninterest in helping to rekindle the "work ethic"among her class of African American sixthgraders. Because of the lure of easy moneythrough the illegal drug trade, students seemedincreasingly alienated from the prospect of work-ing in traditional school-age job opportunitiessuch as those offered by fast food restaurants,newspaper delivery, and employment as storeclerks. The teacher called upon working-classpeoplethe school custodian, a bus driver, andblue collar parentsto come into the classroomto explain their work and to offer 2-3 day "intern-ships" to her students. By understanding thenature of work, its ability to support individualdignity and self-worth, the students would be ableto make more intelligent decisions about theirlives. The teacher purposely shied away from tra-ditional middle-class African American "rolemodels"doctors, lawyers, and bankersbecause of the "social distance" they represented.

Another place that we see the perniciouseffect of social class is in school tracking practices.Jeannie Oakes (1985) argues that the combina-tion of race and class is a determining factor inwhich students end up in which academic tracks.Working-class students of color are more likely tobe placed in the lowest, non-college preparatorytracks. Even when schools have attempted todesegregate on the basis of race, Lomotey andStaley (1990) found that so called "magnetschools," designed to draw diverse groups of stu-dents to a school through special course and pro-gram offerings, often re-segregated students oncethey were assigned to courses and programs. The"double mantle" of race and class positions stu-

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dents as eligible only for the lower tracks, wherethey may receive less instruction and less interac-tion with the teacher, and reproduce the expectedlow performances (Rist 1970).

Even when "uncoupled" from race (and gen-der), class still can have a powerful effect onschool performance and life chances. Weiss(1993) points out that:

Until recently, the white male workingclass was relatively privileged in the econo-my in relation to African American menand women, and white women. While cer-tainly not privileged in comparison withmiddle-class white men, many working-class men have been enabled by labor unionstruggles to command good steady jobswith benefits. (238)

This separation of working-class membersalong a racial divide was explored by W.E.B.DuBois (1977/1935), who asserted that theproblem was not that the white working class wasmanipulated into racism, but that it came tothink of itself and its interests as white:

They were given public deference... becausethey were white. They were admitted freely,with all classes of white people to publicfunctions [and] public parks... The policewere drawn from their ranks and the courts,dependent on their votes, treated them withleniency ... Their votes selected public offi-cials and while this had small effect upon theeconomic situation, it had great effect upontheir personal treatment.(700-701)

Thus, issues of class and race are sometimesconflated and other times at odds. Because stu-dents of color are also among the working classthey may find themselves in a struggle againstwhite working-class students, over racial and eth-nic issues rather than class issues. Teachers musthelp students uncouple these issues and see themas both separate and shared, depending uponcircumstances and historical moments.

Gender and SchoolingA third issue of multicultural education is

that of gender. Called the "intimately oppressed"by historian Howard Zinn (1980), women repre-sent a numerical majority in the society whilecontinuing to be a sociopolitical and economic

minority. Despite efforts at gender equity,women continue to earn less money than men,are over-represented among the poor, are con-fronted with a glass ceiling in jobs, and are morelikely the victims of sexual and domestic abuse(Gollnick and Chinn 1990; Joseph and Lewis1981). School is one of the places where thisgender inequity is reinforced.

According to Myra and David Sadker, "sit-ting in the same classroom, reading the sametextbook, listening to the same teacher, boys andgirls receive very different educations" (Golden1994, 57). In a synthesis of research on girls andschooling, the American Association of Univer-sity Women reports that "[girls and boys] enterschool roughly equal in measured ability. Twelveyears later, [however], girls have fallen behindtheir male classmates in key areas such as higher-level mathematics and measures of self-esteem"(AAUW 1992, 1). Consequently, in subjects suchas mathematics and science, girls score substan-tially lower than boys on standardized tests andfind themselves discouraged from pursuing high-er levels of math and science.

Sadker and Sadker (1986) found that "malestudents are given more time to talk in class-rooms" (512) even though teachers often areunaware that they are directing more of theirattention toward boys. Teachers may, in fact, haveneither the resources nor the reward structure forchanging inequitable school and classroomdynamics. Although many teachers are women,they "are actors and agents in complex social siteswhere social forces powerfully shape the limits ofwhat is possible" (Weiler 1988, 148).

However, there are things that teachers cando in classrooms to make students more aware ofgender inequities and work toward change. Sincesocial studies classes generally are not sex segre-gated, teachers have an opportunity to observestudent interactions between the genders. Theycan also become more aware of participationstructures along gender lines. Which studentsvolunteer answers in class and which do not?How often are women and women's issues thesubject of study? What is the classroom/schoolclimate like for girls? Are females, their bodilyfunctions, or their body parts the object ofridicule? Are females subjected to unwanted sex-ual comments and advances? Do all studentsunderstand what constitutes sexual harassment?Do all students understand that sexual harass-ment is illegal?

1 1 1'7. 2_ ei

Sadker and Sadker's (1991) comprehensivelook at gender in elementary and secondary edu-cation indicates that although there has been a"significant body of research on gender equity ineducation" (314) over the past twenty years, "itsinfluence on teacher preparation and educationalreform remains marginal" (314). Thus, other dis-ciplines and popular culture become the majorcarriers of research and scholarship about gender,while teachers and teacher education remain rel-atively insulated from knowledge about the dam-aging effects of gender inequity.

Organizing Social StudiesClassrooms to Deal with Race,Class, and Gender

Despite knowing demographic informationthat points to the racial, class, and genderinequities in our society, teachers often are over-whelmed at the thought of integrating theseissues into an already demanding curriculum.Even at the college level, this kind of integrationhas been difficult (Rothenberg 1988). I suggestthat one of the reasons for the difficulty of teach-ing in this way is "paradigmatic," i.e. the domi-nant theories or paradigms that shape the wayinformation, curriculum, and pedagogy are pre-sented in schools prohibits this type of integra-tion of thought. Much of schooling (as well aseducational research) is shaped by a rationalist-positivist paradigm. Students are encouraged toaccept "objective," linear, simplistic thinking inwhich only the observable and measurable repre-sents the truth.

Teachers who want to encourage multicultur-al aspects of social studies within this paradigmoften are limited to superficial representationsof material culture. Thus, a multicultural, ethnic,or international festival where students "study" aspecific culture, dress in "native" costumes, eat"ethnic" foods, and perform "cultural" dances,becomes the totality of their experience. Or stu-dents engage in an essentialized study of "groups"by inserting them in the existing curriculum; forexample, in U.S. History students study achronological, military, political history that addsdifferent "others" into the master script(Schwartz 1992). Students might study variousIndian tribes, bands, and federations as theystudy the "westward expansion" but they wouldnot engage in a debate that challenges east-to-west perceptions of American development. Or,they might learn of the role of particular women

in U.S. History, but they will not study whywomen's voices are silent or muted throughoutmuch of history.

Students may also experience the interpre-tivist paradigm. Here students would have thechance to examine cultures within their own con-texts. Thus, some ethnic studies (e.g. NativeAmerican studies, African American history) orcultural studies courses (e.g. Far East studies)attempt to have students explore cultures from anemic, or insider perspective. However, students'own limited understandings of their own cultureand the way it affects their way of thinking andbeing in the world may force them to makeinvidious comparisons between the cultures theyare studying and themselves. Consequently, stu-dents may come to see other cultures as "weird,""exotic," or "strange."

A far less likely scholarly paradigm for prec-ollegiate students is a critical one. Here, point ofview or perspective, as well as the issue of whoseinterests are being served, become essentialaspects of scholarship. One of the best examplesof this paradigm at work is that of Central ParkEast Secondary School (CPESS)(Wood 1992).CPESS serves low income and minority studentsin grades 7-12 and helps them to develop intohigh-achieving, articulate, critical students byencouraging some very specific "habits of mind"that require students to be able to respond to thefollowing questions in every area they study(ibid.):

How do we know what we know?What's the evidence?What's the viewpoint?How else may it be considered?What difference does it make? (Ibid., 48-49)

In a CPESS course that seventh and eighthgraders take entitled, "Contemporary PoliticalIssues with an Emphasis on United StatesHistory," the students use the following essentialquestions to drive their inquiry:1. What is political power?2. Who has it?3. How did they get it?4. How does power change hands?5. What gives laws their power?6. How do people respond to being deprived

of power? (Ibid., 180)

Both sets of questions illustrate a very differ-ent orientation toward learning and suggest that

r.

6

this school and its teachers want to help studentschallenge the rationalist-positivist paradigm withits Eurocentric, masculinist perspective. Unfor-tunately, most teachers do not have the luxury ofa school design and administration that supportsthe kind of thinking that is encouraged, indeedrequired, at Central Park East. However, thereare things that teachers can do to interrupt stu-dents' narrow perceptions of knowledge ground-ed in social issues.

Here are some suggestions for ways thatteachers might rethink the way that they teachabout issues of race, class, and gender:

1

Have students grapple with the complexity ofthe construct of race. Although much of our

language and discourse is racially coded, studentsrarely examine race as a social construct withpowerful social, political, and economic conse-quences. Perhaps in conjunction with a biologyteacher or geneticist, teachers can expose stu-dents to the scientific constructions of race. Herestudents can identify examples of how raceframes social issuese.g., crime, welfare, schooldesegregation, the judicial system.

9Have students juxtapose race and ethnicity.

lb Challenge students to consider what they seeas the difference between race and ethnicity?Why is it that some groups in the U.S. arereferred to in racial terms while others are seen interms of ethnicity? How do students identifythemselves?

Have students observe and discussd how race, class, and gender affect them

on a personal level. One of the persis-

tent complaints students have about school is itslack of relevance to their everyday lives. Teacherscan ask students to generate a list of how theythink their racial, class, and gender identity eitherhelp or hinder their lives. What privileges or dis-advantages do they believe they experience as aresult of their racial, class, or gender categories?

AStudy the multiple effects of race, class, andTgender through biography and fiction. Thecomplexity of race, class, and gender forces schol-ars and teachers to attempt to isolate them foranalytical and pedagogical purposes. However, bystudying biographies and/or fiction studentscan begin to understand how these multiplesocial categories affect individuals and groups.Biographies of women such as Fannie LouHamer, Ida B. Wells, Maxine Hong Kingston,Mary Crow Dog and Sojourner Truth are allgood sources for studying the intersections ofrace, class, and gender. Literature by writers suchas Toni Morrison, Richard Wright, LeslieMarmon Silko, Louise Erdrich, Gabriel GarciaMarquez and Sandra Cisneros provide exquisitecontexts for understanding how culture can berevealed through literature.

E Work deliberately to unlearn racism,z.-11 sexism, and classism. Most Americans vehe-mently deny that they are racist, sexist, or elitist(classist). Yet, the ways that inequity is institu-tionalized and ingrained in our everyday livesmeans that we have to work proactively towardunlearning it. Work done by McIntosh (1990)demonstrates that many taken for grantedexperiences that people enjoy daily are notshared by others because of their race, class,

perhaps the most difficult task thatteachers face is that of turning theoryinto practice. While scholars may do agood job of explicating the theoreticaland conceptual rubrics under which

change can occur, they may fall short of helpingteachers put theory into practice. Indeed, it maynot be the job of theorists to implement pro-grams, but teachers do need assistance in trans-lating theoretical notions into practical everydayteaching/learning experiences.

One of the ways that teachers can be helped

to implement the conceptual understandings ofmulticultural education is through exemplar.Below is a less than comprehensive list of teach-ing and learning examples of different formsof multicultural education in action.

CENTRAL PARK EAST SECONDARY SCHOOL(New York City). As described above, CPESS is anoutstanding example of Banks' (1993c) notion of"knowledge construction." Here students are chal-lenged to critically examine what they learn and raisequestions about its value. continued

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HARRIET TUBMAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL(Newark, NJ) In the heart of Newark, HarrietTubman Elementary School is a model of an empow-ering school culture (Banks 1993c). Here the adminis-trator, teachers, parents, community members, and stu-dents all take responsibility for student learning andachievement. In them, students have as models ofteaching excellence people of various races and back-grounds. By implementing an "informal curriculum,"the janitor, crossing guard, and other community mem-bers have the opportunity to act as "teachers" of suchvaried subjects as cooking, bowling, and basketball.

MARTIN LUTHER KING AND MALCOLM XACADEMY (Milwaukee, WI) Milwaukee has institut-ed two experimental schoolsone elementary, onemiddleto test out "African-centered" education.Despite the attempt to "demonize" African-centeredapproaches to education (see for example, Schlesinger,1990, Ravitch, 1990) teachers in urban centers thatserve segregated school populations are finding thatthis new approach to education may begin to raise theachievement level of students while simultaneouslyraising their social consciousness. At this time, how-ever, it is too early to determine the merit of these(and similar) programs.

LA ESCUELA FRATNEY (Milwaukee, WI). Alongwith its African-centered program, Milwaukee hasalso developed one of the most successful bilingualprograms in the nation. As a two-way bilingualschool, i.e., both English and Spanish speaking stu-dents will become bilingual, Fratney School hasattempted to develop a "multicultural, gender equal"program. In its first year, Fratney School was orga-nized around six themes: Roots in the School andthe Community, the Native American Experience,the African American Experience, the HispanicExperience, the Asian American/Pacific AmericanExperience, and We Are a Multicultural Nation.

THE FOXFIRE EXPERIENCE (Rabun Gap, GA).Students in Rabun Gap, GA have published thequarterly Foxfire for the past 25 years. Their workcame as a result of having the opportunity to developcurricula rooted in their own lives and experiences.By interviewing community elders, students are ableto understand how working-class and poor peoplecontribute to the vitality of the community culture:

ror Ethel students, all of the southern Appalachian region is their class.room. The premise of Foxfire is that students are on a mission to col-

lect, record, and preserve the history and heritage of their area. To do thisstudents seek out what are known as "community contacts, senior mem,.bets of the community who are willing to share their skills, insights, andwisdom with students. (Wood 1992, 62)

While Foxfire was not created as a representative of multiculturaleducation, it exemplifies some of its best elementscontent integration,knowledge construction, and equity pedagogy (Banks 19930, Its focus onclass and cultural issues makes it unique among educational prOgtarYit.

RE-THINKING SCHOOLS, (Milwaukee, WI)Beyond classrooms, there exist institutions and orga-nizations designed to help teachers as professionalsreconsider the ways in which teachers and teachingcan work toward social justice and equity. One suchinstitution is Re-thinking Schools, a organization ofcommitted teachers who publish a newspaper (alsoentitled, Re-thinking Schools) designed to criticallyexamine schooling and the professional lives ofteachers.

Rmong the issues addressed in Re-thinking Schools are racism,;sexism, sexual harassment, homophobia, and ablism as well as contern-i

porary issues of national standards, Goals 2000, choice of schools, andlischool funding, The newspaper has become a forum for teachers interest-1:ed in social justice and inequity by providing editorial and backgrouridllarticles, examples of teacher-written lessons and activities, and stuctentwork. The existence of this teacher-led publication is a testimony to theiiability and willingness of teachers to think deeply and carefully about he*issues of race, class, and gender (among other issues) can be included ini;school curricula.

SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER (Atlanta,GA). Although organized as a non-profit organiza-tion to fight racism via legal channels, the SPLC alsohas an educational arm that produces the journalTeaching Tolerance. By combining biographicalprofiles, lesson suggestions, and student work, thejournal provides teachers with a handy reference forincluding issues of race and racism in the class.

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and/or gender. Students need to understand thattheir own privileges are connected to disadvan-tages suffered by others.

Concluding ThoughtsThere are multiple strategies for confronting

race, class, and gender in the classroom. Thisdoes not imply, however, that these are the onlyissues that fall under the rubric of multiculturaleducation. Issues of language, ability, and sexualorientation also enter into the multiculturaldebate. Even in the consideration of race, class,and gender, there exist additional complexities ofintragroup variability and overlapping categories(e.g. race/class versus race/gender).

Race, class, and gender affect students'schooling experiences despite our reluctance todeal forthrightly with them in the classroom. Associal studies educators, issues of race, class, andgender are an integral part of our subject area.History, civics, economics, sociology, anthropolo-gy, psychology, and geography all have links toissues of race, class, and gender. Teachers who areserious about helping students develop intoresponsible citizens must develop these links andhelp students examine their own lives throughthe critical lenses of race, class, and gender.

The power of issues-oriented social studieslies in the willingness of teachers to confrontmulticultural issues of the past and present withan eye toward the future. Our increasing diversi-ty, changing economic picture, and rapid progres-sion into the "information age" all underscore theimperative for students and teachers alike todevelop critical perspectives toward socialinequities and injustice.

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Asante, M. K. "The Afrocentric Idea in Education."Journal of Negro Education, 60 (1991): 170-80.

Banks, J. A. (1989). "Multicultural Education:Characteristics and Goals." In MulticulturalEducation: Issues and Perspectives, edited by J. A. Banks

and C.M. Banks. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1989.. An Introduction to Multicultural

Education. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1993a.

"Multicultural Education for YoungChildren: Racial and Ethnic Attitudes and theirModification." In Handbook of Research on the

Education ofYoung Children, edited by B. Spodek.New York: Macmillan, 1993b.

. (1993c). "Multicultural Education:Development, Dimensions, and Challenges." PhiDelta Kappan, 75 (1993c): 22-28.

Bloom, B. S., A. Davis and R. Hess. Compensatory Educ-ation for Cultural Deprivation. New York Holt, 1965.

Clark, K. B. and Clark, M. P. "Skin Color as a Factor inRacial Identification and Preference in NegroChildren." The Journal of Negro Education 19 (1940):

341-58.DuBois, W. E. B. Black Reconstruction in the United States,

1860-1880. New York [1935] 1977.Gay, G. (1992). 'The State of Multicultural Education

in the United States." In Education in Plural Societies:International Perspectives, edited by K. Adam-Moodley,. Calgary, Alberta, Canada: Detselig, 1992.

Gibson, M. A. "Approaches to Multicultural Educationin the United States: Some Concepts andAssumptions." Anthropology and Education Quarterly

7 (1976): 7-18.Golden, K. "What do Girls See?" Ms. (May/June

1994): 53-61.Gollnicic, D. and P. Chinn. Multicultural Education in a

Pluralistic Society (3rd ed.). Columbus, OH: Merrill,1990.

Gorder, C. Homeless!: Without Addresses in America: The

Social Crisis of the Decade. Tempe, AZ: Blue Bird,

1988.Graff, G. Beyond the Culture Wars. New York:

W. W. Norton, 1992.Grant, L. "Black Females' Place' in Desegregated Class-

rooms." Sociology of Education 57 (1984): 98-111.

Irvine, J. Black Students and School Failure. Westport CT

Greenwood Press, 1990.Joseph, G. and L. Lewis. Common Differences: Conflicts

in Black and White Feminist Perspectives. Boston:

South End Press, 1981.Ladson-Billings, G. The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers

for African American Students. San Francisco: Jossey

Bass, 1994.Lee, S. "Racial Classifications in the US Census: 1890-

1990." Ethnic and Racial Studies 16 (1993): 75-94.Leo, J. "A Fringe History of the World." US News and

World Report (November 12, 1990): 25-26.Lomotey, K. and J. Staley. 'The Education of African

Americans in the Buffalo Public Schools: AnExploratory Study." Paper presented at the AnnualMeeting of the American Educational ResearchAssociation, Boston, MA, April 1990.

McIntosh, P 'White Privilege: Unpacking the InvisibleKnapsack" Independent School (Winter 1990): 31-36.

Morrison, T Playing in the Dark Whiteness and theLiterary Imagination. Cambridge, MA: HarvardUniversity Press, 1992.

Oakes, J. Keeping Track. How Schools Structure Inequality.

New Haven: Yale University Press, 1985.Omi, M. and H. Winant, H. Racial Formation in the

United States. New York Routledge, 1993a.. "On the Theoretical Concept of

Race." In Race, Identity and Representation in

Education, edited by C. McCarthy and W.Crichlow.New York Roudedge, 1993b.

Ravitch, D. "Multiculturalism: E Pluribus Plures."The American Scholar (Summer 1990): 337-54.

Rist, R. "Student Social Class and Teacher Expectations:The Self-fulfilling Prophecy in Ghetto Education."Harvard Educational Review (1970): 40, 411-51.

Rothenberg, P "Integrating the Study of Race, Gender,and Class: Some Preliminary Observations."Feminist Teacher 3 (1988): 37-42.

Sadker, M. and D. Sadker. "Sexism in the Classroom:From Grade School to Graduate School." Phi DeltaKappan 67 (1986): 512-15.

. 'The Issue of Gender in Elementaryand Secondary Education." In Review of Research inEducation 17 (1991): 269-334.

Schlesinger, A. The Disuniting of America. Knoxville,

TN: Whittle Direct Books, 1991.Schwartz, E. "Emancipatory Narratives: Rewriting the

Master Script in the School Curriculum." TheJournal of Negro Education, 61 (1988): 341-55.

Sleeter, C. E. and Grant, C.A. "An Analysis ofMulticultural Education in the United States."Harvard Educational Review: 57 (1987): 421-44.

Sylvester, P. S. "Elementary School Curricula and UrbanTransformation." Harvard Educational Review 64(1994): 309-31.

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13 ISSUES-CENTERED EDUCATION FORLAN UAGE-MINORITY STUDENTSbq Hill Hernindez and Devon Metzger

n some form or another, issues-centered edu-cation has always been a part of social studies.Whenever social studies teachers, either bydesign or through informal chats with stu-dents, become involved in discussions thatrelate to students' lives, they are involving stu-

dents in issues-centered education. Teachers whoadopt issues-centered education generally giveequal weight to process and content whenaddressing the specific needs and interests of thestudents. Issues-centered education places stu-dent issues, concerns, and topics of interest at thecenter of the curriculum.

Connecting the curriculum to the student isof utmost importance, equal only to using boththe experience of the learner and the learningprocess as tools for student empowerment.Teachers who embrace issues-centered educationare as concerned with the social and politicalcontext of what is learned, as with the learningprocess itself. Although what the authors proposeis directed toward assisting teachers in meetingthe needs of language-minority students, itshould not go unnoticed that these instructionalpractices are beneficial to all students.

Initially, some teachers may be concerned thatissues-centered education is not compatible with,or is "an addition to" the various mandated stateor district curriculum frameworks. However,issues are embedded within all frameworks.While some frameworks specifically call for con-temporary or controversial issues to be includedin the mandated curriculum (e.g., CaliforniaDepartment of Education [1987]), all designatedcontent naturally includes unresolved and/orvalue-laden issues that have both a historicalcontext and relevance to contemporary events.Teachers who accept the usefulness and impor-tance of issues-centered education quickly

become adept at integrating issues-centerededucation into the curriculum.

Essential to the success of issues-centerededucation is determining how teachers view stu-dents and to what extent students are involved intheir own learning. Teachers who are attracted toissues-centered education tend to view studentsas practicing young citizenscapable and active-ly involved citizens who make decisions andvalue judgments directed toward improving theirlives and those of others. Issues-centered class-rooms are characterized by authentic studentparticipation in the teaching/learning process.Students experience democratic environmentsrather than just reading or talking about democ-racy. In its simplest form, democracy involves thesharing of power among groups of people inorder to establish a rule of order and authority(Gutmann 1987). As Metzger and Marker(1992, 72-73) stated:

If, in teaching for democracy, we do notprovide for the sharing of power betweenteachers and students, we run the risk ofleaving the rule of order and authority solelyto the teacher. To do so makes studentsvoiceless, and to make students voiceless is tomake students powerless. Without sharingpower in the classroom with students, it isimpossible, no matter what we say or do, toteach for democracy.

Sharing power is especially critical forlanguage-minority students who are English-language learnerschildren and young adultswhose primary language is not English. Manyare native-born, members of nondominantethnolinguistic groups; others are immigrantsand refugees. Describing the demographic meta-

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morphosis taking place in many of our schools,Richard-Amato and Snow (1992, 1) observedthat "as our society becomes more and more plu-ralistic, so do our classrooms." This, they argued,presents a multitude of challenges to content-area teachers. One of the most critical is empow-erment. As Cummins (1989, 57) asserted:

For real change to occur, educational inter-ventions must be oriented toward empow-ermenttoward allowing children to feel asense of efficacy and control over what theyare committed to doing in the classroomand in their lives outside the school.In other words, real change must challengethe power structure ... that disables minor-ity children.

Herein lies social studies educators' challengeand the critical opportunity to make a commit-ment to all young citizens living and learningin a pluralistic, democratic, and multiculturalsociety. For students in general and language-minority students in particular, an issues-centeredapproach to social studies education has thepotential to involve students in selecting content,making decisions about the process of learning,and determining potential courses of action. Theteacher is an integral part of the learning commu-nity, facilitating access to knowledge, providing aclassroom and learning structure, offering guid-ance, asking questions, and serving as a contentand process resource. Through questioning andprobing, the teacher plays an active role in defin-ing social issues, avoiding the problem of trivialand superficial content selection (Barr, Barth,and Shermis 1977; Stanley and Whitson 1992).

Social studies educators who elect to developan issues-centered classroom have the opportu-nity to play an important role in the empower-ment of all students. Unquestionably, socialstudies teachers can and do make a positivedifference. However, to make an even greaterdifference, particularly in the lives of language-minority students, the challenge is to adopt anew paradigm that encourages exploration oflearner-centered social issues, involves studentsin social action projects that bridge home,school, and community, and promotes languageand critical literacy development. The authorsbelieve that to benefit most from issues-centeredinstruction, teachers must focus on the learner aswell as the content.

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Focus on the LearnerSocial studies teachers often ask, "What

should I teach?" and "How should I teach?" Theresponse is the same to both questions. Begin bylistening to and involving your language-minori-ty students. When appropriate and with students'permission, place them on center stage with theirpeers. Placing language-minority students oncenter stage means using or creating learningactivities that encourage and invite language-minority students to openly share their experi-ence and voice their views. On center stagelanguage-minority students have an opportunityto explore their cultural identity, engage in morecooperative interaction with others, enhancetheir self-esteem, and accept greater responsibili-ty for their own learning.

An issues-centered approach incorporatesstudents' experiences in ways that promoteexploration of cultural identities: it "is automati-cally 'culture-fair' in that all students are activelyinvolved in expressing, sharing, and amplifyingtheir experiences within the classroom"(Cummins 1989, 65). Ahlquist (1990, 56) rec-ommended that teachers "ask students what theythink are the most important issues and concernsin life and how they might be addressed." Banks(1993, 8) reminded us, however, that while it isvery important to use the personal and culturalknowledge of students, "an important goal ofeducation is to free students from their culturaland ethnic boundaries and enable them to crosscultural borders freely."

The ultimate purpose is to have language-minority students take ownership of the learningprocess. The teacher's primary role is to help stu-dents empower themselves: "Teachers do notempower or disempower anyone, nor do schools.They merely create the conditions under whichpeople can empower themselves, or not" (Ruiz1991, 223). Listening to students' perspectivesand experiences is critical to teachers' willingnessto be involved in the learning process. Freire(1985) refers to the student ownership process asdialogical education. Students create new knowl-edge by voicing, sharing, and reflecting on lifeexperiences: "As a teacher I help students locatetheir experiences socially; I involve students inprobing the social factors that make and limitwho they are and I try to help them reflect onwho they could be" (Bigelow 1990, 437).Ultimately, the critical thinking skills that stu-dents develop will transform society, as students

2 2

learn "to grab hold of real life problems and con-struct solutions to them" (Ahlquist 1990, 54).

When inviting language-minority students totake charge of their own learning, it is equallyimportant to develop a positive classroom com-munity. Cooperation is favored over competition.Rather than fostering alienation by making chil-dren work independently and in competitionwith one another, "schools should establish a`society of intimates'a collective identity andcollective responsibility" (Kornfeld 1993, 77).Kagan's (1995) research on cooperative learningand minority students strongly endorsed theimportance of cooperative learning:

Minority students may lack motivationto learn, but only when they are placedin traditional, competitive/individualisticclassroom structures. As demonstrated soclearly by the [research], in a relatively shorttime what appears to be a long-term minor-ity student deficiency in basic languageskills can be overcome by transforming thesocial organization of the classroom. Thus,the gap in achievement between majorityand minority students is best not attributedto personal deficiencies of minority stu-dents, but rather to the relatively exclusivereliance in public schools on competitiveand individualistic classroom structures(Kagan 1995, 246-247).

Developing self-esteem is also an importantcomponent of issues-centered education becauseit is so closely related to student achievement. Itis especially critical for academically under-achieving students from minority groups. Whilesome critics question self-esteem as a useful andworthy goal (Kohn 1994, 272-283), self-esteemis inextricably related to the overarching goal oflearning about one's own culture and its societalcontext:

We may argue that instilling self-esteem isno business of the schools, but we aredeluding ourselves if we think there isn't alink between self-esteem and achievement.... If students have confidence in their abil-ity, then success or failure in school and inlife is largely a function of effort. Whetherchildren achieve is contingent on whetherthey possess self-esteem and confidence intheir ability and on whether their teachers

share that confidence in them (Price 1992,211-12).

Self-esteem is perhaps the key to the successof language-minority students in the issues-centered classroom. With a positive identity, thelanguage-minority student will become willinglyand genuinely involved in the learning process.

Cortes (1990, 14) spoke directly to thosewho teach language-minority students when hewrote of his vision for multiculturation"themutual acculturation of people, cultures andinstitutions." The vision is a quest to build anation of the contributions of one and all, basedon the positive commonalities that unite us,respecting, maintaining, and nourishing the con-structive uniqueness that marks our diversity. Tothis end, he called for several kinds of accultura-tion, among these acculturation that empowersand sensitizes. Acculturation that empowershelps all students to:

develop socially unifying knowledge, under-standing, beliefs, values and loyalties ...[and] effective English, advanced knowl-edge and empowering skills that will providethem with a reasonable chance of takingadvantage of opportunities for reaching thefabled American dream. (Cortes 1990, 14)

Acculturation that sensitizes will help allAmericans:

to develop better intercultural understand-ing and become more dedicated to livingwith concern and sensitivity in a multieth-nic society where racial, ethnic and culturaldifferences co-exist with national andhuman commonalties (14).

Multiculturation is for all students.

Focus on ContentLet's imagine an issues-centered classroom

that maximizes the academic, personal, and socialdevelopment of all students. What would it looklike? What would be the salient features, thosemost critical for language-minority students?Several dimensions would certainly stand out.For example, the classroom would be a place toexplore learner-centered social issues, foster con-nections between home, school, and community,and provide opportunities for social action.

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It would also be a learning environment that pro-motes language and literacy development as wellas critical thinking. The outcome of what stu-dents do would empower them as learners. Thissection will help social studies educators betterunderstand how to approach and teach socialissues to language-minority students by examin-ing each of these dimensions in greater detail.

Explore Learner-Centered Social IssuesGiven the immediacy of certain concerns in

the lives of language-minority students (e.g.,family, language, culture, school climate), somesocial issues will be more relevant than others.This is why it is imperative that instruction belearner-centered. Meaningful themes should bedrawn from the experiences and concerns of thestudents themselves. These will vary from onecontext to another. Once identified, the themescan serve as the basis for school-wide and localcommunity action projects.

Themes are everywhere, and students' voicesoffer an essential guide in making decisionsabout selecting social issues. Just listening towhat immigrant students have to say about theirexperiences in Crossing the Schoolhouse Border(Olsen 1988, 35, 30) will suggest possibilities.Note how issues such as immigration, discrimi-nation, and ethnic identity emerge:

The Americans tell us to go back to our owncountry. I say we don't have a country to goback to. I wish I was born here and nobodywould fight me and beat me up. They don'tunderstand. I want to tell them if they hadtried to cross the river and were afraid ofbeing caught and killed and lost their sisters,they might feel like me, they might look likeme, and they, too, might find themselves in anew country.

10th grade Cambodian boy,immigrated at age 12

I'm glad to be American. I think you can be alot more open here and we have a lot of fun.But I don't think it's right that some kids tryso hard to not be Latin. They won't speakSpanish, and some of them don't even knowhow anymore. To me that is sad. My childrenwill be born here, and they will be fullyAmerican, but I want them to know our lan-guage. I want them to be able to speak to mygrandmother, and to go back to Mexico and

feel it is also their home. Without a connec-tion to where you come from, without your

family and your past, you are just lost.10th grade Mexican girl,

immigrated at age 14

Perspective is a critical element in teachingsocial issues in any classroom. It affects howteachers present and students respond to socialissues. Because of the divergent cultural andlinguistic backgrounds that language-minoritystudents bring to the classroom, teachers shouldanticipate that their own perspectives on someissues in relation to gender, religion, socialclass, ethnic group, or nationality, for instance,will differ from that of their students. Due to theinteraction of ethnicity, social class, religion, andeducation, students from language-minoritygroups, for example, may have alternative, i.e.,nonmainstream U.S., views on women's issues.Definitions of role, family, interpersonal relation-ships, expectations, and aspirations may also vary.

Adopting frames of reference different fromthose traditionally used in the social studies iscritical. For example, geocultural and globalperspectives are educationally and conceptuallyvalid alternatives to ethnocentric points ofview that distort views of U.S. society and therest of the world (Hernandez 1989). Cortes(1976, 1981; Cortes and Fleming 1986b) hasrepeatedly made the point that established eth-nic-language groups have traditionally beenignored, described as obstacles to progress, orcharacterized as problems in society. He has longrecommended use of a multidirectional frame ofreference that is geoculturalsubsuming thecultures and experiences of the nation as a wholeby recognizing "the northwesterly flow of civi-lization from Africa to America, the northerlyflow of Hispanic and Mexican civilization intowhat is today the U.S. Southwest, and the east-erly flow of civilization and cultures from Asia"(Cortes 1981, 15). This, he argued, enables edu-cators to deal with multiple group perspectives(e.g., ethnic, racial, cultural, gender, religious) asintegral elements in teaching the Americanexperience.

Along similar lines, Cortes also advocated amultifaceted global perspective for presentinginformation on areas outside the United States.Failure to adopt such a framework encouragesstudents to "view the world with knowledgedrawn almost entirely from Western and middle-

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class traditions. But the majority of Earth's peo-ple are not white; although they may be influ-enced by the West, their cultures are neitherWestern nor dominated by a middle class."

It is inevitable that issues-centered instruc-tion will not be limited by national boundaries.If students are to attain an accurate understand-ing of people in other countries in the process,then outsider perspectives will not suffice.Students must be taught about different culturesand societies in ways that recognize and valueperspectives from within. Geocultural and glob-al perspectives provide the divergent interpreta-tions of reality that will help students appreciatethe insight captured in the words of Ortega yGasset: "The sole false perspective is that whichclaims to be the only one there is."

Promote Language DevelopmentIn the issues-centered classroom envisioned

here, language and literacy development wouldbe a priority. Aronowitz and Giroux (1985) wrotethat "if students are to be empowered by schoolexperiences, one of the key elements of theireducation must be that they acquire mastery oflanguage as well as the capacity to think concep-tually and critically (p. 158 in original Aronowitzand Giroux)" (Sleeter and Grant, 1988, p. 190).To achieve academically, language-minority stu-dents must attain high levels of academic lan-guage proficiency, and issues-centered instruc-tion provides an ideal forum for enhancingEnglish-language and literacy skills. Moreover,given the nature of issues-centered activities,there are also ample opportunities for incorpora-tion of the primary language.

Research by Edelsky and Hudelson (1980)reviewed by Fillmore and Valadez (1986) indi-cated that encouraging students to use their pri-mary language in school is not enough to ensurethat they will actually do so. In a setting such asa school, speakers of languages other than thedominant language in the community often findit difficult or awkward to use their native lan-guage to talk with each other. Even when sec-ond-language learners interact with classmateswho are bilingual, the speakers will almost invari-ably shift into English.

Social studies teachers working with second-language learnerseven teachers who are notbilingualmust convey the message to studentsthat the primary language is accepted and valued.Cummins (1989, 60) hypothesized that:

Educators who see their role as adding asecond language and cultural affiliation tostudents' repertoire are likely to empowerstudents more than those who see their roleas replacing or subtracting students' prima-ry language and culture in the process ofassimilating them to the dominant culture.

This acceptance can best be achieved bycreating opportunities for incorporating the pri-mary language into classroom activities. From anacademic, linguistic and affective standpoint,this is sound practice conducive to the study ofsocial issues.

Diaz, Moll, and Mehan (1986) illustrated onestrategy that effectively integrates the study ofsocial issues within the classroom and communi-ty with the development of literacy and thinkingskills in both languages. This strategy was imple-mented successfully in an English-as-a-second-language classroom at a secondary school inwhich there was no support provided for literacydevelopment in the primary language. In direct-ing students through their examination of cam-pus and community attitudes toward language,the teacher used surveys and questionnaires as atechnique for soliciting people's opinions towardEnglish and their primary language. To promoteliteracy development, information collected fromthe Spanish-speaking community was reportedusing essays written in English.

On the first day, the teacher framed theassignment by requiring that all of the students askthese three questions (Diaz et al. 1986, 214):

1. What language do you speak best?2. What language do you read and write best?3. Do any members of your family who

live with you speak another languagebesides English?

Two ether qvestions were madeoptional:

Would you be willing to take classes tobecome bilingual?

What career do you. foresee in your future inwhich you would benefit by being bilingual?

For the survey, each student was required tointerview other peopletwo adults not workingon campus, two adults who work on campus, threestudents whose first language is English, and threestudents whose first language is not English.

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As homework, students developedthree additional questions related to the issuethey were exploring, which were discussed thenext day, generating ten additional questionsfor possible use in the student questionnaires(Diaz et al. 1986, 215):

1. Would you prefer to live around bilingualpeople in a bilingual community?

2. Are your closest friends bilingual?3. Would you like to go to the university? Do

you know that the best university requiresfour years of second-language training?

4. Which language do you like the best of theones you don't speak?

5. What language do you speak with yourfriends? Why?

6. How many teachers do you have that speaksome Spanish?

7. Do you think you would like to return tolive where you learned your first language?

8. Which language does your closest friendspeak with you?

9. Do you think speaking another language isimportant?

10. Is it comparatively hard for you to learnanother language?

The teacher guided the process from theinitial interviewing through essay writingand reporting. In writing their essays, stu-dents followed a model structure of formu-la paragraphs. The following are twounedited student essays:

Student A:The people in my cummunity think thatbeing bilingual is very important for severalgood reasons. Firts, I felt very proud doingthe Survey. the people in our communintyfeel very proud at them self that they speakSpanish and Eanglish because they can talkwith there friends in any of those twolenguages. Secondly, the people I ask Somewere bilingual students and adults 60 per-cent were bilingual people and 40 percentweren't bilingual people. Also, I ask ateacher and a student if they would be will-ing to work as a bilingual person and theysaid no and than I ask a Student this qies-tion Do you think Speaking Anotherlenguage is important and he said no thatamazed me because I never herd one person

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that thinks that speaking another lenguageain't important. finally, I ask a teacher thatWhat career was he interested in thatwould require a second language and hesaid no common and he told this I don'tknow What laugage I'm interestes thatwould require a 2nd lenguage because Idon't know it and I ask two Students thisquestion what career are yo interested inthat would require a 2nd lenguage and 50percent said Fransh 10 percent saidGermen 10 percent said Italian and 20 per-cent said no coman as you can see I washaving fun. (Diaz et al. 1986, 217).

Student B:I found that people in our community feelgood about belingualism for several goodreasons. They think it it very importantbecause they can communicate with otherpeople. The people I ask are 60 percentstudents, 40 percent adults, 70 percent areSpanish speakers, 20 percent were Englishspeakers, 70 percent can write and readEnglish, 20 percent can write and readSpanish well. Most of the people told methat in there house can speak English andSpanish. The people I ask the questions,answers me very polite and they said thequestions were very interesting. Some per-son said that these project was very good forme and interesting for him. When he saidthat I feel very good about the work I wasdoing. The most interesting thing thatI found wat that the people like the project.Most of the people said that they werewilling to take classes to become totallybelingual because it could help them rightnow and in the future. The students I asksaid that they have only friends that speakonly Spanish and English not othey lan-guage. They adults I ask said that beenbelingual is very important for thembecause they can communicate with morepeople and they can have more opportuni-tis for some jobs that othey people do I feevery good about the way people answer me.(Diaz et al. 1986, 217-18)

By assigning this task, teachers can drawupon skills that students have developed intheir first language and use them in support of

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academic goals in the second language. In doingso, instruction is also responsive to communitydynamics. In working within this particular com-munity, the researchers found that writing,schooling, and social issues were complex,related phenomena. Establishing connectionsbetween the community and classroom were crit-ical to student success. Diaz et al. (1986) empha-sized that this activity is also consistent withVygotsky's (1978) notion of creating zones ofproximal development, as students move fromteacher guidance to self direction, from social toindividual experience.

Promote Critical Literacy Developmentand Social Action

It is not enough, however, to develop lan-guage and literacy skills. If students are to beempowered by what they learn, pedagogy musttake them one step further. McLeod (1986, 37)articulated this view:

Being literate ... means having the power touse languagewriting and reading, speak-ing and listeningfor our own purposes, aswell as those that the institutions of oursociety require of us. The classroom process-es by which that power is achieved includethe first exercise of that power.

Ada (1986) could have had social studies edu-cators in mind when she drew on Freire's work todevelop her "model" for critical literacy. It is apowerful tool for all social issues classrooms. Asdescribed by Cummins (1989), her approachintegrates critical thinking skills with curriculumcontent that involves reading. The first of Ada's(1988) four phases in this creative readingprocess is the descriptive phase. At the outset, chil-dren are asked to deal with information froma written text. To check for understanding, theteacher poses: 'Where, when, how, did it hap-pen? Who did it? Why?" (Ada 1988, 104).

After the student has provided input, theprocess moves into the personal interpretativephase. The teacher invites the students to relatewhat they have read to their own feelings andexperiences: Have you ever seen (felt, thought,experienced) something similar? How does thisinformation make you feel? How would you reactin these circumstances? (Ada 1988; Ada andZubizarreta). Ada emphasized that children'sself-esteem is enhanced as members of the class-

room community validate their feelings andexperiences. She also contended that "true learn-ing occurs only when the information received isanalyzed in light of one's own experiences andemotions" (Ada, 1988, 104).

At the next level, the critical phase, studentsare involved in the critical analysis of issues andproblems. Questions now focus on making infer-ences and formulating generalizations based onwhat they have read: Is it fair? Is it right? Does itbenefit everyone alike? Are there any alternatives tothis situation? What would the consequences of eachalternative be? Would people of different cultures(classes, genders) have acted differently? How?Why?" (Ada, 1988; Ada and Zubizarreta, 1989,13). According to Ada and Zubizarreta (1989),these questions serve to enhance critical thinkingskills and promote the realization that situationsoften present alternative courses of action. Inturn, students become more cognizant of theirability to influence their own reality.

Finally, students enter the creative phase inwhich ideas become actions. Students confrontissues and explore alternatives for resolving theproblems identified. They engage in activities thatcan make a difference in their lives. For example,teachers might ask: What can you do to ... ? Howwould you change (improve, alter, transform) ... ?What are you going to do when ... ? How would you

prevent ?" (Ada and Zubizarreta 1989, 13).Cummins (1989) gave the example of stu-

dents engaged in research on environmental pol-lution problems. After investigating newspapers,periodicals and other sources of information, thestudents would critically analyze causes, proposesolutions, and pursue a course of action. Theymight then make other students aware of theproblems. For example, students can pursueissues in a class or school newsletter, circulate apetition around their school or neighborhood, orcontact people involved in local, state, or nation-al government. Cummins (1989, 74-75) com-pared this process with the one developed byTaba (1965). While similar in many ways, oneimportant difference exists between the twoprocesses:

As pointed out by Wallerstein (1983, 17),however, Freire and Taba differ primarily inthe final step of the process where Taba asksfor summations and applications to othersituations whereas Freire (and Ada) calls foraction to promote alternatives to current

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problematic or negative situations.

For educators working from an interactive/experiential pedagogical orientation, criticalthinking is more than a skill to be transmitted(Cummins 1989, 75):

Critical/creative thinking is manifestedthrough active use of oral and written lan-guage for collaborative exploration of issuesand resolution of the real problems thatform the curriculum. In other words, theprimary focus is on process rather thantransmission of content.

Combining critical literacy development andsocial action offers teachers and students excitingpossibilities. In one second-grade, bilingual class-room (Hernandez 1992), for example, issuesrelated to animal rights took on an internationalperspective. Concern regarding the care andtreatment of pets in the children's neighborhoodgenerated interest in reading Ferdinand the Bull.The children asked: "Why did bullfighting per-sist? Does everyone in Spain like bullfighting?"They wanted answers, and ideas became actions.The children wrote letters to the mayor of Tossa,a small village in Spain that was the first to banbullfighting. The children used real and imagi-nary images to describe what the bulls might doif they were no longer doomed to enter the bull-ring. The mayor of Tossa wrote back, appreciativeof their interest in a movement that he regards asinevitable. He also forwarded their names to thespokesperson for the local animal defense league,who has continued the correspondence, keepingthe students informed of activities throughoutthe European community.

When children in Hernandez's classroomexplored smoking and its related health issues,they traced the history of smoking around theworld. The more the children learned, the morethey wanted to do something. The childrendecided to create antismoking posters. Whenthey realized that children in other parts of theworld made similar posters, the pupils organizeda poster exchange. They sent their posters toSpain in exchange for posters drawn by third,fourth and fifth graders in Barcelona. Posterswere in three languages: Catalan, English, andSpanish. In both countries the posters were dis-played in classrooms. One group of children alsodecided to send posters carrying their message

for exhibition in the state capitol.

Foster Student EmpowermentIn the final analysis, issues-centered instruc-

tion should empower all students. As Cummins(1989, 63) observed: "Instruction that empowers... will aim to liberate students from dependenceon instruction in the sense of encouraging themto become active generators of their own knowl-edge." This is particularly critical for language-minority students.

Educators have developed a vision of the typeof instruction that empowers language-minoritystudents. As described by Cummins (1989, 64),this interactive/experiential model is predicatedupon strategies consistent with basic principles oflanguage acquisition and literacy developmentthat promote reciprocal inter-action betweenteachers and students. Among the strategies thatcharacterize instruction that empowers lan-guage-minority students, Cummins includedthe following:

Discoursegenuine oral and written dis-course between teacher and students;

Teacher rolegreater emphasis on teachersin the role of guides and facilitators ratherthan as imparters of knowledge and con-trollers of learning;

Contextcreation of a collaborative learningcontext in which peers are encouraged tointeract;

Languagegreater emphasis on the use oflanguage that is meaningful and less empha-sis on correctness of form;

Integrationstrong integration of languagedevelopment and subject matter content;

Thinking skillsemphasis on the develop-ment of higher-level cognitive skills; and

Motivationfocus on engaging students intasks that foster intrinsic motivation.

Adhering to the tenets of the model, teacherscan help students to "assume greater control oversetting their own learning goals and to collabo-rate actively with each other in achieving thesegoals" (Cummins 1989, 64).

A Time for Change in SocialStudies Education

What role do social studies educators play inthis very serious debate about culture, diversity,and power? How do social studies educatorsdefine and, hence, teach the goal of democratic

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citizenship education? Garcia and Pugh (1992,218) offered the ideal by stating, "Because multi-culturalism is our national reality, we are bestserved by an education system that preservesdemocratic ideals while it helps us move toward amore complete realization of these ideals forall people." They warned that, "Changing nation-al demographics, if not timeless democratic ideals,suggest that complacency now will sow the seedsof an immense educational failure later" (219).

The realities of our multicultural society, asincreasingly reflected in our culturally diversepopulation, may serve to motivate and demandchange in the social studies classroom. More andmore social studies teachers are looking over theirclassrooms and seeing a larger number of stu-dents who are different from the traditionalmainstream students. Students and parents fromnonmainstream cultures are becoming less for-giving of instructional practices that areinequitable, and less tolerant of distortions ofreality in social studies content and materials(especially when these distortions sanction racialand ethnic stereotypes).

Are social studies educators open to the chal-lenge? In her NCSS presidential address,Charlotte C. Anderson (1993, 160) spoke to thisneed for change:

We must discard familiar and thereforecomfortable images of reality and embraceunfamiliar and disorienting ones. Thesenew images, although they may be threat-ening and disconcerting to those of us firm-ly rooted in the mid-twentieth century,are nonetheless congruent with emergingrealities of the world our children will expe-rience. If what I say is true, we social stud-ies educators face a task that may shake thevery foundation on which most of us havebuilt our personal and professional lives.

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University of New York.Ada, A. F., and R Zubizarreta. Language Arts through

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Book Press, 1989.Ahlquist, A. "Critical Pedagogy for Social Studies

Teachers." Social Studies Review 29, no. 3 (1990): 53-57.

Anderson, C. "The Context of Civic Competence andEducation Five Hundred Years after Columbus."Social Education 57, no. 4 (1993) , 160-63.

Aronowitz, S. and Giroux, H. A. (1985). EducationUnder Siege. South Hadley, MA: Bergin and Garvey.

Banks, J. A. "The Canon Debate, KnowledgeConstruction, and Multicultural Education."Educational Researcher 22, no. 5 (1993): 4-14.

Barr, R. D. , J. L. Barth, and S. S. Shermis. Defining theSocial Studies. NCSS Bulletin 51. Arlington, Va.:National Council for the Social Studies, 1977.

Bigelow, W. "Inside the Classroom: Social Vision andCritical Pedagogy." Teachers College Record91, no. 3

(1990): 437-47.California State Department of Education. History-

Social Science Framework. Sacramento: California

State Department of Education, 1987.Cortes, C.E. "Need for a Geo-Cultural Perspective in

the Bicentennial." Educational Leadership 33, no. 4(1976): 290-92.

Cortes, C.E. (1981) "Dealing with the Density ofDiversity: Groupness and Individuality in theCalifornia History/Social Science Framework."Social Studies Review, 21(1), 12-18.

Cortes, C.E. "E Pluribus Unum: Out of Many One."In Vol. 1 of California Perspectives: An Anthology fivm

the Immigrant Students Project, 13-16. San Francisco:California Tomorrow, 1990.

Cortes, C.E., and D. B. Fleming. "Global Educationand Textbooks." Social Education 50 (1986a, no. 5):

340-44.Cortes, C.E., and D. B. Fleming. "Changing Global

Perspectives in Textbooks." Social Education 50

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Diaz, S., L. C. Moll, and H. Mehan. "SocioculturalResources in Instruction: A Context-SpecificApproach." In Beyond Language: Social and CulturalFactors in Schooling Minority Students. Los Angeles:

Evaluation, Dissemination and Assessment Center,School of Education, California State University,Los Angeles, 1986.

Edelsky, C., and Hudelson, S. (1980). "Acquiring aSecond Language When You're Not the Underdog."In R. Scarcella and S. Krashen (Eds.), Research inSecond Language Acquisition. Rowley, MA: Newbury

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Learners." In Handbook of Research on Teaching, 3rd

ed., edited by M. C. Wittrock, 648-85. New YorkMacmillan, 1986.

Freire, P. The Politics of Education. Granby, Mass.: Bergin

and Garvey, 1985.Garcia, J., and S. L. Pugh. "Multicultural Education in

Teacher Preparation Programs: A Political or anEducational Concept?" Phi Delta Kappan 74, no. 3(1992): 214-19.

Gutmann, A. Democratic Education. Princeton, N. J. :Princeton University Press, 1987.

Hernandez, F. "California History and Its MulticulturalHeritage for Elementary School Instruction." Paperpresented at the annual conference of the CaliforniaHistorical Society, September 1992.

Hernandez, H. Multicultural Education: A Teacher'sGuide to Content and Process. Columbus, Ohio:Merrill Publishing, 1989.

Kagan, S. (1995). "Cooperative Learning andSociocultural Factors in Schooling" (pp. 231-298).In Beyond Language: Social and Cultural Factors in

Schooling Language Minority Students. Los Angeles:

Evaluation, Dissemination and Assessment Center,School of Education, California State University,Los Angeles.

Kohn, A. "The Truth About Self-Esteem." Phi DeltaKappan 76, no. 4 (1994): 272-283.

Kornfeld, J. H. "Teaching for Democracy in the SocialStudies Classroom." Theory and Research in Social

Education 21, no. 1 (1993): 75-83.McLeod, A. "Critical Literacy: Taking Control of Our

Own Lives." Language Arts 63, no. 1(1986): 37-50.Metzger, D. J., and P. M. Marker. "Teaching for

Democracy: An Agenda for Social Studies TeacherEducation in the Twenty-First Century." TheInternational Journal of Social Education 7, no. 2

(1992): 67-75.NCSS Ad Hoc Committee on Social Studies

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Tomorrow Policy Research Report. San Francisco:California Tomorrow, 1988.

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Teachers. White Plains, N.Y.; Longman, 1992.Ruiz, R. "Empowerment of Language-Minority

Students." In Empowerment through MulticulturalEducation, edited by C. E. Sleeter, 217-27. Albany,N.Y.: State University of New York Press, 1991.

Issues-Centered Education forLanguage-Minority Students

OutlineI. Focus on the LearnerII. Focus on Content

A. Explore Learner-Centered Social IssuesB. Promote Language DevelopmentC. Promote Critical Literacy Development

and Social ActionIII. Foster Student EmpowermentIV. A Time for Change in Social Studies

Education

Sleeter, C.E., and C. A. Grant. Making Choices forMulticultural Education. Columbus, Ohio: MerrillPublishing, 1988.

Smith, G.R., and G. Otero. Teaching about CulturalAwareness. Denver, Colo.: University of Denver,Center for Teaching International Relations, 1982.

Stanley, W. B., and J. A. Whitson. "Citizenship asPractical Competence: A Response to the NewReform Movement in Social Studies Education."The International Journal of Social Education 7, no. 2

(1992): 57-66.Taba, H. (1965). "The Teaching of Thinking."

Elementary English, 42,534-542.Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in Society: The Development

of Higher Psychological Process. Cambridge, MA:

Harvard University Press.Wallerstein, N. (1983). "The Teaching Approach of

Paulo Freire." In J. W. 011er, Jr., and P. A. Richard-Amato (Eds.) Methods That Work: A Smorgasbord of

Ideas for Language Teachers. Rowley, MA: Newbury

House.

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ISS ES-CENTERED EDUCATION INMU 'CULTURAL ENVIRONMENTSbq Sh n L. Pugh and Jesus Garcia

andates that focus on what and howmuch students should learn in socialstudies typically ignore how they learn.Most educators would agree that thereis nothing inherently wrong with enrich-ing history and geography learning

(Bradley Commission 1985; Gagnon 1989;National Commission on Social Studies in theSchools 1989) and insisting on a high standard ofstudent knowledge in these areas (Beatty, 1994,Rothman 1990). Yet increasing the content ofthe social studies curriculum is not likely toimprove students' dismal attitudes toward thesubject. Indeed, student voices are strikinglyabsent from the ongoing discussion of how socialstudies can become a vital force in their educa-tion and lives.

The irony of this situation is that voice isthe essence of democratic participation, so thatlearning to exercise this voice in thoughtfuland effective ways would seem to be a primaryobjective of education for citizenship. Students,moreover, are not just individuals but also mem-bers of communities, the many communitiesthat reflect the cultural diversity of the UnitedStates. This diversity is nowhere as apparent asin public schools, especially those in metropoli-tan areas but also those in suburbs, once consid-ered white enclaves. Cultural diversity is espe-cially dramatic in communities in Californiaand Texas, where, within the predictable future,non-Caucasian populations will constitute themajority. From Anchorage to Miami, culturaldiversity is nearly everyone's reality.

Social studies education models that neglectto address the complexities of the teaching-learning process legitimately raise concerns.Today, surrounded by an information explosionof largely alarming news, students need basic

knowledge along with the thinking and languagetools necessary to enter into an adult lifetime ofnegotiation and problem solving. It is notenough to teach them about their past, vital asthis dimension is; they must develop depth per-ception by relating the past to their present andfuture. Acknowledging that both tradition andchange should be examined together, we pro-mote in this chapter a model of issues-centeredsocial studies education that meets the needs ofstudents preparing for citizenship in the twenty-first century.

Issues-CenteredSocial Studies Education

Issues-centered social studies education, asthe phrase implies, focuses on matters of actualconcern to society. It also recognizes and, indeed,makes pedagogical use of the complexity of issuesin a democratic system. In addition to relatinghistory and geography knowledge to contempo-rary issues, this approach incorporates the keyelements of 1. multiculturalism in a global con-text, 2. multiple perspectives, and 3. strong-sense (dialogical) critical reasoning. Thus, stu-dents are not only exposed to information butdevelop experience in processes that employ suchinformation in problem-solving situations.

Our information-age culture presents therationale for this kind of curriculum. Satellitetelevision, on-line electronic mail and news ser-vices, fax machines, high-tech library networks,and sophisticated computer software havechanged the nature of basic literacy. The educa-tional challenge for students in the late 1990s isnot only to acquire and retain a given body ofknowledge but also to master the tools for usingknowledge.

Such acquisition of information and the

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mastery of obtaining information blends easilyinto the context of problem solving. Our stu-dents, who have known only this informationculture, will sense the relevance of such anapproach to social studies learning, and whatmany now experience as a dreary and routinesubject may become the most vital and stimulat-ing in their school experience. In the followingdiscussion, we explore the possibilities of issues-centered social studies education in terms of itsthree key elements

Global MulticulturalismWe have previously defined multiculturalism

with a global perspective as:

a layered concept that includes not only theexperiences of particular individuals andgroups but also their shared interests andrelationships, which in turn are embeddedin the interconnectedness of all peoples ofthe world. In its full complexity, then, mul-ticulturalism implies the cultivation of aglobal view of human affairs. Paradoxically,perhaps, this expanded view of multicultur-alism places primary emphasis on the indi-vidual and on the importance of individualdecisions regarding all issues concerning thewelfare of humankind. (Garcia and Pugh1992, 218)

Although politicians and the general publicmay not agree on a definition of "the new worldorder" or on what is the U.S. role as the world'ssolitary superpower, the momentous changes ofthe late eighties and early nineties have made usacutely aware that today's pace goes at roller-coaster speed when compared to earlier times.To cite just two eventsthe dismantling of thereal wall in Berlin and the symbolic wall ofapartheid in South Africawe have witnessedbreathtaking liberation along with the conse-quent confusion that often follows the topplingof an oppressive structure. The electronic net-work that keeps all nations of the world in touchwith and under the scrutiny of all others is ametaphor for the actual interconnectedness ofthe whole human race.

Environmental concerns make global think-ing an urgent necessity. The destruction of rainforests in South America and Southeast Asia, forexample, affects medical research and evenbreathing in the United States, just as the pollu-

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tion generated by our affluent lifestyles is damag-ing the ozone that protects these regions. Povertyand overpopulation in developing countries callfor moral and economic responsibilities in richcountries, who, in turn, become recipients ofincreased numbers of immigrants and refugees.

Indeed, the "international global village,"prophesied by Marshall McLuhan (1968) anddocumented twenty-five years later (Iyer 1993) isdefined by an international youth culture drivenby an international economy. Despite youth'snotorious ignorance of geography, an interna-tional outlook is as natural to young people asplaying with computers. We must now acceptthat an individual without a computer or interna-tional awareness is deprived of knowledge neces-sary for successful functioning in today's world.

The metaphor that might best describe today'sglobal perspective is the holograph, which pre-sents all dimensions simultaneously to create animage-in-the-round, vastly different from thesequential presentation of "expanding horizons,"the popular social studies curriculum model that"begins with the immediate environmentfamily, home, school, neighborhood and commu-nityand moves outward to state, regional,national, and international environments"(Michaelis 1992, 14). In an issues-centeredapproach, instruction emphasizes the students'belonging simultaneously to all levels of the socialenvironment. Issues may be immediate, but theirimplications are far-reaching. Diversity itself issuch an issue. In both school and community,issues arise naturally concerning the degree andnature of diversity, and the analysis of these issueswill link the school and local environment to thestate, national, and global environment.

Many school and societal issues are availablefor critical examination within an issues-centeredapproach. For example, the school issue of track-ing would open to the larger issue of how schooldifferentiates students and treats them accord-ingly, often appearing to follow class and racelines, and with particular implications for newlyarrived Americans. When students look at howgroup membership can affect one's treatmentand experience in school, they consider attitudestoward societies defined as more distant thanothers as well as the role of wealth in both powerand opportunity. Another school issue is segrega-tion, integration, and separatism, recently paro-died in a Doonesbury series featuring a liberalcollege president facing the opposition of the

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"Multiracial, Bi-Gender Student Alliance" overthe issue of social desegregation on a collegecampus (he wants it, they don't). The entire his-tory of our nation can be contextualized in thatissue, with particular emphasis on events before,during, and after the Civil War. Studying thismajor dimension of our own cultural historyhelps students consider racial and ethnic conflictsand reforms in other parts of the world and suchinternational movements as the rise of the "skin-head" culture and the globalization of virtually allaspects of African American popular culture.

Other issues that can be explored simultane-ously from school to planet include environ-mental issues from school recycling to the EarthSummit, residential patterns from neighbor-hoods to international immigration trends, andemployment patterns from the local factory toNAFTA. Virtually any major issue leads to thenecessity of taking a global and multiculturalperspective in order to begin to address therightsand perhaps to some extent the wel-fareof all groups on a planet that is shrinkingin more ways than one.

Multiple PerspectivesThe New York State Social Studies Review

and Development Committee (1991) identifiedfour pillars of social studies instruction: sharedvalues for nation-building, appreciation of cul-tural diversity, inclusiveness of all cultures, and,as the culminating point, the development of rea-soning from multiple perspectives. Committeemembers, such as Edmund Gordon of YaleUniversity, Nathan Glazer of the Harvard Schoolof Education, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., of the CityUniversity of New York, Asa Hilliard III ofGeorgia State University, and Francis Roberts ofNew York's Cold Spring Harbor Schools, identi-fied seven basic concepts to guide social studiescurriculum reform: democratic ideals, diversity,economic and social justice, globalism, ecologicalbalance, ethics and values, and individual partici-pation in society. These educators' concern withdeveloping the capacity to view issues and reasonfrom multiple perspectives is explained in the fol-lowing passage (italics ours):

Not only the world, but also our nation andthe peoples who inhabit it, are changing. Thenature of our knowledge and the criteria forbeing judged an educated person are chang-ing, as are our conceptions of effective teach-

ing and learning. Especially in the humani-ties and the social sciences, we are beginningto realize that understanding and the abilityto appreciate things from more than one per-spective may be as important as is factualknowledge, among the goals of education.One result of this changing perception is theCommittee's assertion that the social studiesshould be concerned, not so much with"whose culture" (vii) and "whose history" areto be taught and learned, as with the develop-ment of intellectual competence in learners, withintellectual competence viewed as having as oneof its major components the capacity to view theworld and understand it from multiple perspec-tives. Thus the report takes the position thata few fundamental concepts should be thefocus of teaching and learning in the socialstudies, with applications, contexts, andexamples drawn from multiple culturalsources, differing perspectives, and diversegroups. Multicultural knowledge in this concep-tion of the social studies becomes a vehicle andnot the goal. Multicultural content and experi-ence become instruments by which we enablestudents to develop their intelligence and to

function as human and humane persons (519).

Schlesinger, it should be noted, expressedstrong misgivings with the emphasis of the reporton pluralism and the value of different culturesand heritages instead of participation in a com-mon culture. In addition, he criticized the reportfor diminishing the importance of Europeancivilization, which he asserted was the "unique"source of American institutions and values.He also took issue with what he called the "politi-cization" of the curriculum, citing such state-ments as "students must be taught social criti-cism," that "[they should] see themselves as activemakers and changers of culture and society," and"that [they should prepare to] bring about changein their communities, the nation, and the world."The publication of both the majority report andthe dissenting opinion in the New York StateSocial Studies Review and Development Com-mittee report is an excellent illustration of whatis fundamental to discussion in a democraticsocietydialogical/dialectical reasoning.

Dialogical ReasoningRichard Paul (1985) defines "strong-sense"

critical thinking as dialectical; that is, integrating

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different viewpoints. He characterizes such sub-jects as history, psychology, sociology, anthro-pology, and economics as based on debate andcontroversy rather than on unanimously agreed-upon premises, a view that can probably beextended to the sciences and mathematicsandcertainly to the humanities. An extended excerptfrom his explanation of "dialectical reasoning" isappropriate to explain the concept here:

Generate a question within them [the fieldsmentioned above], and you typically gener-ate a field of possible conflicting lines of rea-soning and answers. Raise questions abouttheir application to everyday life problems,and the debate often intensifies. The issuesare properly understood as dialectical, ascalling for dialogical reasoning, for thinkingcritically and reciprocally within opposingpoints of view. This ability to move up andback between contradictory lines of reason-ing, using each to critically cross-examinethe other, is not characteristic of the techni-cal mind. Technical knowledge is typicallydeveloped by restriction to one frame of ref-erence, to one standpoint. Knowledgearrived at dialectically, in contrast, is like theverdict, with supporting reasoning, of a jury.There are at least two points of view toentertain. It is not, as problem-solving theo-rists tend to characterize all problems, amovement from an initial state through aseries of transformations (or operations) to afinal (answering) state (156).

In class, particularly in small groups, studentsshould discuss and debate, practicing the artsof thoughtful listening and clear expression. Theultimate purpose of exploring different view-points is to reach the best possible understandingof an issue in order to take action. As the majortool of social science inquiry, dialogical reasoningis also the basis for developing strong criticalthinking skills.

It is here, in its emphasis on critical thinkingand problem solving, that the issues-centeredapproach stands out from other models thatmay claim to address "issues" as topics or con-tent. The issues-centered approach fuses processand content, so that they are always mutuallyreinforcing. Critical thinking entails the abilityto comprehend and evaluate arguments. Anargument is a basic form of reasoning utilized in

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problem solving and the development of knowl-edge in all fields. A hypothesis is the foundationof an argument, a premise, and a claim. The evi-dence that supports or negates the hypothesisrepresents the next part of the argument, andthe outcome is the conclusion one reaches onthe basis of the evidence. This basic structure ofreasoning is used in any writing that takes apoint of view that might be challenged or com-pared to another point of view, whether it is anessay, an editorial, a speech, a scholarly article,or a legal document. The Declaration ofIndependence is a prime example of an argu-ment. It begins with an issue, which is the ques-tion of whether a nation is justified in separat-ing from an unjust government, takes a position,which is an affirmative answer to that question,and then lists all the evidence to support thataction. The outcome is the independent nationwe are today. This analysis has been encapsulat-ed in a heuristic we call IPSO (Issues, Position,Support, Outcome), developed for a course oncritical reasoning for new college students, acourse necessitated by students' general lack ofexperience with critical reading and thinking inhigh school. The IPSO tool for argument analy-sis is outlined in the Table on the next page.

The term "obligated" in the issue statementis not explained or qualified, so that onemight ask in what ways obligation isintendedlegal, moral, military, etc. Botharguments in their given form are cast asopinions. The arguments may seem sim-

plistic for a graduating senior, yet they are typicalof the work of many students at the end of theirhigh school career, demonstrating their lack ofexperience with both argument and analysis.Begun much earlier, IPSO could launch studentsinto critical reading and comparison of view-points throughout high school, preparing themboth for college and for adult decision making.

IPSO does not cover all aspects of argumenta-tion, so teachers may wish to supplement withdiscussion of what makes a topic an issue, whatpremises lie behind the formulation of an issue,and what assumptions underlie any part of anargument. Such refinement of critical reading andthinking skills builds on IPSO's basic structure.

Because the process of dialogical reasoningactively involves students in developing their ownpositions and attending to the perspectives andarguments of others, they experience a dynamic

.1 3 4

IPSO: A Guide for Analyzing Argument Structures

Issue: What is the argument's problem orquestion?

Position: What is the major position (the-sis) asserted in this argument?

Support: What evidence, reasoning, or otherpersuasive means support the position?

Outcome: What is likely to happen if theargument is accepted?

IlPSO, a heuristic and not a technical model,uses ordinary language to identify basic ele-ments of most arguments. The structurerepresents a commonsense way of present-ing and supporting a thesis on an issue.

Students can use it in both reading and writ-ing, and it is especially useful for comparingarguments, as illustrated in the following pre-sentation of opposing viewpoints by a highschool senior in a 1993 college skills course:

ISSUE: Is the United States obligated to intervene in Bosnia?

Position I:No, the United States does not have aresponsibility to intervene.

Support:1. We have nothing to do with their

problems.2. We have our own economic and political

problems.3. Conflicts with other nations might ensue.4. Thousands of American troops could be

killed.Outcome: Bosnia and the rest of the world

would learn to stand on their own feet.

Position II:Yes, the United States does have aresponsibility to intervene.

Support:1. United Nations treaty is being violated.2. United Nations troops are being attacked.3. We should help Bosnia as we have helped

other countries.4. Thousands of innocent people are being

killed.Outcome: The war would stop and we

would have a more peaceful world.

relationship with social studies content. Theyacquire content in context, leading to a meaningorientation (Ramsden 1988), and the habit ofconstructive knowing (Baxter-Magolda 1992). Inother words, they expect information to be com-plex, never entirely complete, subject to criticalevaluation, and, above all, useful in forming viewsand making decisions. In short, school-acquiredinformation now becomes as relevant and neces-sary as information acquired in other importantsettings. With repeated experiences with chal-lenging peer interactions, students come toexpect more and more of themselves and others.

The Issues-Centered ClassroomThe issues-centered classroom has a number

of key elements. One of these is the use of appro-priate classroom methods. Among the most use-ful means of teaching issues in the classroom aresimulations and case studies. These and othermethods should be employed in a way that keepssight of the powerful general concepts that are an

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important part of social studies learning.Secondly, an issues-centered approach mustfocus on offering students strategies for organiz-ing knowledge; these strategies do not necessari-ly conflict (as it is sometimes argued) with "coreknowledge" approaches that advocate significantsimilarity of curriculum content amongAmerican schools. Finally, it is important thatthe assessment of student achievement be consis-tent with issues-centered education.

Case StudiesThe essence of the issues-centered approach

is its problematizing function. As the "I" inIPSO suggests, information is related to the realand controversial questions of civic life. Histori-cal as well as contemporary topics can be cast inproblem formats. Oliver, Newmann, andSingleton (1992), for example, suggest revisitingthe turning points in U.S. history by reconsider-ing the momentous questions of these times:Should the United States have declared its inde-

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pendence? What measures should have beentaken, and by whom, to assist the urban poor atthe turn of the twentieth century? Should theUnited States have entered the Second WorldWar sooner than it did?

Involving students in the complexities andambiguities surrounding historical issues helpsthem understand that history evolves as a seriesof negotiations, decisions, and consequences.Cases and simulations drive this point home.For example, by projecting themselves into theposition of an ordinary citizen in Indiana justprior to the Civil War, they can pursue the ques-tion of whether they would have supported orrejected the Fugitive Slave Law, the Under-ground Railroad, or the mobilization of northerntroops against the southern states for secedingfrom the union. Because these are not yes/noissues, students must understand the position ofIndiana as a "border" state in which certain kindsof pre-Civil War activity and dilemmas wereprominent. A case set in this locale and timecould present the different viewpoints of citizensin a primarily rural state and in a nation not yet acentury old. Playing out the implications of sucha case will help students understand the histori-cal implications of this episode in our nation'sstory more deeply and more memorably thanother forms of presentation, whether textbookdescriptions, a time line, or a video drama of thephenomenon. The difference is in the emphasis.Students' attention is focused on concrete situa-tions rather than sweeping events, providing thefoundation for building the conceptual under-standing of history and human affairs that isthe point of social studies learning.

Cases may combine real and imagined com-ponents, such as presenting fictional characters inauthentic history or contemporary situations.Oliver et al (1992) identify four kinds of issuesthat can provide the basis for cases: 1. generalissues, such as whether the government shouldrequire the use of basic protective devices likeseat belts for automobile passengers or crash hel-mets for motorcyclists; 2. ethical/moral issues,such as the right of individual choice versus thegreater good for all; 3. definitional issues, such aswhat should be included in the category of "basicprotective devices," for example, air bags; and4. fact-explanation issues, such as the researchsupporting or refuting the effectiveness of usingprotective devices.

The selection of issues or incidents to devel-

op into cases can be based on overall social orhistorical importance, significance to a particu-lar community or group, or both (Oliver et al1992). Students can also compose their owncase studies by identifying issues or questions,researching different perspectives on such ques-tions, and creating scenarios that illustrate theconflicts of interest involved and the basis fordialogical reasoning and negotiations thatemerges. By composing their own cases andresponding to one another's, students experi-ence the actual identification and definition ofsalient issues, reinforcing the often neglectedaspect of problem solvingproblem finding.

One pitfall to be avoided in the caseapproach, or the issues-centered approach ingeneral, is losing sight of the general conceptsand broad perspectives that are an important partof social studies learning. Cases and issues are notends in themselves. The teacher should regularlyassess both teacher-generated and student-gen-erated cases for their relevance to the conceptualcontent of the curriculum. Roth (1994) warnsagainst thematic approaches that dilute the pow-erful concepts of any subject or discipline, argu-ing that "we best develop our students' under-standing of the world and its connectedness bygiving them access to a variety of powerful lensesthrough which to view it." (48)

The Core Knowledge QuestionAnother consideration important to an argu-

ment for an issues-centered approach is whetherit subverts the idea of core knowledge in thesocial studies, and, if so, whether that is a prob-lem. Perhaps the place to begin is with the ques-tion of whether there is a conflict. According toHirsch (1993), foremost proponent of the coreknowledge philosophy, about 50 percent of thecurriculum in any subject area should comprisecontent that is common among all Americanschools at that grade level. Such a provision, heargues, would bring national standards intofocus and ensure comparability of educationacross all regions and communities. In responseto critics who disapprove of the content empha-sis of the concept of core knowledge, he con-tends that a coherent approach to specific contentenhances students' critical thinking and higher-order thinking skills. [emphasis his]" (144). Oneline of reasoning with which Hirsch supportsthis position is that thoughtful selection andsequencing of content facilitates the constructive

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process of building new knowledge upon thefoundation of existing knowledge.

Apart from whether we agree with the coreknowledge concept or Hirsch's claims for it, it isour position that it is not necessarily incompati-ble with an issues-centered approach. Frazee(1993), who has worked with a number of "CoreKnowledge" schools, refutes the belief that thetheory leads to mechanical accumulation ofinformation. Rather, teachers who are successful-ly implementing it "organize content into the-matic units of their choosing; they can also selectstrategies and resources conducive to in-depthlearning. Assessment of progress can be accom-plished through student writing, bulletin boards,projects, performances, portfolios, and muchmore" (149). An issues-centered approach doesnot imply either the inclusion or the exclusion ofany specific content, but rather a set of strategiesfor organizing content and the experiences thatstudents have with it.

Assessment in theIssues-centered Curriculum

Like the core knowledge issue, assessmentand standards may be viewed as compromised byan issues-centered approach, but again we con-tend such a view is basically misconceived.

During the past decade of school reforms andsince the publication ofA Nation at Risk (1993),McKenna (1994) points out that crossnationalassessments still show that American studentsare achieving far below the levels of studentsfrom other countries with national standards.In response to the frustration experienced byeducators, employers, and the public at large, thegovernment enacted Goals 2000 legislation(1991), which created a National Education andStandards Improvement Council to develop con-tent-based standards and assessments and aNational Skills Standards Board to develop occu-pational standards. Federal dollars for educationare tied to states' voluntary compliance with thesestandards.

The negative specter of national assessment,taking the form of reductionist discrete testingfor particular facts and microskills, fortunatelyhas been countered by reforms in the assessmentfield itself. Despite the challenges of achievinghigh levels of reliability, educators and policymakers now favor portfolios and other forms ofqualitative assessment that highlight students'abilities to apply higher order literacy and math

skills, to solve problems, and to continue learningon the job or in lifelong education. Such compe-tency standards place emphasis on an integratedrange of abilities that cannot be developedthrough passive learning of content but requirethe engagement of students in that content inways wholly compatible with an issues-centeredapproach. For example, describing Oregon'sProficiency-Based Admissions StandardsSystem, McKenna (1994, 5) points out that inorder to gain admission to public colleges, highschool graduates will have to demonstrateproficiency in "reading, writing, oral expression,critical/analytical thinking, problem solving,technology as a learning tool, systems/integrativethinking, teamwork and quality work," assessedin the context of the content areas. If, as indicat-ed on many fronts, Oregon's approach to stan-dards is indicative of the nation as a whole,issues-centered teaching in the social studies maybe the only way to prepare students adequatelyfor assessment.

Issues-centered TeacherPreparation

One aspect of criticism against publiceducation during the past decade has been dis-satisfaction with teacher education itself, mostfrequently on grounds of inadequate contentpreparation and an insufficient grounding insound learning theory and teaching strategies.Teachers are accused of teaching as they weretaught, an accusation that frequently impliesauthoritarian delivery of content to passivelearners, the infamous "lecture format" of uni-versity teaching.

Another problem is the insufficiency of prepa-ration for teaching in multicultural schools (Pughand Garcia, 1994). Currently, most teacher educa-tion programs provide some exposure to multicul-tural education, more isolated than pervasive.Instruction may focus on similarities or "commonculture," particularly as a legacy of the eightieswhen "common culture" was used as a rationalefor dismantling civil rights gains. At the sametime, students in teacher education programsoften have sporadic exposure to critical readingand critical thinking. Collaborative and coopera-tive learning strategies, now popular in manyareas of education, are likely to be part of the pro-gram, though not necessarily well integrated.

In order to successfully manage an issues-centered approach, teachers must themselves

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experience learning in such an environment.Hence, we recommend that an issues-centeredapproach be implemented in the teacher educa-tion curriculum itself in both content and meth-ods courses. Prospective teachers should beinvolved in both responding to and constructingcases centering on educational problems andissues, along with practicing dialogical/dialecticalreasoning and negotiation of solutions in plural-istic contexts. Teacher education students shouldexperience collaborative and cooperativeapproaches to learning with such a framework ofissues-centered education and critical thinking.In social studies, such training should orientprospective teachers to actively participate in thegovernance of their professional and social envi-ronments. Ideally, we would train not just forteaching but for educational leadership, withimplications for social leadership, as well.

An important dimension of active teacherpreparation is an emphasis on a global concept ofmulticulturalism throughout the teacher educa-tion curriculum. As Cottrol (1990, 28) noted, thereal challenge is teaching

the very complicated story of American his-tory to studentscomplicated because itincludes so much that is terrible and somuch that is remarkable. It is a history ofcontradiction and dilemmas. ... In judginga particular multicultural education effort,we should ask whether it tells the story ofhow American culture was shaped andtransformed by a multicultural population.And we should ask whether it helps ourstudents come to grips with the contradic-tions at the core of our history.

For as long as our nation retains its particulardemocratic ideals, which honor the uniqueness ofthe individual, the rights of all groups, and theprinciple of diversity within unity, tensionsbetween pluralism and the common culture willprovide our basic dynamic. As a people, we willassert and defend particular interests within aframework of argument, negotiation, and com-promise. In this configuration, "common" cultureis not the same as "mainstream" culture. The lat-ter may be identified primarily with the majori-tywhite, middle class populationbut thecommon culture is not the property of any singlegroup. It will ever be in a state of evolution, aprocess that prevents its becoming a "melting

Global MulticulturalismMulticultural contexts for issues provide realis-

tic dimensionality and emphasize experiences andcontributions of different groups. A global perspec-tive supports wide-ranging discussion of issues atseveral levels.

Multiple PerspectivesAn appreciation of complexity is required for

strong-sense critical thinking, which, in turn, pro-vides reasoning operations and attitudes for consid-ering issues and events fairly from multiple per-spectives.

Dialogical ReasoningReasoning within alternative frameworks sup-

ports the suspension of egocentric and ethnocen-tric thinking. Dialogical reasoning provides a com-bined social and cognitive framework for examin-ing presuppositions, stereotypes, and prejudices aswell as for considering complex issues from multi-ple perspectives.

Problem-Based AssessmentAssessment based on productive reasoning and

literacy competencies will reinforce values placedon higher order thinking, problem solving, and newlearning abilities in society and the workplacetoday. In this way, an issues-centered approach toassessment, with its effect on the curriculum, helpsaddress the quandaries of educational standards andexcellence in the United States.

pot"a metaphor challenged by many others,including "salad bowl," "mosaic," and "bouill-abaisse." It is, in sum, an issues-centered culture,which is the bottom-line support for implement-ing an issues-centered approach in the socialstudies and incorporating this approach in thepreparation of social studies (and all) teachers.

Key Elements and OutcomesKey elements of issues-centered social

studies education include global multicultural-ism, multiple perspectives on complex issues, dia-logical/dialectical reasoning, and problem-basedassessment. Working in mutual reinforcement,these elements will support the development ofa complex and expandable information basealong with the cognitive abilities and criticalskills for complex problem solving. Participatingin an issues-centered curriculum will empower

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students for participation in vital social processes.Perhaps most importantly, it will lay the founda-tion for students to develop the moral imagi-nation and vision to work toward a just andequitable world society.

ReferencesAmerica 2000: An Education Strategy. Washington, DC:

U.S. Department of Education, 1991.Baxter-Magolda, Marcia. Knowing and Reasoning in

College: Gender Related Patterns in Students' Intellectual

Development. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1992.Beatty, Alexandra S., et al. NAEP 1994 U.S. History

Report Card. Findings from the National Assessment of

Educational Progress. Washington, DC: U.S.Department of Education, 1996.

Bradley Commission on History in Schools. Building aHistory Curriculum: Guidelines for Teaching History in

Schools. Washington, DC: Educational Excellence

Network, 1988.Cottrol, Robert. "America The Multicultural."American

Educator 14(Winter 1990): 18-21.Gagnon, Paul, ed. Historical Literacy: The Case for

History in American Education. Boston: HoughtonMifflin Co., 1989.

Garcia, Jesus, and Sharon L. Pugh. "MulticulturalEducation in Teacher Education Programs: APolitical or Educational Concept?" Phi Delta Kappan74(November 1992): 214-19.

Iyer, Pico. "The Global Village Finally Arrives."Time 142(Fall 1993): 86-87.

McKenna, Barbara. "What Is This Thing CalledStandards, and Why Should We Care?"On Campus 13(1994): 4-5+.

McLuhan, Marshall and Quentin Fiore. War and Peacein the Global Village. New York McGraw-Hill, 1968.

Michaelis, John U. Social Studies for Children: A Guide to

Basic Instruction. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1992.A Nation at Risk The Imperative for Educational Reform.

Washington, DC: National Commission onExcellence in Education, U.S. Department ofEducation, 1983.

National Commission on Social Studies in the Schools.Charting a Course: Social Studies for the 21st Century.

Washington, DC: National Commission on SocialStudies in the Schools, 1989.

New York State Social Studies Review andDevelopment Committee. One Nation, Many Peoples:A Declaration of Cultural Interdependence. Albany,

N.Y.: New York State Education Department, 1991.Reprinted in Face to Face: Readings on Confrontation

and Accommodation in America, edited by Joseph

Zaitchik, William Roberts, and Holly Zaitchik.Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1994.

Oliver, Donald W., Fred M. Newmann, and Laurel R.Singleton. 'Teaching Public Issues in the SecondarySchool Classroom." The Social Studies 83 (May/June1992): 100-103.

Paul, Richard. "Dialectical Reasoning." In DevelopingMinds: A Resource Book for Teaching Thinking, edited

by Arthur L. Costa. Alexandria, Va.: Association forSupervision and Curriculum Development, 1985.

Pugh, Sharon L., and Jesus Garcia. "MulticulturalEducation: Who Will Teach the Teachers?"Unpublished paper. Indiana University atBloomington, 1994.

Ramsden, Paul. Improving Learning: New Perspectives.

New York Nichols Publishing Co., 1988.Roth, Kathleen. "Second Thoughts about

Interdisciplinary Studies." American Educator18(Spring 1994): 44-48.

Rothman, Robert. "History and Civics Tests RevealKnowledge Gaps." Education Week 9 (April 11,

1990): 5+.

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Parl Fo r: llosloricalIntroduction bu David Warren Saxe

THE USES OF HISTORY:INTRODUCTION TOISSUES- CENTERED HISTORY

I ph

When social studies was in its infancy, anew history was proclaimed by JamesHarvey Robinson and Charles Beard.This new history added social and eco-nomic perspectives to the old history ofkings, battles, and great events. As a

result, it broadened the curricular depth of whatteachers could offer students.

The new history was also well suited to socialstudies as a means to cultivate an active, compe-tent citizenship. Robinson, serving on the semi-nal 1916 Committee on the Social Studies, wasclearly influential in forging strong ties betweensocial studies and the new history The report ofthe Committee on Social Studies, as part of alarger reorganization of secondary schools, sig-naled a formal introduction of social studies (andwith it the new history) for school administra-tors, textbook companies, and teachers.

While the new history thrived within socialstudies, the old history supported by the Ameri-can Historical Association did not die. Today anew, new history has moved into universities,public schools, and textbooks. This new, new his-tory of the dispossessed, marginalized, andoppressed presented a story unlike the old historyor the new history. It is a history of victimization,deconstruction, and politics. It was the cultivationand popularization of this new, new history thatspawned and now supports multiculturalism, thenew orthodoxy of education.

While the old history and new history weredifferent, the commonalities between the twowere strong. Both the old and new relied uponmethodologies, evidence, and thorough research

and critique. The old and new histories high-lighted the salient events of the past (albeit fromdifferent perspectives). Moreover, the old andnew histories could be revised in light of new evi-dence or powerful analysis of earlier works.In sum, the old and new histories, while differentin focus, at least were not incompatible in schoolsettings.

In contrast, the new, new history disregardssalient (major) events that are described as clas-sist, racist, and largely Eurocentric in vision andpractice. The real stories of history are seen asbeing about common people left out of the dis-course. It is the history of the oppressed thatmerits attention. The old and new histories aredead and irrelevant.

When the old history and the new history arejuxtaposed with the new, new history, it is clearthat something has to give. The study ofColumbus cannot be simply an examination ofhistorical records and notation of turning pointsin history. For the new, new history, Columbus isall about racism, vile colonialism, white hegemo-ny, and genocide. There is no weighing of evi-dence required, no sifting through conflictinghistorical data on Mezzo-American Indian life,or critique of the pronouncement of Columbianguilt. The old and new history of social studieshave no place here.

It is this author's view that issues-centeredteaching is vital for all. Moreover, that issues-cen-tered social studies goes beyond efforts to politi-cize social studies. Issues-centered teaching isessentially liberal (in the classical sense of openingthe mind) and democratic (in the grass rootssense of the willingness to explore any problem,controversial or not). In the chapters that followare three interpretations of issues-centered histo-ry for your consideration. Patrick Ferguson pro-

vides a detailed examination of issue use withinany history context. Richard Gross explores theuse of issues in world history. Ron Evans attendsto critical approaches to history, and I offer a chal-lenge of how issues-centered themes can beapplied in American history courses.

As this introduction was prepared, the Eno laGay controversy at the Smithsonian Institutioncame to a uneasy resolution. The exhibit of theairplane that carried the Atomic Bomb toHiroshima to commemorate the 50th anniver-sary of the end of World War II and the dawn ofthe atomic age would not contain a revisionist(new, new history) account on the dropping ofthe bomb. A great public outcry had taken placeagainst casting American leaders and soldiers asaggressors and Japanese as victims. Anotherexample of new, new history and cultural rela-tivism in support of multiculturalism was thepublishing of the National History Standards.After an outcry at the application of new, newhistory thinking to American and world history,the standards needed to be revised. Such exam-ples point to the need for issues-centered studies.The exploration of how we should think aboutWorld War II or what sort of history is mostappropriate for our children invites differences ofopinion. It is precisely at such times that issuesstudy is most relevant and appropriate.

Hopefully, after reading through these chap-ters, you will agree that teachers and students canbring life to past events. Issues-centered teachingcan provide opportunities for sharpening stu-dents' skills in dealing with historical events, andmaking sense of their present life.

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MING ISSUES-CENTERED HISTORYFerguson

This chapter addresses teachers in search ofinnovative ways to advance their students'comprehension of contemporary issuesthrough the investigative study of history(Fisher 1970; Griffin 1942; Kennedy1993). It is assumed that the teacher is in

agreement with Forrest McDonald's belief thatexpertise in history is not judged by how manyfacts, dates, and events one can recall, but whetherone can demonstrate skill in classifying, probing,and formulating solutions (McDonald 1994).

In this chapter, a strategy for teaching issues-centered history is introduced and illustrated byexamples of its application in world and U.S.history courses. This is followed by a discussionof recommended activities and resources. Thechapter then closes with suggestions for shiftingfrom traditional to issues-centered history.

A Strategy for TeachingIssues-Centered History

The strategy suggested here for teachingissues-centered history is based on a model ofanalogical reasoning, involving students in thecomparison of past and present events. It fuses ageneral problem-solving paradigmdefining andclarifying a problem, exploring possible strategies,implementing the strategies, and evaluating theoutcomeswith the modes of inquiry distinctiveto the study of historydocumentary analysis,logical inquiry, and literary critique. The resultantstrategy calls for students to select and define asocial issue of contemporary significance, identifyhistorically analogous circumstances, use primaryand secondary sources to investigate these occur-rences, list their findings in the form of general-izations, compare and contrast the historicalfindings with the issue in the contemporary set-ting, propose historically tenable solutions, and

take action to resolve the problem .1

Selecting and Defining the IssueCultivating student interest is a critical first

step. Research demonstrates that success in ana-logical thinking is optimized when students aremotivated to inquire into the problem at hand(Armour-Thomas and Allen 1990; Holyoak1984). If the issue is to be defined by the stu-dents, they can peruse television reports, newspa-pers, and library resources to identify an issue ofinterest. Sometimes, an issue emerges during thediscussion of a historical event. For example, adiscussion of Hammurabi's Code, with its harshpenalties for criminal misconduct, held at thetime of the news of the switching punishment ofan American teenager for defacing property inSingapore, might evince interest in the relation-ship between the incidence of criminal behaviorand the enforcement of laws entailing sternpenalties. If intrinsic interest in the issue is notapparent, the teacher will have to devise an activ-ity or approach to elicit motivation.

Once interest has been cultivated, stu-dents are assigned to teams of threeor four to draft a one-page statementof the issue in response to the follow-ing questions:

? What is the controversy in question?? Who are the contending parties in

the controversy?? What are the specific points of contention?? What social values are in conflict?? What makes this dispute a matter of public

importance?? What are the key problems that require

solution?

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After completion of the teams' statements,the teacher conducts a discussion for the purposeof synthesizing them into a class-defined state-ment of the issue.

identifying Relevant HistoricalOccurrences

Working again in their teams, students con-sult their textbook and other references to gener-ate a list of ten to twenty analogous historicalcircumstances. The events chosen need not pre-cisely mirror the circumstances of the modernissue, but students should be cautioned that themore widely disparate the historical circum-stances, the greater the risk that they will formu-late false analogies (Fisher 1970). The teams' listsare then pooled and narrowed to a short list ofperhaps five to seven events, depending on thesize of the class. The students are then instructedto do in-depth studies of the events. An optionalapproach would be for each team to select its ownshort list and assign one event to each teammember for investigation.

Defining the Research Procedure;Locating and Analyzing Sources

Let us assume that each team is responsiblefor researching a single event. Teams are informedthat their goal will be twofold: first, to arrive at alist of five to ten findings for their historical cir-cumstance; second, to produce a list of five to tenstatements comparing various aspects of the issuethen and now Teams are instructed that whenev-er feasible, they are to write their findings in theform of social-science-type generalizations.2The teacher should provide examples.

Four cautionary rules need to be introducedand posted to guide team investigations:1. The issues explored in historical context are

to be viewed in the light of the standards,values, and attitudes of their time ratherthan those of the present.

2. Issues and events are the product of multiplecausations, not simple, one-to-one, cause-and-effect relationships.

3. The record of past issues is necessarilyfragmented, selective, and biased.

4. History is more likely to suggest possiblerather than probable solutions to contempo-rary issues (Muessig and Rogers 1965).Each team is instructed to draw a time line

for its investigation, including a list of the tasksassigned to each team member.

Students should next be instructed to com-plete a teacher-provided form for each source ofinformation they decide to use. The form callsfor a summary of the information obtained andinformation about its significance, accuracy, con-sistency, evidence of bias, emotionality, valuesand beliefs, unstated assumptions, reasoning,and evidenced-based conclusions (NationalArchives 1989). Teams should meet regularlywith the teacher to discuss their progress andreceive advice on additional sources and avenuesof investigation.

Formulating Findings and ConclusionsThis phase of the exercise involves three

steps. First, with the four cautionary rules inmind, each team produces a list of findings fortheir historical circumstance. Second, using theoriginal statement of the issue formulated by theclass, the team generates a list of statements com-paring and contrasting their historical findingswith the issue in the contemporary setting. Thesestatements should be carefully monitored fortheir evidentiary basis, logical consistency, andsoundness of analogical thought (Fisher 1970).Third, the teams present their findings and com-parative statements to the class. The class thenexamines the accumulated evidence to decidewhether any "lessons from history" can beapplied to the issue in the contemporary setting.

Proposing Solutions and Taking ActionIn this last step, students make projections

about future developments and theorize aboutpossible solutions. When feasible, they takeaction on their proposed solutions.

The Strategy in Action

Selecting and Defining the IssueThe conflict that has persisted over history

concerning the appropriate balance between gov-ernmental authority and personal liberty will beused to illustrate the strategy here. The eventsfollowing the collapse of the Soviet Union serveas the immediate catalyst for interest in this issue.

Creating Interest in the Issue. To generateinterest in the issue, the teacher begins by askingstudents to consider the following question:When is a government justified in regulating thefreedom of its citizens? A list of governmentalfunctions could be listed on the chalkboard underthe heading "The government is justified in":

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collecting taxes, issuing licenses, requiring schoolprayer, compelling military service, enforcingschool attendance, regulating the production offood and drugs, establishing curfews for youngpeople, regulating radio and television airways,and appropriating property to build roads andhighways. After discussing the legitimacy ofthese governmental functions, the focus shifts tothe current problem of defining the authority ofthe newly emergent government in Russia. Toheighten interest, the students are asked to con-sider the implications of this issue for young peo-ple in Russia as they conduct their investigationinto the problem.

Defining the Issue in its Present Context.Students begin their inquiry by collecting infor-mation on events that have transpired in Russiasince the breakup of the Soviet Union. Theteacher provides selected articles from recentnews sources and excerpts from some of the excel-lent recently published materials on this issue.These include short articles from The Breakup ofthe Soviet Union (Greenhaven 1994) and the Endof the Soviet Union (Southern Center forInternational Studies 1994). From these sources,teams compose statements describing the disputein question, identify the contending parties, listthe main points of disagreement, delineate thevalues that appear to be in conflict, indicate whythe controversy in Russia is a matter of nationaland international importance, and list key prob-lems that must be resolved. Students might beasked to explain why they think a Russian citizenwould make this statement: "The Russian peoplewant order and a strong state; democracy is a lux-ury Russia cannot yet afford" (Watson 1995).

Identifying Relevant Historical Occur-rences. Using their textbook, historical encyclo-pedias, books on Russian history, and HedrickSmith's The New Russians (1990), the teams com-pile a list of between ten and twenty relevant cir-cumstances in Russian history that are in someway related to the theme of government authori-ty and personal liberty. The lists might include thebreakdown of the czar's power during the "time oftroubles," the use of governmental authority toenact reforms by Peter and Catherine the Great,the Decembrist Revolt, Alexander II's freeingof the serfs and plan to establish local forms ofself-government, the anarchists' revolt, uprisingsagainst the monarchical authority of AlexanderIII, the 1917 revolution, the declaration of the1936 "Stalin Constitution," and the introduction

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of perestroika" and "glasnost" reforms underGorbachev. The entire class discusses each team'slist and narrows them down to six items. Eachteam is then assigned one of the six historical cir-cumstances for further investigation. As theexample here, we will choose the exercise ofauthority under Peter the Great.

Defining the Research Procedure/Locating and Analyzing Sources

The team first turns to the textbook and findsa brief and laudatory account of Peter the Great'ssuccess in improving scientific, cultural, military,and economic conditions in Russia. They inferthat an authoritative approach to governmentmay be justified when there is a strong need toadvance the economic and political status of a"backward" nation. The teacher has them notethat this same argument is used by those whosupport strong authoritative governments indeveloping nations in Africa, Asia, and LatinAmerica, and, of course, in present-day Russia.

Turning to other sources, students findsomewhat contrasting pictures to the one in theirtextbook. They learn that in his zeal to modern-ize Russia, Peter heavily taxed an already impov-erished citizenry, forbade citizens to garb them-selves in western dress, and repressed the tradi-tional religion of the people. Indeed, the greatmajority of Russians continued to exist inextreme poverty and ignorance during and fol-lowing Peter's reign (Oliva 1969; Massie 1980;Summer 1962). This new information appears tosupport the views of those who caution againstthe establishment of overly authoritativeapproaches to government in contemporaryRussia. Specific comparisons are also noted, forexample, between Peter's ruthless use of the mil-itary to quickly quell rebellious factions and theuse of military force by the current governmentin the Chechnyan crisis. If feasible, team mem-bers extend their investigation to surroundinglibraries, search for material using computers andother media sources, and interview historianswho are specialists in Russian history.

Formulating Findings and ConclusionsThe team concludes that Peter's absolutist

approach greatly facilitated the modernization ofa backward nation, but at the expense of thequality of life of the Russian people. The teamalso constructs statements comparing and con-trasting the actions of government in coping with

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political, economic, and social conditions inPeter's time with those of the present Russiangovernment. After each team has reported itsconclusions to the class, the teacher reintroducesthe original issue to synthesize the teams' results.The overall general conclusion of the class mightbe that the beneficial or detrimental effects of theactions of authoritative governments are largelydetermined by two factors: the conditions of thetimes, and the personalities, beliefs, and percep-tions of those who are in control.

Proposing Solutions and Taking ActionTo conclude the experience, the teacher has

the students read "How Should the U.S. Respondto the Break-Up of the Soviet Union?"(Greenhaven 1994) and debate the role to betaken by the United States. They decide to com-municate their views to their congressperson,write a letter to the editor of the local newspaper,and correspond with students at a Russian schoolabout the issue. The teacher urges students toreexamine their conclusions regarding the legiti-mate exercise of governmental authority as con-temporary and historical events dictate duringthe course of the year.

Using the Strategy inAmerican history

The debate over the legitimate role of gov-ernment may be seen as the key to understandingthe evolution and current function of theAmerican political system. The approach in anAmerican history course would closely follow theworld history illustration. Following the interest-generating exercise on the legitimate functionsof government, the teacher could introduce stu-dents to the present controversy over the consti-tutionality of the motor voter law, which requiresthe states, at considerable expense, to providevoter registration information and materials atoffices where drivers' licenses are issued. Thegovernors of several states are challenging thelegitimate authority of the federal government toenforce this measure. After reading to the classthe limited powers clause of the Tenth Amend-ment, the teacher could ask whether the federalgovernment is exceeding its constitutionalauthority and infringing on the right of theirstate to allocate its resources pursuant to its ownpriorities. The class could then compose a state-ment of the issue using the guideline questions asin the world history example.

Next, student teams develop their lists of rel-evant historical eventsthe Whiskey Rebellion,the passage and enforcement of the Alien andSedition Acts, the refusal of President Jackson toenforce the Supreme Court decision against thestate of Georgia regarding the usurpation ofCherokee land, Calhoun's doctrine of nullifica-tion maintaining that a state can interpose itssovereignty between its citizens and the centralgovernment, the Civil War, the Pullman strike,and Roosevelt's exercise of authority under theNew Deal. From this point forward, the instruc-tional procedure, with appropriate adaptations,would replicate that in the Russian example.

The Role of the TeacherIdeally, the teacher's role is primarily that of

facilitatorposing issues for consideration,prompting team investigations, suggesting andproviding sources of information, interposingquestions, and encouraging and challenging stu-dents to support their findings with logic andevidence. A growing body of evidence, however,reveals that teachers view such idealized charac-terizations as either impractical or much toodrastic a departure from their usual style ofteaching (Nelson and Drake 1994; White 1994).Moreover, the wisdom of practice research sug-gests that effective history teaching may occur inboth highly structured and relatively unstruc-tured classrooms (Wineburg and Wilson 1988).

The strategy here is meant to be adaptable.Using a more structured approach, the teachermight open the lesson with the governmentalfunctions motivational exercise, show a shortvideo describing the crisis in governmentalauthority in present-day Russia, model the appli-cation of the four cautionary rules through acomparison of the contemporary issue with oneor two historical examples, engage the studentsin a guided exercise in which the students prac-tice applying the four-rule template to one or twoadditional historical circumstances, and concludethe lesson with a discussion of the implications.The entire practice lesson could be conductedwithin a single class period. The issue under dis-cussion would be revisited as it became germaneat subsequent points in the course.

It is important to recognize that there arelimitations to the structured approach. First,research suggests that students' interest, efficacy,and understanding of controversial issues aredecreased when the classroom environment is

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closed and overly directive (Harwood 1990).Second, engaging students in the process of ana-logical thinking necessarily entails higher-orderthinking in which the instructional procedurescannot be specified to the same degree as in"lower-order" learning tasks (Rosenshine 1993).The example in the previous paragraph is consis-tent with Rosenshine's adaptation of directinstruction to the mastery of higher-order cogni-tive strategies in which the teacher models theappropriate cognitive strategies and then engagesstudents in practicing the strategies with newmaterial. To help students bridge the gapbetween their current abilities and the goal ofgetting them to think independently, the teachermight assume a structured modeling posture atthe beginning of the course and gradually movetoward a more facilitative approach as the courseprogresses.

Other factors that affect how open or struc-tured the approach should be are the teacher'sintentions regarding how far the students are toproceed along the continuum from rudimentaryawareness to in-depth insight on any particularissue, the age and ability levels of the students(see note 1), the availability of materials andresources, and concern for student achievementon standardized or advanced placement tests.

Selecting IssuesWhile virtually any issue, of contemporary

significance may be profitably examined from ahistorical perspective, a two-pronged test mayhelp to ascertain its suitability: 1. What centralconcepts in history are embodied in the issue?2. Is the issue the extension of some historicallypersistent debate over fundamental values?

Our example of defining the legitimacy ofgovernmental authority meets this test. Itinvolves students in the study of key concepts:absolutism, despotism, revolution, dictatorship,autocracy, the divine right of kings, democracy,representative government, and anarchism. Italso involves debate concerning fundamental val-ues: justice, liberty, tyranny, and civic responsibil-ity Examples of other issues that meet the two-pronged test are those identified by the historianPaul Kennedy (1993): population growth, man'suse of the environment, human rights, food pro-duction, conflict among nations, the role of thenation-state, industrial growth, economic devel-opment, and science and technology. Anotherkey to selecting issues is that virtually any debate

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involving a question of elemental political, social,economic, or technological change is likely to beappropriate. These tests are bi-directionalthatis, if an issue were to emerge within the contextof a particular historical event, the concepts, val-ues, and change tests would help determinewhether the issue has contemporary relevance.

All of this may suggest that issues are to beviewed primarily from a global or national frameof reference. This is not necessarily the case. Toaccentuate interest and relevance, issues may alsobe approached from a local perspective. A pro-posal to construct a nuclear power plant in thecommunity, a proposed change in land use ordi-nances, complaints over the enforcement of airand water pollution regulations, a movement torestrict access to certain materials in the locallibrary, or a debate over adding a school holidayfor Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday are allexamples of possible springboards into local his-tory. Once students have examined the historicaland contemporary aspects of the problem in itscommunity setting, discussion can be extended tothe issue in its larger national or internationalcontext.

An Area Studies ApproachExamining issues one at a time provides

focus and facilitates manageability, but it alsolimits the students' opportunity to see the com-plex interrelationships among issues. One way toprovide a more integrative approach is throughan area studies approach. Africa will be used asan example.

To set the stage and create interest, studentsmight read and discuss Christopher Hitchen's(1994) portrayal of contemporary Africa in histravelogue "African Gothic." Hitchens writes ofwitnessing the sober gatherings of Kenyan intel-lectuals, the stark contrasts between the good-will and sanity in newborn nations such asEritrea and the degraded regimes of Mobutu'sZaire and Banda's Malawi, the struggles in theemerging democratic states, widespread envi-ronmental deterioration, the rampant spread ofHIV, extensive poverty, and bloody tribal rival-ries. Students might then be assigned roles ashistorians in the twenty-first century chargedwith the task of ver sovereignty bet portrayal ofthe African continent in the year 1994.

Consulting world almanacs, learning materi-als available from the Africa Outreach Program(Brown 1994), and other sources, students might

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work in teams to find answers to questions.An example would be: of the twenty mostimpoverished nations in the world, how many arein Africa? Eighteen. What has happened to percapita GNP growth in Africa since 1980? It hassteadily declined to about 2 percent a year. Whathas happened to Africa's share of the world'strade since 1970? It has declined to less than2 percent. What proportion of the world's peoplewho have been diagnosed with HIV reside inAfrica? Two-thirds. What is the economic statusof the nations in the sub-Saharan area? Thenational debt level is currently 110 percent oftotal GNP. A statement comparing their findingson political, economic, and social conditions andthe extent to which they support or refute theaccuracy of Hitchens' report would be given bythe teams.

Students might then be assigned to "era"teams: early civilizations; the introduction ofChristianity and Islam; the west, central, andsouthern kingdoms; and the beginnings ofEuropean control, colonial rule, and the move-ment toward independence. Using sources onAfrican history (Masrui 1986; Davidson 1991),team members would inquire into the standardsof living, literacy, food supply, ethnic conflict,systems of political governance, war, and livingconditions for their period. As in the Russianexample, teams would formulate the historicalfindings and comparison statements for their eraand then combine them into generalizationsabout the African continent. Returning to theiroriginal statement of the issues, the class wouldthen discuss future developments, reflect on thepossible roles of the United States and variousinternational organizations, propose solutions,and take action toward the amelioration of theseproblems.

As an alternative to the era approach, studentteams might be assigned to investigate groups ofAfrican nations according to a commonattribute: current political or economic status orperhaps by geographical location. Historicalfindings and comparison statements would bemade for these groupings. The activity could cul-minate with a mock meeting of the Organizationof African Unity, the West African EconomicCommunity, or the United Nations, convened toaddress the issues.

Teaching Methods and ResourcesAny of the plethora of methods on teaching

history as a problem-solving endeavorthat is,those that engage students in thinking andbehaving in the manner of historiansare readi-ly adaptable to issues-centered history. It is notwithin the purview of this chapter to delineatethese methods. Nevertheless, several methodsparticularly useful for issues-centered teachingwill be discussed: documentary analysis, biogra-phies and case studies, argumentation-basedactivities, and team investigation methods.

Documentary analysisTeaching with Documents (National Archives

1989) is an inexpensive and practical guide toinvolving students in the analysis of issues-relat-ed primary sources. The archive also publishesinexpensive teaching units containing letters,diary accounts, charts, photographs, political car-toons, and other primary source materials withan issues orientation. One example is theHolocaust unit that involves students in a docu-mentary analysis of the "revisionist" historians'contention that no conclusive evidence exists thatthe Holocaust ever occurred. Other units coverthe right to vote, the Bill of Rights, presidentialimpeachment, the framing of the Constitution,propaganda, and women in history. A catalogueof these materials as well as information oncourses and workshops for teachers locating andusing archival materials in the classroom is avail-able from the National Archives (1- 800 -24-8861). Other accessible sources of issues-relevantdocuments are the "Jackdaws" kits advertised inSocial Education, CD-ROM compilations ofdocuments for world and American history, andissues-based documentary histories, such as theGreat Issues volumes edited by Richard andBeatrice Hofstadter (1982).

Students can get a first-hand feel for issuesthrough the analysis of historical and contempo-rary speeches such as Alfred Beveridge's "Marchof the Flag" defending the expansive policies ofthe United States at the turn of the century,Martin Luther King Jr.'s inspirational "I Have aDream," or the most recent State of the Unionpresidential address (Ferguson 1972).

Biographies and Case StudiesStudents may also view issues through the

eyes of people who had to make critical personaldecisions in previous times. Examples mightinclude Truman's agonizing dilemma overwhether to use the atomic bomb to end World

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War II, Gandhi's decision to pursue a life ofnonviolent protest, or Dietrich Bonhoffer'spredicament over whether to join in the conspir-acy to kill Hitler. Brook Kroeger's recently pub-lished biography of Nellie Bly (Kroeger 1994)provides an excellent illustration for taking a bio-graphical approach. The acknowledged progeni-tor of full-scale investigative journalism and withan impressive list of other accomplishments, Blydevoted herself to alleviating suffering in hertime, most notably taking on the plight of unwedindigent mothers and their offspring. Studentsmight compare Bly's original employment ofinvestigative journalism with the tactics used byinvestigative reporters today. Students might findit interesting to inquire into the issues that werethe subject of Bly's inquiries earlier in this centu-ry. Turning a critical eye toward the field of his-tory itself, students could respond to Kroeger'sconcern that despite Bly's acknowledged roleas one of the most notable figures of her time,no historian had had sufficient interest in herlife to conduct a documented investigation of itprior to hers.

Collections of American history case studies,such as those published by Gardner (1976), areavailable in most libraries. A particularly usefulsource of historical case studies on persistent reli-gious, political, social, and economic issues is thePublic Issues Series available through the SocialScience Education Consortium (Oliver andNewmann 1991).

Argumentative MethodsOf course, any method involving students in

a debate over two or more sides of an issue is tai-lor-made for issues-centered history. Theseinclude mock trials, debates, point-counterpointreenactments, mock legislative and organization-al meetings, and historical reenactments ofevents such as the First Constitutional Conven-tion or the Congress of Vienna. An excellentexample is provided in Wineburg and Wilson's1988 analysis of a classroom in which studentsare engaged in research and debate concerningthe legitimate authority of the British govern-ment to tax the American colonists.

Other Techniques and SourcesSimulations are useful for issues-centered his-

tory. Examples of these are "Mahopa," a simula-tion of the history, culture, and problems facedby North American Indians over the last four

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centuries that culminates in an analysis of theproblems that American Indians face today;"Pacific Rim," a simulation of the Ku, political,and social issues faced by Asian emigrants andimmigrants over the past several decades;"Statehood," where students trace the develop-ment of their own state's history and use thisknowledge as the foundation for understandingthe state's current problems; and "Explosion,"which calls on students to analyze the history andfuture of the world population problem.

Other methods involve the use of fiction(Nadeau 1994), posters and broadsides (Allen1994), modeling historical essay and document-based questions from the Advanced Placementexaminations (Alpern 1976), oral history (whichis particularly useful for the historical study oflocal issues) (Sitton, Mehaffey, and Davis 1983),newspapers (Wesley and McLendon 1949), andpolitical cartoons (Singer 1994).

Several journals are good sources of articleson teaching issues-centered history. The HistoryTeacher, the Organization of AmericanHistorians' Magazine of History, SocialEducation, and The Social Studies have all pub-lished articles useful for teaching issues-relatedhistory. For example, articles on teaching aboutnuclear development (Holi and Convis 1991),the Vietnam conflict (Shaughnessy 1991), andlabor history (DeChenne 1993) have appearedin The History Teacher. Social Education hasrecently published articles on teaching the histo-ry of science (Hvolbeck 1993) and a specialedition about teaching the history of women inwartime (Haas 1994).

Team Investigation MethodsThe issues strategy introduced in this chapter

recommends the use of student investigationteams. Three cooperative learning techniques areparticularly useful for this purpose: group inves-tigation, jigsaw, and structured controversy.

Group Investigation. Thelen's group inves-tigation model as refined by Sharan and Hertz-Lazarowitz (1980) is the teaming model used asthe basis for the issues strategy in this chapter.Students are grouped into teams and begin byidentifying an issue of common interest. Theteam plans its historical investigation and assignsspecific responsibilities to each member. Thegroup meets to synthesize its findings and pro-duce a report stating its conclusions and recom-mendations for action. Although the method

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may be adapted to provide more structure for thestudents, Sharan (1990) believes that the mainadvantage of this technique lies in its open-end-edness and freedom of inquiry.

Jigsaw. In this more structured method, stu-dents work in teams of three to six members toaccomplish a group-assigned task (Aronson1978). Ferguson (1988) provides an example ofits application involving conflict between tradi-tionalists and modernists during the era of seep-ing social and economic change in late-nine-teenth-century Japan. The lesson opens with theteacher introducing the issue and defining theterms "traditionalist" and "modernist." The classis arranged into teams of four, and each teammember is given a different biographical sketchof four nineteenth-century Japanese citizens rep-resenting diverse views on the modernization ofMeiji Japan: two espouse traditionalist views andtwo advocate modernization. The teams are toldtheir goal is to resolve the conflicting viewpointsand compose a consensus essay on the pros andcons of westernization. Students then move outof their jigsaw teams to form four expert groups,one for each personality. The objective for eachgroup is to define the viewpoint of their person-age and decide how they will advocate that view-point once back in their jigsaw groups. The jig-saw groups are then reconvened, viewpoints areexchanged and debated, and the group producesits consensus essay. The exercise culminates witha discussion of the issue as it exists in contempo-rary Japan and in other settings where tradition-alist and modernist views are in conflict. The jig-saw method is useful whenever the teacher wantsstudents to work independently on differentaspects of an issue or on different historicalevents and then synthesize their findings(Aronson 1978, Ferguson 1983; 1988).

Structured Controversy. Constructive (orstructured) controversy (Johnson and Johnson1979, 1985, 1988) is another useful method.Students are assigned to groups of four, eachcomposed of two two-person advocacy teams.One advocacy team is assigned a position on anissueperhaps the conservative view on the legit-imate role of governmentwhile the other teamis assigned the opposing liberal view. Both teamswork on constructing a presentation using theirhistorical findings to support their assigned posi-tions. The teams present their positions to eachother, rebut the opposing viewpoint, and thenswitch sides to argue from the opposing perspec-

tive. To culminate the activity, the four groupmembers synthesize the best evidence and rea-soning from both sides to reach a consensus aboutthe issue in its contemporary setting. Other sug-gestions for cooperative learning methods havingapplication to issues-centered history appear inthe recently published handbook on cooperativelearning for social studies teachers (Stahl 1994).

Two CaveatsInvolving students in issues-centered history

can be a rewarding experience. Two caveats must,however, be mentioned. One relates to the incli-nation toward reductionist thinking. Develop-mental research indicates that young people tendto hold idealistic world views that prompt themto view issues from a black-and-white perspec-tive. The teacher can counteract this inclinationby cautioning students to resist the tendency toreduce the number of positions to two and thenchoose one side or the other. This is particularlyimportant when using the argumentation-basedmethods of mock trials, debates, and point-coun-terpoint activities. The tendency toward black-and-white thinking can also be curtailed throughconstant reminders that issues are the product ofmultiple causations and that issues must be exam-ined in the light of the particular standards,values, and attitudes of their time (Muessig andRogers 1965).

The second pitfall is the danger that studentsmay acquire an overly pessimistic view of thefuture. Continual exposure to critical issues thathave eluded resolution in the pastthe popula-tion explosion, deterioration of the naturalenvironment, poverty, illiteracy, human rightsviolations, the world agricultural crisis, thenuclear threat, the decline of the family struc-ture, and expanding conflict among nationscan unintentionally have a demoralizing effecton students. Promoting awareness of the variousgroups and organizations that are actively work-ing to resolve these problems and encouragingstudents to take some immediate action on theissue can help balance the seriousness of theseissues with a sense of hope for the future.

In closing, teachers need not view theprospect of infusing the study of issues into theirhistory courses as daunting. One can begin bygradually infusing issues into daily lessons andthen expanding the approach as interest andexperience dictate. The main requirement is sim-ply that the teacher hold some affinity for the

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notion that learning history ought to be a prob-lem-solving endeavor and that its main purposeis to advance students' insight into contemporaryissues.

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Rosenshine, B. "Is Direct Instruction Different fromExpert Scaffolding?" Paper presented at the AnnualMeeting of the American Educational ResearchAssociation, Atlanta, Georgia, April 1993.

Sharan, S. "Cooperative Learning: A Perspective onResearch and Practice." In Cooperative Learning:Theory and Research, edited by S. Sharan. New York

Praeger, 1990.and R. A. Hertz-Lazarowitz. "Group InvestigationMethod of Cooperative Learning in the Classroom."In Cooperation in Education, edited by S. Sharan et. al.Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1980.

Shaughnessy, C. 'The Vietnam Conflict. America's BestDiscussed War." History Teacher 24 (1991): 135-147.

Singer, A. 'The Impact of Industrialization onAmerican Society: Alternative Assessments."Social Education 58 (1994): 171-172.

Sitton, T, G. L. Mehaffey and 0. L. Davis.Oral History: A Guide for Teachers. Austin: University

of Texas Press, 1983.Smith, H. The New Russians. New York Random

House, 1990.Spoehr, K. T & Spoehr, L. W. "Learning to Think

Historically." Educational Psychologist29 (1994): 71-78.

Stahl, R. J. Cooperative Learning in Social Studies:

A Handbook for Teachers. New York Addison-Wesley,

1994.

Summer, B. H. Peter the Great and the Emergence ofRussia. New York Collier Books, 1962.

Swartz, A. 'What Does a Historian Do: Middle SchoolStudents Present Their Views." Social Studies 85(1994): 114-116.

Watson, R. "Yeltsin Rules." Newsweek, January 23,

1995, pp. 32-34.Wesley, F. W., and J. C. McLendon. "Organizing

World History around Current World Affairs."In Improving the Teaching of World History, edited by

Edith West. Washington, D.C.: National Councilfor the Social Studies, 1949.

White, R. M. "An Alternative Approach to TeachingHistory." OAH Magazine of History 8 (1994): 58-60.

Wilson, J. C. "History: Signpost or Lamppost?" SocialEducation 57 (1994): 122-126.

Wineburg, S., and S. Wilson. "Models of Wisdom in

the Teaching of History." Phi Delta Kappan 70(1988): 50-58.

1 Students must be capable of comprehending theinvestigative nature of history. In light of this condi-tion the strategy is not likely to be effective with stu-dents below the fifth grade (Brophy, Van Sledright, &Breding 1993; Greene 1994; Hallam 1970; Spoehrand Spoehr 1994; Swartz 1994).

2 Chapter 5 "Teaching Generalizations" andChapter 6 "Teaching History Reflectively" inLawrence Metcalf s book Teaching High School SocialStudies (Metcalf 1968), are highly recommended read-ing for the teacher who is seriously considering anissues-centered approach to history. Also seeLeinhart's (1994) article on weaving generalizationsinto the teaching of history.

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USIAMlin II

G ISSUES IN THE TEACHING OFRICAN HISTORYWarren Saxe

IFor the past one hundred years Americanhistoryl has been a subject to which near-ly all citizens who have attended publicschools have been exposed in some form.American history is remembered by oldercitizens as the course with thick and heavy

textbooks, extended lectures, and countless work-sheets. American history is also the course thatdeclared to these young citizens that the past ofthe United States, which happened a long timeago, had little to do with them. For better orworse, American history has been the centerpieceof social studies education for nearly eighty years.Moreover, the public perception of Americanhistory is sometimes linked regrettably to boringteaching. Despite this, most citizens agree thatAmerican history is essential to citizenshipeducation, and that our children should knowsomething about how the nation was formed,including the issues, themes, great men, greatwomen, great stories, and the great reasons forthe United States.

It would seem natural for a teaching hand-book that includes a chapter on U. S. history todetail lesson plans, highlight films, good books,and other handy ideas, but there are no tricks orgimmicks here, no clever anecdotes or vignettes,no 101 ways to do American history. I offer noadvice on how one can do justice to hundreds ofyears of history in 180 days or less. While I enterneither into the discussion of what 5,000 dates,events, or personalities should be taught, nor of"whose history" should garner our attention,I make a single assumption in this chapterthatteachers already know what to teach regardingAmerican history and how to teach it, and, inthe absence of such knowledge and skills,novices can turn to the teaching helps that arecommonly available in such places as teachers'

editions of the history textbooks or otheraccounts (see Center for Civic Education 1994;Engle and Ochoa 1986; National Center forHistory in the Schools 1994; and NationalCouncil for the Social Studies 1994). These aidsinclude not merely what should be taught, butalso pre-planned units, written objectives, tar-geted lesson plans, lists of suggested activities,teaching strategies, testing materials, supple-mental maps, charts, workbooks and more.While I have reservations about teacher-proofmaterials for liberal democratic schooling as wellas so-called national history standards, I doinvite readers to investigate, assess, explore, andexperiment with the use of such aids as neces-sary. This chapter, however, has a different focus:the conscious and deliberate introduction anduse of issues into American history courses.

While all teachers should exercise discretionand common sense in the use of issues in schools,young children, for the most part, are not at thestage where they are capable of rational, liberalscholarship. It is not so much that the under-twelve set are not mature enough, it is more amatter that these young citizens have not yetacquired the necessary dispositions, skills, andknowledge needed for issues study. Nonetheless,all teachers at all levels should help prepare chil-dren to work with issues, and they should teachabout and provide practice for liberal democraticdispositions, skills, and knowledge (see Saxe1994). Although teachers can find any number ofissues in current newspaper articles to apply inclass, teachers and students can also find issuesthroughout history. Issues can be found in thelives and actions of people present and past.Students can also identify issues in definitions,policies, perceived problems, textbook readings,films, and other media. The number of issues for

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class study is limitless.The introduction of issues into American his-

tory courses does not necessarily change stan-dard, traditional offerings; the content certainlycan remain essentially the same if the teacher sochooses. Additionally, the methods of lecture-recitation-worksheets also can remain intact.What is different about the conscious and delib-erate introduction of issues is that importanceis attached to learning American history forthe purpose of liberal democratic citizenship.The terms liberal and democratic require defini-tion here. Liberal underscores the notion of open-mindednessthat through liberal scholarshipstudents become more interested in building awarranted point of view rather than simplyexpressing what is on their minds or thinkingthat all positions should be viewed in culturallyrelative terms. To be liberal in a scholarly sense isto adapt the notion of suspending judgment, ofthoroughly investigating subjects, of makingclaims that are supported by verified evidence, ofusing reason and logic, and, then, proposing ten-tative conclusions (for it is necessary to acknowl-edge that positions or findings are not necessari-ly final or absolute). Liberal in a scholarly sense isnot necessarily the equivalent of being liberal inthe political sense found in many DemocraticParty policies (e.g. believing that government isthe best solution for social problems)?

"Democratic" means the acceptance of major-ity rule, of the people having a voice in the pub-lic affairs of their country, and of the idea thatcitizens vote for and against such things as can-didates, issues, and policies. Moreover, beingdemocratic also means that citizens willinglyacknowledge and abide by the laws, institutions,and systems created by our democracy. For citi-zens, being democratic also means taking respon-sibility for knowing and adhering to the princi-ples upon which such founding documents as theDeclaration of Independence, the FederalistPapers, the U. S. Constitution, and the Bill ofRights are based.

The full sense of American citizenship isrevealed in the juxtaposition of liberal and demo-cratic, where we find the open-mindedness ofliberalism necessary for a vibrant democracy.Scholarly liberalism is what prevents democracyfrom becoming a tyranny. The opened, unfet-tered conditions of scholarly liberalism erect bar-riers to the formation of despotic rule throughthe establishment of the necessary language,

processes, and structures that specifically inhibittyranny. This is not to say that tyranny cannotrear its ugly head in liberal democratic nations.However, it is to say that liberal democratic citi-zens can use or create mechanisms to reduce theintrusions of tyranny: citizens can simply andpainlessly vote the rascals out! If citizens are nothappy with or not accepting of something, theballotnot bulletscan effectively be used toredirect national laws, policies, and programsthrough the election of representatives they thinkare more in touch with the will of the majority(of voters)?

What is confusing to many in the mid-1990sis that people such as the Republican leaderNewt Gingrich may be conservative politically,but his take on American values is clearly liberaldemocratic. On the other hand, people such asPresident Bill Clinton may be liberal politically,but his principles, much like Gingrich's, are alsorooted in liberal democracy. Although they standon opposite sides politically, each seeminglyagrees that the people are entitled to vote, thatthe majority rules, and that laws must beobeyedall of which are democratic characteris-tics. Also, both Gingrich and Clinton presum-ably agree that arguments must be supported,held to scrutiny, and subjected to criticismall ofwhich are liberal characteristics. The point is thatfor the United States to work, citizens need toaccept, as a fundamental principle, that liberaldemocratic characteristics are necessary ingredi-ents for competent American citizenship.

Given the acceptance of liberal democracy, inthis chapter I seek to illustrate that Americanhistory taught in the context of liberal democra-tic tenets is a vital dimension in the education ofyoung citizens. In part, issues study is one way toaccomplish the goal of educating young citizenswhose developing views and politics may reflectsuch contrasts as Newt Gingrich and BillClinton or Clarence Thomas and Lath Guinieror Rush Limbaugh and Larry King or William J.Bennett and Sheldon Hackneyor even citizenswhose views are reflective of Walter Williamsand Stanley Fish or Diane Ravitch and LeonardJefferies or Christina Sommers and BettyFriedan or Pat Robertson and Carl Sagan. Assuch controversial books as The Bell Curve, byRichard J. Herrnstein and Charles Murray(1994), The Lucifer Principle, by Howard Bloom(1995), and Race and Culture, by Thomas Sowell(1994) demonstrate, we need to understand

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more, not less, about human commonalties anddifferences. Regardless of one's politics, agendas,or personal views, the point is that American his-tory teachers contribute to the essential com-monality of American citizenship by acceptingthe notion that every American citizen shouldcome to know and practice the founding princi-ples of liberal democracy. This commonality isthe glue the supports the freedom and hope ofall Americans.

While issues can be employed in any course, atany time, when issues are introduced in Americanhistory courses, two preconditions must beaddressed. First, if knowledge of American histo-ry is a necessary condition for competent citizen-ship, it follows that students must come to somefundamental understanding of the history of theUnited States (see Hirsch 1996). Second, ifAmerican history is acknowledged as critical forcompetent citizenship, then students must cometo some fundamental understanding of the natureof history. This fundamental notion of the natureof history is called historical perspective. Thus, wecan separate citizenship education overall intothree discrete but intersecting elements: the studyand acquisition of historical perspective; the studyand understanding of American history; and,given the historical antecedents of liberal democ-racy, the introduction, study, and practice of com-petent citizenship. Clearly, citizens can displaya semblance of competent citizenship withouthistorical perspective or without knowledge ofAmerican history, and/or without even practicingor experiencing citizenship education in schools.But to paraphrase Jefferson, ignorant citizensdo not, nor ever will, make a great free nation.The challenge, to sustain our liberal democraticheritage over time, is for teachers to educateyoung citizens for civic competence.

nuke other chapters of the Handbookwhere issues-centered models are suggest-ed, I assume the prime audience to be his-tory teachers who deal with American his-tory in chronological or topical fashion, in

Via either broad, sweeping strokes or in greatdepth. I assume the tenets of this chapter may beuseful in classes where textbooks, worksheets, andlectures are standard, where facts and generaliza-tions are key, and where precision and knowingare expected. In addition, I assume this chapter'sideas will be used in classes where simple and

straightforward assessments of essay, multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, and matching are com-monplace. These observations are not meant asa criticism of such teaching; these statements aremerely an acknowledgment that didactic, chrono-logically based American history is a fact of life inmany quarters.

Given these norms, as you contemplate thestandard American history course, you might alsogauge the impact of infusing issues-centered ideasinto your teaching. The good news is that issuesstudy is ideally suited to the furtherance of liber-al democracy. However, issues-centered teachinghas a number of nagging considerations that mustbe met head on. First, issues-centered teaching islabor-intensive, and the techniques used oftentake considerably more time to plan, prepare, exe-cute, and assess. Second, issues-centered teachingis less precise than didactic teaching; you cannotrely on particular results, nor can you often mea-sure the results you do get. Third, issues-centeredactivities have a tendency to get students "offtrack"that is, whether because of the loosenature of issues-centered teaching or becauseissues-centered teaching is a change from the rou-tine, students may have fun with it and questionwhy you do not do such teaching more often, or,conversely, why you are doing it at all. Fourth,issues-centered lessons do not, as a rule, covermuch ground. A single issue, such as the treat-ment of prisoners of war at Andersonville andElmira or a dissection of Lincoln's EmancipationProclamation, might take several days, whereasa competent history-centered teacher couldcover the American Civil War from the eventsleading up to Fort Sumter, to Gettysburg, or toAppomattox Court House in seven days or less.Finally, what might be the most problematicaspect of issues-centered teaching in Americanhistory courses is that issues raised may detractfrom students' gaining a practical sense of histor-ical perspectivenamely, an understanding of thenature of chronology, the concepts of time, thepast, continuity, and change (Saxe 1994).

Like it or not, no educational plan for acquir-ing historical perspective has been able toimprove upon the age-old methods of intensehistorical readings and investigations, informa-tive and interesting lectures, and carefullydesigned and assessed writing assignments. I donot mean to suggest that history study shouldabandon traditional, time-tested methods forteaching historical perspective. I do, however,

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argue that, for the development of competentcitizens, the knowledge of historical perspectiveand/or the learning of discrete facts fromAmerican history are not enough. The problemis that there is nothing to suggest that the acqui-sition of historical perspective alonethoughnecessary for understanding history itselfisconnected to the development of citizenship.Moreover, there is nothing to suggest that theacquisition of facts about American historyalone, which may lead to historical perspective,is connected to the development of citizenship.Finally, there is nothing to suggest that the prac-tice of citizenship skills without historical con-text is directly connected to the development ofcompetent American citizenship.

The key to competent citizenship educationis that all three elements above must be present:first, students need to acquire historical perspec-tive in order to make better sense of history;second, citizens need a strong understanding ofAmerican history in order to make sense of therights and responsibilities of citizenship; and,third, developing citizens need to practice theskills associated with liberal democratic citizen-ship. Therefore, it is not the teaching of any oneof these activities alonethe acquisition of his-torical perspective, the learning of Americanhistory, or the development of citizenshipskillsbut the deliberate teaching of all threethat offers the greatest opportunity for compe-tent, liberal democratic citizenship.

As for potential reservations about issues-cen-tered teachingthat is, where time, results, andstaying on track are important factors for teach-ersit is useful to remember that history-cen-tered teachers face similar considerations in deal-ing with the question of coverage, i.e., scope andsequence. Herein lies a dilemma. On one hand, itis important that students have in-depth exposureto American history, but is depth of knowledge asimportant as gaining some sense of the majorevents and people found in the past of our nation,albeit through a quick survey? If only a week or soof time is available, is it better that students graspat least a superficial knowledge of life during theaftermath of World War I, and on through thestart of the Great Depression, than to take theweek and explore all the ins and outs of the Tea-Pot Dome scandal? Maybe yes, maybe no.

Answers to questions of depth versus breadthwill remain in those schools that cast Americanhistory in one-year courses, typically in the fifth,

eighth, and eleventh grades. Conditions at thesegrade levels dictate that superficial treatmentswill persist. To do anything that requires depth,something of breadth must be sacrificed, ratherthan continue to cram huge amounts of contentinto curricular spaces of about 180 days or less.Despite new models to deliver social studies, wefind that American history curricula, regardlessof orientation, are already filled to the brim, andnew curricular possibilities continue to press forspace. From notable current events, to revisionsof older views, to suggestions from untested andunproven multicultural perspectives, to state-mandated programs, American history teachersare under a virtual curricular siege. Whethersuch changes are warranted, the influx of newprograms, materials, and models has causedsome teachers to close their curricular borders.Many teachers already believe that they areteaching as much as they can and literally cannotadd anything more to their curricula. Where, forexample, are teachers going to place new mater-ial on the fall of the Soviet-bloc nations and itsimplications for American foreign policy? Whatwill be cut? What needs to be revised? Clearly,from the history-centered perspective, if you aregoing to do anything different, including issues-centered teaching, something in the curriculumhas to be pushed out, rearranged, or condensed.The question is what?

Consensus might be reached that issues-centered teaching affords good opportunities forstudents to explore and digest American historyAlso, it might be agreed that depth-of-fieldknowledge is something that we would like ourstudents not only to appreciate, but hopefully toobtain. The issue of depth versus breadth oftenplaces teachers and their curricular efforts inconflict. If a teacher can proceed with theassumption that, despite course constraints oftendictating a broad approach, he or she shouldbe working toward improving a student's depthof knowledge, then the teacher becomes betterable to include issues-centered ideas within his-tory-centered programs.

To many history-centered advocates, histo-ryparticularly American historyis the lensthrough which all social studies subject areas canbe viewed. In the sense of acquiring knowledgeand skills, history serves as the umbrella coursein which elements of geography, sociology,anthropology, economics, political science, andphilosophy can be studied. From the perspective

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of promoting citizenship education, or the acqui-sition of civic competence, American historyincludes blending aspects from social studies sub-ject areas for the purpose of activating a student'sfull participation in civic affairs. In either caseand I am sensitive to the fact that many teachersdo not distinguish between academic and civiccompetencies for American historyissues-cen-tered education can become an effective tool inadvancing acquisitions of discipline-centeredknowledge and skills as well as civically compe-tent dispositions. Arguably, the richest and mosteasily accessible context for issues-centered studycan be found in American history and its con-nection to the present lives of students.

Three general patterns have emerged forexploring issues in American history. They areuseful singularly or in any combination:

Issues are raised with students: Teachers tellthe students that something is an issue.

Issues emerge from lectures, presentations,readings, discussions, projects, or activities:Students identify an issue.

Issues are used to relate past to present orpresent to past: An issue is raised by eitherteachers or students.

In the first context, because teachers are bet-ter read and possess greater experience in thestudy and teaching of American history, they willbe able to identify any number of issues that areappropriate for introduction, study, and discus-sion. Predetermined teacher-selected issues offerteachers several advantages: they can plan the les-son in advance of instruction, select readings,prepare stimulating questions, anticipate differ-ent opinions, and develop and consider appropri-ate alternatives. In addition, teachers can geardiscussion for particular groups of students, con-sider a variety of approaches to teaching the les-son, outline key terms and phrases, and prepareassessment and evaluation instruments.

One thing to keep in mind about issues-cen-tered education is that topics are not issues. Forexample, for a lesson on the coming of the CivilWar, topics such as state's rights versus federalrights, slavery, King Cotton, Manifest Destiny,the abolitionist movement, Bleeding Kansas,and sectionalism may be loaded with issues, butin and of themselves they are simply topics. Theissue part of the topic or history occurs when aquestion is raised, some doubt is suggested, orsomething contradictory is noticed. In short,

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issues are raised from a text, a story, a lecture, afilm, or other presentation by the student whensomething does not quite seem right. Gone withthe Wind has been hailed as one of the greatestfilms ever made, and I am not prepared tocritically challenge that. It has been argued,however, that the film did not accurately depictsouthern life, particularly that of slaves. If some-

. one says Big Sam (the former slave who came toMiss Scarlett's rescue following the war) is a fic-tional stereotype, an issue is raised. If someonequestions Rhett Butler's role in the Civil War, anissue is raised. If someone questions Sherman'smarch on Atlanta, another issue is raised.

If someone says, during a lesson onAmerican presidents, "Why haven't any femalesbeen elected president?" an issue is raised. Ifsomeone questions J. P. Morgan's financial inter-ests in England prior to America's entry intoWorld War I (he supported going to war to pro-tect England) an issue is raised. If someone looksat the Warren Commission Report and begins toask questions about the actions of the FBI, anissue is being raised. In this, our second context,once an issue is raised, the student, class, andteacher can explore and examine it in the hopesof seeking greater understanding, if not resolu-tion, of the initial interest or inquiry.

As you have read elsewhere in this book,although I understand the importance ofchronology and of moving forward, using issues-centered techniques does involve slowing thecurriculum in order to help students compre-hend the importance of an event. In slowing thepace, students will hopefully gain the time nec-essary to grasp the connective nature betweenvarious and often isolated events or bits of histo-ry and themselves. John Dewey described expe-rience as having two parts: an active, doing partand a passive, undergoing part.4 In the doingpart, students have or are given an experienceabout which they actively explore information,ask questions, and formulate ideas. In the under-going part that follows, students make a connec-tion between the experience and themselves.This undergoing is reflective; it is the instructivepart of learning. The undergoing highlights thechanges a student makes or has as a result ofthe active doing. In addition to being the essen-tial learning part of the experience, undergoingis also the part that makes the learning mean-ingful for the student. As Dewey put it, "doing"is "trying" things out to see what they mean, and

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"undergoing" is "instruction."5In learning history, simply reading or hearing

about selected topics in American history is notenough. Teachers must do what they can to helpstudents understand what it is they are reading orhearing about. Our interest is not merely to dothings in a clinical senseto help studentsbecome better reciters of facts or readers orspellers or even writersbut to help studentsbecome more thoughtful and reflective about thelesson at hand. To succeed in this goal, providingstudents with experiences is only half the task.We cannot simply assume that students learnmerely by having an experiencelearn by doing.Teachers must also consider the next step stu-dents makeundergoing an experience. Byundergoing an experience, the student takes stockof what the experience meant to him or her. Forexample, in what ways were students changed as aresult of learning how history was rewritten forthe Smithsonian's Enola Gay Exhibit in 1995?What was the lesson's point? What were theimportant features of this issue? If a student cancreate in his or her own mind the relationship ofthis lesson to other lessonsthat is, build bridgesto other ideaswe may conclude that learninghas occurred. It may also be said that we have suc-ceeded in our teaching if our students can come tothe point of not only explaining the lesson (andnot repeating or parroting the readings or lecture)but of truly demonstrating their learning to usand themselves by identifying the issues embed-ded in the lesson.

By accepting the responsibility to facilitate asmany experiences as possible, to guide students asthey undergo experiences, or to make sense ofissues discovered or used, a teacher is acknowl-edging that learning will occur. In addition, whenstudents begin to identify issues found in read-ings, lectures, discussions, or other activities,either orally or in writing, it may be argued thata student is making the critical transition towardundergoing the experience. That is, when stu-dents begin recognizing issues on their own, theyare signaling the beginning of understanding his-tory. In the context of the third use of issues,teachers can select experiences in which particu-lar issues are used to confirm the success of a les-son taught and, perhaps more importantly,demonstrate the student's own understanding ofthe lesson.

Given our discussion thus far, we might nowidentify four treatments of issues in the classroom:

The teacher presents an issue: doing or havingan experience.

Students recognize the issue imbedded in alesson: signaling a transition to undergoing.

Students successfully explain the issue: under-going or demonstrating learning.

Students test their new learning against or indifferent contexts, under different or similarconditions: confirming or challenging thenew learning.

In using issues-study as a model, teachers arenot bound to approach issues in a linear fashion.In presenting a lesson, teachers do not need tobegin with an issue. Students may identify issuesat any time. However, teachers need to becomeaware of a student's recognition of an issue. Forexample, if a teacher presents a lecture on thedropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima andNagasaki, students might raise the issue of howPresident Truman came to that seemingly inhu-mane decision: If we (Allied forces) were win-ning the war, why did we need to kill tens ofthousands of innocent people? Where is the jus-tice in this decision? The teacher may answerthat the decision was based upon strictly military,not humanitarian conditions, replying that theUnited States needed to end the war as quickly aspossible, and the atomic bomb increased theprobability of Japan's immediate surrender.In this case, if the teacher's intention had beento lead the students to "discover" this issue, theteacher's strategy would be the equivalent ofpresenting the issue. On the other hand, whilepresenting the lesson, if the teacher had notintended to point to the issue of military objec-tives versus humanitarian actions in time of war,the student's ability to raise the issue signals ahigh level of maturity and understanding ofextracting issues from content. In either case,once the issue is brought onto the floor, it is opento debate and discussion (if the teacher permits).

At this point, the teacher has at least twodecisions to make: proceed with the next lessonon the development of the Marshall Plan and theNuremberg Trials, or take a step back to dealwith the atomic bomb issue. If the teacher hasanticipated a discussion on issues related to thedropping of the first atomic bombs, then the nextfew days should have already been marked outfor discussion and activities. However, if studentsraised the issue independently, then the teacherneeds to decide whether it is worth the time to

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explore the issue. In proceeding with the student-generated atomic issue, lessons and follow-upsneed to be prepared for the next few days.However, if the teacher decides to press aheadwith the Marshall Plan, it is with the knowledgethat some students have recognized a criticalissue that the instructor has decided is not worthclass time to pursue.

Whatever decision you make, your actionscarry important implications for student learn-ing. Through your accumulated teaching experi-ence or through good guessing, it is an advantageif you can anticipate what issues will emerge inclass and prepare lessons accordingly. Failingpredicted student participation, you can proceedby highlighting the target issue yourself andremain hopeful that students will be able to findcollateral issues embedded in the lesson. You canthen select other confirming issues that willprove student learningwhere students willshow that they have connected the lesson to priorlearning, as well as demonstrated the potential toconnect the lesson to future lessons. However, ifyou ignore, and continue to ignore, students whoraise issuespreferring to present only yourissueseventually students may becomedetached from the lesson and, unfortunately, fur-ther removed from history study. At best, stu-dents may glean a few scattered thoughts fromthe lesson that may or may not be applied in thefuture, and, at worst, students will leave the les-son with little in hand or head, perhaps onlyremembering that history is boring, of littlevalue, and thus, has nothing to do with them.

In this argument for highlighting issues inAmerican history, we have now come full circle.In brief review, issues are a central component ofhistory study. Issues help to frame content intomeaningful elements that can be used by stu-dents to construct learning. In addition to usingissues to help teachers and students relate to con-tent, issues can be employed as springboards toother experiences and learning. Notwithstandingthe positive aspects of issues, as mentioned earli-er, the use of issues takes time, often has unevenresults, takes turns off the traditional curricularroad, and, finally, is prone to slow the curriculartrain. Despite these potential drawbacks, issuesoffer any number of opportunities for students tobecome engaged in their own learning. Finally,the most important aspect of issues-centerededucation in American history is its connectionto the teaching and learning of historical per-

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spective; the teaching and learning of discretefacts of American history, and practical experi-ence with liberal democratic principles groundedin historical contexts.

In schools, the movement of issues-centeredAmerican history into the curricula will require acertain integrity and scholarship for both teach-ers and students. At this point, we arrive at thecrucial test of issues-centered teaching: Is theteacher willing to set aside preconceived views forthe sake of hearing out and sifting through dif-fering perspectives and conflicting data? Theissue of being eager to air other views and stand-ing ready to modify your position in light ofcompelling evidence is central to issues-centeredteaching. Issues-centered teaching is not preach-ing, nor is it persuading. Issues-centered teachingis about getting as close as humanly possible tounvarnished truth or, at the least, to being able torecognize the inconsistency or incongruentnature of a position. In addition, issues-centeredteaching helps students recognize the differencebetween opinion and fact and between bias andobjectivity.

To proceed with any presentation of issues,we must come to grips with the reality thatissues, by nature, involve values and emotions.As such, values and emotions must often be sus-pended in order to make sense of the smallpieces of the past that are recoverable. Moredirectly, to teach issues-centered American his-tory, teachers must often suspend not only valuesand emotions, but also political views, personalconvictions, and religious beliefs for the sake ofseeking truth. Underlying the suspension of val-ues, emotions, and other convictions are morals.As individuals, our sense of morality directs ourpersonal values, convictions, and beliefs, and ismanifest in our behaviorswhat we determineas right or wrong. When society seeks to applylaws that engage our moral sensibilities, we ask(among other questions), On whose authority isthis action taken? How does this benefit societyas a whole? and What evidence does the statehave to support the action?

As teachers, intellectual leaders of the class,we must be prepared to examine claims of indi-viduals as well as states (collective groups ofindividuals). As teachers of history, we need toexamine the thoughts and actions of past indi-viduals or states to root out explanations andunderstandings. This action often requires thesuspension of moralistic judgment in the interest

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of disinterested scholarship. Other than as anattention-getter or pedagogical device used tofocus students on a particular topic, issues-cen-tered teachers should not begin the study ofsomething like Columbus and the Age ofExploration with the claim that Columbus was amurderer. Adults may have acquired this ques-tionable view, but young citizens have not hadthe chance to fully study the historical signifi-cance of Columbus. As it is against standardpractice for the judge to hang the accused beforetrial, teachers should allow students to hear thehistorical facts prior to passing judgment.

This attitude of inquiry and skepticismstrikes at the core of both issues-centerednessand the establishment of historical perspectivethe central features of which highlight a willing-ness to raise and/or attend to issues openly, toexplore the many sides of each issue, to seek outdata, to make judgments from data, and to holdup our judgments, supporting data, and methodsof critical examination. As an issues-centeredteacher you must look for problems, inconsisten-cies, and contradictions in your own interpreta-tions and values, as well as those interpretationsand values found in others. You must alsobecome sensitive to uncomfortable feelings, thata certain statement or piece of information sim-ply does not seem right. You need to keep look-ing under whatever stones there are to keep yourjudgments tentative until you have gatheredsufficient data to support your suppositions.As with your own conduct as a teacher, you mustalso seek to instill these goals in your students.As outlined by John Stuart Mill (1982), pre-sumed facts are inherently problematic when notopen to full critique and subject to the produc-tion of supporting data.

It is worth mentioning, even briefly, that theroots of issues-centered education are found inthe Enlightenment and, for American history inparticular, in the founding of the United States.More than two centuries have passed since thecornerstones of our nation were laid by thefounders, framers, and common citizens.Colonial America of 1776 was not a homoge-neous monocultural society. The AmericanRevolution and subsequent new nationhoodwas, of course, an experiment that united peopleof very real differencesin ethnicity, region,occupation, income, religion, political convic-tion, property, status, and any number of person-ally held beliefs. From Locke to Jefferson to

Madison, we find the foundations for issues-centered teaching in principle. First, Locke lev-eled the absolute nature of the divine rights ofkings and, thus, raised the prospect of free(protected) speech for citizens. Jefferson actual-ized the validity of a people's revolution againsta tyranny of a few on the basis of securing life,liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.6 Finally,Madison, master architect of the U. S. Consti-tution, explained the difference between a nar-rowly defined Lockean material and earthly viewof property, and Jefferson's broadly definedproperty rights that highlighted a citizen's rightto opinion, religious conviction and other per-sonally held beliefs.

It is these latter property rightsto access,examine, hold, and proclaim ideasthat giveform to issues-centered education and make pos-sible the formal study of ideas and issues.Certainly during the revolution, as now, thingswere not socially, politically, or economicallyperfect. On issues of race and gender, for exam-ple, there was much to be desired in eighteenth-century life when judged by late-twentieth-century standards. While taking issue withinconsistencies noted in the pastraised byvalues of our time versus values that predominat-ed in the eighteenth-centuryteachers shouldbe careful to teach about history within the con-text of the period. Despite differing interpreta-tions of the past, the period of the AmericanRevolution did plant the seeds of human free-dom, not only in the United States, but for manyother nations as well. Within time, as the effectsof the American experience unfolded, the sonsand daughters of former slaves, Polish peasants,Japanese workers, Irish farmers, Chinese labor-ersas well as hosts of other ethnic, political,and religious groupswould become beneficia-ries of American democracy.

Of course there are serious challenges toliberal democracy. Aside from the very real nat-ural challenges of living out liberal democraticprinciples, two human phenomena simultane-ously undermine the successful establishmentand maintenance of liberal democracy. First, itmust be recognized that multigroup societies thatattempt to actualize liberal democratic principlesare inherently unstable. Second, liberal democ-racy is not genetically inherited. Together, thenotion of multiple-group perspectives and thechallenge of (re)inventing liberal democracy witheach generation (child-by-child) not only create

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conditions that pull communities into any num-ber of directions, but also pose a direct threat byundermining liberal democratic institutions, val-ues, and actions. Our successes have often beenlimited, for just when we think we have createdand brought forth something special fromour differences, a new generation challenges ourcompromises. Few can deny the struggles, fail-ures, mistakes, injustices, and tragedies that aresalient features of humanity Yet, when the prin-ciples of liberal democratic living are appliedwhere life, liberty, and the pursuit of happinessare constitutionally guaranteedwe becomeenabled to transcend human frailties to revealthe delicate beauty of democracy.

ConclusionIn a very real sense, teachers are stewards in

the search for truth. By using issues study as atool to reveal truths that either confirm or alterpositions (or call into account the need for morestudy), we need to be careful not to apply or dic-tate for students unwarranted, predeterminedpedagogical decisions, or perspectives, about thepast. By taking responsibility as the intellectualleader of a liberal democratic classroom, theteacher should work to direct student attentiontoward issues and problems that facilitate mean-ingful reflective study and appropriate action.The purpose of the teacher's work is not so muchto impart answers that students should know, butto assist students in taking responsibility for theirown deliberations, decision making, and actions.Finally, to achieve the goal of facilitating compe-tent citizenship, American history teachersshould guide students toward acquiring the nec-essary historical knowledge, to demonstrate thenecessary liberal democratic dispositions, and,more importantly, to practice the necessary skillsof liberal democratic citizenship?

While this chapter makes a case for issues-centered history teaching, the next move is yours.By considering this chapter and others found inthis Handbook against your own experiences andknowledge, you have already taken the firstreflective step toward engaging issues-centeredAmerican history. If you are willing to experi-ment with the ideas contained in this chapter, thenext step is to bring issues study to your students.

ReferencesBloom, Allan. The Closing of the American Mind

New York Simon and Schuster, 1987.

Bloom, Howard. The Lucifer Principle. New YorkAtlantic Monthly Press, 1995.

Center for Civic Education. National Standards forCivics and Government. Calabasas, Calif Center forCivic Education, 1994.

Dewey, John. "Democracy and Education, [1916]."In The Middle Works of John Dewey, 1899-1924,

edited by JoAnn Boydston. Carbondale, Ill.:Southern Illinois Press, 1980.

Engle, Shirley, and Anna Ochoa. Education forDemocracy. New York Teachers College Press, 1986.

Fonte, John. "Ill Liberalism", National Review, February1995, 48-54.

Herrnstein, Richard J. and Charles Murray. The BellCurve. New York Free Press, 1994.

Hirsch, Jr. E. D. The Schools We Need New YorkDoubleday, 1996.

Mill, John Stuart. On Liberty. New York PenguinBooks, 1982 (originally published in 1859).

National Center for History in the Schools. NationalStandards History for Grades K-4, National Standardsfor United States History, and National Standards forWorld History. Los Angeles: National Center forHistory in the Schools, 1994.

National Council for the Social Studies. CurriculumStandards for Social Studies: Expectations of Excellence.

Washington, D. C.: The National Council for theSocial Studies, 1994.

Saxe, David Warren. Social Studies for Elementary

Teachers. Boston: Allyn-Bacon, 1994.Sowell, Thomas. Race and Culture. New York

Basic Books, 1994.Weaver, Richard M. Ideas Have Consequences.

Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1948.

1 "U.S. history" is often confused with the term"American history". American history is the history ofthe whole of the Americas. The history of the UnitedStates is meant to focus on the history of the UnitedStates since 1776. Although U. S. history oftenincludes historical antecedents to the founding ofJamestown in 1607including European and pre-Columbian formsto 1776, most states require theteaching of U. S. history, not the teaching of a com-prehensive history of the North, South, and CentralAmericas. For this chapter (for reasons of style), I willadopt the less cumbersome and more inclusive"American history"; however, readers should be alert todistinguish between the two terms.

2 Few books have captured the essence of liberaleducation better than Richard Weaver's classic, IdeasHave Consequences (1948). For a more contemporary

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view of Weaver's thesis, consult Bloom's Closing of theAmerican Mind (1987).

3 John Fonte presents a first-rate discussion of thedifferences between liberal democracy and what hecalls "cultural democracy." Fonte argues that culturaldemocracyof which multiculturalism and culturalrelativity are a partis potentially a greater threat tothe United States than was the Soviet Union. SeeNational Review (1995, 48-54).

4 Deweyan thought raises a number of issues inand of itself. First, arguing in pragmatic terms, Deweymakes a case that ideas are made true through experi-ence. That is, we take an idea and give it a sense oftrueness by testing it in reality. By nature, ideas, then,are not absolute or above or outside of the experienceof individuals. While the "absolute" ideas of thingslike justice, freedom, and beauty can be made realthrough experience, they are not true independent ofour actions. This shift from absolutes to relative think-ing has created conflict in education. The suggestionhere of using Dewey's doing and undergoing theoryfor experience is not necessarily an endorsement ofpragmatic theory. Rather, the suggestion indicates thatissues can be made known through doing and under-going. The fact that an issue is or is not absolute ordoes or does not have absolute properties is not neces-sarily promoted here.

5 Ibid., 139.6 The idea that principles of life, liberty, and the

pursuit of happiness exist and stand applicable to everycitizen raises the notion of absolutes (discussed in note4). As issues-centered teaching is applied, we thusacknowledge an acceptance of absolutes in the form ofdemocratic principles. But we also (paradoxically)highlight the existence of relative facts or unprovedtruths. It is argued here that, through issues study,ideas are made true by experiencedoing and under-going. However, some ideas appear to us as steady andabsolute, and thus require no formal testing, althoughit is satisfying to be reminded that these absolutes(democratic principles) survive the test of time.

7 In the most important educational book of the1990s, Hirsch (1996) argues the case for core knowl-edge, skills, and dispositions. Issues-centered teachingfollows from this premise. There is no genuine issues-centered teaching without a strong content base.Ignorance of issue background information oracknowledged skills or necessary scholarly disposi-tions renders issues-centered discussions mere bullsessions where, at best, unwarranted opinions rule or,at worse, where teachers use the power of pedagogyand a captive audience to preach social activism or somepersonal pet interest. This isn't issues-centered teaching.

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ITICAL APPROACH TO TEACHINGED STATES HISTORY

Id W. Evans

believe that the central purpose of socialstudies instruction in schools is to inspirecritical reflection on society, and by so doing,to contribute to the improvement and even-tual transformation of society toward a visionof a more just society, a society that is "wor-

thy, lovely, and harmonious" (Dewey, 1899).Thus, in teaching United States History, Ibelieve that our central aim should be to inspirecritical reflection on our past, present and future.This aim might best be accomplished by empha-sizing critical perspectives, by exploring crucialissues, and by including alternative views andknowledge that are traditionally omitted fromcourses in United States History, and from thesocial studies curriculum as a whole. This is abiased perspective. I believe that the stories ofcommon people in their struggle to improvetheir lot should receive more time and in-depthattention than the stories of the elite, business-men and politicians, who have held dominantpositions in the American power structure. Thisdoes not mean that the "heroes" still gettingmost of the space in our history books would beleft out. It means that our emphasis would shiftto asking critical questions, analyzing assump-tions, and devoting a good deal of our time tostudying the ways of empowerment, the waysthat oppressed people challenged the society inwhich they were living and generated socialprogress. Thus, the approach I am suggesting isbuilt on the American dream of equity andhopefulness.

With the recent revival of history in schools,the dominance of history in the social studies isreaching a new high (Gagnon, 1989). Thus, forthe time being, if critical and issues orientedapproaches to social studies instruction are tofind a place in the social studies curriculum, it is

in history courses, and especially U. S. History(the most common course required by law) thatthese approaches will have the best chance ofbeing applied. We have substantial evidence toillustrate the general lack of reflection in histo-ry and social studies courses (Shaver, Davis andHelburn, 1979; Goodlad, 1984). An importantcommonality among these reports is the findingthat a central underlying goal of courses in U. S.History is to transmit selected factual knowl-edge and positive feelings about our society andthe American way of life.

While the casual reader might assume thatmy aim would be just the opposite, to inspirenegative feelings about our society, that would bean unfair characterization, and a misunderstand-ing of a critical approach. Instead, we shoulddevelop in our students an appreciation of thecomplexity of our society and the world, and anunderstanding of the critical issues that have,and that continue to determine the shape of ourlives. We should aim to inspire deep dreams ofjustice and fair play, dreams of a truly democrat-ic society, utopian dreams tempered by the real-ity of the fray, by the ambiguity of the issues andthe ironies of life.

Unfortunately, much of what is currentlytaught as U. S. History in schools does little tofurther this goal. In some classrooms, history istrivialized into a game in which students answerquiz and test questions for points, with littleunderstanding of the significance or conse-quences of history for people's lives, even theirown. In such classrooms, history instruction maybe counterproductive, or even dangerous fordemocracy. In others, it becomes an occasionallyinteresting story, imparted by teachers, textbooksand supplementary materials. In some, a few rareclassrooms, history becomes a source of reflection

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on the choices we have made in the past and thedecisions we will make in the future. This is thekind of teaching this volume seeks to advance.

How might teachers best approach the aimof developing in students an understanding ofcrucial issues, facilitating critical reflection onsociety, and inspiring deep dreams of justice?I believe that this goal might best be accom-plished through a critical, issues-centeredapproach to teaching, an approach which empha-sizes the struggles of common Americans againstoppression, an approach which takes a criticalstance toward dominant interests of our past andpresent and leads students to ask and to reflect ondifficult and controversial questions.

Ways of Implementinga Critical Approach

This approach raises several important ques-tions regarding pedagogy, teacher and studentroles, curricular content, and course organization.Let me suggest several ways of implementing acritical, issues-centered approach in the teachingof U. S. History, each of which may be appropri-ate for different teachers depending on theirreadiness, philosophical orientation, skill andexperience as discussion leader, and student read-ing and inquiry skills.

First, infusing issues and critical perspectivesmay be most appropriate for a majority of teach-ers. Certainly, this approach is most easilyaccomplished without changing the basic formatand structure of most chronologically sequencedtextbooks and courses. The issues, knowledge,and perspectives detailed below would enhanceany social studies course, and will no doubt beuseful for all teachers and students to consider.

A second approach would be to retain a broadchronological structure, studying particular top-ics in depth within the stream of chronology, butdevelop critical issues and perspectives as themesto be developed and explored by teacher and stu-dents within each unit and topic studied. Thisapproach implies a more consistent application ofa critical understanding and a more thoroughrevision of course goals and format. Thematicissues could be introduced in the form of persis-tent questions at the start of the course, devel-oped in each unit of study, and returned to at theend of the year for culminating discussion of theimplications of the historical data studied. Formany teachers, given current student and parentexpectations and the format of most textbooks,

this may seem a reasonable and thoughtful alter-native because it can be readily applied within atraditional chronological course structure.

A third approach would be to develop topicalunits in which major critical issues are studied indepth, breaking the broad chronological organi-zational scheme. Because I favor this approach,especially for high school courses, I will framelater portions of the chapter around this idea.An obvious advantage of this organizing schemeis that it emphasizes the in-depth, interdiscipli-nary study of persistent issues, yet allows devel-opment of chronological strands by topic.An even more radical approach would imply dis-mantling current course offerings and creatingcourses organized by critical issues, but we willsave discussion of that intriguing possibility foranother chapter.

Guidelines for Critical TeachingRegardless which of these approaches is

deemed most appropriate, the following generalguidelines would apply for teachers and students:

A critical approach to teaching U. S. Historywould seek to stimulate a critical dialogue, withemphasis on student to student communicationand student led inquiry. While the teacherwould openly discuss her or his biases and frameof reference, teachers would carefully considerthe timing and potential impact of their viewson student beliefs. As a general rule, theteacher's perspective will be shared as one ofmany, to be opened to critical examination anddiscussion (Evans, 1993).

A critical approach would foster deep reflec-tion on critical questions and issues about oursociety, about our past and future. The questionsand issues to be studied would be those holdingthe greatest potential for increasing our under-standing of dominant institutions and interests inour society, and in the world. In the classroom,openness and the freedom to hold contrarybeliefs would be prized.

Course content would emphasize alternativevoices, seeking out the voices of the oppressed, ofthose who have offered critical perspectives onsocial institutions, historical events, and decisionsof the past and present. It would necessarily drawheavily on revisionist interpretations of history asfuel for thinking critically about mainstreamsources and interpretations found in the typicaltextbooks. While the balance of course contentwould draw from non-traditional sources, teacher

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and students would take great pains to includetraditional sources and mainstream voices andperspectives as well.

This approach requires a rethinking of thedictum that historians, teachers, and studentsmust carry on disinterested, neutral, scientific,and objective scholarship. As Howard Zinn sug-gests, neutrality is impossible. Instead, historians,teachers, and students of history can follow theseguidelines:1. We can intensify, expand, sharpen our

perception of how bad things are, for thevictims of the world.

2. We can expose the pretensions of govern-ment to either neutrality or beneficence.

3. We can expose the ideology that pervadesour cultureusing "ideology" in Mannheim'ssense: rationale for the going order.

4. We can recapture those few moments in thepast which show the possibility of a betterway of life than that which has dominatedthe earth thus far (Zinn, 1970, 36-47).

While the course would be based in the dis-cipline of history, teacher and students wouldconsciously seek relevant information and per-spectives from divergent fields of study, includ-ing literature and the arts. The study of problemsand issues must be interdisciplinary andextradisciplinary for the course to realize its fullpotential. Thus, a critical approach would chal-lenge the traditional admonition to "stick toyour discipline" (Zinn, 1970, 11).

Teacher and students would seek full inclu-sion of social realities of present and past. Noissues, questions, or content would be deemedtoo controversial. In fact, controversy would beprized partly for the motivating emotional chargeit can give to any inquiry. This would challengethe traditional scholarly edict to "avoid emotion-alism" (Zinn, 1970, 12). A critical approachwould emphasize a meaningful reason for study-ing historical sources, events, and trends for thewisdom we may gain in thinking about our soci-ety, our world, and our collective lives together.

Teachers and students would still seek bal-ance, would search out competing and divergentvoices, and would strive to be scrupulously care-ful in reporting evidence, but would abandon thenaive attempt to remain "neutral" and "disinter-ested". Selection of meaningful and importanttopics, issues, and questions which can shed lighton the struggles of common people to gain power

will mean that students and teachers have abiased interest in the study. Again, Howard Zinnwrites:

History is not inevitably useful. It can bindus or free us. It can destroy compassion byshowing us the world through the eyes ofthe comfortable ("the slaves are happy, justlisten to them"leading to "the poor arecontent, just look at them"). It can oppressany resolve to act by mountains of trivia, bydiverting us into intellectual games, by pre-tentious "interpretations" which spur con-templation rather than action, by limitingour vision to an endless story of disaster andthus promoting cynical withdrawal, bybefogging us with the encyclopedic eclecti-cism of the standard textbook.

But history can untie our minds, our bodies,our disposition to moveto engage liferather than contemplating it as an outsider.It can do this by widening our view toinclude the silent voices of the past, so thatwe look behind the silence of the present(Zinn, 1970, 54).

These insights are not exclusive to the newleft historians of the 1960s, nor are they uncom-mon. In fact, historians as a group have shiftedin emphasis from telling a traditional storyundergirding national pride, with the concomi-tant emphasis on detachment and objectivity, toa focus on social history and on human respons-es to structures of power (Kammen, 1980).In fact, by 1980, Michael Kammen wrote thatthe discipline as a whole had witnessed a "stun-ning inversion with respect to these two tradi-tional values" (22). National chauvinism hasgiven way to national self-criticism in historicalwriting, to a challenge to liberalism and the lib-eral tradition. Increasingly, motives of nationalleaders are discussed cynically, and makers offoreign policy are chastised on the basis of revi-sionist historical interpretations. In the 1960sand 1970s, university teachers were sometimesforced by students to abandon academic impar-tiality and to declare their allegiances, and evento admit their emotions. This led to a shift con-cerning the desirability of historians makingmoral judgements, a shift from the thinking ofCommager, "the historian is not God," to asearch for truth "consciously suffused by a com-

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mitment to some deeply held humane values"(Kammen, 1980, 22-24).

Truth is dependent upon perspective.Historiography necessarily involves interpreta-tion, making judgements on the importance ofevidence and the implications of one event foranother. Thus, a critical approach to teaching andlearning U. S. History would mean questioningof assumptions and values. It would mean discus-sion of frame of reference whenever we considera source or interpretation, even our own. The allpervasive importance and inescapability of frameof reference was eloquently summed up byCharles Beard more than half a century agowhen he wrote:

Any written history involves the selection ofa topic and arbitrary delimitation of its bor-ders cutting off connections with the univer-sal. Within the borders arbitrarily estab-lished, there is a selection and organization offacts by the processes of thought. This selec-tion and organizationa single actwill becontrolled by the historian's frame of refer-ence composed of things deemed necessaryand of things deemed desirable. The framemay be a narrow class, sectional, national, orgroup conception of history, clear and frankor confused and half conscious, or it may be alarge, generous conception, clarified by asso-ciation with the great spirits of all ages.Whatever its nature, the frame is inexorablythere, in the mind... (1934, 29).

Finally, and most importantly, a criticalapproach will mean reflection on student's lives,discussion of the significance of the topics studiedfor the lives of students and for society. The grow-ing literature on critical theory in education,notably Cherryholmes (1991; chapter 9 of thisvolume), Stanley (1992), Freire (1970), Giroux(1992), Apple (1979), and Bigelow (1987),instructs social studies educators to lead our stu-dents to look to history, to examine the effects andexercise of power, and to search for distortedbeliefs and communications in trying to under-stand the world. Texts cannot be perceived asauthoritative and foundational, but must insteadbe interrogated and critiqued by student andteacher, with student's lives viewed as a text orsource to analyze. Reader-response theory positsreaders' lives as texts to be explored, examined, andcritiqued. Like written texts, students' lives are a

construction, developed in the context of powerrelationships. Thus, students' lived experienceswill be a central focus (Cherryholmes, 1991).

Problematics: The Big IssuesThe following issues and problem-topics may

serve as a starting point for teachers and studentswho wish to apply a critical, issues-centeredapproach to United States History courses. Foreach topic I have listed key critical issues, per-spectives and voices that might be included, anda few books and sources that should prove help-ful. Readers may also wish to consult previouslydeveloped models for applying issues-centeredapproaches which would also be useful in teach-ing United States History. Among these areHunt and Metcalf (1955; 1968) and Oliver andShaver (1966).

The problematic topic areas are listed in anorder that may be helpful, though experimenta-tion could help a teacher find an order thatmakes sense, assuming that teacher choosesoption three, issues-centered units. It seemseminently true that some of our most troublingand persistent problem areas, race, class, andgender, might be a good place to start. It alsoseems true that a study of power and knowledgemight lead naturally into a culminating unit onideology and reform, leading as a point of tran-sition into a discussion of personal responsibilityand social action.

I have created nine topic areas. In a one-yearcourse, these could become units of about fourweeks each, though length may vary by topic, andby teacher and student interest. Each unit wouldbegin with the present, with continuing ques-tions and issues and exploration of relevant data.Within each unit students would spend the bulkof time with the historical strand of developmentand chronology, cases from the past that mayhave special relevance over time, inquiry into his-torians' questions, and reflection on importantdecisions. Each unit would conclude with devel-opment of meaning, that is, with students devel-oping implications from the historical topics andadditional evidence studied for present belief andsocial policy on the topic. A few helpful sourcesare listed for each topic.

Race and Ethnicity:The American Obsession

Because of the confluence of issues thatimpact this topic, and because of its persistence

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throughout our history, race and ethnicitydeserve top billing. At present, schools seem tobe promoting the idea that we have achievedracial equality of opportunity in a nation inwhich the ratio of White to Black net worth is12:1. Something is obviously amiss. I believe thatthis impression of growing equity and the knowl-edge that undergirds it are dangerous. Instead, weneed direct attention to the following questions:

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What should we do about differences insocial and economic status that coincide with ahistory of racial oppression?

How have historical developments in Ameri-can society influenced race and ethnicity andimpacted the pursuit of equity? How have theseissues and institutions changed over time?

After exploring some of these questions,teachers may want to lead students to study thehistorical development of race and ethnicity inAmerican life. This could be handled chronolog-ically, with in-depth study of one or two groups,and a focus on particular cases that are especiallyilluminating. Teacher and students may find thefollowing works helpful:Bennett, Lerone. (1969). Before the Mayflower.Brown, Dee. (1971). Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.Daniels & Kitano. (1970). American Racism.Daniels, Roger. (1990). Coming to America.

Genovese, Eugene. (1974). Roll, Jordan, Roll.

Hacker, Andrew. (1992). Two Nations: Black and White,Separate, Hostile, and Unequal.

Konig, Hans. (1993). The Conquest of America.

Malcolm X. (1965). The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Meltzer, M. (1982). The Hispanic Americans.Sowell, Thomas. (1984). Ethnic America.Takaki, Ronald. (1989). Strangers From a Different Shore.Takaki, Ronald. (1993)A Different Mirror: A History of

Multicultural America.

Terkel, Studs. (1992). Race: How Blacks and Whites

Think and Feel About the American Obsession.

Woodward, C. Vann. (1955). The Strange Career ofJim Crow.

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Zinn, Howard. (1980).A People's History of theUnited States.

Textbook coverage of topics related to raceand ethnicity should also prove helpful, especial-ly if used as a resource to be critiqued. Followingextensive study, teachers and students will wantto re-visit several of the key questions posedat the start of the unit, drawing on their studyof race and ethnicity in framing perspectivesthat are still tentative, yet better informed. Inthis and subsequent units, teachers may want touse panel discussions, debates, simulations, and afull range of large and small group discussionactivities to facilitate student communication,reflection and critique.

Social Class in AmericaMost textbooks on U. S. History hardly men-

tion social class, and tend to emphasize the sto-ries of elites, of those who were at the top of theladder. Permeating textbook treatment of socialclass is the myth of social mobility in America,that the poorest person, with hard work and dili-gence, and maybe a little luck, can achieve theheight of success. This is the Horatio Algermyth, and it is dangerous as well because itignores the overwhelming evidence on theentrenchment of social class in America and theimpact of socioeconomic status and ethnicity onindividual chances for success in American life.Continuing questions on social class include:

? What attitude and policy po-sitions. shouldgovernment take on social class issues?:What role should governrnent play ini'dat:ing.for the general.welfare-Oftitizens?niWhat impaCt piayAmerican live; oii;piiportunity for. social -.and economic success? ,

? How are wealth and inconie distributed 'in.'the United States? What determines thispattern?

?; Whai are the.origins'ofsocial stratificationin 'America?

? much mobility do Arnerita&citizerisactually have?

After exploring some of these questions atthe start of the unit, teacher and students maywant to study the history of social class in theUnited States, perhaps focusing on differentregions and different time periods, and exploringchanges in the social class structure over time, as

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well as changing government policy and role onsocial welfare. Many of the following works maybe helpful:Harrington, Michael. (1960). The Other America.Harrington, Michael. (1984). The New American Poverty.Lundberg, F. (1968). The Rich and the Super Rich.Phillips, Kevin. (1992). The Politics of Rich and Poor

in America.

Piven and Cloward. (1977). Poor People's Movements.

Rose, Stephen. (1992). Social Stratification in theUnited States.

Ryan, William. (1971). Blaming the Victim.Terkel, Studs. (1970). Hard Times: An Oral History

of the Great Depression in America.

Wasserman, Harvey. (1989). Harvey Wassermans Historyof the United States.

Gender and Sexualityin American Life

Sex is still the great taboo in schools. Despitethe increased mentioning of women at differentpoints in the chronological story of America, weseldom study gender, sexuality, or human rela-tionships in depth. We need to. Another of thedangerous myths promoted in schools is thatwith the women's rights movement of the 1960sand beyond, we have achieved gender equity.In a unit on gender and sexuality, teacher andstudents may want to explore some of the follow-ing questions:

? To what extent have we achieved gender-equity?

? How can we assure gender equity? What-specific policies should we pursue? Shouldour nation and schools promote: feminism?

3- What role has sexuality played in Americanlife? What role should sexuality play in ourlives?

? How should we address heterosexism andhomophobia in school and society?

? What are the origins of gender inequalityin the United States?

? -How has the role of gender in our liveschanged over time? How might we bestexplain the changing roles of womenand men?

After examining some of these questions, youwill probably want to study several in depth overtime, especially the changing role of women inAmerican society. Several of the followingsources may prove helpful:

Faludi, Susan. (1991). Backlash: The Undeclared WarAgainst American Women.

Flexner, Eleanor. (1975).A Century of Struggle.Friedan, Betty (1963). The Feminine Mystique.Gilligan, Carol. (1982). In a Different Voice.

Millen, Kate. (1969). Sexual Politics.Nelson, Jack. (1972). Teens and Sexuality.

Sadker and Sadker. (1994). Failing at Fairness:How American Schools Cheat Girls.

Zinn, Howard. (1981).A People's History of theUnited States.

Labor and BusinessThe history of America is the history of busi-

ness; therefore, the critical history of Americais the history of labor, the study of the effortsof common people to gain dignity and rights ina society which has valued dollars over people.Perhaps the central myth in capitalist America,one which undergirds a continuing reverence forlargely unchecked economic power, is the notionthat "what's good for business is good forAmerica." The corollary to this myth is thatlabor organizers are viewed as "agitators," fre-quently as mobsters or crooks, and sometimes asun-American advocates of an "alien" ideology,socialism, communism, or anarchism. Much ofthe history of labor is underexposed in the typi-cal U. S. History course. Dramatic events such asthe Ludlow Massacre and the Seattle GeneralStrike receive little or no attention. Some of thecentral questions that teachers and studentscould be investigating may include:

? What are:the-rights of labor? How havethese rights evolved over time?

? What role 'should government play in pro-tecting:and advocating the rights of labor?

7 What is; the proper role of government inregulating business?

7 How and;why:has the role of governmentin theeCoriomy changed over time?

Several of the following sources may be help-ful in exploring the history of these issues inAmerican life.Bigelow, W. and S. Diamond. (1988). The Power in Our

Hands: A Curriculum on Workers in the U S.

Foner, Phillip. (1947-1964).A History of the LaborMovements in the United States.

Greene, Laura. (1992). Child Labor Then and Now.Public Issues Series. The New Deal.Public Issues Series. The Progressive Era.

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Public Issues Series. The Railroad Era.Public Issues Series. The Rise of Organized Labor.

Josephson, Matthew. (1962). The Robber Barons.Thompson, E. P (1963). The Making of the English

Working Class.

Sinclair, Upton. (1906). The Jungle.Wasserman, Harvey. (1989). Harvey Wassermans

History of the United States.

Yellen, Samuel. (1974). American Labor Struggles.

Zinn, Howard. (1980).A Peoples History .the United States.

Industry, Technology, andHuman Survival

More than at any previous time in human his-tory, we are witnessing the combined effects oftechnology and human greed on the planet, onspecies of life, on the very air we breathe. Our cur-rent ecological crisis is a direct and undesirableconsequence of the forces of progress, technology,and industrialization. Continuing issues include:

? What actions, policies and lifestylesshould we choose in order to protectthe environment?

? What role should government play inregulating and directing technologicaldevelopment and growth?

? What are the origins of our post-industrialeconomy?

The following sources may be helpful inexploring the history and current status of thistopic:Brown, Lester. (Annual). State of the World

Public Issues Series. Science and Technology.

Toffier, Alvin. (1980). The Third Wave.

Mumford, Lewis. (1961). The City in History.Landes, David. (1969). The Unbound Prometheus.Thompson, E. P (1963). The Making of the English

Working Class.

Wasserman, Harvey. (1989). Harvey Wasserman's Historyof the United States.

Empire and American LifeWe are living in the heart of the American

empire. While many Americans may refuse torecognize this fact, due to the ideology of spread-ing democracy and freedom, our nation is at pre-sent, the dominant imperial power on earth, cul-turally, economically, and militarily.

In studying this topic, the entire history ofAmerican diplomacy would be relevant.However, it may be most helpful to focus on one

? How should we define the term empire?Is the U. S. an imperial power?

? What role should the U. S. play in theworld?

? How has the role of the United States inthe world changed over time?

? What are the origins of American global-ism? Empire?

or two interpretations and to examine a few casesin depth while giving some attention to the spanof time. The Spanish American war and Vietnammay be especially important because of theirimpact on a changing U. S. role in the world. Thefollowing sources would be especially helpful:American Friends Service Committee. (1991) The Sun

Never Sets: Confronting the Network of Foreign U S.

Military Bases.

Remarque, E. (1929). All Quiet on the Western Front.Foreign Policy Association. (Annual). Great Decisions.Keen, Sam. (1988). Faces of the Enemy: Reflections on

the Hostile Imagination.Schell, Jonathan. (1982). The Fate of the Earth.Williams, W. A. (1959). The Tragedy of American

Diplomacy.

Williams, W. A. (1980). Empire as a Way of Life.

Power in AmericaAmericans are alternately suspicious of the

power elite, and skeptical of the ideological orien-tation of anyone who raises the notion of somegroups having more power than others. Pluralistsargue that interest groups strike bargains to deter-mine decisions in the general interest. This argu-ment perpetuates the myth of a democratic powerstructure in which constituents are representedfairly in decision-making. The myth ignores thesilencing of entire groups of people too tired orotherwise disenfranchised to impact decisions oreven vote. Case studies of groups who have chal-lenged the power structure and of times in whichgovernmental authority has been challengedwould be meaningful.

Some of the key continuing questions include:

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( .Y. 411.T WnP oAgWheri; under what condition s; should °citezens challenge legally constituted authority?By what means?

Some of the following readings will be helpfulAlinsky, Saul. (1946). Reveille for Radicals.

Beard, Charles. (1921). An Economic Interpretation of theConstitution of the United States.

Domhoff, G. William. (1983). Who Rules America Now?Issac, Katherine. (1992). Civics for Democracy: A Journey

for Teachers and Students.

Machiavelli. (1897). The Prince. (translation).Markovits, A. (1988). The Politics of Scandal.

Mills, C. Wright. (1956). The Power Elite.Parenti, Michael. (1974). Democracy for the Few.

Piven and Cloward. (1988). Why Americans Don't Vote.

Public Issues Series. American Revolution.

Public Issues Series. The Civil War.

Power and KnowledgeThe study of power and knowledge might

begin with the media or with schools. A goodplace to start may be the U. S. History textbookwhich is already present in the classroom. Thecentral myth to be explored is the pervasive notionthat knowledge, and schools, are neutral. Nothingcould be further from the truth. Knowledge hashistorically been used to manipulate opinion andvoting, through propaganda and political cam-paigning and through schooling, in both thehidden and overt curriculum. Sometimes, knowl-edge has served dangerous purposes, such as thecategorization of people into mental groupings, orthe girding of myth in American life that supportslittle or no social change. Some of the continuingquestions which might be posed:

? Who controls the knowledge we gainthrough the media? In schools?

? Who benefits? In whose interest doesthe knowledge structure operate?

? What determines the content of schoolcurricula and textbooks?

? How has the role of knowledge changedover time?

? What are the political and social implica-tions of the technological revolutions whichhave transformed the use of knowledge?

The following sources may be helpful:

Harris, J. A. (1930). The Measurement of Man.Fitzgerald, Francis. (1979). America RevisedFoucault, Michel. (1980). Power/Knowledge.Kozol, Jonathan. (1991). Savage Inequalities.Lee, Maritn and Solomon, Norman. (1991). Unreliable

Sources: A Guide to Detecting Bias in News Media.

Noble, William. (1990). Bookbanning in America.Oakes, Jeannie. (1985). Keeping Track How Schools

Structure Inequality.

Parenti, Michael. (1986). Inventing Reality: The Politicsof the Mass Media.

Ideology, Social Theory,and Reform

A culminating unit of study for all courses inhistory might focus on the reflective examinationof competing ideologies and social theories by in-depth examination of current ideological possi-bilities, ranging from extreme left to extremeright, and a similar in-depth study of reformmovements in American history. Socialism,Populism, and Progressivism might serve as agood starting point. Perhaps the most debilitat-ing myth is that of the American Ideology, themyth of freedom. The corollary to that myth isthe notion that certain "other" ideologies areun-American and must be suppressed, or at best,grudgingly tolerated. Religious freedom posessimilar issues.

The study of ideology, social theory, andreform might include exploration of some of thefollowing questions:

? What is the American ideology?? Are there ideologies that should be labeled

unAmerican?? What are the ideological orientations

salient to American life?? What is the proper relationship between

religion and government?? What impact have reform movements

had in American history?? What can we learn from the history

of reform?? What reforms should we support?? When, if ever, is violence justified in

pursuing a cause?

The following sources may be helpful:Bellamy, Edward. (1988). Looking BackwardBirnbaum, Norman. (1988). The Radical Renewal.Dolbeare, Kenneth and Patricia. (1976).American

Ideologies

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BEST COPY AVAILABLE

Ginger, Ray. (1949). The Bending Cross: A Biography of

Eugene V Debs.

Gitlin, Todd. (1987). The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of

Rage.

Goodwyn. (1978). The Populist Moment.Harrington, Michael. (1968). Socialism.Marx and Engels. (1848). The Communist Manifesto.Public Issues Series. The Progressive Era.Zinn, Howard. (1980). A People's History of the

United States.

Education for Social ActionA social action/service learning component is

a profound need, and one that is receivingincreased endorsement from mainstream educa-tors (Boyer, 1981; Newmann, 1975). One of ourgreat failings is not to imbue students with asense of community needs, a reality of whichI have become painfully aware while collectingsignatures on a petition for health care reform.Americans tend to be concerned about theirindividual situations, and to vote and act accord-ingly. This tendency is natural, but it is also anindication that civic education is failing to awak-en people to the interests of the community overthe interest of self Service learning might takeplace in a separate course, or, better yet, it mightbegin early on and become a part of all educa-tional endeavors.

In conclusion, a critical approach to theteaching of history deserves consideration by allteachers because of the potential it offers forenlivening the curriculum, because of its poten-tial for inspiring dreams of social justice, andbecause of the attitude toward learning which itpromotes, a critical and inquiring stance in whichassumptions are questioned and points-of-vieware challenged. As I have illustrated, a criticalapproach may take a variety of pedagogicalforms, depending on teacher and student prefer-ence, readiness, or institutional context. Regard-less of course organization or teacher ideology,I believe that most teachers will find infusion ofcritical perspectives challenging and beneficial inpromoting student interest, critical analysis, andthoughtful citizenship.

ReferencesApple, M. W. Ideology and Curriculum. London:

Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1979.Beard, C. A. "Written History as an Act of Faith."

American Historical Review 39 (1934): 219-229.

Boyer, Ernest R. Higher Learning in the Nation's Service.Washington, DC: Carnegie Foundation for theAdvancement of Teaching, 1981.

Cherryholmes, C. "Critical Research and Social StudiesEducation." In Shaver, James P., ed. Handbook ofResearch on Social Studies Teaching and Learning.

New York Macmillan, 1991.Dewey, John. The Schools and Society. Chicago:

University of Chicago Press, 1899.Evans, Ronald W. "Utopian Visions and Mainstream

Practice: A Review Essay on Curriculum for Utopia:Social Reconstructionism and Critical Pedagogy in the

Postmodern Era, by William B. Stanley." Theory andResearch in Social Education,21 (1993):161-173.

Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed New York

Continuum, 1970.Gagnon, Paul. Historical Literacy: The Case for History in

American Education. New York Macmillan, 1989.Giroux, Henry. Border Crossings. London: Routledge,1992.

Goodlad, John. A Place Called School: Prospects for the

Future. New York McGraw-Hill, 1984.Hunt, Maurice P. and Metcalf, Lawrence E. Teaching

High School Social Studies: Problems in Reflective

Thinking and Social Understanding. New YorkHarper & Row, 1955 & 1968.

Kammen, Michael. "The Historian's Vocation andthe State of the Discipline in the United States."In Kammen, Michael, ed. The Past Before Us.Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1980.

Newmann, Fred M. Education for Citizen Action:Challenge for Secondary Curriculum. Berkeley, CA:

McCutchan, 1975.Oliver, Donald and Shaver, James P. Teaching Public Issues

in the High School Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1966.Shaver, J. P., Davis, 0. L., and Helburn, S. W.

"The Status of Social Studies Education:Impressions From Three NSF Studies."Social Education 43 (1979): 150-153.

Stanley, William B. Curriculum for Utopia: SocialReconstructionism and Critical Pedagogy in the

Postmodern Era. Albany, NY: State University ofNew York Press, 1993.

Zinn, Howard. The Politics of History. Boston: BeaconPress, 1970.

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WOISSbq Rici rd E. cross

LD HISTORY ANDES-CENTERED INSTRUCTION

Elements of World History are commonlytaught in grades six and seven and ingrades nine and ten. The most frequentplacement of a single year offering is in thetenth year of high school. Numerous sur-veys and studies have revealed this offering

characterized by pupils as the least interesting ofall of their curricular experiences in social studiesand history classes. In spite of this longtimecomplaint, few school districts have moved to theone most logical change, making World Historya two-year course. This reluctance is understand-able for such an extension of the subject wouldrequire controversial adjustments in a school pro-gram and social studies curricula already over-crowded with competing subjects, all claimingtheir import as a necessity in the general educa-tion of future citizens.

Nevertheless teachers and schools haveexperimented with a number of variations to tryand satisfy students as well as instructors who areunhappy with the futile expectations of ade-quately treating World History in a single yearsurvey course.

One of these approaches, as suggested above,is to organize a two-year integrated offeringwhich includes key elements of World Geographyand/or World Cultural Regions with history.Such a course, however, may not materiallyincrease conventional history content; indeed, itmay reduce it. But such an arrangement, whethertreated in a basic regional organization or achronological one, can reduce the mass of super-ficial historical names, dates, and events whichtypically bore students and are claimed by them tobe unimportant. Shallow reviews can be avoidedin two-year offerings that integrate the subjectmatter into selected longer or deeper exposuresthat provide for the inclusion of more motivation-

al, human, and learnable blocks of content.Indeed, by this blending of depth and breadth,such courses come closer to representing the trueprinciple of the social studies.

Nevertheless, in our present age of interna-tional intercommunications and contacts withtheir multi-cultural emphases, a truly globalWorld History course becomes more impossiblethan ever. In the past, in attempting to meet theproblem of too much content, so-called WorldHistory courses have frequently featuredWestern Civilization with, for example, limitedcoverage of the Asiatic peoples and minimalattention to much of Africa and Latin America.Today, however, curriculum planners and teach-ers must meet an increased challenge to westernmyopia. The growing demand for increasedattention to overlooked portions of the humanexperience must be met. There follow with briefexplanations and examples a number of attemptsat redesigning conventional World Historyofferings that have been and are being tried inschools throughout the nation.

Probably the most frequent variation is acourse of selected studies in depth. Sometimescalled postholing, this organization is basedon thorough examinations of key eras such as:"The Greco-Roman Age," "The Renaissance,"and "Nineteenth-Century Issues." A variation ofthis patchwork approach selects certain nations orperiods of their development for extended studysuch as "India's Struggle for Democracy," "TheEmergence of Germany," or "Modern Japan."

Treating particular areas or cultures is anoth-er approach of selectivity. Often these coursesmay be designated as World Regions and arecentered on a geographical organization. Alsoknown as World Studies courses, these offeringsare characterized by enrichment from other dis-

ciplines in the social sciences as well as from thearts and the sciences. The geographically orient-ed area studies courses may be labeled "LatinAmerica," "The Middle East Since 1914,""China" or "Western Europe." Similar titles maybe found for the balanced emphases in the cul-turally highlighted courses which may treata variety of subportions, including attention toeconomics, government, family life, and religion.The approach to these classes may employ aflashback organization. The teacher begins aunit with initial study of the current conditionscharacterizing an area or a group of people.Questions are raised as to how and why theseconditions exist. In attempting to help studentsfind the answers the teacher then moves back toan appropriate beginning point or event in thepast and then progresses chronologically towardthe present.

For some teachers, a preferred adjustment isto merely treat the modern time-periods ofWorld History. Typically such organizationbegins with a study of events occurring since theRenaissance or the 1500s with a few looks back-ward if necessary in explaining some develop-ment. This avoidance of the ancient and earlyhistory of countries still leaves large gaps to betreated if the course is a truly global one. Coursesmay be labeled as those identified above forkey era depth studies: "1588 and FutureHistory," "The Revolutions of 1776 and 1789,""The Impact of Paper and the Printing Press," or"The Steam Engine, the Automobile, and theAirplane." In the minds of numerous, more tra-ditional instructors, such segmental and some-what limited courses are unsatisfactory.

Other educators prefer a topical or thematicorganization for World History. Again sucharrangements reflect necessary selectivity.The subjects are usually treated chronologically.Conventional examples of such offerings maybe entitled: "War and Peace," "How We HaveGoverned," "Living Religions," or "InternationalConnections and Cooperation." Somewhatmore unconventional themes or topics may beentitled: "The World of the Family," "CitiesThrough Time," "The Artistic Imagination," or"Inventions That Changed the World." Teacherspreferring these and other variations of the usualchronological survey find the lack of relatedtextbooks a basic deterrent to course implemen-tation. In recent years, however, following thepaperback revolution, publishers have produced

numerous specialized booklets, soft bound, andrelatively short, that can take the place of theusual large, inclusive, hardbound texts whichstudents frequently refuse to carry out of theirlockers or home. The growing variety of theseminitexts provides satisfactory references forbasic information that teachers of these courseswant their students to share in common.

Several further alternatives in World Historyhave been suggested, but these have beenemployed by but a few mentors of a creative orexperimental nature. Included are offerings witha biographical emphasis that treat seminal ideasand great personalities in history. Such a humanemphasis can be very intriguing and valuable forstudents but with such organization even withthe help of timelines, supplemental reading, andvisual media, large portions of history fall by thewayside. Titles may include: "Charlemagne andHis Times," "Mohammed and His Heritage,""Pioneers of the Industrial Revolution," or"Marx and Lenin."

A further World History variation is basedupon studying the evolution of prime concepts andgeneralizations that characterize the human expe-rience. The following "universals," some beingsimilar to topical units, have been suggested asimportant across most societies: "Power,""Revolution," "Families," "Freedom," "Justice," and"Survival." Concepts, of course, can be featured innumerous other units that are entitled: "The Riseof Christianity," "Prime Architectural Innova-tions," or "Popular Culture versus High Culture."It is recognized that good teaching depends uponconcept building, no matter what the form ofcourse organization is. Where possible, at the con-clusion of a study unit students need to be encour-aged to draw generalizations from the conceptsthey have been learning and dealing with.

Case studies have been suggested as a meansof increased involvement of students in the con-tent of history and as a means for the sharpeningof analytical skills. Such studies can be insertedor used from time to time in World Historyclasses that are organized in other ways and someteachers have gone as far as developing an entirecourse built upon case studies. Few materials areavailable commercially in this area and mostmentors have had to develop representative casesby themselves, sometimes working in teams.Case studies often tend to emphasize anthropo-logical, social, psychological, and economicaspects of history. Typical titles include: "The

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Reformation in Great Britain," "Communism inthe USSR," "A Village in India," or "The Evolu-tion of the Nigerian State."

A prime suggestion for meeting the aims andcontent of World History rests in a focus ona Problem of Humanity, Moral Dilemmas, orContinuing Issues Organization. Two majorvariations of this inquiry approach exist. One isbuilt upon the advanced selection of longtimehuman problems, such as: "Education for All,""Struggles for Independence," or "Attaining Indi-vidual Rights." Ideally such topics are stated in aquestion format so as to emphasize the problem-resolution elements of a unit. Representative titlesinclude: "How and to What Extent Has SlaveryBeen Ended?," "Why Do People and NationsFight?," "How Have the Roles of WomenChanged Since 1900?" or "Why Do SomeNations Try to Restrict Population Growth andOthers Promote It?" The more radical form ofsuch organization includes teacher/pupil selectionand planning of the study of such problems, manyof which are of vital contemporary significance.Samples of this category include: "Can DividedIreland Be Unified," "What Are the Essentialsof a Lasting Palestinian-Israeli Agreement," or"How Can International Drug Traffic BeControlled?" Naturally, in such studies the exten-sive historical backgrounds and interrelationshipsof the problem are explored in depth.

Viewing history as inquiry into the foregoingissues helps materially to avoid the storytelling,purely narrative approach that so commonlycharacterizes World History classes. It can alsoresult in the valuable understanding for learnersthat any one explanation or conclusion about anhistorical event is open to question and usuallycannot be accepted as the full and accurate truth.The two major reasons for historical study are1. to develop knowledge of why we are, where weare, as we are on this planet, and 2. to introduceand employ the historical method of research asa means to reach understanding of the foregoingelements and aspects of the current human con-dition. With these aims the course will includenecessary instruction in the methods used by his-torians in arriving at answers, past as well as pre-sent. History never repeats itself but accurateunderstanding of former developments in studiessuch as "What Caused the Cold War?" or"International Factors in Creating the GreatDepression" can clearly link past to presentissues. The historian's concern about the reliabil-

ity and validity of primary as well as secondarysources and accounts remains at the heart of hissearch for truth as best it can be ascertained.Thus the students' involvement in historicalexamination promotes the development of criti-cal thinking skills, now frequently cited as amajor need to be addressed in social education.Growth in these competencies is naturally at thecenter of inquiry into issues, past and present.

This writer recognizes the numerous condi-tions that tend to prevent any of the foregoingvariations in designing World History courses inthe schools. However, much is lost if any one ofthese options is selected in name only and is pre-sented in merely a traditional expository manner.Much of the motivation and encouragement ofpupil involvement and resulting learning doesnot occur in this long discredited manner ofinstruction.

The problems approach is highly dependentupon the review of source documents, and theconsideration of opposing views held in differentgroups or societies by, for example, citizens, politi-cians, religious leaders, or business people. Theanalyses of conflicting,positions held by authors,economists, labor unions, land owners, media per-sonnel, and historians provide the critical contentof problem-centered World History classes.In probing these elements, pupil introduction toand continuing experience with the steps andphases of problem resolution as described in othersections of this volume are essential.

Additionally, there is much value in a prob-lems approach for history, in that it utilizes all ofthe social sciences and related disciplines inbringing more complete knowledge to learners.Indeed, it is one of the best means of attainingtrue social studies in the schools. What shouldalso be understood is that an issue-orientedapproach can be employed with or within any ofthe curricular options discussed previously forthe presentation of World History. It is a key tothe attainment of learning goals in topical, area,and depth studies, as well as in chronologicallyarranged courses. Any of these approaches isenriched or motivated through the inquiry,analyses, and concluding activities that mark theissue-oriented approach. I repeat, the true goalsof the social education of young citizens are wellattained in the application of the qualities ofcritical thinking in decision making in any orga-nization for World History. The truism holds;the means determine the attainment of our ends.

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Part Five: Igeograpt-4Introduction bo Josiah Boo

p 6hohal Idles a-

hat is issues-centered social studies edu-cation? How should it be taught? RonaldEvans' (1992) discussion of issues-cen-tered social studies programs involvesinterdisciplinary and discipline-basededucation. It uses reflective teaching

and probing inquiry to utilize relevant evidence.It evaluates a variety of competing options andvalues for the best possible answers. In dealingwith issues-centered perspectives, one shouldconsider flexible approaches to knowledge, con-cepts, and attitudes and use inquiry as a methodof instruction and discussion. Issues-centeredapproaches have a practical application to humansocial problems, for implicit in the issues-cen-tered education is the idea of self-improvementin the quality of human lives through social prob-lem-solving techniques. The issues-centeredapproach to teaching social studies is still anevolving strategy that has not enjoyed the con-sensus approval in the social studies educationfield (Evans 1992).

Issues-centered social studies education isconsistent with democratic values and ideals.It provides open discourse and careful examina-tion of the issues under discussion, thereby pro-viding new views on problems, encouragingdivergent thinking, and valuing different per-spectives (Pang & Park 1992: 108). Hence,issues-centered approaches to problem-solvingencourage students to have open-minded viewsin seeking solutions to human problems. It couldbe said that issues-centered education has acrosscultural base to it. As the values of societychange from one generation to another, theissues-centered approach allows students toquestion the actions and practices of previousgenerations. An issues-centered curriculum doesnot have a preset solution to problems. Rather, it

gl E

allows students to develop analytical skills inarticulating the issues and raising pertinentquestions in problem-posing and problem-solv-ing. In a multicultural and pluralistic society, it isvery important to provide the young with theskills and attitudes necessary for communicatingwith each another. Issues-centered approachesto social studies programs should include experi-ences that provide for the study of people, places,and environments (NCSS 1994).

This section of the handbook deals withissues-centered approaches to teaching geogra-phy, the environment, and global issues. Thecommon theme that ties together the threesubject areas is the global linkage that transcendsall national boundaries.

In their article "Issues-Centered Approachesto Teaching Geography Courses," David Hill andSalvatore J. Natoli offer insightful suggestions forhow the classroom teacher should handle geogra-phy. They suggest that teachers should view andanalyze an issue according to its spatial context;that events and issues occur at different placeson the earth's surface, and that physical and cul-tural characteristics of these spaces or places addsignificant dimensions to the issues and events.The many issues affecting the planet likewisehave a tremendous impact on people's dailylives. Many of these issues and events are causedby humans, and others are caused by natural phe-nomena. In dealing with some of these issues, theauthors suggest raising important questionswith students on how to solve environmentalproblems such as pollution, global conflicts, con-servation, waste management, deforestation, haz-ards, infant and child mortality, drought andfamine, poverty, race relations, and human rights.

Hill and Natoli point out that students mustlearn to respect other people and other lands as

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well as environmental unity and natural diversity.Both teachers and materials should avoid the useof sexist and racist language and challengestereotypes, as well as discourage ethnocentricityand attempts to find simple solutions. Geogra-phic skills help people make rational politicaldecisions on issues pertaining to problems of air,water and land pollution. Local problems affect-ing residential areas and places where industriesand schools are located also require skillful use ofgeographic information. Whether the issuesinvolve the evaluation of foreign affairs and inter-national foreign policy or local zoning and landuse, geographic skills enable us to collect andanalyze information, come to an informed con-clusion, and make rational decisions for a courseof action (Geography Standards 1994).

In the chapter on environmental issues, StephenC. Fleury and Adam Sheldon portray issues-centered social studies as a solid affirmation of theenvironmentalist belief that humans are shaped bytheir environment. In Dynamic Sociology (1993),Lester Ward introduces the concept that humanscan bring about a better society by shaping theirenvironment. Teaching students about environ-mental concerns in a way that will liberate ratherthan crystallize their thinking is therefore crucial.

Like geography, the environmental problemscreated by human beings extend beyond nation-al boundaries and cut across disciplines. In orderto deal with environmental problems moreeffectively, we need to consider two differentquestions that always concern environmentalpolicy: "What will be the societal result of thispolicy?" and "Why are some policies acted onand others are not?" In working with students, itis necessary to understand the problem of theenvironment as it relates to and affects policy.Find out who is attempting to influence policyand what specific environmental conditionswould be affected by the proposed policy. Havestudents come up with their own ways ofapproaching the proposed policy. Using newspa-pers and publications from environmentalgroups like the Sierra Club may prove helpful.

Teachers might stress the idea of sustainabledevelopment and the necessity to better manageenvironmental resources in order to preserve ourcurrent quality of life. Accordingly, "placing envi-ronmental concerns within the political andmoral framework of the U.S. makes every envi-ronmental problem the concern of all citizens."Using an issues-centered approach to teaching

environmental problems provides for active dis-cussion about environmentalism and conserva-tion. Students can discuss environmentalism asit pertains to the growth of natural rights, theexpansion of ethics, the uses and misuses of scien-tific knowledge, the economic basis of social poli-cies, and the practice of social issue analysis.

In their chapter on issues-centered globaleducation, M. Merryfield and C. White providea framework for dealing with global issues in asocial studies curriculum. Collaboration withother globally-oriented teachers is encouraged, aswell as input from the students to select globalcritical issues that fit into a holistic frameworkfor global education. The issues identified shouldchallenge and concern citizens of today andtomorrow as well as affect the lives of people inmany parts of the world.

Merryfield and White stress the nature ofboth the interdisciplinary and discipline-basedcontent of issues-centered global education. Therealities of global interdependence requireunderstanding the increasingly important anddiverse global connections among world soci-eties (NCSS 1994). Instructional strategies uti-lizing inquiry, reflection, and simulationprovide important insight into handling thematerials on global issues-centered education.Issues-centered global education is as much away of teaching as it is a focus on certain issues(Merryfield and White 1995). The teacher is afacilitator of inquiry who questions, challenges,probes, creates opportunity for extensive studentresearch, and develops methods for authenticassessment and evaluation of student learning(Shapiro and Merryfield 1995).

The issues-centered global approach to educa-tion is pragmatic as it reflects the reality in theclassroom. Students are inspired and motivated tolearn when the teacher connects social studiescontent to students' interests and needs. The flex-ibility of the issues-centered global perspectiveapproach to education furthermore allows for fre-quent updating, so that the content may remainrecent, fresh, stimulating, and exciting, therebyappealing to a variety of different students.

The Curriculum Standards for Social Studiesand the National Geography Standards speakdirectly to the issue of global connection andinterdependence in both cultural and economicrelationships. A financial crisis in Mexico greatlyimpacted the United States, Brazil, Germany,Malaysia, Canada, and other parts of the world.

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An earthquake in Kobe had significant ramifica-tions for financial markets in the United States,Britain, and Singapore. We are not insulatedfrom the vagaries of global changes. We shouldtherefore train our students not to view the issuesand problems of the world in isolation, but to seeinstead that what is done in one part of the worldaffects everyone's environment and economy.World issues become our issues.

ReferencesCoplin, W. D. and M. K. O'Leary. Basic Policy Studies

Skills, Crotonon-Hudson: Policy Associates, 1981.Evans, Ronald. 'What Do We Mean by IssueCentered

Social Studies Education," The Social Student,May/June 1992, pp. 93-94.

Geography Education Standards Project. Geography for Life:

National Geography Standards, Washington, D.C., 1994.

Klein, R "Expressions of Interest in EnvironmentalIssues by U.S. Secondary Geography Students,"International Research in Geographical and

Environment Education 2, no. 2 (1993) 108-12.National Council for the Social Studies. Expectations of

Excellence: Curriculum Standards for Social Studies,

Washington, D.C., 1994.Pang, Valerie 0. and Cynthia Park "Issue Centered

Approaches to Multicultural Education in the MiddleGrades," The Social Studies, May/June 1992, p. 108.

Shapiro, Steve and Merry Merryfield. "A Case Study ofUnit Planning in the Context of School Reform,"TeachingAbout International Conflict and Peace, edited

by Merry Menyfield and Richard Remy. Albany,NY: SUNY Press, 1995.

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ISS ES-CENTERED APPROACHESTO EACHING GEOGRAPHY COURSESbn H. vid Hill and Salvatore J. Natoli

ifferent scientists study the same events forentirely different purposes. A sociologistmay regard an environmental issue as anevent or experience that will affect,change, or seriously modify the nature andstructure of social institutions. A physicist

might pose a question on whether a given energysource is sufficient to sustain a population or theindustrial and service infrastructure of a commu-nity Environmental issues seem to concern manyscientists, but each seems only to have a particu-lar knowledge or point of view about any givenissue. For example, if the issue is water pollution,political scientists will ponder the nature of thepolitical processes and institutions best able tocope with the problem. At the same time, biolo-gists will examine organisms affected by thepollutants, attempt to trace the sources of thepollutants, and examine the changes these maybring about in the ecosystem.

Geography andIssues-Oriented Education

Geographers view and analyze issues accord-ing to spatial contexts. Such issues, and theevents that trigger them, occur at specific placeson the Earth's surface. The physical and culturalcharacteristics of these spaces or places add a sig-nificant dimension to the issue or the event. Inexamining the spatial characteristics of waterpollution, the geographer begins the analysis bystudying the pollution's locational characteristicsand their implications. The geographer then for-mulates a series of questions about the spread ofthe pollutants from point or diffuse sources,their distribution over space and time, and therelative severity of their effects on various areas.Issues to geographers are problems that haveboth direct and indirect relationships to places

and that affect people in these and other places.Because most modern geographical research

has become the study of the spatial aspects ofissues, geographers have rich resource materialsupon which they can draw to develop and orga-nize curricula and courses related to significantsocial, economic, and political issues. Consider,for example, the issues involved in the titles ofsome recent doctoral dissertations in geography,chosen randomly from the Guide to Departmentsof Geography/AAG Handbook and the Directory ofGeographers, 1994-1995: "China's Potential forInternational Industrial Growth," "The Role ofFourth World Nations and SynchronousGeopolitical Factors in the Breakdown of States,""Ties to People, Bonds to Place: The UrbanGeography of Low-Income Women's SurvivalStrategies," "A Geographical Analysis of Povertyin the United States, 1980-1990," "Race, Class,and Health: Health Behavior and Hypertensionin Black and White Americans," "The Terms ofTrade: The Restructuring of Canadian Societyunder the Canada-United States Free TradeAgreement," "Peer Educators' Geographic RangeEffect: An Analysis of an AIDS InterventionProgram in the Dominican Republic," "TheEmergence and Dynamics of Citizen Participa-tion in Wyoming Energy Conflicts in the 1970's,""An Examination of Factors Influencing Citizen'sActions in Response to Superfund Site CleaningDecisions in the State of Texas," and "Under-standing the Effects of Small Hospital Closureson Rural Communities."

Master's-level research has become even morepractical, or applied, than doctoral-level work ingeography. 1 At the elementary, middle, and highschool levels, developing geography programsaround the study of issues is a path toward engag-ing students' interest in the learning of geography.

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According to the Guidelines for GeographicEducation: Elementary and Secondary Schools (JointCommittee 1984) and the National GeographyStandards, 1994 Geography for Life (1994), theirrationales for applying geographic knowledgeconstitute a clear mandate for learning geographytoday and in the future. The Guidelines forGeographic Education state

Every day we make important decisionsabout our well-being and every day we usegeographic knowledge or encounter impor-tant geographical influences in our lives.We interpret complicated geographic fac-tors to determine the places where wechoose to livephysical factors... [and]cultural factors... all have a bearing on ourquality of life. ...Geographic knowledge iscrucial in dealing with issues such as nucleararmament buildups, siting nuclear powerplants, safe disposal of radioactive and toxicchemicals, segregation, race, age, or eco-nomic status, discrimination against womenand minorities, and inequitable distributionof economic resources in and among devel-oped and developing countries. Carefulgeographic scrutiny can benefit the analysisof problems of environmental degradation,rational use of ocean resources, the resettle-ment of refugees from war-torn nations,and political repression and terrorism. (p.1)

Two imperatives drove the creation of theNational Geography Standards: "First, geo-graphic understanding must be set into a processof lifelong learning, thus requiring a connectionbetween school and adult life" (1994, 26). Aninseparable and seamless bond connects formaleducational contextspreschool, K through 12,and collegeand adult life. "Second, geograph-ic understanding must be set into life contexts:school, family, society, and occupation" (ibid.,26). Educated citizens must make thoughtfuldecisions about their world while living amongso-called patterns of normalcy made significantonly by their regular anomalies. Rather thanattempt to develop a theoretical system forexplaining an issues-centered geography, wemight develop this discussion by highlightingfour contemporary projects in geographic educa-tion that embody such systems.

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The High School Geography Project(HSGP)

In the 1960's, the High School GeographyProject pioneered issues-centered (problem-solv-ing) instruction in geography using inquirylearning techniques (Table 1). Although notplanned as an issues-oriented project, its teachingand learning strategies as well as the media, pro-cedures, skill development, desired attitudes, andrelated optional assignments allowed experiencedgeography teachers to translate and transformthe program's activities into issue-orientedlessons or modules (Patton et al. 1970). The basicconservatism of U. S. education and the difficul-ties in introducing educational innovations in theschools, especially in the form of non-text mate-rials, constrained the HSGP and similar projectsin the new social studies (see the section belowon GIGI and the politics of textbook adoption).

Geography in an Urban Age (High SchoolGeography Project 1970) reflected the majorsocial, cultural, and economic issues of the1960's, including the following: the persistentand continuing problems of urbanization andthe growth and spread of cities, with their atten-dant social and economic consequences; patternsand issues of manufacturing (planned versusmarketing economies) and agriculture (plan-ning, risk taking, mechanization, and decisionmaking); cultural diffusion and cultural influ-ences influencing land use (the implied loss ofnational and cultural distinctiveness and identi-ties); issues in political geography (boundarydisputes, gerrymandering, regional politics andgovernance); and habitat and resources (naturalhazards, resources management, and wastemanagement). There was also a regional unit onJapan concerning problems associated with thetension between retaining traditional values inthe midst of rapid modernization.

One of the High School Geography Projectactivities, "School Districts for Millersburg," asksstudents to read background material onMillersburg's growth that includes the racial andethnic background of the population anddescribes some of the physical characteristicsof this hypothetical city. The teacher then asksstudents to design school districts for six newhigh schools, each which will serve an equalnumber of studentsabout 2,000. Class mem-bers must infer the student population from pop-ulation density maps and their general knowl-edge about where families with teen-age children

?

Table 1: HSGP Activities by Unit.

UNIT

1

geographyof cities

2manufacturing

andagriculture

3cultural

geography

4political

geography

5habitat

6Japan

INTEGRAL ACTIVITIES RELATED OPTIONAL ACTIVITES

1. City Location and Growth A Tale of Three Cities2. New Orleans Bruges3. City Shape and Structure Time-Distance4. Portsville Migrants to the City5. Sizes and Spacing of Cities Megalopolis6. Cities with Special Functions Local Community Study

Local Shopping Survey

1. Geographic Patterns ofManufacturing

2. The Importance of Manufacturing3. Location of the Metfab Company4. Graphic Examples of Industrial

Location5. Hunger6. The Agricultural Realm7. Interviews with Farmers8. The Game of Farming9. Enough Food for the World

Locating Metfab in the U.S.S.R.Two Case Studies

1. Different Ideas about Cattle2. A Lesson from Sports3. Expansion of Islam4. Canada: A Regional Question5. Cultural Change: A Trend Toward

Uniformity

Games Illustrating the Spread of IdeasSupplementary ReadingThe Long Road

1. Section2. One Man, One Vote3. School Districts for Millersburg4. London5. Point Roberts

1. Habitat and Man2. Two Rivers3. Wachung4. Rutile and the Beach5. Flood Hazards6. Water Balance7. Waste Management

1. Introduction to Japan2. Traditional Japan3. Japan Today4. The Modernization of Japan

Source: High School Geography Project, Geography in an Urban Age (New York: Macmillan, 1970). The 1976 revisededition included several changes in activities and strategies to reflect new attitudes toward the environment andresources. Other information was also updated where available.

169

179

Table 2: Global Geography Examples of Issues for Study

South Asia: Why Are Forests Disappearing?Features population growth and shrinking forests. In a family in Nepal, deforestation forces a father and sonto travel far in search of firewood. The deforestation has caused soil erosion and flooding. Other examplesfrom Kenya, West Germany, and Canada also show causes and remedies.

Southeast Asia: How Does Change Occur?Focuses on modern techniques that help farmers produce food for a growing population. A change agentand village headman urge a Filipino farmer to try new ways of growing rice. Provides examples of howagents in India, Guatemala, and the United States also help farmers adopt new ideas.

Japan: Why Does Trade Occur?Discusses Japan's import needs, especially for energy, and their effects on an urban Japanese family. Examineshow Japan imports natural resources to manufacture goods for export. Other examples include how WestGermany, Kenya, and the United States also depend on trade.

Soviet Union: Why Does Planning Occur?Visits with two Siberian families show how the government owns and manages vast resources, dividing thecountry into different economic planning regions with ties between them for sharing goods. Cities' differ-ent planning strategies in the Netherlands, the United States, and North Africa are presented.

East Asia: Why Do People Live Where They Do?A view of population distribution in China introduces a family on a cooperative farm in Beijing, where soilsare fertile, water plentiful, and the growing season adequate for the crops they grow. In contrast, westernChina is presented, which has poor soil, scarce water, and fewer people. Population distribution in Egypt,Japan, and Canada are also discussed.

Australia/New Zealand: Why Is The World Shrinking?An Australian wholesale florist and his children receive a telephone order from the United States for flow-ers, and they are able to get them to the United States the next day. Examples from Mexico, Canada, andthe United States show that places move together or apart as the time-distance between them changes.

North Africa/Southwest Asia: What Are The Consequences Of Change?Background on desert, dams, and irrigation canals shows how the life of a three-generation Tunisian fami-ly has changed, as a newly drilled well replaces the yearly flooding needed for irrigation. Technology has alsobrought new costs and problems. Comparisons include Australia and the United States.

Africa South of the Sahara: How Do People Use Their Environment?A brief historical overview introduces a familytoday and 15 years agoon Mt. Marsabit, Kenya, and howthey have used scarce water resources in four distinct ways over many years. The ideas are presented ofgroups in Japan, France, and the United States about how to use the environment.

Central and South America: Why Do People Move?This overview of population movement introduces a Central American family that settles in the city toescape the hardships of their former rural life and to provide schooling and medical care for their children.The program also highlights reasons for moving in Malaysia, the Netherlands, and the United States.

Europe: How Do People Deal With Natural Hazards?A map of the population distribution of Europe introduces a family living in the southwestern part of theNetherlands. The mother recalls a devastating flood that occurred when she was young. One focus is onDutch engineers and how they control flooding with dikes, dunes, and dams. How people in Bangladesh,Japan, and Canada deal with water-related natural hazards is also presented.

170

1 LS 0

Table 3: BGGS-GIGI: Module Inquiry Focus and Case Study Locations

PRIMARY CASESTUDY REGION

South Asia

SoutheastAsia

Japan

FormerSoviet Union

East Asia

AustraliaNew Zealand

Pacific

North AfricaSouthwest Asia

Africa-Southof the Sahara

Latin America

Europe

MODULE, FOCUS, AND LOCATIONS

POPULATION AND RESOURCES

How does world population growth affectresource availability?Bangladesh, Haiti

RELIGIOUS CONFLICT

Where do religious differences contribute to conflict?Kashmir, Northern Ireland, United States

'fiVtin

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

How can the world achieve sustainable agriculture?Malaysia, Cameroon, Western United States

HUMAN RIGHTSHow is freedom of movement a basic human right?

Cambodia, Cuba, United States,i,tiltillill

NATURAL HAZARDS

How do the effects of natural hazards varyfrom place to place?

Japan, Bangladesh, United States

GLOBAL ECONOMY

How does the global economy affect people and places?Japan, Colombia, United States

ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION

What are the effects of severeenvironmental area pollution?

Aral Sea, Madagascar, United States

DIVERSITY AND NATIONALISMHow do nations cope with cultural diversity?

Commonwealth of Independent States, Brazil,United States, Canada

POLITICAL CHANGE

How does political change affect people and places?Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore,

China, Canada

POPULATION GROWTHHow is population growth to be managed?

China, United States

1

GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE

What happens as global warming occurs?Australia, New Zealand, Developing Countries,

United States, Gulf Coast

INTERDEPENDENCE

What are the causes and effects ofglobal interdependence?

Australia, Falkland Islands, United States

HUNGER

Why are people hungry?Sudan, India, Canada

OIL AND SOCIETYHow have oil riches changed nations?

Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, United States (Alaska)

,,,,t

INFANT AND CHILD MORTALITYWhy do so many children suffer from poor health?

Central Africa, United States

BUILDING NEW NATIONSHow are nation-states built?

Nigeria, South Africa, Kurdish

DEVELOPMENT

How does development affect people and places?Amazonia, Eastern Europe,

United States (Tennessee Valley)

URBAN GROWTHWhat are the causes and effects of

rapid urbanization and urban growth?Mexico, United States

WASTE MANAGEMENTWhy is waste management both a local

and global concern?Western Europe, Japan, United States

REGIONAL INTEGRATIONWhat are the advantages and barriers to

regional integration?Europe, United States, Mexico, Canada

Source: Britannica Global Geography System (Chicago: Britannica/Encyclopedia Britannica Educational Corporation, 1994).

live. The number of students in Millersburg isbut one consideration in the problem of district-ing. The materials also include a series of mapscontaining information on family income, popu-lation density, the ethnic composition of the pop-ulation, industrial and commercial zones, trans-portation facilities, and the locations of elemen-tary schools. Students will grapple with suchissues as integration, the potential for segrega-tion, busing, and future growth. The key questionis, What sorts of information should you thinkabout before you start to draw the district bound-aries on your map? Students can work individu-ally or in groups and must be able to defend theirboundaries based on the data they have accumu-lated and analyzed, and to communicate theirarguments via prose, statistical tables, graphics,recordings, transparencies, or film strips.

Global GeographyThe Agency for Instructional Technology

(AIT), in cooperation with geography and socialstudies consultants, developed a video series,Global Geography, that brought the study ofworld problems into the classrooms and home-towns of middle-level students. Each of the self-contained programs examines an issue or prob-lem in a different region of the world and ana-lyzes each according to fundamental themes ingeography. Each of the ten case studies featuresone region of the world (Europe, for example),and dramatizes an issue (e.g., how people dealwith natural hazards), and its importance to atopic (e.g., population distribution and floodhazards as well as their relationship to the pres-ence or absence of flood mitigation measuressuch as dikes, dunes, and dams).

Students and teachers examine the problemaccording to a variety of geographical conceptsand ideas derived from the five fundamentalthemes of geography ( Joint Committee 1984),such as human-environmental interactions, themovement of waters, patterns of population dis-tribution, and the social and economic effects offlooding. Students also study and examineexamples from other parts of the world experi-encing similar hazards, such as Bangladesh,Japan, and Canada. Among the other issueshighlighted in this project (in addition to floodsin southwestern Netherlands) are deforestationin Nepal, Kenya, West Germany, and Canada;modern agricultural techniques in producingfood for growing populations in Southeast Asia

(the Philippines), India, Guatemala, and theUnited States; import needs in Japan, WestGermany, Kenya, and the United States; govern-ment ownership and management of resourcesin the former Soviet Union, the Netherlands, theUnited States, and North Africa; populationdistribution and problems in China, Egypt,Japan, and Canada; the shrinking world withexamples from Australia, New Zealand, theUnited States, Mexico, and Canada; the conse-quences of technological changes in agriculturein North Africa, Southwest Asia, Australia, andthe United States; water resource scarcity inAfrica South of the Sahara, Kenya, Japan,France, and the United States; and rural-to-urban migration in Central America, Malaysia,the Netherlands, and the United States. Each ofthe case studies includes not only comparison-contrasts with different regions of the world butalso makes reference to the United States andhow studying global issues in a local context canprovide students with a global perspective.

The Influence of the GeographyEducation Standards Projects

The emerging geography standards escalatedexpectations for strong instructional materials.The National Geography Standards, 1994:Geography for Life are rigorous because by man-date they are to be internationally competitive inthat they identify what the United States needsand wants from a systematic program in geogra-phy, namely what geography students shouldknow and be able to do in order to be active andresponsible citizens in an internationally com-petitive environment. The study of geographyhas the added practical value of viewing life sit-uations through a spatial prism. For our purpos-es, we can define "life situations" as "issues."

The Basis for the Development ofIssue-Based Materials

Three elements are necessary for developingstrong, issue-based geography materials and allemphasize the role of the teacher: teacher train-ing in the use of good materials, the widespreadadoption of these materials, and their use bywell-trained teachers. Issues-based educationfaces some formidable barriers because of thepresent heavy reliance of teachers on textbooksfor content in geography, which is fact-oriented,rather than process oriented (see the earlier sec-tion of the High School Geography Project).

172

182

Textbook adoption processes are dominated byhidebound procedures and by form and contentprescriptions that discourage innovation; schoolbudgets traditionally favor textbook purchaseover supplementary materials (Association ofAmerican Geographers and American Sociolo-gical Association 1974). Since colleges and uni-versities have been untangling themselves fromthe stranglehold of textbooks as a result of elec-tronic technology and print-to-order coursepackets (Cox 1993), perhaps the school marketwill follow.

The GIGI ProjectThe Geographic Inquiry into Global Issues

(GIGI) Project was funded by a grant from theNational Science Foundation and directed byA. David Hill. Since 1990, the project hasengaged Hill and a large group of writers, editors,and consultants in developing materials designedto help meet the goals of responsible citizenship,modern geographic knowledge, and critical andreflective thinking. The project has created chal-lenging, useful, and relevant issues-orientedmaterials for motivating students to acquiregeographic knowledge, skills, and perspectives.

GIGI ComponentsGIGI developed two issues-based modules

for each of ten world regions (Table 3).3 Eachmodule is free-standing and independent.Teachers can use all twenty modules (in anydesired order), a small subset, or a single module.Each module requires ten to fifteen class periodsto complete. Modules typically begin with abroad introduction to a global issue, after whicha primary case study, lasting three to four lessons,examines the issue in a selected part of the world.Next, usually in a single lesson, students explorea comparative case in a different regionmuchlike the Agency for Instructional Technologyserieswhich gives a variant of the issue and asense of its global nature. Because NorthAmerica is not one of the world regions in themodules, these variant issues bring the issue closeto home wherever possible. Each study containsa print modulea teacher's guide that includesoverhead transparencies, handouts, activitiesmasters, student databooks, laminated mini-atlasmaps plus multimedia packages that includevideodiscs, a CD-ROM and user's manual, andbarcode guides. The student databooks containquestions and data in a variety of textual and

1

graphic forms. Students will not understand thedatabook by itself, and so will derive meaningfrom the text only with the teacher's guidance.The teacher's guide serves two purposes: to sug-gest teaching procedures and to help the teacherwith content and process.

All of GIGI's modules ask students to inter-pret data critically in order to find supportingevidence for generalizations. For example, thereligious conflict module, Lesson 3 ("What isthe nature of religious conflict in Kashmir?") hasa section entitled "What events and conditionscontributed to religious conflicts in Kashmir?"The teacher's guide suggests that the class bedivided into three cooperative learning groups toexamine data on Kashmir's colonial history, itsresources, and religious discrimination. Each ofthese three parts contains associated questionsfor the students. Three tables on religious dis-crimination present data on Kashmir's popula-tion, religious groups, and the state and centralgovernments' employment of religious groups.Students are asked whether these data supportthe Kashmiri Muslims' claims of religious dis-crimination and how the data might be relatedto Kashmiri Muslims' desires for independencefrom India. In addition, students are asked tospeculate about what other information theywould need to test the discrimination claims ofKashmiri Muslims. The teacher's guide empha-sizes the importance of critically examining awide range of data as well as the scientific pos-tulate that although scientific generalizationsmay be supported, they are usually difficult toprove absolutely.

The Role of QuestionsGIGI is based on Frances Slater's inquiry

planning model (1993), which is designed tomerge the inquiry process with the conclusions theusers draw. Directly linking questions and answershelps achieve an intellectually satisfying under-standing of a problem. According to Slater (1993)

the progression from questions to general-izations is crucial as a structure for develop-ing meaning and understanding. Meaningand understanding define the process oftying little factual knots of information intobigger knots so that geography begins tomake sense, not as a heap of isolated facts butas a network of ideas and procedures. (p. 60)

When we ask students to learn conclusionswithout learning how to draw them, we perpetu-ate the tradition of an education centered upongetting answers and bereft of higher thinking.

GIGI strives for a balance between conver-gent and divergent questions. Too much conver-gent thinking inhibits critical thinking and leadsto little else than rote memorization, whereas toomuch divergent questioning may discouragelearning about facts and substance. We thinkteachers should supplement the questions inGIGI by asking students additional convergentand divergent questions, as cited in Slater (1993).The questions should

demand recallencourage classification and orderingencourage the use of data to draw conclusionsencourage awareness of the limitations ofdata or of the evaluation of data, and

encourage awareness of the processes ofreasoning used

Issues-Based Geographic InquiryTo foster active learning and higher-level

thinking, GIGI stresses issues-based geographicinquiry. Inquiry generally is the scientificmethod, and operates like good detective work.Inquiry poses questions and proposes answersabout the world, and it tests its answers with realdata. To achieve GIGI's goals, students examinespecific global issues by pursuing answers to geo-graphic questions (Table 4). Students answerthese questions by analyzing and evaluating datausing geographic methods and skills. Working asgeographers helps lead students to useful knowl-edge, skills, and perspectives. In a free inquirysituation, students work independently, but withGIGI posing questions and providing data,teachers and students explore the issues togeth-er. GIGI materials may be the least teacher-proof geography materials available: they willnot work as designed without good teachersguiding students in their use.

Inquiry-based learning should teach studentshabits of critical and reflective thinking. Theissues posed should stimulate multiple andopposing positions, and students should usefacts to support different points of view. Thiscontext is necessary for developing habits thatfoster critical perspectives. Interpretation is thekey activity. With GIGI, teachers can fosterthese habits and abilities as they help studentsinterpret data guided by hypotheses, proposi-

tions, arguments, and questions. Teachers shouldchallenge students to raise new questions, ques-tion the quality of their data, seek more usefuldata, articulate relationships they perceive,explain their processes of investigation, anddefend their positions and solutions. Unlessteachers provide this kind of guidance, GIGIwill not meet its goal of teaching responsiblecitizenship, modern geographic knowledge, andcritical and reflective thinking.

Local ExamplesGIGI is a world geography, but it demon-

strates that issues can work on various geograph-ic levelspersonal, local, regional, national, andglobal. Younger students may often be unable toidentify with faraway places, so teachers and stu-dents may develop the ability to relate globalissues under investigation to examples in theirlocal community. Every community has issueswith fundamental geographic dimensions.

If possible, teachers should make every effortto take students into the field so they can seephenomena that relate to their classroom stud-ies. Klein's (1993) field observations duringGIGI's national classroom trials convinced theGIGI staff to urge teachers using the materialsto make frequent references to their local exam-ples and to encourage their students, wheneverpossible, to make local field studies related to theissues. Teachers also need to help students findrelevance by identifying GIGI issues with realpeople, especially at the students' grade level, andby making connections to everyday life in asmany ways as possible. Teachers eventually willgain familiarity with teaching local examples,especially as they begin to develop field exercis-es, put a human face on these materials, andadapt the GIGI modules to fit their particularmodules. The more the trial teachers workedwith the GIGI materials, the more comfortablethey became with them.

Fostering PerspectivesThe seriousness and complexity of the global

issues studied in GIGI can overwhelm studentsunless teachers foster optimistic and constructiveperspectives toward issues. Teachers need to bal-ance the pessimistic connotations of most issueswith examples of success and prospects for posi-tive change. Teachers must also help studentsdevelop efficacy, an attitude that their actions canhave some effect in solving world problems

174 E), 4

Issues

Methods of Processing0.- Geographic Questions- --`Exercise

Data

Outcomes

of Skills

Source: After Frances Slater, Learning through Geography (London: Heinemann, 1993).

(Klein 1993). The maxim, "Think globally, actlocally" addresses the need to help students orga-nize and take constructive actions that addresslocal variants of the issues they are studying. Asstudent involvement in local projects enriches theeducational experience, it can also produce anoptimism about their abilities to be a force forchange in their community and in their world.GIGI includes lessons and activities focusing onpossibilities for positive action.

Fostering certain perspectives, it is hoped,will promote student optimism and constructivebehavior. Geography students must learn torespect other people and other lands as well asunderstand and appreciate unity and naturaldiversity. They must develop a healthy skepti-cism toward overly simplified explanations aboutenvironmental degradation, human responses tohazards, and serious problems that might resultfrom simple human oversights. Optimistic andconstructive perspectives should accompany thedevelopment of empathy, tolerance, and open-mindedness. Teachers and materials must avoidsexist and racist language, discourage ethnocen-tricity, and challenge stereotypes, simple solu-tions, and basic assumptions.

As with any materials or innovations in edu-cation, teacher preparation components at both

REST COPY AVAILABLE

the pre- and in-service levels are absolutelyessential. This preparation must include content,process, and a support system that will be readyto provide assistance when teachers need help.Materials such as those developed by GIGI, AIT,the HSGP and ARGUS (see below) challengeteachers who have had little formal education ingeography. Because learning the content of geog-raphy depends upon the exercise of higher-levelthinking, teachers without such content cannotassist students in speculating, hypothesizing, ana-lyzing, interpreting, and evaluatingall neces-sary and significant skills and aptitudes for suc-cessful issues-oriented teaching and learning.

ARGUSActivities and Readings in the Geography of

the United States (ARGUS) is a new projectfunded by the National Science Foundation andsponsored by the Association of AmericanGeographers (AAG).4 ARGUS is not designedas an issues-oriented project, but its activities andtwenty-six case studies are replete with issues thathave a strong geographical focus. The case studiesare regional and topical, and a list of a few indi-cates the strength of the issues implicit in them:Native Americans, colonies, waves of immigra-tion, Old Dixie, South Florida, suburbia, the Rust

175

Belt, megalopolis, the Delta and ghetto, Hawaii,and a livable country. ARGUS helps to promotea strong series of conceptual contexts for geo-graphical ideas and phenomena, interdisciplinaryuses, and cross-curricular suggestions. Theteacher's guide includes an array of pedagogicaltechniques, flexible in depth and procedure.Other materials include the case studies, back-ground readings, handout activities, transparencymasters, and an optional set of slides.

1 Geographic research since World War II hasincreasingly emphasized applied topics. With thedevelopment and refinement of GeographicInformation Systems (GIS) technologies, the increasehas become exponential. See Natoli (1986, 28-42).

2 The following material relies heavily on a portionof Hill 1994.

3 The GIGI Project has been published as theBritannica Global Geography System (BG GS)(Chicago: Britannica/Encyclopedia BritannicaEducational Corporation, 1994).

4 Information on and sample materials aboutARGUS are available from the AAG, 1710 SixteenthStreet, N. W., Washington, D. C. 20009.

ReferencesAgency for Instructional Technology (AIT). Global

Geography, a video series. Bloomington, IN: AIT, 1987.

Activities and Readings in the Geography of the UnitedStates. Washington, D.C.: Association of AmericanGeographers, 1994.

Cox, M. "Technology Threatens to Shatter the World ofCollege Textbooks," Wall Street Journal, June 1, 1993

Dunn, James M. "The Translation of Geography forthe Development of Precollegiate InstructionalMaterials." Ph.D. dissertation, Department ofGeography, University of Colorado at Boulder, 1993.

Guide to Programs of Geography in the United States and

Canada, 1994-1995/AAG Handbook and Directory ofGeographers. Washington, D.C.: Association ofAmerican Geographers, 1994.

High School Geography Project. Geography in an UrbanAge. New York Macmillan, 1970.

Hill, A. David. "Geography Instructional Materials forStandards-Based Education. " Journal of Geography 93(January/February 1994): 14-20.

Joint Committee on Geographic Education, NationalCouncil for Geographic Education (NCGE) andAssociation of American Geographers (AAG)Guidelines for Geographic Education: Elementary and

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Secondary School. Washington, D.C. and Macomb,IL: AAG and NCGE, 1984.

Klein, Phil. "Expressions of Interest in EnvironmentalIssues by U.S. Secondary Geography Students."In International Research in Geographical and

Environmental Education, 2, no. 2 (1993): 108-112.National Geography Standards, 1994: Geography for Life.

Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Researchand Exploration, 1994.

Natoli, Salvatore J. "The Evolving Nature ofGeography." In Social Studies and the Social Sciences:

A Fifty-Year Perspective, edited by Stanley Wronskiand Donald H. Bragaw. Washington, D.C.: NationalCouncil for the Social Studies, 1986.

Patton, Donald J. et al., eds. From Geographic Discipline

to Inquiring Student: Final Report on the High School

Geography Project. Washington, D.C.: Association ofAmerican Geographers, 1970.

Slater, Frances. Learning through Geography.

London: Heinemann, 1993.

1 8 6

ES-CENTERED GLOBAL EDUCATIONM. Merrofield and Connie S. White

"Education must teach us that all our actionson this planet, physical or social, are irrevo-cably interlocked"

Ernest BoyerFormer U.S. Commissioner of Education

"Before you finish eating breakfast thismorning, you've depended on more than halfthe world. This is the way our universe isstructured ...We aren't going to have peaceon earth until we recognize this basic fact ofthe interrelated structure of all reality."

Martin Luther King, Jr.U.S. clergyman and civil rights leader

The salvation of mankind lies only in mak-ing everything the concern of all."

Alexander SolzhenitsynSoviet writer and dissident

emember the first time you saw a photo-ngraph of Earth taken from outer space?There it was, a blue, green, and brownplanet wrapped in wisps of white and gray.Although you might have looked for yourcity or country, you found only natural

borders, separating water and landforms. Formany of us the photograph provided our firstglobal perspective, a new view of our planet as afinite system, as one interconnected world.

If we examine our lives, our community, andour world from a global perspective, issuesemerge that are critical to our planet's survivaland the quality of life of the earth's peoples.Some of the issuessuch as the disposal ofnuclear wastes or gene therapy are as new asthe advanced technologies that brought us thatphotograph of Earth. Othersreligious conflict,hunger, questions of human rightswere evident

in ancient civilizations and have become globalissues as science and technology have acceleratedthe interconnectedness of the world's peoples.In today's world global issues are a part of thedaily lives of American students, teachers, andtheir communities.

In this chapter we share our conceptualiza-tion of issues-centered global education andsuggest a framework for infusing a global issues-centered approach into social studies courses.Our ideas come from our experiences as socialstudies teachers, our study and research of exem-plary practice in global education, and our col-laboration with other globally oriented teachersin The Ohio State University's ProfessionalDevelopment School Network in Social Studiesand Global Education.

What Is Issues-CenteredGlobal Education?

Teachers who teach issues-centered globaleducation generally make a number of distinctdecisions that deal with content selection, theprocess of teaching and learning, and the devel-opment of a global perspective. These decisionsare interrelated and fit into a holistic frameworkfor issues-centered global education.

Teachers Select Critical Global IssuesTeachers select issues that 1. challenge and

concern citizens today and tomorrow, 2. affectthe lives of persons in many parts of the world,and 3. cannot be adequately understood oraddressed solely in a local or national context(Anderson 1979; Becker 1979; Merryfield 1991).Many of these issues have no immediate solu-tions, and the questions they raise may not haveone "correct" answer. Issues that are significant tothe world and of concern to students are often

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controversial and value-laden. In our research wehave found that teachers choose issues that theybelieve are significant and related to the interestsand needs of their students (Merryfield 1993b,1994). Teachers often find that several issuesoverlap and must be examined together. We haveincluded in the figure on page 179 many of theglobal issues relevant to social studies education.In studying issues such as population growth,teachers acknowledge the complex interrelation-ships among such issues by bringing in contentrelated to environmental impact, implicationsfor human services such as health and education,political agendas of minorities or those who wieldpower, economic issues such as the generation ofjobs, transportation, or housing, and cultural issuessuch as family planning and religious values.

Teachers Integrate Contentacross the Disciplines.

The content of issues-centered global educa-tion is both discipline-based (mainly from histo-ry and the social sciences) and interdisciplinary(integrating appropriate knowledge and skillsfrom other disciplines). Substantive content isthe basic building block of issues-centered globaleducation (Merryfield and Remy 1995).Although most of the concepts, factual informa-tion, and generalizations are from history, politi-cal science, geography, economics, sociology,anthropology, and psychology, at times socialstudies teachers include content from the sci-ences, mathematics, literature, music, and art thatis essential for understanding complex issuesfrom multiple perspectives (Kniep 1986; Levak,Merryfield, and Wilson 1993).

Teachers Provide a Historical Context.Issues are examined within a historical

context. That is, students understand relevant his-torical antecedents and how the issue has evolvedover time and space. Part of a historical context isan appreciation of the process of globalization(Anderson 1979; Dunn 1988; Kniep 1986). Howhas an issue that was once only a concern withinone culture or region become a global issue thattouches the lives of people around the world andcan no longer be effectively the burden of a singlenation? Every global issue has historical roots thatprovide important insights and perspectives on itsevolution, diffusion, and significance in the worldtoday. Historians such as Ross Dunn (1988), PaulKennedy (1987, 1993), Kevin Reilly (1989) and

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L.S. Stravrianos (1991a, 1991b) consciously makesuch connections.

Teachers Plan Inquiry and Reflection.The process of instruction includes in-depth

inquiry, open-ended questioning, examination ofvalues, reflective practice, as well as the decisionmaking and controversy that are authentic to cit-izenship in a democracy (Angell and Avery 1992;Lamy 1990). Issues-centered global education isas much a way of teaching as it is a focus on cer-tain issues. Here, the teacher is a facilitator ofinquiry who questions, challenges, and probescreates experiences for extensive student researchand develops authentic assessment and evaluationof student learning. (See Shapiro and Merryfield[1995] for a case study of the development andteaching of such a social studies unit.)

Teachers Build Skills inPerspectives Consciousness.

Students develop skills in perspectives con-sciousness, the ability to recognize, examine,evaluate, and appreciate multiple perspectiveson a particular issue or concern (Case 1993;Hanvey 1975). Issues-centered global educationbegins with the assumption that people may per-ceive an issue or event in different ways basedupon their beliefs, experiences, and values.Students become adept at putting themselves inother people's shoes, at seeking out and appreci-ating views that are different from their own.They learn to appreciate the complexity andconflicts that come with the knowledge ofmultiple perspectives.

Teachers Focus on the Development ofa Global Perspective.

Students develop a global perspectivetheability to (1) see the world as an interconnectedsystem, (2) recognize how they are connected,how they affect and are affected by peoplesaround the world, and (3) appreciate the multiplerealities and worldviews as perceived by individ-uals and cultures as they deal with their intercon-nected world (Alger and Harf 1986; Anderson1979; Hanvey 1975). As in perspectives con-sciousness, students are able to go beyond theirown culture or nationality and examine issuesglobally and through the beliefs and experiencesof people different from themselves.

These characteristics are central to instruc-tional decision making in issues-centered global

Figure 1: Global Issues in the Social Studies

Political Issuespeace and security issues, human rights,

self-determination, peacekeeping issues, politi-cal stability, use of the military, weapons sales,use of space, arms control, military aid, torture,terrorism

Cultural/Social Issuesethnic conflict, intermarriage, ethnicity,

cultural transmission, language policies, reli-gious issues, education and literacy issues,health issues, population issues, global move-ment of people, refugees, immigration

Development Issuespoverty, sustainable agriculture, capital

investment, population, food and hunger,women in development, technology transfer,issues related to dependency

Economic Issuesorganization of labor, the global assembly

line, non-tariff barriers, free trade, debt issuesrelated to distribution (e.g., of wealth, technol-ogy and information, food, resources,weapons), urbanization issues, transportationand communication issues

Environmental Issuespollution, use of natural resources, land use,

extinction of species/biodiversity, disposal oftoxic wastes, energy issues, conservation,renewable versus nonrenewable energy, globalmovement of people, refugees, immigration

interrelationships across issues and problems

education. They are complex, yet complementary.Here is an illustration of how they can cometogether in a world geography course. In theirstudy of the movement of peoples, students raiseseveral issues related to immigration policies,the reasons why people leave their home coun-tries, and the effects that new immigrants haveupon their new countries. "Why would anyoneleave the country they have grown up in?""Aren't immigrants taking away jobs from peoplewho have grown up here?" "Aren't most immi-grants poor?"

The teacher helps the students frame theirquestions in such a way that they will comparecontemporary immigration in different worldareas (Why do people choose to immigrate fromRussia, Eritrea, Vietnam, or Mexico?); examineimmigration in their own lives and that of theircommunity (How have our families and ourcommunity been affected by our own immigra-tion and that of others?); search out the historicalbackground of global immigration (How hasglobal immigration changed in the past 200years? What are commonalities that many immi-grants have shared over time?); and make con-

nections with such issues as human rights andenvironmental decay (Why are immigrants treat-ed differently by some countries or communities?What are relationships between deforestationand the movement of people?). Taking into con-sideration particular interests and mandatedcourse content, the students work in small groupsto develop profiles of immigration to their com-munity (or city, state, or nation) and to present-day Germany, Hong Kong, Kenya, and Australia.To identify immigration issues, different perspec-tives, and the concerns of immigrants and othercitizens, students use their media center, a locallibrary's on-line data base (e.g., CompuServe),literature about immigrant experiences, and com-munity resource people (e.g., immigrants andpeople knowledgeable about immigration inother countries). Their profiles include historicaltime lines, immigration statistics, data fromprimary sources (e.g., autobiographies, originaldocuments) and secondary sources (i.e., views ofhistorians, sociologists, etc.) that help explainpast and current immigration issues from multi-ple perspectives. After the students present theirprofiles to the class, the teacher asks probing

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questions so students examine stereotypes andconventional assumptions about immigrants.Students then draw inferences and redefineissues about immigration globally and withintheir community

A culminating activity might be a simulationof a meeting of the European Community todevelop a new immigration policy. Taking on dif-ferent European perspectives, the students usetheir knowledge on immigration to address theissues facing those countries as thousands ofEastern Europeans and citizens of the formerSoviet Union seek to enter their countries.The students' research and reflection results inconsiderable understanding of immigrationworldwide, as well as realization that some issuesare very difficult to resolve, there are variouslegitimate points of view, and the issues aredynamic, changing over time.

Such issues-centered global education mustbe planned within an overall framework so thatthe teacher builds a knowledge base, inquiry andperspective-taking skills, and a global perspectiveover the entire course. In the following section,we suggest such a framework.

An Issues-CenteredGlobal Education Framework

In our experience and research, we have foundthat teachers approach issues-centered globaleducation with four central objectives and use avariety of strategies to infuse issues-centeredglobal education into conventional social studies.The teachers we work with commonly accept thestrategies presented below as good practice.

1. Build a Foundationat the Beginning of the Course.It is necessary for the teacher to make a

conscious effort to establish a common visionof issues-centered global education at the begin-ning of a course. We cannot assume that studentshave already developed perspective conscious-ness, reflected upon their connections with otherparts of the world, or engaged in open-endedinquiry. One to three weeks of inquiry and skill-building to develop a global perspective provide ajumping-off point for issues-centered instructionin any social studies course.Develop perspectives consciousness throughexamination of conflicting perspectives on his-torical or contemporary events.

Example: Students are introduced to the

concept of perspectives consciousness by firstexamining different views on an event in theirschool or community. Then the students areasked to analyze the perspective of a histoficalaccount. Without the students knowing it, halfare given a firsthand account of Africans meet-ing Europeans on the Congo River from aEuropean explorer's point of view, and the otherhalf read an African chief's account. As they dis-cuss their analyses in the class, it becomes appar-ent that something is wrong, that they don'thave the same information. Each half then isgiven the other reading, and the teacher leads adiscussion of the implications of multiple view-points on the study of history and contemporaryevents (Merryfield and Timbo 1983).

Develop global perspectives by examininginformation across local, national, regional,and global data bases.

Example: Students are first asked to brain-storm global problems or challenges that theybelieve to be today's most critical world issues.With this list on the board, the students are toldthat the room now represents the total land areaof the earth and that they are its total population.Since the current population of the world isapproximately five billion, the teacher can calcu-late the number of people each student representsby dividing the population by the number of stu-dents. Providing a global pie chart can help stu-dents visualize the U.S. "slice" of a little morethan four percent of the world's peoples. As thir-ty-six percent of the class stands to represent thepeople in the world suffering from malnutrition,the teacher leads a brief discussion of globalissues those people would value and the globalconsequences of that statistic. Then forty percentof the class stands to represent people who can-not read or write, while two percent (perhaps noteven one student) represents those who have acollege education.

Students are then grouped as sub-SaharanAfrica (eight percent of the class), the MiddleEast and North Africa (five percent), Europe(ten percent), the former Soviet Union (six per-cent), North America (six percent), LatinAmerica (eight percent), and Asia (fifty-six per-cent). Each region is given pretzels or candies toreflect food consumption patterns, gross nationalproduct, use of energy, or other indicators of thedistribution and consumption of global resourcesand wealth. In discussion the teacher questions

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students about global issues that are priorities forthe entire planet as well as those for Europeans,Asians, Africans, North Americans, etc. Theactivity can also focus on the demographics ofworld religions, ethnic or linguistic diversity,environmental issues or others that are of partic-ular interest to students or relevant to course con-tent. The teacher raises significant questions,such as "What patterns do you see in populationand wealth distribution? How do you explainthese patterns? How might a farmer in Nigeria ora textile worker in India explain these patterns?Students then reflect on the implications ofexamining such information and looking atissues from national, regional, multiple, and glob-al perspectives. (The idea for this lesson camefrom Gary Smith [n.d.]. See other instructionalresources on immigration and global distributionat the end of the chapter).

Begin a knowledge base and appreciation oflocal-global interconnectedness and interde-pendence.

Example: Several activities teach studentsabout the ways their lives are connected to thoseof people all over the world. Students can exam-ine a poster from Church World Service,entitled "Before you finish eating breakfast thismorning," that depicts where the goods andservices found in most American homes origi-nate, along with data on the living conditions andwages of the people who produce those goods.For example, they learn that most baseballsand gloves sold in the United States are madein Haiti, where the infant mortality rate is one infive. People making less than 25 cents an hourassemble radios from Taiwan. Ralph Linton's"100 percent American" (1937) provides a simi-lar historical view, and Robert Woyach's "A Dayin the Life of Seymour Someday" (1981) takes usthrough an entire day of global interconnections.Francis Moore Lappe (1971) provides stimulat-ing and controversial alternatives for howAmericans can rethink their roles in the globalconsumption and distribution of food, agricul-tural resources, and technologies. Lessons struc-tured around these readings usually awakeninterest and raise questions about trade, fairness,dependency, and standards of living. Teacherquestioning and debriefing is critical in suchlessons if students are to recognize how theirpersonal choices and decisions affect the lives ofothers around the world. (See Church World

Service listed at the end of the chapter.)Many instructional materials exist to help

students think globally. We recommend AnnualEditions: Global Issues, The State of the Earth Atlas(Seager 1990), World Eagle's maps and monthlyupdates, Worldwatch Institute's annual State ofthe World, and the World Game. Publicationssuch as Opposing Viewpoints and Taking Sidesprovide concise and timely articles on many glob-al issues. All these materials and organizationsare referenced at the end of the chapter.

2. Link Issues to Social Studies Content.How do global issues fit into the already over-

loaded social studies curriculum? The substantiveknowledge of global issues is essential for updat-ing social studies topics for world citizenship.If we look again at the figure on page 179, we cansee many relationships between these issues andK-12 social studies. Young children cannot studytheir community, state, or nation without learn-ing about conflict, cooperation, cultural univer-sals, and diversity. Issues such as the globalassembly line, free trade and protectionism, anddebt and loans are central to an economicscourse. U.S. history could not be taught withoutattention to self-determination, peace and securi-ty issues, immigration, or ethnic conflict. A worldcultures or geography course can be organized byglobal issues so that students deal daily with con-nections across cultures and regions instead ofthe usual "four-weeks-on-Europe-then-three-weeks-on-Asia" sequence that isolates one worldregion from another despite their interconnect-edness. Alan Backler and Robert Hanvey's(1986) Global Geography is an excellent exampleof a globally oriented geography textbook thatconnects world regions and cultures.

An issues-centered global approach enrichesthe social studies by teaching decision makingfrom a global data base instead of a narrower one.We cannot expect adults to deal effectively withglobal complexity if we do not bring up our chil-dren and youth to recognize and take responsi-bility for their place in the world.

Choose global issues as the knowledge base forteaching social studies concepts and skills.

Example: In world cultures or geography,students can begin studying global issues centralto the relationships between humans and theenvironment, such as agriculture, energy, or bio-diversity. We have found that while the issues

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change somewhat from year to year given worldand local events, teachers usually include in theirworld cultures/geography courses inquiry intopopulation growth, hunger, national boundarydisputes, environmental concerns, developmentissues, trade, and human rights. By focusing onthese issues, students learn not only about thefive themes of geography (location, place, move-ment, human-environmental interaction, andregion) but also about the implicit interaction ofthe world's people as they deal with problemscommon everywhere. Parisi and LaRue (1989)is an excellent source for methods and materialsfor issues-centered global education.

Organize courses through an issues-centeredglobal approach.

Example: Government and civics courses canbe structured around current issues thatAmerican citizens face today, such as a unitentitled "Are Minority Rights Protected underMajority Rule?" While students study the struc-ture and function of the U.S. justice system,inquiry is based on issues that are of currentinterest and concern. It soon becomes obvious tostudents that all of the "U.S. issues" are connect-ed to events and concerns in the wider world.They learn that American "domestic" decisions,such as changing the prime interest rate or pass-ing a law to regulate acid rain, have an impact onpeople in other countries. Other countries' deci-sionsthe Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the econom-ic integration of the European Community, orimpoverished Mexicans searching for a betterlifecontinuously affect Americans.

Link social studies content to students' livesthrough global issues.

Example: Jobs and standards of living, thechanging environment, cultural conflicts, andprejudice are issues of vital concern to our nationand to the immediate lives of students and theirfamilies. An issues-centered approach can bridgethe gap between the global conflicts in the worldand real-life concerns and problems in the localcommunity. In each of these areas of concern, stu-dents can be encouraged to study and addressproblems at the local level by thinking globally andacting locally. Through inquiry projects, studentscan explore significant local issues related, forexample, to a controversial development of a newmall on wetlands, the chamber of commerce'swooing of Japanese industry, or hostility over the

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growing population of Indochinese immigrants inan eastside neighborhood. Part of their researchcan be finding out how people in other communi-ties have resolved such issues. Some of those com-munities could be Kyoto, Hong Kong, Berlin, orGaborone. Putting local issues in a global perspec-tive usually reveals a wealth of new insights andalternatives.

3. Plan Authentic andPersonal Experiences.Issues-centered global education is not simply

academic knowledge studied for a test and thenforgotten. It is real-life education that flows intoone's after-school decisions and personal life. Anessential part of global education is firsthandexperience with people of different cultures, reli-gions, ideologies, and worldviews. Such experi-ential education comes from bringing people intothe classroom and students into the communitythrough simulations of cross-cultural events andaction learning (Wilson 1993a, 1993b).

Provide cross-cultural experiences.Example: Students may interact with guests

from other countries or cultures through a panelon multinational corporations or small group dis-cussions with Chinese students from a local uni-versity, for example. As many social studiesteachers move toward authentic assessment,international people and experts become consul-tants to students' research or authentic audiencesfor their exhibitions. One teacher with whom wework brought in South Africans and newRussian immigrants to work with his studentsduring a research project on international conflictresolution (Shapiro and Merryfield 1995).

One of the most exciting new resources forcross-cultural interaction in schools is electroniccommunication. At Linden McKinley HighSchool, teachers use computer technology so theirstudents can "talk" with students in various coun-tries through live computer conferencing and elec-tronic mail. Using a split screen, students fromSwitzerland write about their views of conflicts inBosnia as students in Columbus, Ohio, ask themquestions. Electronic connections create a genuineglobal village. Teachers who have electronic net-works available in their classrooms on a daily basiscan have "global" discussions of historical eventsand contemporary issues. (See information on elec-tronic networks such as PeaceNet, ConflictNet,Econet, and EnviroNet at the end of the chapter.)

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Use simulations and role-playing.Example: Many commercially produced sim-

ulations, such as Starpower, The Road Game, andBaranga, teach students about the fundamentalconflicts from which global issues arise. InStarpower a three-tiered society is createdthrough an unequal apportionment of wealth andpower. Students trade and bargain, and the win-ners of the competition are the participants whoaccumulate the most points (wealth) by the endof the session. As in real life, some groups haveadvantages in resources and strategies and alwaysaccumulate more wealth. The Road Game focuseson the concept of territoriality as teams competeto build roads through each other's land. It helpsstudents recognize how conflicts develop andgrow as groups or nations pursue their own goals.Baranga is a card game in which students fromdifferent "cultures" play an international tradinggame from their own culture's interpretation ofthe rules. As conflicts and accusations of cheatingoccur, students come to appreciate the implica-tions of people interpreting norms of interna-tional exchange in different ways.

BaFa BaFa (the high school version) and RaFaRaFa (middle school) are simulations in whichstudents are divided into two groups and separat-ed to develop two distinct cultures with differentlanguages, customs, and beliefs. After they practicetheir culture, the groups send observers and thenvisitors over to the other group. The new cultureseems rather scary, unfriendly, and, at times,bizarre to most visitors; students find that theyhave a hard time functioning in the other culture.Debriefing usually provides insights into difficul-ties in entering a new culture. (These simulationsare referenced at the end of this chapter underresource organizations: American Forum, Inter-cultural Press, and Simile II.)

4. Plan Time for Reflection.Inquiry-oriented learning and the develop-

ment of a global perspective take time andconcerted thought. Sometimes as teachers we rushfrom activity to presentation to assessment with-out ensuring that our students are internalizingnew ideas, skills, and perspectives. Reflection is asimportant as research in inquiry-based global edu-cation. Teacher questioning in debriefing sessions,journal-keeping, letter-writing, and interviewingare strategies teachers use to help students thinkabout and use new knowledge about their worldand their place in it. Inquiry-based reflection

is critical in the development of perspectivesconsciousness, cross-cultural understanding, and aglobal perspective (Merryfield 1993a).

Help students think about and connect globalissues to problems or concerns in their own lives.

Example: Students often experience intellec-tual and emotional conflict when, on the onehand, they are disturbed by acts of discriminationagainst someone of a particular ethnic group orreligion in Bosnia or Germany, and yet, on theother hand, they see neighbors or friends treatpeople "different from themselves" with resent-ment or discrimination. Open inquiry into prej-udice can address this dissonance. Students carryout such an inquiry project by first analyzingnewspaper articles about local and nationalevents and issues related to housing, jobs, hatecrimes, education, immigration, and ethnic dis-tribution. They work with intergroup attitudequestionnaires and surveys, such as Bogardus's(1959) social distance instrument, to understandthat negative attitudes exist within their ownclass. The students reflect in depth as they recon-ceptualize terms such as racism, prejudice, dis-crimination, ethnic group, ethnicity, minoritygroup, stereotyping, social stratification, andsocial distance. They develop case studies thatanalyze situations representing these concepts.

Then students use their new understandingsto examine Robert Coles's (1967) research aboutthe effects of integration on the relationshipsbetween self-image and prejudice with childrenin the South in the 1960s. They observe the chil-dren's drawings and discuss Dr. Coles's inter-views with the children and their families. Thisintense reflective study of a global issue of con-cern to students exemplifies issues-centeredglobal education.

Use reflection to examine societies' assump-tions, conventional wisdom, and controversialissues.

Example: Terrorism used to be one of those"it-happens-to-people-over-there" global issues.With the bombing of the World Trade Centerand other acts of violence, international terrorismin the United States appears to generate a gutreaction against people of certain religious orethnic backgrounds. To what extent can this reac-tion negate any progress that has been made increating tolerance and reducing prejudice? Oneway to rebut the popular reaction to terrorism is

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to have students place terrorism in the contexts ofU.S. and world history. Americans and othershave used terrorism and other acts of politicalviolence in order to effect change or express frus-trations. Activities such as an examination of "oneman's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter"force students to think about where their assump-tions originate. Other lessons focus on the Sons ofLiberty as "terrorists" from the British politicalpoint of view. Inquiry leads into multiple perspec-tives of other "freedom fighters" around theworld, as well as the acts of the Ku Klux Klan,the Molly Maguires, the Weathermen, the BlackPanthers, and recent "skinhead" and neo-Nazigroups. Students discuss such questions as:When, if ever, are political acts of violence justi-fied? Has the U.S. government ever sanctionedterrorist acts? Was President Reagan's bombing ofLibya or President Clinton's bombing of Iraqterrorism?

Reflection is built into the unit from the ini-tial exploration of the meaning of "terrorism" instudents' journals and their identification ofhypothetical or real examples of terrorist actionsor events that illustrate their definitions. Studentsthen work in research groups to examine the IrishRepublican Army, the Palestinian LiberationOrganization, the Sons of Liberty, the BlackPanthers, the Irgun and Stern Gang, Hezbollah,and the Shining Path. Their reports disclose morereflection on why people around the world com-mit acts of political violence and what can belearned by the consequences of those actions.

ConclusionsIssues-centered global education prepares

young people for their adult decision makingas citizens in a democracy who are inextricablylinked to peoples and issues worldwide. Inmany ways such study is high interest, motivat-ing, and as stimulating to the teacher as to thestudents. The processes of inquiry learning andthe content of global issues do call for specializedknowledge. Most practicing teachers in today'sclassrooms did not receive a global educationthemselves, nor were they taught to teach anissues-centered approach in their preserviceteacher education programs. Extensive in-serviceeducation and professional development can pro-vide an intermediate step in the preparation ofteachers, but ongoing updates and study of glob-al events and historical interpretation are neces-sary. Issues-centered global educators must be

ready to take advantage of that student question"why is there so much violence in our lives?" as ateachable moment where global perspectives canprovide insights into serious issues.

From our perspectives, the rationale for usingan issues-centered global perspective approach toteaching social studies content lies not only inpragmatic and philosophic justifications but alsoin the reality of the classroom. Students must bemotivated to learn, and for some students, thatmotivation must come from teachers' abilities toconnect social studies content to their interestsand felt needs. To the extent that those studentscan be challenged by a problem that affects them,the issues-centered approach provides that moti-vation. Once students see that "their problem" isindeed part of a larger problem that affects peo-ple like themselves in other parts of the world,they begin to think globally.

AcknowledgmentThis chapter is the product of school-univer-

sity collaboration in social studies and globaleducation supported by the College of Educa-tion, The Ohio State University, and ColumbusPublic Schools, Columbus, Ohio.

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The Mershon Center, 1981.Bringing a Global Perspective to American History.

Columbus, OH: The Mershon Center, 1983.

Resource OrganizationsTHE AMERICAN FORUM OF GLOBAL EDUCATION

120 Wall Street, Suite 200New York, NY 10005(212) 742-8232 Fax (212) 742-8752A newsletter, ACCESS, an annual conference on glob-al education, and instructional materials such as TheRoad Game and Smith's Cultural Sight and Insight:Dealing with Diverse Viewpoints and Values.

AMIDEAST

1100 17th Street, NWWashington, DC 20036(202) 785-0022 Fax (202) 822-6563Videos, instructional materials, student and teacherabroad programs, and conferences.

CENTER FOR FOREIGN POLICY DEVELOPMENT

Brown UniversityBox 1948Providence, RI 02912

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(401) 863-3155"Choices in the 21st Century Education Project,"curriculum development, and teacher education.

CENTER FOR TEACHING INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

University of DenverUniversity ParkDenver, CO 80208(303) 871-3106Graduate courses, teacher workshops, and instruction-al materials such as Teaching about Human Rights:Issues of Justice in a Global Age.

CHURCH WORLD SERVICE

PO Box 968Elkhart, IN 46515(219) 264-3102Video loan service and free materials on global issues.

FOREIGN POLICY ASSOCIATION

729 Seventh AvenueNew York, NY 10019(212) 764-4050 Fax (212) 302-6123Scholarly works on foreign policy issues, the annualGreat Decisions book with the Teacher ActivityBook, and teacher in-services.

INTERCULTURAL. PRESS

PO Box 700Yarmouth, ME 04096(207) 846-5168 Fax (207) 846-5181e-mail: intercultural @mcimail.com

Publications on cross-cultural and interculturalunderstanding and interaction such as DevelopingIntercultural Awareness and simulations, such asBaranga and Ecotonos.

MERSHON CENTER

Citizenship Developmentfor a Global Age Program (CDGA)

1501 Neil AvenueThe Ohio State UniversityColumbus, OH 43201(614) 292-1681 Fax (614) 292-2407Instructional development such as Bringing a GlobalPerspective to American History, Bringing a GlobalPerspective to World Geography, World Geographyand National Security, and Approaches to WorldStudies: A Handbook for Curricular Planners.

PEACE CORPS OF THE UNITED STATES

World Wise Schools Program1990 K Street, NW

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Washington, DC 20526(202) 606-3970Program linking Peace Corps volunteers with U.S. schools

(grades 3-12); instructional materials and speakers.

PROJECT ICONS (International Communication andNegotiation Simulations)

Department of Government and Political ScienceRoom 1127ETydings HallUniversity of MarylandCollege Park, MD 20742(301) 405-4172 Fax (301) 314-9690Multisite computer-assisted foreign policy simulationsand professional development programs for teachers.

SIMILE II

218 12th StreetPO Box 90Del Mar, CA 92014Simulations such as Starpower and BaFa BaFa.

THE SOCIAL STUDIES DEVELOPMENT CENTER

2805 E. Tenth StreetBloomington, IN 47405(812) 855-3838Materials on global education such as Lessons from Africa.

SOCIAL SCIENCE EDUCATION CONSORTIUM (SSEC)

3300 Mitchell Lane, Suite 240Boulder, CO 80301-2272(303) 492-8154Teacher in-services, study tours, and instructionalmaterials such as the Public Issues Series: AmericanRevolution, Public Issues Series: Immigration,Global Geography, and A Look at JapaneseCulture through the Family.

STANFORD PROGRAM ON INTERNATIONAL AND

CROSS-CULTURAL EDUCATION (SPICE)

Institute for International StudiesLittlefield Center Room 14CStanford UniversityStanford, CA 94305-5013(415) 723-1114 Fax (415) 723-6784Teacher workshops, summer institutes, study tours,curriculum development, and other publications.

UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED

STATES OF AMERICA

485 Fifth AvenueNew York, NY 10017(212) 697-3232 Fax (212) 682-9185

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Model U.N. program, speakers, publications, andcurriculum development. UNA-USA chapters are inmany cities across the country.

UNITED STATES INSTITUTE OF PEACE (USIP)

1550 M Street, NW, Suite 700Washington, DC 20005(202) 457-1700 Fax (202) 429-6063National Peace Essay Contest, monthly journal,resource library, grants and fellowships for graduatestudents and educators, and teacher workshops.

WORLD EAGLE

111 King StreetLittleton, MA 01460-1527(508) 486-9180 or 1-800-854-8273Fax (508) 486-9652Monthly publication, World Eagle (up-to-datecomparative data, graphs, and maps) and series ofreproducible atlases, Global Perspectives Maps andWould You Believe? maps.

THE WORLD BANK

1818 H Street, NWWashington, DC 20433(202) 477-1234Annual World Development Report, theDevelopment Data Book, and poster kits on popu-lation, life expectancy, and GNP per capita.

WORLD GAME INSTITUTE

University Science Center3508 Market StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19104(215) 387-0220 Fax (215) 387-3009Publications, instructional materials, speakers, confer-ences, and the simulation, "World Game Workshops."

WORLDWATCH INSTITUTE

1776 Massachusetts Avenue, NWWashington, DC 20036-1904(202) 452-1999 Fax (202) 296-7365e-mail wwpub@igc.apc.orgPublications on global environmental issues, such asthe annual State of the World.

Electronic Networks

The PeaceNet, ConflictNet, EcoNet, and EnviroNetdata bases described below are located at:

INSTITUTE FOR GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS

18 DE BOOM STREET

SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107

(415) 442-0220

PeaceNet: Helps the peace, social justice,and human rights communities throughout theworld communicate and cooperate more effectively.ConflictNet: A network of people dedicat-ed to promoting the constructive resolution of con-flict. ConflictNet enhances the work of groups andindividuals involved in conflict resolution and linksusers to the worldwide conflict resolution commu-nity.

EcoNet: Serves organizations and individualsworking for environmental preservation and sus-tainability. It is a community of persons using thenetwork for information sharing and collaborationin order to enhance the effectiveness of all environ-mentally oriented programs and activities.EnviroNet: A free computer networkfeaturing conferences on environmental subjects,daily Greenpeace press releases, and environmentalnewsletters, as well as real-time e-mail. To gainaccess and establish an account, set modem tocall 1-415-512-9108 (1200 or 2400 baud).For information, call (415) 512-9025.

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ENVIRONMENTALISM AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUEShq Step n C. Fleurq and Rdam Sheldon

Environmental issues are deceptively easy tounderstand because these struggles meta-phorically represent the classic fightbetween the "good guy" and the "bad guy."But who the good guy is often dependson your vantage point and value system.

In other words, unless you understand howsocial, economic, cultural, and political factorsinfluence people's ideas about what should bedone for the environment, your own perspectivemay remain at an ideological level. What followsin this chapter is an approach for teaching aboutenvironmental concerns to liberate rather thancrystalize students' thinking.

Curricular materials on social problemsoften package controversies by presenting stu-dents with two or three pre-defined positions.The main intellectual task asked of students is to"take sides," a pedagogical exercise that reinforcestheir ideological predispositions instead of help-ing them develop an understanding of the com-plexity of different perspectives. Probing thevalue-laden assumptions that underlie variouspublic perspectives about an issue is a significant-ly more fruitful approach for social studies edu-cators, whose concerns for thoughtful citizenshipshould be paramount. With such an approach,the dynamics of power in society are more likelyto surfacedynamics that otherwise are too eas-ily concealed in the social studies curriculum.

Compared to traditional textbook accounts ofhow political decisions are made, engaging stu-dents in identifying assumptions and posingquestions about specific environmental issuesprovides a more realistic understanding of whysome policies are accepted and others are not.Unlike the consensus viewpoint of many text-book accounts, a policy analysis approach helpsstudents clarify why so many people hold so

many different views. The clarification of thevalue basis of social knowledge should be nominor goal for social studies.

Environmental Issuesas Policy Issues

Social issues become policy issues wheneverpeople's beliefs clash over what should be doneby those who have the authority to do some-thing. Coplin and O'Leary (1981) have foundthat policy issues can be successfully clarified byasking who is attempting to influence publicpolicy-making, what is the environmental condi-tion targeted by the policy, and what is the pro-posed or contended policy? They emphasize theimportance of being specific when describingeach of these components. For example, vagueterms such as "big corporations" or "environ-mentalists" are not very useful for enhancing ourunderstanding of the value conflicts involved inan environmental issue. Instead, we need toknow who in the industry is speaking? What istheir personal interest in the outcome? What willthey personally lose or gain? Whose views dotheir statements reflect: Their own? Officialcompany policy? How organized are the peoplewho hold an environmental viewpoint? Whataccess do they have to sources of information thatare used in making a policy? To what extent arethe sides aligned according to social class, gen-der, or race? Responses to these types of ques-tions help when analyzing the implicit valueconflicts. These conflicts are often more reveal-ing of the parameters of the policy problem thanthe so-called hard data that is involved.

Environmental policy issues are even moreinteresting when we realize that all information,regardless of how "scientific," is value-laden.Scientific information has traditionally been

I 9 S

credible with policy-makers because it appearsobjective and technical. The scientific communi-ty, however, increasingly recognizes that thecreation and presentation of scientific findingsare influenced by human values.1 The task foreducators when analyzing environmental poli-cies especially social studies educatorsis toevaluate the relative merits of technical knowl-edge within the context of human concerns.

Resources for StudyingEnvironmental Policy Issues

Resources for studying environmentaltopics abound for social studies teachers. Issue-oriented problems are readily available fromnewspapers. For example, within a typical three-week period, the Christian Science Monitor car-ried stories about the clear-cutting of virginwoodlands in the Pacific Northwest, the "slash-and-burn" elimination of tropical rain forestsfor "development" purposes in South America,the difficulties of regulating nuclear energy, thepromotion of human genetic engineering, thepermitting of hormone injections for greaterfood production in dairy and beef animals, andthe fears of harmful electromagnetic radiationfor students and teachers who attend schoolsadjacent to large power lines.

Here we begin with a newspaper article aboutan environmental disagreement among somemembers of the Sierra Club, one of the oldest(and more conservative) organizations concernedwith the health of the wilderness. Their disagree-ment can be used to model a policy-issue analy-sis for identifying many of the conflicting valuesoften surrounding environmental issues. Theidentification of conflicting values in this matterwill help generate relevant questions aboutenvironmentalism that will be useful in the studyof other environmental issues.

Issues in the Environmental Movement?A 26 December 1993 New York Times byline

reads "Logging Policy Splits Membership ofSierra Club." (p. 20). The leadership of the oldest,largest, and most powerful environmental organi-zation in the United States was embroiled in aninternal struggle over environmental goals. Thedirector of the Sierra Club's office in Seattle, whois also the club's "chief forest lobbyist in thePacific Northwest," sold $10,000 worth of sec-ond-growth timber from a ten-acre tract of landhe owned in Washington. Critics from chapters

in other states were abhorrent of this sale, claim-ing, according to the article, that it "shows how farthe leadership of the environmental movementhas strayed from the ideals of an earlier time."

Explaining that the future of logging lay inthe harvest of managed second-growth forests,the director was surprised at the negative presshe was receiving. He was not violating any ofthe Sierra Club's policies. Indeed, the directorwas not violating the club's logging policy, butthe policy itself was a highly contentious item forthe membership. In 1990, New York State's40,000-member Atlantic Chapter proposed the"virtual end to logging in the Northern Rockies."The ensuing debate in the national organizationgalvanized support of chapters in other statesincluding California, Oregon, Montana, Illinois,and Indiana. The resulting policy change calledfor the prohibition of logging virgin forests onprivate or public lands, except for second-growthtimber in national forests. Remaining dissatis-fied, the leadership of the New York chaptersponsored legislation pending in the nationalorganization to stop "all logging in nationalforests, period."

The explosive feelings involved in the fightover the Sierra Club's logging policy reveal acouple of significant issues in the study of envi-ronmentalism. The first issue is that "environ-mentalism" includes a range of beliefs and ideas.Many environmentalists are eager to negotiatewith the power brokers of society, but others arenot. Some believe nature should be preserved ina pristine form. To them, environmental groupsshould warn and mobilize citizens to do some-thing about environmental dangers. These goalsshould not be "compromised," regardless ofpolitical and economic impairments to society.One club member, Jim Bensman, exemplifies thisposition:

Our job is not to facilitate compromise.That is what we pay politicians to do. Ourjob is to stand up and fight for what webelieve is best for the environment.

Others believe, however, that negotiationsand compromises are more effective, and thatintractable demands are a "turn-off " The head ofthe Sierra Club in Idaho remarks:

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A hundred years of thoughtful, decent, andpragmatic work in conservation stands

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RFST nnpv AVAILABLE

threatened by the rise of ideology, zealotry,and the power of true believers.

A second issue is that environmentalisminescapably includes political and economicissues as well as scientific and cultural ones.Environmentalists are increasingly part of thepolitical mainstream. The New York Times articleexplains that many former environmental groupmembers are in charge of the "very governmentagencies they have long fought." This change ofvantage point, it is alleged, creates dissonance inthe way they think about environmentalist ideas.While many environmental policies are success-fully lobbied, implementation is problematic.Officials find themselves frequently criticizedfor disrupting "the lives of ordinary Americans."One official interviewed for the article, a SierraClub member, poignantly describes the difficul-ty of supporting certain environmental positionsand then facing neighbors whose livelihoods areadversely affected. Accusations of "compromise"and "selling out" notwithstanding, Carl Pope,executive director of the Sierra Club, argues theneed for environmentalists to play both insideand outside political circles in order to haveinfluence.

The Identification of Questionsto Study

Environmental brouhahas such as the above-mentioned timber sale reveal deep fissures in theAmerican value system. Our economic systemproduces an enormous appetite for affordable nat-ural resources. Multi-national industries as well asindividuals who own small parcels of land arecapable of coveting natural resources for privategain, despite the environmental detriments thatmight be shared by everyone. Environmental con-flicts increasingly force us to reconsider definitionsof ownership, property rights, and ethics. Thisleads to questions that arise in the study of almostevery environmental issue.

1 Why are some environmental actions consid-ered thoughtful and pragmatic, and others

ideological and zealous? Environmental ideasthat complement the prevailing social and eco-nomic structure are usually considered pragmat-ic and thoughtful. The best example is the goalof "sustainable development." The emphasis oneducating students about sustainable develop-ment has grown since the visibility brought to it

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in 1980 by the Global 2000 Report to the Presidentand in 1990 by Lester Brown's State of the World:A Worldwatch Institute Report on Progress towarda Sustainable Society (Disinger 1990). The ques-tion we pose is "Sustainable for what?" And forwhom?

One response might be "sustainable for eco-nomic development," that is, to continue thetransformation of agrarian and small-scale eco-nomics into an ever-larger, more interdepen-dent and more cost-efficient production of con-sumer goods. The idea of development hasbrought unprecedented wealth, comfort, andlifestyles for many people in the industrializedworld. Most people wish to maintain this levelof prosperity and, theoretically at least, extend itto others throughout the world. The use of theterms "first world" and "third world" impliesan objective evaluation of the state of variouseconomic systems in the world. In reality, thesedescriptions are laden with implicit values, oneof which is the idea that industrial developmentis both a desired and necessary goal of all peo-ple and all nations.

Disinger (1990) suggests that "sustainabledevelopment" may seem to be an oxymoron foranyone familiar with the increasing demands thatour growing population makes on the world'sdecreasing resources. Faith that natural resourcesare inexhaustible or that we can always create atechnological solution to problems has erodedamong many people in the industrialized world.A growing number of people are concernedabout managing our environmental resources inorder to preserve our economic values. This envi-ronmental position is sometimes called "anthro-pocentric," as opposed to the "ecocentric" beliefsof deep ecologists.

"Deep ecology" utilizes phrases about the"natural rights" of all living creatures (as well asof nature), about the need to develop an "eco-logical consciousness," and about "challengingthe assumptions" that undergird the worldviewof Western society. This language may seem farfrom the mainstream of social studies education,yet Roderick F. Nash, in The Rights of Nature(1989), reminds us that deep ecological princi-ples are based on perhaps the "the single mostpotent concept" in American political thoughtthat of liberty:

Liberalism explains our national origins,delineates our ongoing mission, and

anchors our ethics. Natural rights is a cul-tural given in America, essentially beyonddebate as an idea.

Theodore Rozak (1978) argues that the "nat-ural environment is the exploited proletariat, thedowntrodden nigger of everybody 's industrial system....Nature must also have its natural ri ghts"(p. 32).

9 How does environmentalism differ from ear-lier attempts at conservationism? Traditional

conservationist attempts were anthropocen-tricthat is, an overriding concern for savingresources was to ensure their availability for useby humans in the future. The additional moraltone of environmentalism distinguishes it fromprevious conservationist attempts. Placing envi-ronmental concerns within the political andmoral framework of the United States makesevery environmental problem the concern of allcitizens. The potential to draw upon the moraloutrage of citizens makes ecocentric reasoning apowerful social force in the environmentalmovement:

Old-style conservation, recast in ethicalterms and plugged into the American liber-al tradition, became the new, radical envi-ronmentalism. (Nash 1989, 10)

Nash argues that elevating environmentalprotection to a moral plane is a natural out-growth of the application and extension of ethicsin Western society. Note his description andexplanation of the concept of expanding rights(1989, 7) in Figure 1.

One might take issue with Nash's proposi-tion that rights have truly been extended to eachof the groups in Figure 1, but his general pointis important, because it makes deep ecologyunderstandable as part of the American politicaltradition.

What is the role of scientific knowledge ina..11 environmental disputes? Deep ecologistsalign science with the engines of a technocraticsociety. Because scientific knowledge leads tospecialization, it leads to the creation of exper-tise. The authoritarianism of expertise is rejectedby deep ecologists, who correctly perceive thatissues of human values are ignored in many pol-icy decisions. The authoritativeness of scientificinformation is often misused to bolster unques-

N atureEndangered Species Act, 1973

B lacksCivil Rights Act, 1957

LaborersFair Labor Standards Act, 1938

N ative AmericansIndian Citizenship Act, 1924

WomenNineteenth Amendment, 1920

SlavesEmancipation Proclamation, 1863

American ColonistsDeclaration of Independence, 1776

English BaronsMagna Carta, 1215

N atural Rights

tioned, unbridled technological and economicdevelopment.

The ultimate value judgment upon whichtechnological society restsprogress con-ceived as the further development andexpansion of the artificial environmentnecessarily at the expense of the naturalworldmust be looked upon from the eco-logical perspective as unequivocal regress.(Nash 1989, 48)

But science is somewhat maligned in this sce-nario, omitting the important role it has played inthe development of an ecological consciousness.Grove (1992) writes:

Arising in a search for utopia, European-based environmentalism first took shape inthe mid-18th century. At that time, colonialenterprise began to clash with Romanticidealism and with scientific findings. (p. 42)

Scientists were hired to inventory naturalresources during the industrial exploitation ofdistant islands. As a result of meetings amonga growing organization of scientists, varioustheories about environmental degradation stimu-lated early conservation policies for these islands.A major breakthrough occurred when French

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scientists were able to explain local climatechanges as the result of the deforestation of theseislands (and later to explain the desertification ofAfrica). The science of ecology has consistentlygrown to support the idea that everything isinterconnected.

Should environmental policies proceed incre-mentally, or do impending environmental

dangers require revolutionary changes in theideas, values, and behaviors of all citizens? Mostenvironmentalists share the belief that resourcesare ultimately finite and that the earth canabsorb only a limited amount of pollutants. Theydiffer, however, in terms of how immediate theyperceive the threat and in how drastically theythink human activities need to change.Environmentalists who favor sustainable devel-opment count on educating and preparingcitizens to employ new technologies to solveenvironmental problems. On the other hand,deep ecologists promote a worldview that callsfor living in harmony with nature, recognizingthat the world's supplies are finite, increasingrecycling, reducing material needs, and limitingresource-consuming technology to necessaryhuman activities.

Relevance to the Social StudiesCurriculum

The growth of natural rights, the expansionof ethics, the uses and misuses of scientificknowledge, the economic basis of social policies,and the practice of policy-issue analysis are allenduring topics in the study of environmentalissues. These topics also permeate social studiescontent. Heath's (1988) suggestions of how stud-ies of science and technology can be infused intothe social studies curriculum are applicable toenvironmental issues.

First, teachers can supplement their regulartopics with special activities that relate to envi-ronmental issues. For example, deep ecology andNash's (1989) theory of the expansion of ethicsand rights can serve as a catalyst for a structuredclass discussion when students are studying thefoundations of the American Constitution or thecontemporary status of civil rights. Anotherapproach would be to examine how the selectiveuse of agricultural research since the 1930s leadto the increasing productivity of American farm-ers, but at a long-term cost to the quality of lifein both rural and urban areas by increasing pollu-

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tion and forcing the migration of millions ofdisplaced farmers to urban centers.

Environmental issues can also be infused byconstructing an environmental unit around aselected social studies topic. For example, stu-dents might study the "ecological imperialism" ofEuropeans. To what degree was the successfulglobal expansion of European cultural, econom-ic, and political influence due to their uninten-tional transformation of the ecological system?Here one could involve students in studying howmicrobes, bacteria, and viral strains may havebeen primarily responsible for the domination ofEuropeans over the American continents. Suchan approach, of course, might help students ques-tion whether sacred nationalistic values such as"Manifest Destiny," the "Puritan work ethic,"and the "frontier spirit" are really necessary for anenduring sense of democracy

Another infusion technique is to offer aseparate course on the study of environmentalissues. The benefit of this approach would bethat teachers and students might feel unre-strained by having to "cover" pre-determinedcontent. The problem, of course, is that an issue-centered approach would be symbolically, if notformally, marginalized to one place in the curric-ular offerings.

The following is an example of a teacher-con-structed text and activities for use with studentsin examining the problem of water pollution.

An Issue-Centered Analysis:Water Pollution

The world's freshwater supply has two thingsin common with other resources on this planet: itis limited, and it is inequitably distributed. Whenlooking at the global map, one is quick to see thatwater is the major part of the exterior of ourplanet. This appearance of abundance, however,is deceiving. People may believe that we have aninexhaustible supply of water, but fresh, drinkablewater is only a small portion of the earth's totalwater supply. In fact, if all the earth's water wasrepresented by a gallon jug, the available freshwa-ter would equal just more than a tablespoon!That's less than one-half of 1 percent of the total.Ninety-seven percent of the earth's water isocean saltwater, another two percent is locked inthe polar ice caps and glaciers. More freshwaterexists in reserves under the earth's surface, butmost of it is too deep to economically tap(National Geographic 1993).

.r"

Consider the following excerpt from WorldResources: 1990-91:

The quantity of [water] is fast becoming anissue in some areas. Although essentially arenewable resource on a global scale, fresh-water is being extracted from some riverbasins at rates approaching those at whichthe supply is renewed and from some under-ground aquifers at rates exceeding naturalreplacement. Many human activities havehigh water use rates. As the human popula-tion has grown, so have withdrawals ofwater for agriculture, industry, and munici-pal use. A new element of uncertainty ispotential changes in precipitation and hencein freshwater resources due to changes inclimate caused by human activities.

Creating a Framework for StudyingWater Pollution Issues

In preparing to involve students in examiningthe water pollution problem described in theabove passage, we created a conceptual frame-work by drawing upon ideas about environmen-talism that were discussed earlier in this chapter.Developing this framework provides teachers anopportunity to analyze the content of the abovepassage, explore what they already know aboutthe topic, and seek other sources, if necessary.

Humans depend on water for survival.Although human uses for water vary, the need forwater is constant. The level of this dependency isclear when one realizes that a human can live fora month without food, but will die in less than aweek without water. This constant need has cre-ated a number of concerns regarding the supplyof water on our planet. Issues suchas the effect of population on water quality,and questions as to the amount of usable wateravailable will be raised in the adjoining text.

Water tends to attract population centers.Looking at a map of the world's population, onecan see that a high percentage of the majorpopulation centers are located near large watersupplies. Australia's four largest citiesSydney,Melbourne, Brisbane, and Adelaidc are all situ-ated on its coastline. Lakes and rivers have anequally important effect on inland populationcenters. Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland are

three of the largest U.S. inland cities, and they areall adjacent to major rivers or lakes.

Water is essentially a renewable resource, butthe human rate of extraction is in danger ofexceeding its natural replacement rate. Popula-tion increases create an exponential increase inwater pollution. Doubling the size of the popula-tion does not merely double water pollution. Inan increasingly industrialized, urbanized society,more water is used personally and commercially.

Environmental policy issues contain opposingor contradictory positions about environmen-tal decisions. Policies are governmental deci-sions applying to a large number of people.Within any given group, individual experiencesgive rise to differing points of view. Some pointsof view are philosophical differences over therelationship between humans, technology, andnature. How a particular view becomes the dom-inant view in policy decisions is the content ofpolicy analysis.

The sides of an environmental policy issue areoften portrayed as "hard" scientific data versusthe emotional concerns of citizens. Initiators ofproposed policies tend to have arguments thatare supported with scientific information. This isa necessary part of the public policy-makingprocess, but one which can be intimidating tonon-scientists. Citizen groups usually do nothave the power and resources to create anacceptable scientific challenge. Lacking "credibleinformation," oppositional groups are easily castby the media as weak, emotional, reactive "pro-testers," or "NIMBYs""Not in my back-yard"whose ecological attitudes are shaped bytheir own self-interests. On an interesting note,self-interest is considered a virtue when teachingclassical economics and political theory, butseems to lose this meaning when studying envi-ronmental issues.

The public policy analysis model can helpdevelop a clearer understanding of environ-mental issues. Environmental policy issues arebest understood by analyzing the conditions giv-ing rise to the environmental issue, the assump-tions of the proposed policies, and the variousperspectives of the key players.

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n contrast to any scientific-sounding thoughts,angry citizens, irate over the prospect of theirchildren drinking from toxic wells, personifythe emotional furor that can accompany waterpollution concerns. Equally as emotional, yetsomewhat more restrained, are the industrial

moguls who quote calculations of long-termeconomic gain and diminish the negativeenvironmental effects of a given policy. This sce-nario can be seen in an issue of NationalGeographic, where some Mississippi residents aretrying to stop a rayon-making plant from opening:

There is anger upon this riverfront land.Voices are being raised in the small churcheswhere cardboard fans stir the steamy air ofsummer, and what was once so easy for acompany desiring to locate along the lowerMississippi has become a challenge, even fora giant like Formosa Plastics Corporation.Formosa Plastics planned to build the world'slargest rayon-making plant on 1,800 acres ofland in the Wallace area. But there were thosein the community with this concern for thehealth of the people and the environment,and one of them is Wilfred Greene. Heformed the RAP group, for River AreaPlanning, which challenged Formosa at everyturn until the company abandoned its plans.'We certainly believe there can be somethingdone to help the community economically,"Greene said, "but we don't want the chemical

plants coming in here to destroy our lives."

This case however, may seem to be an excep-tion, as industry usually wields more economicresources to lobby their position than the resi-dents of a particular area. Hard, "objective" scien-tific data is usually considered stronger than theemotional "subjective" opposition that citizengroups often utilize as their main weapon. Theability to present a position is often more impor-tant than the substance of the position itself.The ability to marshal scientific data in supportof a position has political clout. Given this con-tention, it becomes imperative for individuals tobe not only aware of how scientific knowledgerelates to power, but to have the skills to analyzethis knowledge when necessary. This poses inter-esting questions for students to pursue:

What does objective scientific knowledgemean?

Why should the passion and emotion ofcitizens lessen the credibility of citizens?

These types of questions allow us to touchupon the value-laden basis of science and to askwho has access to technological information. Wecan also examine the different methods used todecide an environmental dilemma.

SummaryThe questions and activities above demon-

strate that teaching about environmental issues

Activity One: Initial Questions

he textual passage above raises a host of questions that can stim-ulate both classroom discussion and learning activities. One ofthe most attractive features of analyzing easily available contentresources is that activities will emerge from the questions andinterests of both the students and the teacher. Every question is

a potential activity. As students are engaged by questions related towhat they have read, teachers will develop a sense of what the studentstruly desire to investigate. This enables teachers to find out what thestudent really wants to learn and also to avoid simply teaching what heor she thinks the students need to know. Standard material such asgeography and history are combined with activities that engage thestudent's preexisting interest. For example:

What major urban areas are located near water?What major urban areas are not located near water?How does water help an urban area?

These questions lend themselves directly to a geography activity orunit. Activities could center around population center identification,

including demographic data analysis. These lessons could address theconcept of human dependency on water. Other questions generated bythe students or initiated by the teacher might involve students in ana-lyzing assumptions:

How much of the Earth's water supply is readily usable?What does "readily" usable mean?What makes a resource, a resource?

These questions can lead to interdisciplinary lessons about the watercycle or an imagination-based activity dealing with creative inventionsthat might increase and/or perpetuate the Earth's water supply.

Why is water inequitably distributed?Is there anything that can be done to change this inequity?Is it our responsibility to change this inequity?Is water free?

These questions involve students in an environmental dilemma, andalso encourage them to examine their own system of beliefs as theyrelate to these environmental issues.

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Activity Two: The Application of a Policy Analysis Model

The objectives of this lesson are to have students utilize the poli-cy analysis model to examine water pollution issues, and also todemonstrate presentation skills while pretending to persuade asuperfund comptroller to designate money to clean up waterpollution in their area.

Students are divided into two groups. Each group is given an arti-cle about one area's attempt to clean up a water pollution problem(see "Boston Harbor Clean Up" 1993, "Clean Up Lures People to

Charles River" 1993). Each groups' initial task, after reading the arti-cle, is to determine the social and economic conditions, the policyplayers, proposed or actual policies, and critical issues in their article.The next step is to have the groups construct a presentation to con-vince a government superfund comptroller to allocate funds to cleanup their area. The presentations can be delivered to the "comptrol-ler"the teacher, or maybe a guest speaker on water pollutionwhocan then evaluate their effectiveness.

Activity Three: Examining Science and Citizenship

111 n underlying problem in agreeing how to analyze environmen-tal policies is that many students intuitively "turn-off" argu-ments involving scientific arguments as the final arbiter.Inevitably, some students may feel constrained by the appear-ance of a purely "logical" method; these may be the same stu-

dents who become mentally disengaged in a traditional textbook-dri-ven classroom. Their response may not be dissimilar to a large por-tion of the public who feel disenfranchised by the governing use of

fimechanisms in society.

Policymakers recognize that how a problem is defined has a greatdeal of influence on its outcome. Water pollution is an environmen-tal issue that often brings about very strong feelings on all sides. Whydoes water pollution evoke such strong feelings? Usually the oppor-tunities for jobs and financial needs are pitted against preserving aquality of life. This is a seemingly trite, yet very important question.

can be accomplished with simple and relevantresources. Newspapers and magazines provide asteady supply of current policy debates. Most ofthese debates can be placed within the contextdescribed in the first part of this chapter, name-ly that the positions of "sustainable develop-ment" and "deep ecology" are thoroughlyembedded in the political and economic founda-tions of our American culture. Changes in ourcultural ideas about science, ethics, economics,and politics are bound to influence what ismeant by "environmentalism," and a close studyboth of the issue of environmentalism and ofvarious environmental issues in the social studiescurriculum will enhance the overall preparationof citizens in our contemporary world.

References"Boston Harbor Clean Up." Christian Science Monitor,

March 17, 1993."Clean Up Lures People to Charles River." Christian

Science Monitor, August 9, 1993.

Coplin, W. D. and M. K O'Leary. Basic Policy Studies Skills

Croton-on-Hudson: Policy Studies Associates, 1981.

Devall, B. and G. Sessions. Deep Ecology: Living as if

Nature Mattered Layton, Utah: Gibbs Smith, 1985.

Disinger, J. F. "Environmental Education for SustainableDevelopment?"Journal of Environmental Education.(1990)

Grove, R. H. "Origins of Western Environmentalism."Scientific American, (July 1992): 42-47.

Heath, P. A. "Science/Technology /Society in the SocialStudies." Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social Science

Education, Bloomington, IN."Logging Policy Splits Membership of Sierra Club."

New York Times, December 26, 1993.Nash, F. F. The Rights .Nature: A History ,'Environmental

Ethics. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1989.

Rozak, T Person/Planet. Garden City, NY: Doubleday,1978.

---. World Resources:A Guide to the Global Environment. A

report by the World Resources Institute in collabora-tion with the United Nations EnvironmentProgramme. New York Oxford University Press, 1990.

Woyach, R. B. "Ecopolitical Issues and the SecondaryCurriculum." Paper presented at the AnnualConvention of the International Studies Association,

Atlanta, GA. ERIC 269313.

1 Thomas Kuhn's Structure of Scientific Revolutions(1962) is frequently referred to in discussions about thehuman value orientation of scientific work

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Activity Four: Deep Ecology, An Alternative

Below are excerpts of a reply made by Chief Seattle to President Franklin Pierce, who, in 1854, made an offerfor a large area of Indian land:

How can you buy or sell the sky, the warmth of theland? The idea is strange to us. If we do not own thefreshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, howcan you buy them?... We know that the white mandoes not understand our ways. One portion of landis the same to him as the next, for he is a strangerwho comes in the night and takes from the landwhatever he needs. The earth is not his brother, buthis enemy, and when he has conquered it, he moveson. He leaves his fathers graves behind, and he does

not care. His father's graves and his children'sbirthright are forgotten. He treats his mother theearth, and his brother, the sky, as things to bebought, plundered, sold like sheep or bright beads.His appetite will devour the earth and leave behindonly a desert. ... This we know: the earth does notbelong to man; man belongs to the earth. This weknow: all things are connected like blood whichunites one family. All things are connected.

Lesson: CHIEF SEATTLE'S REPLYObjectives:

Students will be able to compare and contrast environmental views of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.Students will identify predictions made by Chief Seattle, and check their accuracy.

Activities:1. Read Chief Seattle's Reply (see attached text).2. Each student is asked to make a list of similarities and differences regarding the environmental views

of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. These lists will be shared to determine if the class has identifiedany consensus items. The student generated lists should lead to some interesting discussion items, such as:

How have environmental views changed over the past two centuries? How have they not changed?To what degree could Chief Seattle's claims be justified as "scientific," or do you consider thememotional statements?What do you think Franklin Pierce thought about Chief Seattle's reply?Who uses the environment more effectively, Chief Seattle or Bill Clinton? (This may seem obviousat first, but when one asks what is meant by "effectively," discussion can intensify.)

3. Students will identify two predictions from the reading. The predictions will be analyzed for their accuracy intoday's world. For example, in reference to the white man, Chief Seattle states, "His appetite will devour theearth and leave behind only a desert." One could make a case to agree or disagree with this statement, depend-ing on how one interprets it. This exercise can create some very rewarding discussion.

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Part Five: SEW Sde-cesIntroduction bo Patricia 6. kern

Iln this section, the authors address issues-centered instruction within traditional socialstudies subject matter: anthropology, psychol-ogy and sociology; civics and government;economics. The authors describe how signifi-cant concepts and central issues related to

the disciplines can be translated into engaging,powerful classroom teaching and learning.In addition, the authors recommend a rangeof exemplary resources for the development ofissues-based instruction.

The Ligon and Chilcoat chapter describes anissues-centered orientation to the study ofanthropology, sociology and psychology. One isstruck by the degree to which the concepts inthese subject areassuch as culture, prejudice,race, social stratification and deviancereflectthe very issues about which the public expressesgrave concern. It is indeed ironic that the behav-ioral sciences, perhaps best equipped for helpingstudents develop a framework for analyzingpersonal and public issues, are those coursesleast often required of high school graduates.

In the classrooms envisioned by Ligon andChilcoat, controversial social issues are the focalpoint of instruction. The authors problematizetraditional inquiries in the behavioral sciences:"How does a religion influence a part of the cul-ture?" becomes "What role should religion playin forming public policy in a democratic society?"and "How are cultures different?" becomes "Howmight different cultures live together peacefully?"Using the Sweeney-Parsons Controversial SocialIssues Model, Ligon and Chilcoat describe howone issueintelligence testingmight beaddressed in the classroom.

In an approach similar to that of Ligon andChilcoat, the article by Avery, Sullivan, Smith andSandell takes traditional questions posed in civics

and government courses and reframes them toreflect an issues orientation. The authors use theorganizing questions from the NationalStandards for Civics and Government as a foun-dation for developing issues-based inquiries.A question from the standards, "What is the rela-tionship of American politics and government toworld affairs?" provides the springboard for ques-tions such as "What principles seem to guide U.S.relationships with other countries?" and "Whatprinciples should guide those relationships?'

A central theme in the chapter on civics andgovernment is that democracies depend on citi-zens' abilities to deal with the conflict inherentin politics. Opportunities to experience andunderstand conflicting perspectives are an essen-tial part of civic education. Avery and her co-authors advocate using structured controversyand cooperative learning to develop students'perspective-taking abilities.

Perspective-taking is also a theme developedby Armento, Rushing and Cook in their chapteron issues-centered economics instruction. Theauthors suggest that students analyze economicissues according to three major philosophicalstances: conservative, liberal and radical.Students can develop a better understanding ofthe complex dimensions of economics issues byusing these conceptual lenses.

Armento, Rushing and Cook present anIssue-Oriented Teaching Model that is ground-ed in current research on teaching and learning.In a departure from the traditional "principles ofeconomics" orientation of most economic cours-es, the model focuses on having students developinterdisciplinary perspectives and contextualunderstandings. Although the model was designedby the authors to address economics issues, itcould easily be adapted to other subject areas.

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Throughout this section, the authors posecomplex questions for exploring issues in theclassroom: Do industrialized countries have a"social responsibility" to improve the standard ofliving of persons and countries with low per capi-ta income? Should the United States trade withcountries that have a poor human rights record?How should people with different backgroundsform institutions to support the public good?What are our public responsibilities as citizens ina democracy?

The questionsfor which there are no"right" answersrequire students to grapple withmultiple sources of data, draw concepts and gen-eralizations from many disciplines, analyze con-flicting perspectives, and develop their owninformed opinions.

As each of the authors notes, in-depth teach-ing and learning experiences require a speciallearning environment. Ligon and Chilcoat stressthat the controversial issues discussions must takeplace in a trusting, respectful classroom environ-ment. Avery and her co-authors note that anopen classroom climateone that supports andencourages diverse viewpointspromotes moredemocratic attitudes. And finally, Armento et al.describe a "culture of thinking" in the classroom,characterized by curiosity, skepticism, persis-tence, and contemplation. In short, the adoptionof an issues-centered approach cannot be sepa-rated from a re-examination of the cognitive andaffective dimensions of the classroom. We hopethese chapters give readers ideas for developingissues-centered content and environments.

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ISSU S-CENTERED APPROACHESTO T ACHING CIVICS AND GOVERNMENTbu Pat *cid 6. berg, John L. Sullivan, Elizabeth S. Smith, and Stephen Sandell

The major job was getting people to under-stand that they have something within theirpower that they could use, and it could onlybe used if they understood ... how groupaction could counter violence even when itwas perpetrated by the police or, in someinstances, the state. My basic sense of it hasalways been to get people to understandthat in the long run they themselves are theonly protection they have against violenceor injustice. ...People have to be made tounderstand that they cannot look for salva-tion anywhere but in themselves. (Lerner1972, 347)

These are the words of Ella Baker, an activistin the civil rights movement. Baker was aconsistent voice in organizing and empow-ering African Americans from the early1930s until her death in 1986. She workedtirelessly for the National Association for

the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP),the Southern Christian Leadership Conference(SCLC), the Student Non-Violent Coordinat-ing Committee (SNCC), and finally, for thedismantlement of apartheid in South Africa.Baker was frequently the only female in strategysessions of the African American leadership, andonce remarked that she "wasn't one to say yes[just] because [directions] came from theReverend King" (Cantarow 1980, 84). Althoughshe was a quite vocal and able advocate, sheoften downplayed her role because she main-tained that movements were more effectivewhen associated with ideas and groups ratherthan a handful of charismatic leaders.

It is doubtful that Baker's voice is heard inmost civics and government classes. Her strug-gles, like those of countless other individuals

committed to social change, do not fit well with-in the traditional "structures and functions ofgovernment" framework.

In this chapter, we briefly examine traditionalcivics and government instruction, and suggestthat it is inadequate for citizens in a multicultur-al, pluralistic democracy. We argue that issues-centered teaching and learning is particularlyappropriate for the civics classroom. Finally, weturn most of our attention to approaches, meth-ods, and materials that support issues-focusedcivics instruction and provide a central place forthe stories of citizen advocates such as Ella Baker.

The Traditional Civics/Government Curriculum

For most students, civics and governmentclasses are associated with diagrams of "How aBill Becomes Law" and the three branches ofgovernmenta reflection of a curriculum thatemphasizes the structures and functions of gov-ernment rather than the skills and processes ofpolitics. In the traditional civics class, democraticvalues are discussed in the abstract, controversialissues are ignored, conflict is absent, and partici-pation forms the "invisible" part of citizenshipeducation (Stone 1992; Zellman and Sears1971). Political socialization within schools gen-erally, and civics classes specifically, supports aculture that "marginalizes" the role of conflictand dissent in a democracy (Merelman 1990).

Not surprisingly, most research on politicalsocialization suggests that the traditional formalcivics curriculum has a limited impact on stu-dents' civic knowledge and attitudes. More thantwenty-five years ago, a national survey of youngpeople in grades 10 through 12 concluded thatthe modest effect of the standard civics coursewas "so minuscule as to raise serious questions

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about the utility of investing in governmentcourses in the senior high school, at least as thesecourses are presently constituted" ( Jennings,Langton, and Niemi 1974, 181). Reviews sincethat time suggest little change in the civics cur-riculum (Ehman 1980; Ferguson 1991).

A review of eighteen civics and governmenttextbooks by People for the American Wayoffers a devastating critique of the traditionalcurriculum:

What is missing, in a word is controversy.Eighty percent of the civics books and half ofthe government books minimize conflict andcompromise. The dynamic sense of govern-ment and politicsthe fierce debates, color-ful characters, triumphs and tragediesislost. Controversies like school prayer andcivil rights that have ignited passions at allpoints along the political spectrum areignored or barely mentioned. The vitality ofpolitical involvement and the essential giveand take between people and their electedofficials is neglected. (Carroll et al. 1987, i)

Unfortunately, textbooks play a major rolein shaping classroom instruction. In the 1988National Assessment of Student Progress(NAEP), more than 86 percent of the students inthe eighth and twelfth grades reported that read-ing from the textbook was the most commoninstructional format in their civics class (NationalAssessment of Student Progress 1990).

Rather than encouraging active politicalinvolvement, the traditional civics curriculumsucceeds in portraying the political sphere as acomplex entity quite removed from students'lives. When participation is discussed, it is usual-ly limited to conventional forms of participation,such as voting and letter writing. Young peoplethus come to view their political role as that offairly passive bystanders.

The Goals of Civics InstructionWhat should be the goals of civics and gov-

ernment courses in a multicultural, democraticsociety? We suggest two primary goals for learn-ing and teaching in the civics classroom. First,classes should foster the ability to recognizeand analyze significant social and politicalissues, to imagine the short- and long-termconsequences of alternative actions, and toevaluate both personal and social costs and

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benefits of available policy options. AsGuttman (1987) argues most eloquently, delib-eration about public issues is critical to the sus-tenance of democracy. She suggests that the"ability [to reason about politics] is so essentialto democratic education that one might questionwhether civics courses that succeeded in increas-ing political trust, efficacy, and knowledgebut failed to increase the ability of students toreason about politics were indirectly repressive"(p. 107). The public schools can and should pro-vide a forum for developing deliberative skills;the civics classroom is a most appropriate placefor fostering reflection on public issues.

The second primary goal is that studentsbecome familiar with a repertoire of strategiesfor meaningful participation in the democraticprocess. Civics classes or related communityservice activities should provide opportunitiesfor students to participate in making choicesthat affect their communities. The traditionalconception of political participation focuses onelectoral behavior. During the past thirty years,however, students of political socialization havebegun to recognize the significance of advocacy,service, and community politics. It is this broad-er view of political participation that should bereflected in our civics classrooms.

A Rationale for Issues-CenteredCivics Instruction

Issues-centered instruction in the social stud-ies is consistent with calls for greater depth andless coverage in our social studies curriculum(Newmann 1990), for teaching for understand-ing as opposed to knowledge (Perkins and Blythe1994), for the inclusion of multiple perspectives(Banks and Banks 1989; Tetreault 1989), and for"authentic" learning opportunities and assess-ment (Newmann and Wehlage 1993). Each ofthese educational trends supports a sustainedexamination and analysis of complex publicproblems.

We believe that an issues-centered approach isparticularly appropriate for civics instruction.Since politics involves the "authoritative alloca-tion of values" (Easton 1953) and the exercise ofpower (Dahl 1957), all forms of politics inevitablyentail conflict. In fact, a recent textbook aboutU.S. politics defines politics as "the way peoplewith different values fight over what governmentshould, and should not, do" (Dawson 1987, 19).There are always "winners" and "losers" in the

Table 1: National Standards for Civics and GovernmentOrganizing Questions for Grades 5 through 12

I. What are civic life, politics, and government?A. What is civic life? What is politics? What is government? Why are government and politics necessary?

What purposes should government serve?B. What are the essential characteristics of limited and unlimited government?C. What are the nature and purposes of constitutions?D. What are alternative means of organizing constitutional governments?

II. What are the foundations of the American political system?A. What is the American idea of constitutionalism?B. What are the distinctive characteristics of American society?C. What is American political culture?D. What values and principles are basic to American constitutional democracy?

III. How are the values and principles of American constitutional democracy embodied in the governmentestablished by the Constitution?A. How are power and responsibility distributed, shared, and limited in the government established by the

United States Constitution?B. What does the national government do? (grades 5-8 only)C. How is the national government organized and what does it do? (grades 9-12 only)D. How are state and local governments organized and what do they do?E. What is the place of law in the American constitutional system?F. How does the American political system provide for choice and opportunities for participation?G. Who represents you in local, state, and national governments? (grades 5-8 only)

IV. What is the relationship of American politics and government to world affairs?A. How is the world organized politically?B. How has the United States influenced other nations and how have they influenced American politics

and society?C. How do the domestic politics and the constitutional principles of the United States affect its relations

with the world? (grades 9-12 only)V. What are the roles of the citizen in the American political system?

A. What is citizenship?B. What are the rights of citizens?C. What are the responsibilities of citizens?D. What civic dispositions or traits of private and public character are important to the preservation and

improvement of American constitutional democracy?E. How can citizens take part in civic life?

Source: Center for Civic Education, National Standards for Civics and Government (Calabasas, Calif: Centerfor Civic Education, 1994). Available from the Center for Civic Education, 5146 Douglas Fir Road,Calabasas, Calif. 91302-1467. Phone: 818-591-9321.

political process, and losers do not often acceptdefeat without a struggle. Nations, therefore, aredemocratic not because they ignore conflict orbecause there is so much consensus that deepconflicts seldom arise, but rather because theyhave found a way to allow open yet controlledexpression of the conflicts that do arise. A largepart of their success is that political conflict takesplace within a broader consensus on the "rules ofthe game."

An issues-centered curriculum shouldenhance students' internalization of this proce-dural consensus, and at the same time it ought togive them experience with, and an understand-ing of, political controversy. They should under-stand that, when conflict takes place among par-ticipants who accept the procedural norms thatallow for open conflict, it enhances democracyand has the potential to prevent the evolution ofpermanent "winners" and "losers" in the political

process by promoting respect and understandingof different points of view.

An issues-centered civics curriculum shouldalso emphasize how the rules of the game can bechanged if they are found wanting. Again, how-ever, some level of consensus must exist on howthis is to be done. If there are permanent "losers"in a democratic process, and if the processes ofchange are thwarted by a permanent and largemajority, then such a consensus is unlikely.

In short, then, structuring conflict into anissues-centered curriculum is an essential feature

of citizenship education. Students should haveexperience with reflection about both their polit-ical values and their political self-interest. Theyshould also have some practice asserting thesevalues and interests in the face of opposition.Ideally, the curriculum would provide guidelineson how to separate the individual from his or herideas, and assertive advocacy from aggression orselfish advancement. Learning to "agree to dis-agree" may be a seldom-learned mode that helpsstudents not only become better citizens but alsomore effective in their personal relationships.

Approaches, Methods, and Materials for Issues-Centered Civics Instruction

Introducing an Issues-CenteredPerspective of Civics and Government

We suggest that an issues-centered civics orgovernment course begin with a careful analysisof several social and political movements in theUnited States. This is the approach taken by anoutstanding text entitled Civics for Democracy(Isaac 1992). In this text, students learn aboutthe history of five citizen movements: the civilrights, labor, women's rights, consumer, andenvironmental movements. Students can seethat change often requires the long-term com-mitment of individuals, such as ThurgoodMarshall and Mother Jones, as well as the orga-nized efforts of groups, such as Greenpeace andthe United Farm Workers of America. They canbecome familiar with the wide range of partici-patory techniques used by citizen movements,including lobbying, boycotting, and demonstra-tions. Most important, however, ordinary citi-zens become the focal point of discussion ratherthan governmental institutions.

Developing an Issues-CenteredCivics or Government Course

In this section, we describe how we mightdevelop an issues-centered civics or governmentcourse. We use the National Standards for Civicsand Government (1994) as an organizing frame-work upon which to pose engaging and oftencontroversial issues (see Table 1). Whenever pos-sible, we try to relate our inquiries to what webelieve is one of the most significant concepts inpolitical educationpolitical participation.

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THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT. For example,the first set of questions might lead to an

exploration of the role of government in society

How has the role of government changed overtime? How have various social groups and orga-nizations viewed the role of government? Whatpurposes should government serve? What pur-poses should government not serve? Whoshould decide?

Students might begin an exploration of thesequestions through traditional literary offeringssuch as Lord of the Flies and To Kill a Mockingbird,as well as less well known works such as Roll ofThunder, Hear My Cry! and Summer of MyGerman Soldier. Literature often provides a "safecontext" in which to begin discussion of complexissues (Spurgeon 1991/92). From fiction, stu-dents could move on to oral histories (e.g., JohnTateishi's And Justice for Alk An Oral History of theJapanese-American Detention Camps), biographies(e.g., The Autobiography of Malcolm X), and non-fiction (e.g., A Dfferent Mirror: A History ofMulticultural America). Finally, court cases suchas Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), Brown v. TopekaBoard of Education (1954), Miranda v. Arizona(1966), and Regents of the University of Californiav. Allan Bakke (1978) provide excellent primarysource material for examining the role of govern-ment. Throughout their inquiry, students shouldbe judging the degree to which government fur-thers democratic principles and ideals.

2CIVIC CULTURE. The second set of organizingquestions focus on our civic culture. Students

might develop their own description of the civicculture in the United States by examining datasuch as the following:

Contributions to environmental, health, youth, andsocial action groups increased by 25 percent from1987 to 1991; donations to the arts, education, andreligion declined. There were significant increases in

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donations from one age group-18-to 24-year-olds;contributing was highest among those who hadbeen active in student government or youth groups,had done volunteer work, had wanted to make achange in society, or had witnessed good deeds bysomeone they admire. (Franklin 1992)

One in five U.S. high school students say they wantto be president of the United States; three-fourthssay they want to be president of a company. (Connand Silverman 1991, 39)

When asked if they believe in free speech foreveryone, about 90 percent of U.S. citizens willsay yes. When asked about a more specific situa-tion, such as the Ku Klux Klan appearing on pub-lic television or communists marching in theirneighborhood, less than 30 percent support therights of free speech and assembly. (McCloskyand Brill 1983)

Although a majority of women in the United Statessay they "believe in equal rights for women," only aminority (33 percent) are willing to identify them-selves as feminists and, thus, to identify themselvesas active participants in the women's movement.(Cowan, Mestlin, and Masek, 1992)

While most U.S. citizens with formal educationbeyond high school favor equality between blacksand whites in principle, in practice they appear tobe no more likely than other, less well educatedcitizens to support government policies that pro-mote racial equality. (Jackman 1978 and 1981)

While the first African American female enteredthe U.S. Senate in January 1993, voter turnoutamong African Americans in the 1992 electiondecreased by 13 percent from the previous presi-dential election. ("The Voters" 1992)

Based on the preceding data, how might onedescribe the political culture in the UnitedStates? What motivates people to take an activerole in political life? What are the obstacles toactive participation? What are the short- andlong-term consequences of participation andnon-participation?

3POLITICAL POWER. The underlying theme ofthe third set of questions is political power.

In the United States, one of the fundamentalprinciples of our Constitution is the "separationof powers." What is the purpose of the "separa-tion of powers"? What if there were no "separa-tion of powers"? How might the outcome of theWatergate affair or the Iran-contra scandal havebeen different?

What constitutes an "abuse of power"? Haveabuses of power occurred in U.S. history? Whatmechanisms are designed to prevent the abuse ofpower? To what degree have they been effective?To explore these questions, students might readexcerpts from It Did Happen Here: Recollections ofPolitical Repression in America (Schultz andSchultz 1989). The book includes case studies ofpolitical repression, ranging from the PalmerRaids to the McCarthy Era to Wounded Knee.

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES. The fourth set ofquestions focuses on the role of the United

States in world affairs. What principles seem toguide U.S. relations with other countries? Whatprinciples should guide those relations? In astructured controversy format, students mightexplore the role of human rights in shaping U.S.foreign policy. Structured controversy is a pow-erful method for analyzing a wide range of civicissues; we describe it in some detail here, usingthe issue of human rights and foreign policy asan example, but encourage interested teachers toread further about this approach.l

Structured controversy, an adaptation ofcooperative learning, offers participants a formatfor analyzing complex social and political issues.Table 2 summarizes the basic procedures used ina structured controversy exercise. For example,suppose students were given the following ques-tion for value inquiry: Should the United Statestrade with countries that have poor humanrights records? The teacher divides the class intoheterogeneous groups of four. Two persons ineach group are assigned the pro position, whilethe other two research the con position.Typically, the teacher suggests readings that willhelp students develop a given position, andencourages students to explore additionalresources. Students outline their position andplan ways to advocate it to the opposing pair.Each pair presents arguments for their position,while the opposing pair listens, takes notes, andasks questions for clarification. The pairs thenswitch sides and present the opposing side'sview. In the final phase, students abandon their"positions" and try to reach a group consensuson the issue based on the merits of the argu-ments presented.

The question of whether the United Statesshould trade with countries that have poorhuman rights records is an excellent issue forillustrating the role of controversy and conflict in

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Table 2: Sample Structured Controversy Lessons

1. The teachers and/or students select a significantcivic issue about which there exists a range ofcompeting, well-articulated views.Example: Should the United States trade withcountries that have poor human rights records?

2. The teacher groups students into fours, andassigns two students to prepare the "pro" sideand two students to prepare the "con" side.

3. The teacher gives students lists of readings tohelp them organize their positions. For example:"Back to Business on China Trade," New YorkTimes, May 27, 1994."Clinton's Call: Avoid Isolating China on Tradeand Rights," New York Times, May 27, 1994.J. Donnelly, Universal Human Rights in Theory andPractice 20 (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press,1989)."Pressures Rise over China's Trade Status,"New York Times, May 20, 1994.

A. M. Rosenthal, "License for Torture,"New York Times, May 20, 1994.

4. Students read the materials, and plan strong, per-suasive arguments to present to the "opposing"side. The teacher might give students with littleexperience in this approach examples of goodarguments.

Most Favored Nation Status:Sample Pro Arguments

The United States will have a greater influenceon human rights through regular educational,economic, and cultural contacts with Chinathan by isolating and antagonizing the

Chinese government.Economic sanctions on China will mean theloss of jobs for U.S. workers.

Most Favored Nation Status:Sample Con Arguments

Economic sanctions have been an effective toolin promoting human rights in other countries.U.S. companies may profit from high tariffsplaced on Chinese clothing and textiles.

5. Students on the "pro" side present their position;the opposing pair listens, takes notes, and asksclarifying questions. (The amount of time allot-ted to presenting positions is predetermined.)

6. Students on the "con" side present their position;the opposing pair listens, takes notes, and asksclarifying questions.

7. Students switch sides, i.e., students on the "pro"side adopt the "con" position and students on the"con" side adopt the "pro" position.

8. Students present their "new" positions to oneanother.

9. Members of the group drop their positions andtry to arrive at a consensus on the issue.Oftentimes, students will develop a third posi-tion that reflects elements of both sides.

10. Groups present their consensus statements tothe class.

Source: Adapted from D. S. Johnson, R. T. Johnson,and K. A. Smith, Active Learning: Cooperation inthe College Classroom. Edina, Minn.: InteractionBook Company, 1991.

a democracy and the fact that in the politicalprocess there are often "winners" and "losers."For example, in the debate over whether toextend Most Favored Nation Status to China,a country that has consistently been found to vio-late its citizens' human rightssuch as the rightto voice opposition to the governmenttherehas been considerable conflict over the questionof whether the U.S. government should allowfree trade with China. One argument in favor oftrading with China, despite the country's humanrights abuses, is that trade will increase econom-ic, cultural, and educational contacts with Chinaand will thus allow the United States to have agreater influence in that country and a greaterrole in promoting respect for human rights. It has

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also been argued that the Chinese governmentwill be unwilling to improve their human rightsrecord if they feel they are being "bullied" intothis by the United States through trade policies.Additionally, U.S. corporations, such as Ameri-can Telephone and Telegraph and Boeing, havefound big markets in China, which in turn canmean more jobs for workers in the United States.

Conversely, economic sanctions have provenin other cases to be an effective tool in prompt-ing countries to improve their human rightsrecord (e.g., South Africa). Additionally, theUnited States has more trade imbalance withChina than with any other country. U.S. compa-nies, such as the textile corporations that areunable to compete with cheap labor in China,

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may stand to gain if high tariffs are placed onChinese clothing and textiles.

Students could be encouraged to think ofother arguments for and against trading witha country that violates human rights abusese.g., do trade barriers only punish the citizenswhile having little effect on the government andofficials of the offending country? Additionally,students could read newspaper articles andeditorials, government documents outlining theU.S. position over the years on human rightsissues, and books that deal more generally withhuman rights. Students could then debate fromthe opposing positions of a U.S. corporation thatwould gain from free trade with China, a U.S.corporation that would be hurt by free trade, andfrom the positions of a government official andof a human rights advocate.

In the end, students could try to reach agroup consensus on the issue, and through theuse of procedural rules predetermined by thestudents, make a final policy decision. An exer-cise such as this would illustrate for students notonly the complexity of politics but also thenotion of dealing with conflict and controversythrough agreed upon "rules of the game."Students will learn how the rules of the gamecan benefit one group (e.g., the majority) whiledisadvantaging another (e.g., the minority), andhow checks can be put into the system to protectminority rights and interests.

When compared to conventional debate orindividual research projects, structured contro-versy is more effective in promoting studentretention of material, perspective-taking abilities,and critical thinking skills (Johnson, Johnson,and Smith 1991). We suggest that it is an idealvehicle for exploring complex, multifaceted civicissues, such as the relationship between humanrights and foreign policy. It is also consistentwith our understanding of the role of conflict andcontroversy in a democratic society.

THE "GOOD CITIZEN." We believe that thefifth set of organizing questions address the

most crucial aspect of civic education for youngpeople, and hence it is this area to which wedevote most of our attention. The fifth question,"What are the roles of the citizen in theAmerican political system?" encourages studentsto examine the nature of citizenship in a democ-ratic society. A topic that seems ideally suited toillustrate the issues-centered approach to civics

education is that of "good citizenship." What iscitizenship? What are the rights and responsibil-ities of citizens? How can citizens participate inpublic life? These kinds of questions are fairlycommon in most civics curricula. As Schwartz(1984) has shown, however, the prior issue ofhow we conceptualize and understand conceptssuch as "political participation" and "citizenship"can predetermine our answers to these formerkinds of questions, and can do so in rather non-obvious ways. It may be important, then, to beginby helping students think through (in an activeway) how they want to understand the concept ofcitizenship.

One of the primary goals of civics educationin the United States has been to teach studentsto be "good citizens" in our democracy. Whilethe notion of a "good citizen" is often associatedwith such behaviors as voting or obeying the law,a basic exercise is to identify, discuss, and debatevarious understandings of citizenship and theforms of political participation available to andrequired of a good citizen. Rather than adopt aconventional understanding of citizenship inthe United States, a better way to teach aboutcitizenship might be to focus students' attentionon the questions "what does good citizenshipmean to different people?" and "what do differ-ent people think are individuals' rights andresponsibilities as citizens?"

Recent political science research offers a vari-ety of conceptualizations of citizenship that canbe used to open a debate among students aboutthe role of a good citizen. For example, Conoverand Searing (1993) outline two broad conceptu-alizations of citizenship that have emerged fromvarious political theorists over the centuries:civic republicanism and a contractual version ofcitizenship. The civic republican perspectivemandates a highly active and participatory citi-zenship rooted in the communal ties that bindindividuals together. According to this concep-tualization, "citizens ... not only have a right toparticipate in politics but are also expected to doso, both for their own good and for the good ofthe community" (p. 4). Conversely, the contrac-tual or "legalistic" perspective outlines a verylimited role for the citizen, a role defined moreby rights than responsibilities.

In addition to outlining the more theoreticalconceptualizations of citizenship, many scholarsare interested in identifying the different waysordinary citizens understand citizenship.

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Elizabeth Theiss-Morse (1993), for example,uses a method called Q-analysis in order to dis-cover how individuals conceptualize citizenship.With Q-methodology, individuals evaluate state-ments (usually developed by the researcher)about a concept according to the degree to whicheach statement reflects their understanding of aconcept, such as "good citizenship."

Four perspectives of citizenship emerged inthe statistical analysis. Theiss-Morse labels thesethe Representative Democracy perspective, thePolitical Enthusiast perspective, the PursuedInterests perspective and the Indifferent perspec-tive. The Representative Democracy perspectiveconceptualizes good citizenship as an informedvote based on the belief that political participa-tion and politics are important and that individ-uals can make a difference in determining policyoutcomes. The Political Enthusiast perspectivedefines good citizenship as participation in avariety of activitieswriting letters, protesting,even civil disobediencethat may be more pow-erful than simply voting in hope of ensuring thatindividuals' interests are being met by the gov-ernment. This perspective also encourages citi-zens to monitor and question the policy decisionsof elected officials. The Pursued Interests per-spective envisions good citizenship as politicalparticipation by those who are informed aboutpolitics, and also as active participation in thefamily and community. It stresses group asopposed to individual political activity. Finally,the Indifferent perspective strictly conceptualizesgood citizenship as casting an informed vote.

Theiss-Morse found that an individual'spolitical behavior was highly correlated with hisor her conceptualization of citizenship. Forexample, she finds that "the Political Enthusiastsare most likely to be involved in unconventionalactivities, while the Indifferent are most likely toshun such activities" (Theiss-Morse 1993, 369).Overall, this research suggests that not onlyscholars but also ordinary individuals hold avariety of conceptualizations of citizenship. And,these varying conceptualizations of the rightsand responsibilities of citizens are likely to affectthe varying forms of political behavior peoplefeel obliged to perform as citizens.

This research suggests that one way toenhance citizenship skills is to focus civicsinstruction around the issue of defining citizen-ship. Before students can become "good citi-zens," they need to struggle with the question of

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what they think good citizenship entails.Students should be encouraged to question vari-ous conceptualizations of citizenshipparticu-larly the most common conceptualization of thepassive citizen who votes dutifullyto determinefor themselves what they feel are the rights andresponsibilities of a good citizen and to considerthe consequences and implications of these rightsand responsibilities. For example, does a citizenwho fails to meet her responsibilities forego someof her rights? One way to encourage them tothink more deeply, and perhaps also to act ontheir thoughts, is to present information abouthow scholars and other citizens conceptualize"good citizenship."

Orit Ichilov (1990) argues that "as for exist-ing citizenship education, it seems fair to con-clude that it directs youngsters to a rather narrowdefinition of the citizen role" (p. 22). However, itis apparent from the research discussed abovethat citizenship is a multifarious concept that canbe (and has been) understood and manifested ina variety of forms. We believe that by focusingstudents' attention on the variety of conceptual-izations of good citizenship, students can beginto consider more thoughtfully the meaning ofcitizenship for them and the consequences ofthat meaning for their lives. The survey present-ed in Table 3 is comprised of selected statementsused by Theiss-Morse (1993), and could be usedto stimulate students' thinking about theirconceptions of good citizenship.

REFLECTIVE DELIBERATION. Underlying theentire set of organizing questions should be a

commitment to developing students' skills inreflective deliberation and participation.Throughout any course on civics or government,students should have multiple opportunities toanalyze issues of significance to them. The ques-tions shown in Table 4 serve as a guide for ana-lyzing issues ranging from the nutritional value ofschool cafeteria food to U.S. immigration policy.

Each question embodies fundamental con-cepts in civics and government. For example, thequestion "Who seems to have an interest in theissue and its implications?" might prompt a dis-cussion about the role of interest groups in ademocracy. The question "Who can do some-thing about the issue?" might encourage studentsto examine the role and structure of government.Similarly, the question "Is there adequate oppor-tunity for all to demonstrate their beliefs and

Table 3: Survey of Conceptions of Citizenship

Indicate your agreement with the statements below by choosing one of the following responses:

SA = Strongly Agree, A = Agree, D = Disagree, and SD = Strongly DisagreeGiven the fact that there's only so much the average person can do. ..

1. Citizens should let the government know their opinions in several ways: by voting; by writing letters to

government officials; and by joining groups that are for or against a government policy (PE)

2. Citizens should, nevertheless, participate in politics, especially by voting, so they can represent their own

political interests. (RD)

3. Citizens should focus their energy on political issues they are really concerned about and then join groups

that lobby on these issues. (PI)

4. Most citizens should not waste their time participating because only the wealthy and powerful can influence

what the government does anyway. (I)

5. Citizens should still learn about politics by keeping in contact with members of Congress, by voting,

by discussing politics, and so on. (RD)

6. Citizens should join political interest groups if they want to have an impact on government decisions. (PI)

7. Citizens should be involved in their local community by joining neighborhood groups and organizations

that try to influence local officials about community problems or issues. (PE)

8. Citizens should still regularly participate by voting and discussing politics so government officials

have to be responsive to the public. (RID)

9. Citizens should view politics as the making of any important group decisions, which means politics

exists everywhere. They should be involved in making all of these decisions. (PE)

10. Citizens should talk about politics often with other citizens to hear different points of view on issues. (PI)

11. Citizens do not need to participate because, ultimately, all of the important decisions are being made

by big corporations anyway, not by the government. (I)

Note: These statements reflect a particular conception of citizenship:PE = Political Enthusiast; RD = Representative Democracy; PI = Pursued Interests; I = Indifferent.Source: E. Theiss-Morse, "Conceptualizations of Good Citizenship and Political Participation,"Political Behavior 15 (1993).

interests?" lends itself well to an analysis of therole of minority rights within a democratic soci-ety. An examination of these concepts within thecontext of studying a specific issue seems to us a morepowerful approach than the more traditional pre-sentation of concepts as isolated bits of informa-tion. We hope such an approach will help stu-dents to develop a deeper understanding of therole of these concepts and issues in a democracy

Inserting Issues-Centered Contentinto the Traditional Curriculum

Due to time constraints or district guidelines,many teachers may prefer to adopt a more limit-ed issues-oriented approach. Exemplary materi-als are available to educators, many of whichrequire only two to three class sessions.

Two resourcesNational Issues Forums (NIF)pamphlets and Opposing Viewpoints bookletsoffer diverse perspectives on critical social andpolitical issues. The NIF pamphlets, developedby the Kettering Foundation, provide a frame-work for discussing enduring public issues. Morethan twenty booklets, including college, adult,and abridged editions, have been developed ontopics such as abortion, poverty, the environ-ment, and health care. Each pamphlet describesthree or four commonly held positions on a givenissue. For example, the pamphlet on criminalviolence includes three positions: "DeterrentStrategy: Getting Tougher on Criminals,""Preventive Strategy: Attacking Crime at ItsRoots," and "Selective Incapacitation Strategy:Targeting the Violent Few." The costs and bene-

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fits of each alternative are presented, as arerelevant results from major research studies.

National Issues Forum materials are used byadults in communities across the country. Thepamphlets are also quite appropriate for sec-ondary students and have been endorsed by theNational Council for the Social Studies as partof the council's Public Issues Program. Whetherconducted with adults or secondary students,forums focus on a careful deliberative process,much in the spirit of the classic town hall meet-ing. At the close of the forum, participants areencouraged to choose a position. Their decisionsat this point should reflect a careful considera-tion of the complexities of the issue.

Similar to the NIF materials, Opposing View-points pamphlets encourage students to consider arange of perspectives on important social andpolitical issues. Excerpts from articles written by"experts" or noted voices on a subject arecollected and presented for student discussion.The topics of the pamphlets include such diverseissues as racism, the role of the U.S. government,gun control, and numerous other topics. A rangeof opinionsmoderate, radical, minorityarepresented on each issue to provide balanced,thoughtful, and convincing arguments on all sidesof the debate. The Opposing Viewpoints Series canbe an effective tool for teaching students how tothink critically about issues that are importantto their life and role as U.S. and world citizens.

Structuring the Issues-OrientedCivics Class

We believe that an issues-centered civicscurriculum will be most effective when it isfrequently organized around cooperative learn-ing groups. Cooperative learning groups are animportant means by which to teach studentsvalues related to being a citizen in a democracy.A cooperative learning situation forces studentsto learn how to deal effectively with controversyand conflict among individuals within a groupsetting. Although the concept of cooperation isemphasized, students learn to assert their viewswithin the group, and the reward structure ofcooperative learning exercises increases thechances that students will also learn to compro-mise and cooperate once different views areexpressed within the group. This parallels thepolitical process in democracies. As in a democ-racy, the students must work together in order toresolve their differences and develop solutions to

Understanding the IssueWhat's the issue?Have there been similar issues in the past in the United States?Outside the United States?VVhy is it important?Who seems to have an interest in the issue and its implications?Do interested people/groups define the issue differently?Who can do something about the issue?Do we need to change laws or consider enforcement, regulation, or issuesimplementation of present laws?Who can or might participate in the discussion?What circumstances limit participation of some people or groups?

Identifying AlternativesHow shall the alternative choices be debated?What are our goals in this problem-solving effort?Who agrees or disagrees?Who influences opinion?Is there adequate opportunity for all to demonstrate their beliefsand interests?What are the relative values of the costs and benefits we anticipate?

Moving toward Decision and ActionWho will make the final decision and how?How are those people accountable to others they represent?How can we influence the final decision?Do we feel strongly enough about the issue to take action?How will we evaluate the effectiveness of our action?

problems. They learn to handle conflict within abroader framework of consensus, which is neces-sary in order for individual members of thegroupindeed for the group itselfto succeed.

Cooperative learning has also been found toenhance individuals' ability to see the worldfrom another's perspective. Individuals gain "theability to understand how a situation appears toanother person" (Johnson, Johnson, and Smith1991, 25), which is, in turn, useful for students intheir roles as citizens and their willingness andability to respect the rights and interests ofothers. This form of empathy and perspectivetaking is essential to handling serious conflictand disagreement within a broader frameworkof agreement. Cooperative learning groups arethus particularly well suited for the learning ofcivics and democratic values.

Regardless of content or grouping strategies,however, civic learning within a closed classroom

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environment is not likely to promote democraticorientations. A number of studies indicate thatclassroom climate has a strong impact on stu-dents' political values and attitudes (Allman-Snyder, May, and Garcia 1975; Ehman 1977,1980; Hahn, Tocci, and Angell 1988; Torney,Oppenheim, and Farnen 1975). At the secondarylevel, young people's perception of a more "open"classroom climate is associated with higher levelsof political interest, efficacy, and confidence (seeHarwood 1992 for a review of the research).Similarly, issues-centered discussions that encour-age the expression of diverse viewpoints tend topromote more democratic attitudes (Ehman1980; Leming 1985; Torney, Oppenheim, andFarnen 1975). On the other hand, an emphasis onrote memorization and patriotic rituals (e.g.,reciting the Pledge of Allegiance) is associatedwith higher degrees of authoritarianism and lessdemocratic attitudes (Torney, Oppenheim, andFarnen 1975).

In sum, if we are to develop a supportive yetcritical democratic citizenry, we must do morethan adopt an issues-centered approach. Theissues-centered approach, however, may serve asthe catalyst for re-examining content, methods,pedagogy, and classroom climate. It is reflectionon these issues that may help us find a place forthe "Ella Bakers" in our classrooms.

ReferencesBanks, J. A., and C. A. M. Banks, eds. Multicultural

Education: Issues and Perspectives. Boston: Allyn and

Bacon, 1989.Cantarm, E. Moving the Mountain: Women Working for

Social Change. Old Westbury, N.Y.: Feminist Press, 1980.

Carroll, J. D., W. D. Broadnex, G. Contreras, T. E. Mann,N. J. Orenstein, and J Steihm. We the People: A Review

Government and Civics Textbooks. Washington,

D.C.: People for the American Way, 1987.Conn, C., and H. Silverman, eds. What Counts: The

Complete Hyper's Index. New York Henry Holt andCompany, 1991.

Conover, P. J., and D. D. Searing. Citizenship andPolitical Psychology. Paper presented at the AnnualPolitical Psychology Conference, University ofIllinois at Urbana-Champaign, June 1993.

Cowan, G., M. Mestlin, and J. Masek. "Predictors of

Feminist Self-Labeling." Sex Roles 27 (1992): 321-330.

Dahl, R. 'The Concept of Power." Behavioral Science 2(1957): 201-205.

Dawson, P. American Government. Glenview, Scott

Foresman, 1987.Easton, D. The Political System. New York Knopf, 1953.Ehman, L. H. "Social Studies Instructional Factors

Causing Change in High School Students' Sociopolitical

Attitudes over a Two Year Period "Paper presented at

the annual meeting of the American EducationalResearch Association, New York, April 1977.

--. 'The American School in the Political SocializationProcess." Review of Educational Research 50, no. 1(1980): 99-119.

Ferguson, P. "Impacts on Social and PoliticalParticipation." In Handbook of Research on Social

Studies Teaching and Learning, edited by James P.

Shaver. New York Macmillan, 1991.Franklin, R. "National Study Finds Surprising

Donation Trends." Minneapolis Star Tribune,October 27, 1992.

Guttman, A. Democratic Education. Princeton, NJ.:Princeton University Press, 1987.

Hahn, C. L., C. Tocci, and A. Angell. 'Five-NationStudy of Civic Attitudes and Controversial Issues

Discussions. "Paper presented at the InternationalConference on the Social Studies, Vancouver, B.C.,June 1988.

Harwood, A. M. "Classroom Climate and CivicEducation in Secondary Social Studies Research:Antecedents and Findings." Theory and Research inSocial Education 20, no. 1 (1992): 47-86.

Ichilov, 0., ed. Political Socialization, Citizenship

Education and Democracy. New York TeachersCollege Press, 1990.

Issac, K. Civics for Democracy: A Journey for Teachers and

Students. Washington, D.C.: Essential Books, 1992.Jackman, M. R. "General and Applied Tolerance:

Does Education Increase Commitment to RacialIntegration?" American Journal of Political Science 22

(1978): 302-324.--. "Education and Policy Commitment to Racial

Integration." American Journal of Political Science 25(1981): 256-269.

Jennings, M.K., K.P. Langton, and R.G. Niemi."Effects of the High School Civics Curriculum."In The Political Character of Adolescence, edited by

M. K. Jennings and R. G. Niemi. Princeton, NJ:Princeton University Press, 1974.

Johnson, D. W., and R. Johnson. "Conflict in theClassroom: Controversy and Learning." Review ofEducational Research 49 (1979): 51-70.

--. "Classroom Conflict: Controversy vs. Debate inLearning Groups." American Educational ResearchJournal 22 (1985): 237-256.. Creative Conflict. Edina, Minn: Interaction BookCompany, 1987.

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. Cooperation and Competition: Theory and Research.

Edina, Minn.: Interaction Book Company, 1989.Johnson, D. S., R. T Johnson, K. A. and Smith.Active

Learning: Cooperation in the College Classroom. Edina,

Minn.: Interaction Book Company, 1991.Leming, J. S. "Research on Social Studies Curriculum

and Instruction: Interventions and Outcomes in theSocio-Moral Domain." In Review of Research inSocial Studies Education, 1965-1983, edited by W. B.Stanley. Boulder, Colo.: ERIC Clearinghouse forSocial Studies/Social Science Education, 1985.

Lerner, G., ed. Black Women in White Anzerica: A

Documentary History. New York Pantheon Books, 1972.

McClosky, H., and A. Brill. The Dimensions of Tolerance.

New York Russell Sage, 1983.Merelman, R. M. 'The Role of Conflict in Children's

Political Learning." In Political Socialization,Citizenship Education, and Democracy, edited by

0. Ichilov. New York Teachers College Press, 1990.National Assessment of Educational Progress.

The Civics Report Card Washington, D.C.:U.S. Department of Education, 1990.

Newmann, E M. "Higher Order Thinking in TeachingSocial Studies: A Rationale for the Assessment ofClassroom Thoughtfulness." journal of CurriculumStudies 22 (1990): 41-56.

Newmann, EM., and G. G. Wehlage. "Five Standardsof Authentic Instruction." Educational Leadership 50(April 1993): 8-12.

Perkins, D., and T Blythe. "Putting Understanding UpFront." Educational Leadership 51, no. 5 (1994): 4-7.

Schultz, B., and R. Schultz. It Did Happen Here:Recollections of Political Repression in America.

Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989.Schwartz, J. D. "Participation and Multisubjective

Understanding: An Interpretivist Approach to theStudy of Political Participation." journal of Politics 46

(1984): 1117-1141.Spurgeon, C. 'Teaching about a Citizenship Issue through

Literature." Citizenship 2, no. 1 (1991/92): 3-7.

Stone, L. "What Matters for Citizenship Education?"Theory and Research in Social Education 20, no. 2

(1992): 207-219.Tetreault, M. K. "Integrating Content about Women

and Gender into the Curriculum." In MulticulturalEducation: Issues and Perspectives, edited by J. A.

Banks and C. A. M. Banks. Boston: Allyn andBacon, 1989.

Theiss-Morse, E. "Conceptualizations of GoodCitizenship and Political Participation." PoliticalBehavior 15 (1993): 355-380.

Torney, J. V., A. M. Oppenheim, and R. F. Famen.Civic Education in Ten Countries: An Empirical Study.

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New York John Wiley and Sons, 1975."The Voters: Gains and Losses in Turnout."

New York Times, November 8, 1992.

Zellman, G., and D. Sears. "Childhood Origins ofTolerance for Dissent." journal of Social Issues 27

(1971): 109-136.

Table 5: Resources Mentioned in Chapter

BooksGolding, W. Lord of the Flies. London: Faber and Faber, 1954.Greene, B. Summer of My German Soldier. New York Dial Press, 1973.Malcolm X. The Autobiography of Malcolm X Secaucus, NJ: Castle Books,

1965.Takaki, R. T. A Different Mirror: A Histoy of Multicultural America. Boston:

Little, Brown & Company, 1993.Taylor, M. D. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. New York Dial Press, 1976.

Teaching MaterialsNational Issues Forum pamphlets. Available from National Issues Forums,

100 Commons Road, Dayton, Ohio 45459-2777. Phone: 800-433-7834.Opposing Viewpoints Series. Available from Greenhaven Press, Inc., P 0. Box

289009, San Diego, Calif 92198-9009. Phone: 619-485-7424

Endnotes1 Persons interested in using structured controversy in their classrooms can

find a more extensive description of the technique in Johnson and Johnson(1979, 1985, 1987).

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ANECOkg Bev

PPROACN TO ISSUES-ORIENTEDOMIC EDUCATION

rig J. Menlo, Francis W. Rushing, and Wagne R. Cook

PART ONE:FRAMING THE APPROACH

hat are the economic benefits and costsof dropping out of school? Is there reallya trade deficit, and if so, what differencedoes it make? Are there salary differ-ences between men and women, and ifso, why? Should there be? What about

salary and employment patterns by gender andethnicity? What are the causes, and what should"we" do about these patterns? Should farmersaround the world be "forced" to operate strictlyby the rules of supply and demand? Is every per-son entitled to health care, and if so, who shouldpay? Should the minimum wage be raised?What economic and social effects would follow?Who should pay for environmental and safetyprotection? How should community-owned landbe used, by whom, and for what purposes?

These are only a few of the many personaland public policy economic issues of interest toyoung people who face such problems daily,either in their own lives or in the larger social,political arena. Of course, everyone has an opin-ion about such questions, but is the opinioninformed, thoughtful, and mindful of alterna-tives, trade-offs, and the short- and longer-termconsequences of various policy options? Issues-centered instruction in economics should assiststudents in developing analytic and reflectiveways of thinking about and addressing importanteconomic issues.

This chapter aims to define the nature ofeconomic problems, discuss tools of economicanalysis, and present criteria for evaluating solu-tions to economic issues. We argue that instruc-tion must acknowledge and incorporate ideolog-ical differences and multiple interpretations

about what is right or wrong when it comes toeconomic issues. Because some of the ideologicalperspectives incorporate social, historical, andpolitical dimensions of issues, classroom instruc-tion must be approached in an interdisciplinarymanner. Also, since economic issues are oftencomplex, they should be explored in an informedand thoughtful manner. We will propose a planfor organizing instruction around economicissues that facilitates interdisciplinary andinformed analysis. Prior to thinking about class-room practice, however, we must consider thenature of economic issues and the implicationsfor instruction.

What is economics?Economics as a discipline deals with the

problem of scarcity. Scarcity occurs when humanwants are greater than the resources available toproduce goods and services to satisfy those wants.The existence of scarcity forces upon all peoplethe requirement of making choices. A primaryobjective of the teaching of economics is to pre-pare students to make rational choices as individ-uals and as members of society based on objectiveanalysis and the values of the choice makers.

How are economic decisions made?The primary tools of analysis that have

proven to be effective in making economic deci-sions are fairly simple concepts: opportunity cost,production possibility analysis and trade-offs,and supply and demand analysis. The concept ofopportunity cost states that the real cost ofobtaining one good or service is the next bestalternative good or service that would have beenproduced with the resources used to produce ourfirst choice. The opportunity cost concept can beapplied to any scarce resource. One example is

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time allocation: should one's time be used to dovolunteer work or to go swimming?

Production possibility analysis is most typi-cally used in analyzing macroeconomic choices,since it demonstrates the possibilities betweensociety's choices of producing one basket ofgoods as opposed to an alternative basket. Theclassic trade-off is between "guns and butter," orit could be between clean air and less steel pro-duction. In actuality, society does not normallymake an either/or choice, but some of each whendealing with difficult economic matters. Thechoices depend not only on the reality of limitedresources, but also upon the aggregate prefer-ences or values of society.

Supply and demand analysis also plays animportant role in economic decision-making.Supply and demand forces in our market econo-my generally determine the prices of the factorsof production and of the goods and services pro-duced in the economy. The price of a good tellsits economic value relative to other goods. Asconsumers or as producers, we attempt to gainthe greatest benefits by allocating our money orour time among the various choices available tous as buyers of goods and sellers of services.

What are objective and normativeeconomics?

If economics only dealt with the theoreticalor the abstractif it only dealt with the tools ofanalysisthen it would be a fairly straightfor-ward discipline with little controversy associatedwith it. Of course this is not the case. Economicsreally has two dimensions: the objective and thenormative (subjective). The objective empha-sizes "what is" and attempts to explain theprocess by which choices are made. The norma-tive or subjective dimension deals with "whatought to be." Even in objective economics, thereis an assumption that people have developed aset of preferences based upon their own experi-ences, tastes, and values. What people want willdepend on how they feel their economic deci-sions will satisfy their unique wants (howeverthey may have been derived).

Normative (subjective) economics addresseshow people's values influence the future alloca-tion of resources by altering the outcomes of eco-nomic decision making or perhaps even bychanging the characteristics of the institutions inwhich economic decisions are made. Forinstance, as individuals we may refuse to purchase

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cigarettes, but we and other similar-minded per-sons may also work for local ordinances againstsmoking in public (and sometimes private)places. Economic analysis can tell us what shouldhappen to the sales of cigarettes as demand falls,but it does not address whether or not a localordinance should be put into place to improveindividual and public health.

What philosophies (ideologies)guide economic decisions?

The economy of the United States may bedescribed as a private enterprise, market econo-my. However, economic decisions are made bothin the private sectorhouseholds and business-esand in the public sectorsfederal, state, andlocal governmentsas well as in the internation-al arena. Although described as a market econo-my, it is really a mixed system in which resourcesare allocated outside of markets or are partiallydirected through the markets. The extent towhich the markets are relied upon dependssomewhat on the balance within the economy ofthe "free-market advocates," the "managed-mar-ket advocates," and the "radicals." Each grouphas a philosophical underpinning that guides theposition of advocacy that they take. Theseapproaches to economic issues are often closelyrelated to one's political ideology. They definethe questions one asks, the data one seeks, andthe general parameters one sets for issue analysis.

The free-market advocates (or conservatives)believe that competitive markets allocate resourcesbest and that the individual and the common goodis served best when markets are free to function inthe absence of outside interference, particularlycollective or governmental interference. The free-market advocates believe that the national wealthwill be maximized when individuals are allowedto create new products and services and competein markets for customers. Although they general-ly recognize that some "public goods" will have tobe provided by government, the conservativesbelieve that these should be limited to just a few,principally those relating to defense, laws andcourts, and safety (police and fire). In addition,free-market conservatives generally think thatindividuals are free and rational and that theymake economic choices based on their tastes andpreferences. Thus, problems such as unemploy-ment and poverty are often seen as the outcomeof individual actions and choices.

The managed-market advocates (or liberals)

r)22

go beyond a strictly economic analysis in theirexamination of issues, looking to social, cultural,historical, and political contexts for clues aboutcauses and solutions to complex problems.Liberals generally feel that markets do not workperfectly and can be improved or made morecompatible with society's objectives if govern-ments manage some aspects of market function.For instance, in addition to the public goodsdescribed above, the managed-market adherentswould contend that the government should beinvolved in providing for education, workplacelegislation, drug and product safety validation,environmental regulations, redistribution ofincome, and services such as agricultural stations,and subsidies to special groups, such as farmers,married people, dependent children, the elderly,college students, and so forth. In other words, letthe markets and their prices guide the system ingeneral, but expect the government to have tointervene to redirect some market outcomes so asto maximize society's general welfare. Theybelieve private property should remain intact, butthat the use of and income from property shouldbe subject to redirection by government from theindividual or one group to others.

The radical (or critical) advocates think thatissues of power, conflict, and exploitation arecentral to economic analysis. The questionsposed by this group take as a premise that "prob-lems" such as discrimination and oppression arenormal (i.e., regularly occurring) in society andthat for contemporary American society theseforces are crucial to the maintenance of thepolitical/economic status quo. The radical econ-omist would have us think of replacing someof the existing institutions with new onesbelieved to be more harmonious with the valuesof a more egalitarian and just society. In theworld of decision making, conservative, liberal,and radical perspectives are not as clear as thedescriptions above might imply. Many free-mar-keteers relax to some extent to permit govern-ment intervention; however, in principle, theyattempt to minimize government involvement.In contrast, the managed-market advocates havebeen willing to suggest that government with-draw from some market activities when the evi-dence is clear that intervention has not achievedthe desired outcomes.

What are the criteria forevaluating economic choices?

Economists generally agree on the set of crite-ria that should be considered when deciding anyeconomic issue. What they cannot do is deter-mine which is the most important. This is deter-mined by the individual or the group making thedecision. The criteria include several factors:I. Economic growth. How will decisions affect

the rate of wealth creation? Will the econom-ic pie grow faster or slower, regardless of howit will be sliced?

2. Economic efficiency. How is the systemorganized to make economic decisions? Arethe resources used to their fullest to obtainthe greatest output for the least inputs?

3. Income distribution. Will all parties share inthe output of economic activity? Will theshares of outputs be changed by the decisionsbeing made? Who wins and who loses, or doall win?

4. Economic freedom. Are individual rightsprotected? Are some group rights reduced soother group rights are enlarged? Are net free-doms expanded, contracted, or do theyremain the same? Are property rightschanged? Is freedom of job choice preserved?

5. Equity. Is the system fair? Can all peoplebenefit to the extent of their talents and con-tributions? Does discrimination reduce the"fairness"? Does the market have more or lessequity than legislation?

6. Stability. Do our decisions make the econo-my less susceptible to wide fluctuations inincome and employment? Can you reason-ably anticipate the future?

7. Economic development. Does economicgrowth change our economic structure andeconomic opportunities? Is developmentcreating not only something different, butsomething better for people? Do we wantmore things or a higher quality of life con-sisting of clean air, short commutes to work,and more "at home time"?

Take health care as a recent case to contrastthe two major schools of thinkingconservativeand liberal. Under the traditional health caresystem in the United States, the private sectorprovides the vast majority of health servicesdelivered. Recently, the coverage and the costequity and efficiencyof the system have beenbrought into question. The free-market advo-cates predict that if government initiates a corn-

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prehensive federal program, costs will rise andindividual care will decline, resulting in theaggregate level of care falling. The managed-market group says that the market has left toomany Americans outside the health care systemand offers a general welfare and equity argumentto support legislation on coverage and institu-tions to deliver health care to the citizens. Somequestions one might ask given this situation are:How would you go about recommending thesolution to this problem? In the context of alter-native philosophies, what solutions do you thinkwould be recommended? What informationwould you need to address the problem? Whatkind of economic criteria will you use to assessthe potential solutions to the issue? How will thepotential solutions affect the people?

We argue that instruction must recognizethat there are ideological differences, and it mustplace the differences within their proper social,historical, and political contexts to be relevant toissue analysis. Economics instruction as it is cur-rently practiced fails to provide students with thetools needed to hear (or understand) the voicesof various groupsdefined by race, gender, orideologywhose points of view shape the pub-lic discussion of social policy. To remedy this,economic issues should be presented in theircomplexity,- including the reality of multipleinterpretations of economic life. To do that,economic issues must be dealt with in an inter-disciplinary manner and they should be exploredin an informed and analytical manner.

Interdisciplinary InstructionIf classroom economics instruction is to

include the full range of ideological perspectives,the curriculum must include questions, data,concepts, and analyses drawn from history andthe relevant social sciences. The economic,social, and political world is so complex that eco-nomic models alone are restricted in their abili-ty to fully represent reality.

An issues-centered approach would call for aricher, more deeply contextualized focus on"how human beings, in interaction with oneanother and the environment, provide for theirown survival and health" (Nelson 1993, 34), andon the range of problems and concerns that haveoccurred and continue to occur in that endeavor.A more interdisciplinary approach to teachingeconomics represents a major break with themode currently prevailing in the United States.

The dominant approach is uni-disciplinary andoften employs choice theory, a popular analytictool that accentuates "rational" individual behav-ior and neglects the complex social, historical,and cultural factors that surround and mediateindividual choices.

Informed InstructionPedagogy as well as content must be

informed, balanced, constructed, grounded, anddynamic in order to assist learners as they becomemore thoughtful (Newmann 1992), analytic, car-ing, and creative economic decision makers. Someeconomic issuessuch as those dealing withsocial stratification, unemployment, internationaltrade, taxes, the role of government in allocatingand redistributing resources and income, thedistribution of wealth, and so onare so "hot,"emotional, and loaded with intensity, and oftenwith dogmatic and pre-determined conclusions,that thoughtful classroom treatment is difficult.Both the content of issues-centered economicsinstruction and the pedagogy employed aresources of conflict in the classroom. In addition,they are the keys to determining whether learningwill be meaningful or aimless.

Issues-centered instruction demands a "cul-ture of thinking" in the classroom: an attitude byteachers and students of curiosity and skepticism;of calmness and contemplation; of informedinvestigations and logical thinking; of objectivityalong with creativity; of role playing and empa-thy; of persistence in the pursuit of data andalternative perspectives; of doubt and criticalthinking; and of questioning, questioning, ques-tioning. Teachers and students must adopt theattitude that other perspectives are valid and rea-sonable. In addition, all should remain open totheir own views changing as they construct newways of seeing and assessing issues.

Not only should pedagogy be informed by thelatest, most relevant insights from theory andresearch, but issues-centered instruction shouldbe informed by data rather than mere opinion.Students should learn where to find information,how to assess its reliability, authenticity, andvalidity, and how to interpret data presented in arange of forms.

While it is not the goal of this chapter todevelop the research base for issues-centeredinstruction, we believe there is considerable the-oretical and empirical work to guide educators inmaking wise pedagogical choices. Through the

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employment of such work, we now propose thefollowing plan for making the transition to amore issues-centered approach to economicinstruction.

PART TWO: DEVELOPING THEINSTRUCTIONAL APPROACH

11

ssues-oriented economics instruction, then,should embody the essential principles devel-oped in part one of this chapter: it shouldfoster an informed and interdisciplinarytreatment of issues, and these should beexplored from various ideological perspec-

tives. We have developed an issues-orientedteaching model drawing on these principles andon the literature on role taking (Selman 1976),learning (Vygotsky 1978; Wittrock 1986),domain-specific knowledge and knowledgerestructuring (Spilich et al. 1979; Voss 1986;Voss et al. 1983; Voss, Tyler, and Yengo 1983;Vosniadou and Brewer 1987), and on problemsolving and thoughtfulness (Beck and Carpenter1986; Newmann 1992). The model blends effec-tive pedagogy with content knowledge to pro-duce an approach that addresses the interpretiveand interdisciplinary aspects of economic issues.The model begins with student interest andprior knowledge, and leads them through a pur-poseful process of inquiry and investigation inwhich their visual representation and under-standing of an issue is reconstructed as theyuncover new information and new perspectives.

The model can be applied in elementary,middle, and high school classrooms. Typically,economics is taught as a separate course in highschools. The most prevalent approach is a princi-ples of economics orientation, although coursesin personal finance may also be offered. In addi-tion, Advanced Placement economics courses areoffered, which are usually highly analytical andconceptual. At the elementary and middle schoollevels, economic content is generally integratedinto the ongoing social studies curriculum,although there are some stand-alone programs,such as Mini-Society, the Stock Market game,and Kinder-economy.

More about the modelSTEP 1: Representing and defining the

issue and its parameters. Tapping the currentknowledge of students, try to identify the broaddimensions of the issue, exploring its causes, con-

The Issues-Oriented Teaching Model:An Outline

Step 1: Representing and defining theissue and its parameters

(This aspect of the model is based on the students' currentknowledge and awareness of the issue).

Identify the issue or the topic for investigation; reframe theissue as questions; represent the issue in alternative ways.

Identify causes, constraints, sub-issues, and the historical,social, and political factors that influence the central issue.

Develop a graphic representation to portray the broaddimensions of the issue and to show the way the aspects ofthe issue relate to one another (causal, chronological, etc.)

Step 2: Linking prior knowledge withnew information about the issueBrainstorm with students to identify what they know or

think they know about any of the questions/categoriesidentified as relevant to this issue.

Identify what data and sources will be needed in orderto address the questions asked.

Discuss what economic (and other) analytical conceptswill be needed to fully understand the issue.

Conduct data collection and analysis. In addition, at thispoint in instruction the teacher should design and imple-ment mini-lessons on concepts students will need tounderstand in order to continue the analysis of the issue.

Step 3: Reconceptualizing/redefining theissue, given new data and ideasAsk what new dimensions of the issue are apparent after

examining the data and reading alternative opinions?Ask if the sub-issues can be redefined and addressed by

applying the new factual and conceptual knowledgelearned?

Step 4: Developing alternative points ofview, with substantiating dataAsk how conservatives, liberals, and radicals would

approach this issue. What criteria would each use toassess the problem? What policy recommendations wouldpersons holding each perspective propose? What are theshort-term and long-term consequences of each propos-al? What other considerations should be addressed?

Step 5: Stating personal positions, givingsupporting rationale and dataHave students address the questions, What position do

I have on this issue, and why? What are the short-termand long-term considerations and consequences of myposition? What are the steps and impediments to policyimplementation?

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texts, and aspects. It is helpful to rephrase ques-tions into as many forms as possible, because thisprocess will uncover aspects of the problem thatstudents may not have initially considered.

For example, suppose students are interestedin issues surrounding social stratification andpoverty and, therefore, have initially asked Whyare some people (or countries) less well off thanothers? As part of the reframing of this issue,students might generate questions such as Who ispoor? What do words like "poor" and "poverty"mean? Why are some people poor? Where do the poorlive? What jobs do the poor have? How do poor peo-ple get their food, clothing, and shelter?

What is meant by social class? Who is in whatsocial class (by gender, race, region), and what arethe historic trends?

What is the extent of mobility from one socioeco-nomic class to another? What are the dominant soci-ological/psychological theories about poverty andsocial stratification? What percentage of each ethnic,gender, and age group is currently living in pover-ty? What political issues center on poverty? Whatpercentage of the federal and state budgets go towardpoverty-related programs? What are the outcomes ofsuch programs?

How do different countries rank in terms of percapita income and standard of living? What mea-sures indicate general quality of life? Do industrial-ized countries have a "social responsibility" toimprove the standard of living of persons and coun-tries with low per capita income?

Suppose the question raised is What role(s)should the United States government assume in pro-moting its interests in international trade? Thebrainstorming and representation of the scope ofthe issue might include such sub-issues andaspects of the issue as Why do nations trade? Whattrade agreements does the United States have withother nations? What major trading partners doesthe United States have, and what is the extent ofimport/export exchange with each partner? Whatforms of protectionism, quotas, or other barriers arecurrently used by the United States and by our trad-ing partners? Should we protect certain industries

from international competition? What is our tradedeficit, and should we try to reduce it? Should ourgovernment have an industrial policy and a nation-al plan for the nation's productivity?

High school students face many economicissues in their own lives as well as in their formalstudy of economics. In microeconomics, stu-dents might ask Why are men and women of "com-

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parable worth" earning different incomes? Shouldbusinesses be concerned with "social responsibility"?Should school attendance be compulsory? Shouldpublic education be privatized? Do United Statescitizens save enough? Who should pay for andreceive low-cost housing? Should businesses be ableto close profitable factories in a local community tomove the business to another country where theywould pay lower wages?

When studying macroeconomics, studentsmight ask Has the U.S. government become toobig? Who should pay for health care, and shouldeveryone be entitled to it? Workfare or welfare?Should the Federal Reserve target zero inflation?Should the government pay reparations to AfricanAmericans? Are affirmative action policies equi-table? Should any immigrant to the United States beallowed to work at any wage rate? Is the federalbudget deficit of any real consequence? Should therich pay fewer taxes to encourage greater invest-ment? Should the federal government take actions toprotect endangered species when it means jobs willbe lost?

When studying international economics,students might ask Should the world's farmers beprotectedfrom the competition of the market? Shouldcountries protect their infant industries? Should theUnited States have an industrial policy? Should theUnited States feed the world's poor? How much aidshould the United States give to Russia or toMexico? Should the military-industrial complex beexpanded?

Students' prior understanding of the scope ofthe issue surfaces during step one, as they attemptto define the parameters, causes, and sub-issues ofthe problem. Having students organize the con-tent of this brainstorming into a visual represen-tation will enable them to see the major viewsthey currently hold about the issue. Using Post-its, have students write each of their questions,sub-issues, and current information about theissue. The Post-its then can be arranged visuallyon chart paper to show how the questions andideas relate to one another. This representation isuseful for showing the complexity of many issues,and the graphic can be used as a teaching toolthroughout the course of the issue's analysis.As students gather data and identify new aspectsof the issue, they can be added to the graphicorganizer, which now becomes a dynamic repre-sentation of how the students are thinking aboutthe issue.

This same process can be used with students

of all ages, using issues that are developmentallyappropriate. Young children are curious andpuzzled by economic choices they make orobserve in their homes, schools, and communi-ties. Children observe local economic dilemmasas communities decide whether to raise taxes,how to use land for alternative purposes, how toaddress the needs of homeless persons, or how touse available local resources. Even young chil-dren can begin to realize that different peoplesee issues from different perspectives, as theypractice the roles of persons attending a townmeeting to decide whether to raise propertytaxes to build new schools. Elementary schoolstudents easily learn to portray their representa-tion of a problem visually, and to generate newquestions for further investigation. Of course,young students will need more assistance withthe procedural and conceptual aspects of aninvestigation and with skills of data interpreta-tion than older students, but, with expert teacherguidance, they also can apply the five-step,issues-analysis model to their thinking.

Middle school students are actively involvedin the economy as consumers, and in many casesas producers and savers, and are conceptually ableto understand, at least at a fundamental level,some of the same issues as high school students.Economic issues are dominant in the social stud-ies curriculum at grades six through eight,whether the focus be on the United States orworld history, global studies, or regional studies.Economic issues for analysis can also be drawnfrom current local, national, and world eventsthat are of interest to the students, and the five-step, issues-teaching model can be employed tohelp students gain a deeper understanding of thedimensions and context of issues: Should theUnited States provide economic aid to other countriesthat are improving their industrial base? Shouldthere be economic incentives for students to get goodgrades in school? How should a wilderness area inthe local community be used, and who should decideits use? How should the state's lottery money be used?Should cigarette producers be allowed to advertise?Should commercial products be sold in schools? Thelist of issues that might be of interest to middleschool students is endless.

STEP 2: Linking prior knowledge with newinformation about the issue. Continuing to usethe same graphic organizer, students shouldidentify what they know or think they know

about the issue and the sub-issues. Misconcep-tions and errors will surface, and, at this point inthe analysis, these should be accepted by theteacher. However, as new information is gatheredand processed, students should make correctionsand additions to their graphic representation.Discussions of the reliability and accuracy of datasources should be an integral part of any inquiry.

Step two implies a major investigation of theissue, with an identification of data sources andalternative points of view. Research in today'stechnologically equipped school media centersshould enable students to access not only insight-providing data but also editorial commentarieson issues written from various ideological per-spectives. In addition, all high school economicsclassrooms should have copies of books thataddress important economic issues from differentviews. These include Feiner's Race and Gender inthe American Economy (1994) and Schwartz andBonello's Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Contro-versial Economic Issues (1993).

During this "finding out more" phase of issueanalysis, students and teachers should engage indeveloping the necessary conceptual tools forunderstanding the data and the issues. For exam-ple, on international trade issues, students willneed to understand a wide range of ideas, such asquotas, protectionism, NAFTA, trade deficits,comparative and absolute advantage, capital, bal-ance of trade, subsidies, supply and demand,exchange rates, infant industry, dumping, inter-national equilibrium, and so on.

This phase of issue analysis involves a slowingdown of dialogue about the issue itself, and arealization on the part of students and teachersthat, in order to fully understand it, they muststop and learn underlying concepts and facts.Here, pacing and relating the information to thecentral issue helps students "remember" why theyare doing so much research.

STEP 3: Reconceptualizing the issue, givennew data and ideas. After students have con-ducted a broad investigation of data and perspec-tives related to the central issue, they shouldreturn to their initial conception of the problem,and work to reconceptualize and refine theirfocus, sharpening their questions, reevaluatingsub-issues, and beginning to organize data andviews around the related issues. It is useful at thisstage of the inquiry to have students develop newgraphic representations as a means of comparing

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their new views with the images they developedinitially. Hopefully, the new representation illus-trates the students' growth in seeing not only theissue's complexity, but also demonstrates greateraccuracy and completeness in identifying sub-issues and information that illuminates the topic.

STEP 4: Developing alternative points ofview, with substantiating data. Before launchingan in-depth issue analysis, students should con-sider the nature of differing points of view oneconomic issues. More mature students can readpoint-of-view essays by economists fromSchwartz and Bonello (1993), for example, andattempt to uncover the essential differences inperspectives. They could then practice identify-ing these alternative ideological viewpoints ineditorials in newspapers and news magazinesprior to creating their own policy options basedon various perspectives.

Younger students should be able to identifythe people who might be interested in the issuebeing analyzed, and then speculate about howthe issue might look from each person's perspec-tive. For example, on the issue of raising proper-ty taxes to build new schools, it could be askedHow would the issue look if you were a retired per-son on a fixed income whose children were grown?What if you were a businessperson wanting toattract new workers to town? What f you were amiddle-income home owner with four children inschool? Role-taking gives students the opportu-nity to see how an issue might look differentlydepending not only on a person's circum-stancesbut also on the beliefs and values heldby that person.

STEP 5: Stating Personal Positions,Giving Supporting Rationale and Data.Finally, students should have enough informa-tion, awareness of alternative perspectives, andconceptual knowledge to make informed judg-ments about the sub-issues and the major issueunder investigation. Students should be able tosubstantiate these positions, and be able to pro-ject the short-term and long-term consequencesof their proposed actions and policies. Studentscan present their views in letters to the editor,essays, editorials, mock economic conferences,video presentations, debates, panel discussions,public hearings, or round table discussions.

In many schools, students are able to connect(via Internet, distance learning) with students in

other communities, even across the globe.Dialogue on environmental issues as well as oncritical national issues of privatization, economicgrowth, unemployment, and international tradeare daily matters for many young people (in overa dozen countries) who are part of programs suchas the Global Thinking Project, sponsored byGeorgia State University. As such programs growand our capacity to communicate with other peo-ple increases, the dimensions of classroom issues-oriented instruction become more exciting anddynamic for teachers and students.

The guiding principles of issues-orientedeconomics instruction, then, are the same regard-less of student age or sophistication level:

Economics issues are complex and embed-ded in the social, political, and historicalcontexts of life. They should be viewed andstudied in ways that reflect this richness.People have different opinions about howeconomics issues should be addressed, andthese various viewpoints should be consid-ered and evaluated by students as they con-template their own position.Analysis of issues should be informed byreliable and valid data.Students learn best when they are interestedin an issue and when they are intimatelyinvolved in the identification of the problemand in the construction of its dimensionsand its "solution."Teachers must practice thoughtfulness, bal-ance, objectivity, and issue analysis in theirown lives in order to practice the proposedpedagogy in their classrooms.

The role of the social studies classroom is toassist students in informed reflection on impor-tant economic matters, to instill dispositions ofthoughtfulness and inquiry, rather than impetu-ousness and dogmatism, and to foster awarenessand appreciation for the validity of alternativeinterpretations of complex issues. To achievethese goals, the social studies and economicteaching communities have much work ahead.Teachers themselves must embody these traitsand skills before they can adequately implementissues-oriented economics instruction in anyclassroom. Teacher education programs mustaddress the development of prospective andmature issues-oriented educators. Additionally,these teachers will need newly conceived instruc-tional materials in order to easily implement such

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an approach. At present, most economics educa-tors will find themselves developing their ownissues-oriented lessons, and will need to identifyand gather the available data sources. What isneeded is a commitment by all to move toward amore interpretive, interdisciplinary, and informedapproach to economic education.

References and Further ReadingsAlexander, P. A., D. L. Schallert, and V. C. Hare.

"Coming to Terms: How Researchers in Learningand Literacy Talk about Knowledge." Review ofEducational Research 61, no.3 (1991): 315-343.

Amok, T, and J. Mattaei. Race, Gender and WorkA Multicultural Economic History of Women. Boston:

South End Press, 1993.Armento, B. J. "Changing Conceptions of Research on

the Teaching of Social Studies." In Handbook ofResearch on Social Studies Teaching and Learning,

edited by J. Shaver. New York Macmillan, 1991.. "Economic Socialization." In Citizenship for the

Twenty-first Century, edited by W. T Callahan.Bloomington, Ind.: Foundation for Teaching Econo-mics and Social Studies Development Center, 1990.

Beck, I. L. and P. A. Carpenter. "Cognitive approachesto Understanding Reading."American Psychologist 41,no. 10 (1986): 1098-1105.

Feiner, S. F. Race and Gender in the American Economy:

Views fromAcross the Spectrum. Englewood Cliffs,

NJ.: Prentice Hall, 1994.Nelson, J. A. "The Study of Choice or the Study of

Provisioning? Gender and the Definition ofEconomics." Beyond Economic Man: Feminist Theory

and Economics, edited by M. A. Ferber and J. A.Nelson. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993.

Newmann, F. M., ed. Student Engagement andAchievement in Secondary Schools. New York Teachers

College Press, 1992.Schwartz, T R and E J. Bonello, eds. Taking Sides: Clashing

Views on Controversial Economic Issues. Guilford, Conn.:

Dushkin Publishing Group, Inc., 1993.Selman, R L. "Social-Cognitive Understanding:

A Guide to Educational and Clinical Practice."In Moral Development and Behavior: Theory, Research,

and Social Issues, edited by T Lickona. New YorkHolt, Rinehart and Winston, 1976.

Spilich, G. J., et al. "Text Processing of Domain-RelatedInformation for Individuals with High and LowDomain Knowledge. " Journal of Verbal Learning and

Verbal Behavior 18 (1979): 275-290.Tobias, S. "Interest, Prior Knowledge, and Learning."

Review of Educatimal Research 64, no. 1 (1994): 37-54.

Vosniadou, S. and W. F. Brewer. "Theories ofKnowledge Restructuring in Development." Reviewof Educational Research 57 (1987): 51-67.

Voss, J. "Social Studies." In Cognition and Instruction,

edited by R. E Dillon and R. J. Sternberg. Orlando,Fla.: Academic Press, Inc., 1986., et al. "Problem Solving Skill in the Social Sciences."In The Psychology of Learning and Motivation:

Advances in Research Theory, edited by G. H. Bower.

New York Academic Press, 1983., S. Tyler and L. Yengo. "Individual Differences in theSolving of Social Science Problems." In IndividualDifferences in Cognition, edited by R. Dillon and R.Schmeck. New York Academic Press, 1983.

Vygotsky, L. S. Mind in Society: The Development of

Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge: Harvard

University Press, 1978.Wittrock, M. C. "Students' Thought Processes." In

Handbook of Research on Teaching, 3rd Edition, edited

by M. C. Wittrock New York Macmillan, 1986.

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TEASOCbq Jer

HING ISSUES-CENTERED ANTHROPOLOGY,OLOGY, AND PSYCHOLOGY

fl. Ligon and George W. Chi 'coal

The troubles young people experience todayin and out of school are shocking. Youthare worried and troubled by an increasingsuicide and homicide rate, drug use amongtheir peers, and disintegration of their fam-ilies (Ingrassia 1993). Ingrassia (1993) also

reported that they worry about their peers steal-ing from them (68 percent), being attacked (46percent), or threatened with a gun (24 percent).

How hard is it for students to concentrate ontheir social studies classes when they have suchconcerns? To what extent do students todayexperience what Hunt and Metcalf (1968, 26)called "intrapersonal conflict" and are "uncertainas to what to believe or value"? To the extent thatstudents view the resolution of this uncertainty asbeing within themselves and their immediatesocial setting, they are experiencing what Mills(1959) called "troubles." However, students' trou-bles transcend themselves to the institutions andculture of their society. For students to betterunderstand their troubles, they must examinethese societal issues. As social studies educatorswith a primary purpose "to help young peopledevelop the ability to make informed and rea-soned decisions for the public good" (NationalCouncil for the Social Studies [NCSS] 1994,vii), we might ask our students: "To what extentare the troubles of U.S. society influenced by:

the culture of the United States?"how individuals learn, perceive, and grow?"how people meet their basic needs?"how groups and institutions form and

change?"those who hold power and authority?"how power and authority are gained, used,

and justified?"

As students grapple with their private lives,

they must understand how their individual biog-raphy relates to U.S. culture, society, and history.We believe that an issues-centered study ofcentral concepts in anthropology, sociology, andpsychology would give students perspective onthe problems they face. In this chapter we iden-tify the central concepts for student inquiry inthese disciplines, share a model for issues-centered instruction, and suggest resources inteaching these subjects.

Central Concepts of Anthropology,Sociology, and Psychology

No single source contains a listing of the cen-tral concepts of each discipline. While theAmerican Psychological Association (1986) isthe only organization among the three disci-plines to offer an official high school curriculum,lists of suggested sociology units continue tosurface (National Commission on Social Studiesin the Schools 1989; Gray 1993). Sociologistscontinue to debate what are the basic concepts ofsociology and if they should be standardizeda continuing debate since Emile Durkheim andMax Weber's time (Wallace 1990). Though wedo not agree, a faction within the AmericanSociological Association believes sociology isactually too difficult for precollegiate education(Smith 1981). While evidence suggested thatrarely are high school students enrolled inanthropology courses (Erickson 1991), conceptsand topics central to anthropology are taughtthroughout K-12 schooling (Rice 1993).

Issues-Centered AnthropologyCulturethe patterned and learned ways of

life and thought that a human society sharesisthe concept central to anthropology. Anthro-pologists attempt to explain why and how the cul-

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tures of groups of people are different, "why theyhave different physical characteristics, speak dif-ferent languages, use different technologies, andwhy they think, believe and act" differently(White 1989, 31). Anthropologists also studyhuman biology, archaeology, and linguistics, aswell as cultural anthropology (Bodley 1994).

Because anthropologists draw freely fromconcepts, theories, and methods of all social sci-ences (Bodley 1994), anthropological conceptsare often taught in U.S. elementary and sec-ondary schools within an interdisciplinaryframework. Unfortunately, some evidenceshowed that much of what is taught is "trivialand noninformative" (Rice 1993); the study ofculture is more than the study of dance, food,holidays, and history (White 1989). Centralconcepts and topics in anthropology, in additionto culture, include family, race, ethnicity, evolu-tion, adaptation, and technological change.When students analyze artifacts, original docu-ments, art, and accounts of everyday lives of peo-ple, they are modeling the methods of anthro-pologists (Bodley 1994; White 1989).

We believe strongly that anthropology mustbecome a part of the social studies teachereducation curriculum. If the first strand of thesocial studies discipline's standards (NCSS 1994)is culture and if the position of social studieseducation professionals is that "social studiesprograms should include experiences that pro-vide for the study of culture and cultural diversi-ty" (NCSS 1994, 21), then the primary disciplinethat studies culture should not be overlookedwithin teacher preparation.

Furthermore, as a discipline that can empha-size "interdisciplinary integration rather thandisciplinary exclusiveness" (Rollwagen 1989,138), anthropology, we believe, is an ideal candi-date for issues-centered instruction. Teacherscan build lessons, units, and courses around "sit-uations and dilemmas that pose problems, thatmake us ponder what to do in matters of publicpolicy as well as in private course of action"(Evans 1994, 43). For example, instead of asking"How are cultures different?" an issues-centeredlesson might ask "How might different cultureslive peacefully together?" This question demandsmore inquiry because the latter question cannotbe answered until students probe the initialquestion and, in order to arrive at an answer,students must examine the problematic insteadof the factualthey eat this and we eat that

aspects of the cultures under study. A cross-cultural study of religion, taught with an issues-centered approach, shifts the question from"How does religion influence a part of a cul-ture?" to "What role should religion play informing public policy in a democratic society?"In an issues-centered lesson, the questions forstudy are open-ended and have no "right"answers but require thoughtfulness and in-depthstudy of evidence. This shift in focus from study-ing the factual to studying the problematicadmittedly is more controversial, but, in tacklingimportant questions, it interests students.

Issues-Centered SociologySociology is the science of society (Stewart

and Glynn 1985) that focuses on two principalaspects of social life: group membership andface-to-face interaction (Henslin 1988). In theclassic Invitation to Sociology, Peter Berger(1963, 20) wrote that sociologists ask: "What arepeople doing with each other here?" What aretheir relationships to each other?" "How arethese relationships organized in institutions?"The traditional goal of sociology has been tounderstand society, but today stronger interest isin practice, where sociologists develop criticalperspectives through applying sociology in acad-emic studies, in the workplace (by sociologistsand nonsociologists), and in personal use(Basirica 1990; Friedman 1987). An increasingnumber of sociologists seek improvements incitizenship education and design their owncourses with the overriding goal to "promotecritical citizenship" (Dressel 1990; Gray 1993).

The central concepts that sociology studentsmay study are numerous. Gray (1989) suggesteddeviance and social control, family, social stratifi-cation, education, and gerontology. "Introductionto Sociology" college texts, which are oftenadopted for secondary courses, also include: racialand ethnic minorities, demography, collectivebehavior, human societies and culture, and sepa-rate chapters on the institutions of the family,religion, education, political institutions, and theeconomy. While no precollegiate curriculum rec-ommendations have been released, the AmericanSociological Association published their ownone-semester high school text, Inquiries inSociology (Sociological Resources 1972), whichaddressed socialization, institutions, social strati-fication, and change in the social order.

The sociology teacher in an issues-centered

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lesson would do well to organize under a questionMacdonald (1977, 20) suggested: "How shall welive together?" In issues-centered instructionBerger's questions would be rephrased: "Whatshould people be doing with each other in thissituation?" "What should be their relationshipswith each other?" "How should these relation-ships be organized in institutions?"

A lesson or unit dealing with racial andethnic minorities, for example, could ask stu-dents at any grade level, "How should we relateto different people?" "How should people withdifferent backgrounds form institutions to sup-port the public good?" "What are our publicresponsibilities as citizens in a democracy?"None of these questions have definite "rightanswers." Most will probably be controversial,and all demand reflection, discussion, inquiry.They are also questions, appropriately framed,that should generate a high level of studentinterest across grade levels.

Issues-Centered PsychologyAccording to the American Psychological

Association (APA) (1986, 12): "Psychology is thescience and profession concerned with thebehavior of humans and animals." The core areasof study delineated by the APA are the scientificmethods of psychology, growth and develop-ment, learning, personality, mental health, behav-ioral disorders, and social psychology.

The teacher of issues-centered psychologywould draw from psychologically relevantconcepts and topics to teach young peoplefrom a more social psychological perspective.The course objectives would include studyingthe core concepts and theories of psychology;learning the basic skills of psychologicalresearch; applying psychological concepts to life;developing critical thinking skills; building read-ing, writing, and discussion skills; and learningabout ethical standards. The key questions in anissues-centered psychology class would be:"What factors influence individual developmentand identity?" and "How do culture, groups, andinstitutions influence personal identity?" Theteacher using an issues-centered approach couldencourage students to reflect upon (Dewey1933), inquire into (Massialas and Cox 1966),make decisions on (Engle and Ochoa 1988), anddialogue about such controversial topics(Muessig 1975; Sweeney and Parsons 1975) as:

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heiedity and environment:attitiide lofmaticifi'. arid changemoral developmeiitracismintelligencegender issuesself-esteeinethnic and cultural diversityminority issues

substanceprejudice and discriminationsex role develOpinent andstereotypingtests'and measurement's ofintelligencechild abuseteenage suicideinterpersonal relations.

All of the topics listed above have implica-tions for how an individual develops a personalidentity. Most of the topicsafter carefulstudycould lead to implications for socialaction. For example, how individuals come todefine themselves is influenced by their percep-tion of their intelligence. Definitions of intelli-gence (IQvs. multiple intelligences, for example)reflect ways that a culture views intelligence andcertainly how schools reward students. Studyingintelligence as a controversial issue would allowstudents to better understand, make decisions,and possibly influence what happens to them inschool in the area of testing, ranking, and sorting.

An Issues-CenteredInstructional Model

A model of issues-centered education that isreadily adaptable to lessons, units, and courses inanthropology, sociology, and psychology is theSweeney-Parsons Controversial Social IssuesModel (1975). It provides teachers with a way tostructure classroom lessons and activities toencourage thoughtful examination of decisionsand the decision-making process. The teacherfollows the model's seven stages, known as phas-es, assisting the students as they study, examine,analyze, and attempt to resolve the issue at hand.

In selecting an issue for study, the teachermay look to students' interests or timely prob-lems, but it is best to also consider an issue'srelevance to the students' lives and whether itconcerns the community and/or the larger soci-ety. As a result of careful selection, the topicitself and the accompanying investigation activi-ties sustain the students' motivation throughoutthe study. The lesson used as a sample here is acomposite drawn from several social studiesteachers and is presented to give readers a fullydeveloped issues-centered lesson. The issuestudied in the unit is standardized testing, suit-able for study because it is relevant to students'

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The Sweeny-Parsons ControversialSocial Issues Model

PHASE I:

PHASE II:

PHASE

P HASE IV:

PHASE V:

Ismasa VI:

P lum VII:

Selection and PresentationAnalysisClarificationClassification and ComparisonReflectionApplicationEvaluation

lives and the larger community. It also is a con-temporary problem that has many facets: e.g.,elementary and high school students in manystates routinely take standardized tests, and testscores of each school district are often publishedin the local newspapers for public scrutiny.

Phase I: Selection and PresentationThis first phase is primarily the responsibility

of the teacher. The teacher selects a real-life issue,develops a rationale for its study, selects instruc-tional materials, determines the approximatetime for the entire lesson, and establishes anopen-minded and respectful climate of teacher-student mutual trust. This last area is very impor-tant in the entire process of teaching issues.Sweeney and Parsons (1975, 47) explain:

Perhaps the most important teacher ingre-dient for the examination of controversialissues, is establishing the emotional climateof the classroom. It is critical that theteacher establish rapport in a class wherecontroversial issues are going to be dis-cussed. There must be mutual confidencethat the students can and will supplyimportant information to the discussions.The students must have faith that theteacher can moderate an open and honestdiscussion of the materials. If the teacherhas a bias, the students must be confidentthat the teacher will show it as a bias.

In the testing lesson, the teacher begins witha series of five questions meant to provoke strongemotional responses:

"If I use the word test or testing, what comesto your mind?"

"How many tests do you think you take in ayear?"

o "What different kinds of tests have you taken?"o "What do you think about all of these tests

that you and others take?"© "What do you think about the results of any

given test that might determine who you arefor the rest of your school or regular life?"

After a lively discussion on each of the fivequestions, the teacher presents the topic andrationale. These discussions might take up thefirst day of the lesson.

Phase II: AnalysisThe objective of Phase II is to define the

issue. It consists of three steps: first, the teacherpresents students with selected materials for theirreading, looking, and/or listening; second, stu-dents engage in a question-and-answer discus-sion limited to the material's facts, values,and definitions about the issue; and third, uponconclusion of the discussion, the class agrees on aworking definition of the issue.

The teacher gives students a copy of "Standard-ized Testing: A Defense" by K. H. Ashworth(1990). As students read the article, the teacherencourages them to underline information thatclarifies the intent of the author or take notes inorder to understand the inferences about standard-ized testing that the article offers. To help the stu-dents understand the facts, values, and definitionsof the material, the teacher asks students to usetheir notes to discuss the answers to the followinggeneral questions (Sweeney and Parsons 1975, 56):

What does the material say?What is the intention of the material?How does the material want you to feel?What is occurring in the material?What action is happening?

After the discussion, the teacher asks, "Whatissue appears sufficiently important that wemight continue to focus on it through the bal-ance of this unit?"

Phase III: ClarificationPhase III helps students to analyze their own

values and belief systems relevant to the issueunder study. Students must come to some under-standing of how they feel about the issue. Thisphase allows students to think deeply about theirpositions and to become acquainted and learnabout the positions of others both in and out ofthe classroom.

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233

The teacher begins this phase by organizingthe class into small groups of four students.Students are instructed to discuss their feelingsand beliefs about the issue of standardized test-ing as they understand it. Each group is to takenotes on the groups' conversation and report tothe whole class. The groups meet for about ten tofifteen minutes, depending on student interest.After a lively discussion, the teacher records thegroups' findings on the chalkboard.

The teacher next asks the class what theymust do to find answers to any questions thatthey might have and find outside support fortheir positions. The students might poll theirparents, friends, other students, teachers, andadministrators both in their and other highschools. Some might begin a library search ofrelevant information or expert opinion in suchreferences as Facts on File or the Readers' Guide toPeriodicals. Students then divide up responsibili-ties and determine a schedule.

Phase IV: Classification and ComparisonIn Phase IV the teacher develops activities to

help students probe the underlying values inthe presented materials, compare those valueswith their own, support their positions, anddetermine the influencing sources of their values(personal experience, family, religion, television,etc.). The teacher structures open-minded dis-cussions that analyze different and similar posi-tions and concludes the phase by helpingstudents extract 1. the basic conflicts inherent inthe presented materials, 2. the students' own val-ues, and 3. values and conflicts from othersources of information.

In their groups the students discuss the infor-mation they collected and then discuss the follow-ing questions (Sweeney and Parsons 1975, 61).

GOAL 1: To probe the underlying values inthe presented material:

What are some of the value conflicts whichseem to be involved in this issue?

How many sides are there to this controver-sial topic?

GOAL 2: To compare student values withthose values presented in the materials:

How do you view the various sides of thisissue?

How did you arrive at your decisions?Do you know whether your family would agree

with you on your decisions? Why or why not?

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Who do you think influences your decisions?Can you trace some influence to anotherperson? Why do you think it is that person?

GOAL 3: To discuss examples of similar valueconflicts:

What are other examples of the stated valuecontroversy?

How are they compared or contrasted withour example?

Have similar questions been raised andresolved in the past? If so, how?

These same questions guide the whole classdiscussion after the small groups report on theirfindings. The teacher notes on the chalkboard thevalue conflicts that emerged from the discussions,such as control of testing results vs. individualself-control; rote memorization vs. multiple intel-ligences; teaching to tests vs. real-life learning.

Phase V: ReflectionIn Phase V students reflect on what they have

been thinking and doing concerning the issueand if they have changed their opinions about theissue. The small groups discuss what they believeto be the implications of the values and valueconflicts discussed so far in the study. To help thediscussion, the teacher asks the students: "Whatis it we do like about these implications?" "Whatis it we don't like about these implications?" Toelicit student responses, the teacher asks studentsto personally answer the following questions(Sweeney and Parsons 1975, 64):

Have my values changed? In what ways? Why?Have my values remained as they were?

If so, why?Have I modified my values? In what ways? Why?Having made decisions about the issues

involved, what are the implications ofthe decisions? How do they affect me asan individual?

What can I do about my decisions?If I do act, what are the alternatives of my

action?

Phase VI: ApplicationPhase VI allows students to apply what they

have learned and put their values into action. Theteacher encourages students to find ways inwhich to take action based on their decisions andvalues. Students who do not wish to take part inthe implementation of any decision should notbe forced to do so. According to Sweeney and

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Parsons (1975), the application process is notalways an essential aspect of the model.

The teacher asks students, "Assume that youare in a position to solve most of the problemsassociated with standardized testing as we havediscussed them. Based on the alternatives totesting that you have proposed, do you thinkthat some sort of action should be undertaken?""Do you want to propose some type of action?""Do you want to carry it out?" After much dis-cussion, students develop possible proposals andcarry out their plans.

Phase VII: EvaluationThe last phase, evaluation, is not always a

part of the Sweeney and Parsons ControversialSocial Issues Model. If evaluation is used, itshould emphasize process and students' person-al learning during the lessons, not acquisition ofspecific content. The teacher can use multipleactivities to evaluate student learning: ask ques-tions; have written reports; or have a student-initiated activity that is concerned with the stu-dent's ability to analyze, take a position, andlogically evidence a position.

In this last phase, the teacher asks, "Now thatyou are somewhat experts in testing and evalua-tion, should we evaluate our experiences?" "Onwhat should we evaluate?" "And how should weevaluate?" The students, then, design and imple-ment their own evaluation.

We believe that the Sweeney-ParsonsControversial Social Issues Model is an excellentmodel for teachers to use in developing issues-centered lessons and units dealing with anthro-pological, sociological, and psychological con-cepts and topics. The Sweeney-Parsons modelcapitalizes on student interest and concerns ofthe community and/or larger society. It offersteachers the flexibility to decide how much timeand how much depth might be necessary to studya topic. And, most importantly, it encourages stu-dents to thoughtfully examine decisions and thedecision-making process as they develop per-spectives on the issues they face in everyday life.

Resources in Anthropology,Sociology, and Psychology

Because there are many resources available forteachers who teach concepts from these threedisciplines, we have listed on the next page sever-al general resources that offer ideas and otherresource materials, some that may help students

in developing perspectives about issues.

ReferencesAmerican Psychological Association. Statement on the

Curriculum for the High School Psychology Course.

Washington, D.C.: American PsychologicalAssociation, 1986.

Ashworth, K. H. "Standardized Testing: A Defense."Educational Digest 56 (1990): 40-42.

Basirica, L. A. "Integrating Sociological Practice intoTraditional Sociology Courses." Teaching Sociology 18

(January 1990): 57-62.Berger, P. L. Invitation to Sociology: A Humanistic

Perspective. New York Anchor Books, 1963.Bodley, J. H. Cultural Anthropology: Tribes, States, and the

Global System. Mountain View, Calif.: MayfieldPublishing, 1994.

Dewey, J. How We Think. New York D. C. Heath, 1933.Dressel, P. "Films That Put Social Problems in Global

Context." Teaching Sociology 18 (April 1990): 226-30.

Engle, S. H., and A. S. Ochoa. Education for DemocraticCitizenship: Decision Making in the Social Studies.

New York Teachers College Press, 1988.Erickson, P A., ed. Interim Report on Precollege

Anthropology Committee on Research to the AAA Task

Force on Teaching Anthropology in Schools. Halifax,

Nova Scotia: St. Mary's University, 1991.Evans, R. W. "A Bold Vision for the Future of Social

Studies." In The Future of the Social Studies, edited by

M. R. Nelson. Boulder, Colo.: Social ScienceEducation Consortium, Inc., 1994.

Friedman, N. L. "Expansively 'Doing' Sociology:Thoughts on the Limits and Linkages ofSociological Practice." ASA Footnotes 15 (1987): 11.

Gray, P. S. "Sociology" In Charting a Course: SocialStudies for the 21st Century, a report of the NationalCommission on Social Studies in the Schools, 71-75. Washington, D. C.: National Commission onSocial Studies in the Schools, 1989.

Gray, P S. "Sociology in the Schools." In Teaching SocialStudies, edited by V.S. Wilson, JA. Little, and G.L.Wilson. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1993.

Henslin, J. M. Down to Earth Sociology. 5th ed.New York Free Press, 1988.

Hunt, M. P, and L. E. Metcalf. Teaching High SchoolSocial Studies. New York Harper and Row, 1968.

Ingrassia, M. "Growing Up Fast and Frightened."Newsweek, November 22,1993,52-53.

Macdonald, J. B. "Value Bases and Issues for Curric-ulum." In Curriculum Theory, edited by A. Molnarand J. A. Zahorilc Washington, D.C.: Associationfor Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1977.

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Resources in Anthropology, Sociology, and Psychology

AnthroNotes, a National Museumof Natural History Bulletin forTeachers is published three times a year and wasoriginally part of the George WashingtonUniversity/Smithsonian Institution Anthropologyfor Teachers Program, funded by the NationalScience Foundation. Free. Contact AnthropologyOutreach and Public Information Office,Department of Anthropology, NHB 363 MRC 112,Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560.The Teacher's Resource Packet:Anthropology, published by the Anthropol-ogy Outreach Office of the Smithsonian Institu-tion is also available upon request. It contains infor-mation, articles, activities, and resources on anthro-pology, American Indians, creationism, and localarchaeology. Contact at address above.

The Guide to Departments of Anthro-pology, which describes facilities and pro-grams at over 250 schools and museums in theUnited States and Canada and a Summer FieldSchool List, is available from the AmericanAnthropological Association, the central profes-sional organization of anthropologists, at 4350North Fairfax Drive, Suite 640, Arlington, VA22230, (703)528-1902, ext. 3005.Innovative Techniques, a resource guidewith suggested lessons and activities for teachingsociology, is published by the AmericanSociological Association. Although it is mainlyintended for college level, the high school teachercan adapt the activities and lessons. Send $11.50for members or $15.50 for nonmembers to theAmerican Sociological Association, 1722 N Street

NW, Washington, DC 20036, (202)833-3410.Teaching Sociology is an excellentAmerican Sociological Association journal forideas on teaching sociological concepts and topics.Also primarily written for the collegiate level butadaptable.

The American Psychological Associa-tion Monitor is the association's monthly highschool psychology newsletter, which includes teach-ing activities and curriculum materials. Careers inPsychology is also available. The APA sends thenewsletter free to all its High School TeacherAffiliates. Write the APA, 750 First Street, NE,Washington, DC 20002, (202)336-5500.

Teaching of Psychology is a journal withideas, lessons, and activities that may be used toimprove teaching at all levels.

The Opposing Viewpoints Series, edit-ed by D. L. Bender and B. Leone and published byGreenhaven Press, offers 61 paperbacks dealingwith a wide range of controversial topics, manyrelated to anthropology, sociology, and psychology,including abortion, AIDS, death and dying,male/female roles, and racism. Each paperbackoffers pro and con debates on the specific issue.

Rethinking Schools is a nonprofit, indepen-dent newspaper advocating the reform of elemen-tary and secondary public schools with emphasison urban schools and issues of equity and socialjustice. It provides editorials, articles of interest,and examples of teaching that would be of inter-est to teachers employing issues-centered instruc-tion. Contact Rethinking Schools, 1001 E. KeefeAvenue, Milwaukee, WI 53212, (414)964-9646.

Massialas, B. G., and B. C. Cox. Inquiry in SocialStudies. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1966.

Mills, C. W. The Sociological Imagination. Fair Lawn,NJ.: Oxford University Press, 1959.

Muessig, R. H., ed. Controversial Issues in the SocialStudies: A Contemporary Perspective. Washington,

D.C.: National Council for the Social Studies, 1975.National Commission on Social Studies in the Schools.

Charting a Course: Social Studies for the 21st Century.

Washington, D.C.: National Commission on SocialStudies in the Schools, 1989.

National Council for the Social Studies. The CurriculumStandards for Social Studies. Washington, D.C.:National Council for the Social Studies, 1994.

Rice, M. J. "Precollege Anthropology/Archaeology."

In Teaching Social Studies, edited by V. S. Wilson,J. A. Little, and G. L. Wilson. Westport, Conn.:Greenwood Press, 1993.

Rollwagen, J. R. "Anthropology and 'ContemporaryIssues': Anthropology, Political Economy, and theGeneral Education Curriculum." Urban Anthropology18 (1989): 135-51.

Sociological Resources for the Social Studies. Inquiriesin Sociology. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1972.

Stewart, E.W., and J. A. Glynn. Introduction to Sociology.4th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1985.

Smith, D. W. " What Went Wrong with the SocialStudies Reform Movement." Indiana Social Studies

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2 c

Quarterly 15 (April 1981): 19-24.Sweeney J. A. C. , and J. B. Parsons. "Teacher

Preparation and Models for Teaching ControversialSocial Issues." In Controversial Issues in the SocialStudies:A Contemporary Perspective, edited by R. H.

Muessig. Washington, D.C.: National Council forthe Social Studies, 1975.

Wallace, W. L. " Standardizing Basic Concepts inSociology" American Sociologist 21 (Winter 1990):

352-58.White, J. J. "Anthropology" In ChartingA Course: Social

Studies for the 21st Century, a report of the NationalCommission on Social Studies in the Schools,31-36. Washington, D.C.: National Council forthe Social Studies, 1989.

227 2 3 7

Parr Sena

a

Introduction bq William C. Wraga

II Ass BS°

f one takes seriously the historic mission ofeducation in the United States to educateenlightened citizens of democracy who act asa check against the powers-that-be, it is diffi-cult to deny the imperative of teaching stu-dents how to examine, evaluate, and act upon

important public issues. These tasks are, after all,principal competencies of the office of citizen ina democratic republic. Teaching and learningabout social issues should, therefore, permeatethe public school curriculum. The aim of thissection is to offer practical ideas, strategies, andexamples of teaching about social issues acrossthe curriculum and throughout the grade levels.

Recognizing that students are faced withsocial issues on a daily basis, Dorothy Skeel pre-sents a rationale for issues-focused curriculumand instruction on the elementary level, identifiescriteria for selecting appropriate issues for chil-dren to examine, and recommends specific issuesand activities for the primary and upper elemen-tary grades. The issues she recommends relateboth to the social studies curriculum and to thelocal community. Skeel identifies developmental-ly-appropriate trade books and outlines a sampleunit organizing the total curriculum around aparticular social issue.

Samuel Totten and Jon Pedersen recognizethat not only are students bombarded with socialissues in the media as well as the home, school,and community, but also that many studentsexperience social issues first hand. They summa-rize recent developments in middle level educa-tion that point to the need for focusing curricu-lum and instruction on personal-social issues andoffer useful criteria for identifying issues appro-priate to middle level students. Totten andPedersen suggest a variety of ways to incorporatethe study of societal issues into all subjects of the

rric

curriculum, offering "real life" examples of suchpractices throughout the chapter. They also sug-gest the possibilities of examining issues in inter-disciplinary units and outline an extensive uniton racism in the United States.

Robert Yager and Martha Lutz briefly build acase for teaching with social issues in science andmathematics on the basis of constructivist learn-ing theory. For these authors, the contexts thatstudents need to construct knowledge meaning-fully are found in problematic societal issues towhich appropriate science and mathematics sub-jects are applied. Yager and Lutz indicate thatthe conditions favorable for knowledge construc-tion are in fact hallmarks of Science-Technology-Society education and review the implications ofrecent developments in science and mathematicseducation reform for constructivism and forissues-centered curriculum and instruction.Finally, they describe four examples of issues-centered science and mathematics curriculumand instruction in action.

Acknowledging that adolescents face a myri-ad of social issues, Ronald Evans and JerryBrodkey call for a substantive change in the orga-nization of the high school social studies curricu-lum. After summarizing existing models forissue-focused social studies, namely those devel-oped by Hunt and Metcalf, Oliver and Shaver,Engle and Ochoa, and Stanley and Nelson, theypresent a new framework that attempts to buildupon these previous efforts. Evans and Brodkeypropose to organize the curriculum around socialrealities and related ethical issues. They offer anextensive outline for a high school social studiesprogram that identifies major topics and focusquestions for each course. They conclude theirchapter by discussing the strengths and weak-nesses of their proposal.

William Wraga suggests ways to infuseteaching about societal issues across the sec-ondary curriculum, focusing on those areas notaddressed in the other chapters and includingcocurricular activities. Wraga explains how theEnglish, fine and performing arts, modern for-eign language, physical education and health, andvocational curricula can contribute to developingstudents' understanding of social issues. He iden-tifies pertinent issues that can be infused intothese subject areas, suggests issues-related goalsand objectives, presents guidelines for handlingcontroversial issues in the classroom, anddescribes several interdisciplinary approaches toteaching about issues that combine or transcendthe conventional subjects.

The authors in this section regard the realitythat students already face pressing social issuesand the imperative that the schools prepare stu-dents for the office of participatory citizenship aschallenges to the K-12 curriculum to embraceteaching and learning about social issues as ameans to achieving the greater end of sustainingour fragile democratic republic. It is hoped thattogether these chapters will serve as a modestresource of useful ideas for the practicing educa-tor who wishes to teach students how to act onsocietal issues in a thoughtful, responsible fash-ion. In this way teachers can participate in thehistoric mission of American education to pre-pare students for participatory citizenship in ademocratic republic.

SSUES-CENTERED ELEMENTARY CURRICULUMJ. Mel

.01harlene, a kindergartner, lives in a home-less shelter with her mother and sister.Kenya, a happy African American secondgrader, hears the epithet "nigger" as his

jbus pulls away from school. Roscoe, afourth grader, watches a drug deal go

down from the front steps of his home in theprojects and wonders if his family will ever beable to live in a better neighborhood. Rachelwatches the news each night in her rural home,but does not understand why there is fighting inBosnia or Rwanda; they do not talk about it inher fifth-grade class. Angela, with her sixth-grade class, takes pictures of the pollution that achemical company left in a lot around the cornerfrom her school.

RationaleElementary school children everyday con-

front situations like those above and others thatare equally difficult for them to understand. Themedia brings into their homes the stark realitiesof the problems facing our nation and the world.How do they learn to cope with these problems?More importantly, how do they learn to seeksolutions to them? How do they relate the his-toric events of the past with what is happening intheir lives today? How can they become rational,participating members of society?

An issues-centered social studies curriculumoffers opportunities for children to develop cop-ing and problem-solving skills and to use theknowledge of the past to understand the present.Issues-centered study leads students to question,to acquire information from different perspec-tives, to discern fact from fiction, and to developtheir reasoning skills. Students confront issuesthat have plagued society over the centuries, aswell as issues that confront their immediate envi-

ronment, the nation, and the world.Many would question whether elementary

school children should study social issues.Parents often do not want their children to raisequestions or confront serious matters. Teachers,too, may steer away from controversial issues,especially in the elementary school (Gross 1989).Yet research suggests that "learning activities andmaterials should be concrete, real, and relevant tothe lives of young children" (National Associ-ation for the Education of Young Children 1986,7). Joyce (1970, 255) reminds us, "The naturalworld of childhood is filled with conflict, aggres-sion, interdependence and warmth. To pretendthat their world is bland is false."

Children construct their social knowledge asthey attempt to build coherent systems that willallow them to think about and explain theirimmediate environment and the larger world:

Put another way, children's social judgmentsare not random responses; rather they are theresult of the application of analysis and reason inthe social world and are influenced by suchfactors as peer groups, adults, social and educa-tional environments, experiences, and the insti-tutions to which they are exposed. Social judg-ments also involve more than the child's "gettingalong" in the home or school environment. Theyinvolve the child's ability to make decisionsabout such issues as race and ethnicity, citizenconcerns of law and justice, and social welfareand economics, many of which make competingclaims in a rapidly changing world. (Turiel 1983,as cited in National Council for the SocialStudies 1989, 19).

Research tells us that, for our purposes, theearly years of life are important, because we aremore open to diversity (Stone 1986) and have aninterest in and analyze racial and ethnic differ-

240

ences (Semaj 1980). Racial and ethnic prejudicesare well established and resistant to change by thetime children reach age nine or ten (Joyce 1970).Also by this age, self-concepts are formed, andpositive feelings about the self are important insocial interactions (Stanley 1985); politicalsocialization is well advanced by the end of ele-mentary school. Additionally, children will havedeveloped a sense of need for consensus andmajority rule (Hess and Torney 1967).

Young children develop personal flexibility,creativity, open mindedness, and tolerance ofunfamiliar ideas through interaction with theirsocial environment ( Joyce 1970; NationalAssociation for the Education of Young Children1986). Issues-focused instruction provides oppor-tunities for children to work with others, learnhow to handle conflict, solve problems, developconcern for others, and interact with value issuesthat they encounter daily in their environment.These experiences will permit children to becomereflective citizens who understand their world,who can make rational decisions, and who will behumane, participating members of society.

Developing the CurriculumHow should an issues-centered curriculum

for the elementary school be organized? How doteachers decide which issues to pursue? Engle(1989) suggests that teachers should be highlyselective and limit study to a relatively smallnumber of topics or episodes (each of whichshould be examined in depth). The topics shouldbe those that encourage thinking, may be contro-versial, or are "historical interpretations of thepast, or about alternative resolutions to socialproblems of the present" (ibid., 187). For youngchildren in the early grades, the issues should bemore personal, ones that they can understand,and with which they have had experiences.By the third or fourth grade, children can beginto examine more abstract issues.

Selection of the issues to be studied is of cru-cial importance. Criteria to apply include thefollowing: 1. Is the issue of real significance?2. Is it likely to be or has it been continuallyrecurring? 3. Will study of the issue help attainthe goals of issues-centered education? Will thestudents become better-informed, thoughtfulcitizens as a result of the study? 4. Does theissue require judgment and/or critical thinking?5. Are the children sufficiently mature andexperienced to thoroughly understand the study?

6. Is it appropriate for the children's develop-mental level? Each teacher must answer thesequestions relative to the children in the class-room. However, it should be understood that thestudy of issues is not an add-on to the curricu-lum. It is, rather, a different way to look atinstruction. It is recognizing that, as a teacher,you are not passing on a set of right answers tochildren, but that you are assisting them in seek-ing answers to questions that excite and motivatethem, questions that may have many possibleanswers. Issues are often best stated in the formof questions.

Suggested Issues-Focused Activities

Primary GradesAs an example of issues-focused activities, we

will highlight the topic of homes. When kinder-garten children are studying about homes, theymay ask the questions, Why do people live indifferent types of homes? Why do some peoplenot have a home to live in? For both questions,there may be several answers. In this situation,instead of giving children pat answers as to whypeople live in apartments, houseboats, etc.,rather provide them the opportunity to thinkabout the different possibilities. The same is trueof the homeless situation; there may be variousreasons why people are homeless. One of theproblems teachers face in having children seekalternative answers is securing information thatis understandable to them. Often textbookspresent "right" answers, as opposed to givingchildren the opportunity to arrive at their ownconclusions.

Children's literature, both fiction and non-fiction, may serve as useful resources when teach-ing about issues. As an example, Houses andHomes, by Ann Morris, describes various types ofhouses and homes around the world and the cul-turally diverse people who live in them; This IsMy House, by Arthur Dorros, gives full-pageillustrations of houses around the world with thetext written in the language of the country. Abook that asks What does home mean? andanswers it multiculturally is Home: A Collabora-tion of Thirty Distinguished Authors and Illustra-tors of Children's Books to Aid the Homeless, editedby Michael J. Rosen ("Notable Books" 1993).Older children can make use of other resources,including reference books, and can conductinterviews, take field trips, or invite knowledge-

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able persons to speak to the class.As children listen to the stories and observe

the illustrations about homes, they will begin toexamine reasons why people live in the types ofhomes they do. Questions arise such as Why dosome people who live near the water have theirhouses built on poles? What type of homes dopeople live in where it is cold most of the year?An activity that might follow would be to posesituations: If you were going to build a home inthe mountains, what might it look like? Why?Children can draw pictures of homes; forinstance, if they were going to live in the city,what would their home be like? Why? Anotheractivity might be the building of a house out ofcardboard boxes. The class can then analyze theissue of people living in cardboard boxes: Whydoes this happen? What would be some of theproblems if you lived in a cardboard box?

Throughout the elementary grades, issues tohighlight can be identified within the topicsgenerally included in the curriculum. Forinstance, as children, (whether in first or secondgrade) pursue the study of neighborhood or theirimmediate community, they may focus on theenvironment. After a walking tour of the play-ground and several blocks around their school,the issue identified may be the types of pollutionpresent in the neighborhood: Why are theythere? Children may identify trash that littersthe playground and streets, air pollution fromcars, or water pollution, if there is a stream orriver nearby. Science may be combined to iden-tify living things in the neighborhood and howthey are affected by the pollution.

If litter is one of the problems the childrenidentify, they might collect trash from the play-ground or a one-block area in the city or a quar-ter-mile area around the school in a rural or sub-urban area. The children then separate the trashand categorize it. What are the most commoncategories of trash? Why do people throw thesethings away? What can be done to stop it? Whatis being done to stop it?

Children might do a "waste audit" by check-ing the amount and kind of waste in their class-room and the school, including the cafeteria.They may examine how much food is wasted,how much paper and paint is thrown away,and if this can be changed (Seefeldt 1993, 191).There are always action plans that children canpursue, including recycling paper, cans, glass,and plastic; developing posters that encourage

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people not to litter and reminding them to recy-cle; learning about laws to fight pollution andwriting letters to editors or others to encouragepeople not to litter.

Environmental issues can be pursued at anyage. When studying the westward movement, forexample, children can pursue the reason whypeople moved and what happened to the landand the animals. Sixth graders might look histor-ically at the problems people have had over thecenturies in attempting to dispose of their waste.Why has the amount of waste increased? Whatcan be done about it?

As third graders study about their communi-ty or communities in other parts of the world,they might pursue the issue of why communitiesare formed and why they grow up where they do.Interviewing the oldest residents of the commu-nity and visiting cemeteries to find out who livedthere can provide important information aboutthe community. Were there immigrants fromother countries who came there to live? Why didsome families remain there for generations whileothers moved on?

Another issue that may be pursued is housingpatterns in the community. Why do people livewhere they do? Do ethnic and racial groups tendto live only in certain areas? Have social and eco-nomic factors caused them to live where they do?Is there prejudice against certain groups in thecommunity? Why? Should attempts be made toalter the old housing patterns? If so, how can theybe changed?

Upper Elementary GradesResearch tells us that elementary-age chil-

dren are already aware of societal attitudestoward different groups of people in regard tohousing location, dating and marriage, etc.Children can think critically about these thingswhen they have sufficient experience and activeinvolvement in discussion and inquiry (Raganand McAulay 1973). As children's thinking abil-ities develop they are able to deal with moreabstract issues. Fourth graders might select a cul-tural group, either in this country or anothercountry, and determine how the culture haschanged. They can then pursue the reasons forthe changes. Did the culture change because theenvironment changed, such as a loss of resources,drought, or famine? Were the changes a result oftechnology or did other cultural groups causethem to change? Any group of Native

Americans, Aztecs, Mayas, or Incas of Centraland South America, or the Irish during the pota-to famine or any group in a country that wascolonized would be used as examples. Currentidentifiable groups of people that are entering theUnited States would also be examples.

Fifth graders typically study U.S. history thatemphasizes the American Revolution, but dochildren really understand the concept of revolu-tion and why it occurs? One way to approach thissubject is through the issue of when and why rev-olutions occur. Researching earlier revolutionsand modern-day revolutions, children begin tounderstand that some revolutions are not wars.What are some of the ideas that have been thebasis for revolution? How do revolutions start?How is the Industrial Revolution different fromthe French and American Revolutions? Ques-tioning whether the American Revolutionshould have been fought will give children a dif-ferent perspective. How might their lives bedifferent today if it had not occurred?

An issue that is generally connected only tothe Civil War is that of slavery. Many childrenthink the only slaves were those brought fromAfrica. Historically, different groups of peoplehave been slaves or enslavers. Why were peopleslaves? What were the economic, religious, cultur-al, and geographical reasons for people becomingslaves? By studying slavery from a comparativeperspective, a more valid concept of the term canbe realized (Baptiste and Baptiste 1977).

Often, local issues that affect students' liveswill become a focus of study. A manufacturingplant closes, leaving many people out of work,affecting the parents of children in the school.What has caused the plant to close? What canbe done about it? Are there other jobs availablein the community? Do people need new jobskills to take advantage of available employ-ment? How can the community help? Anotherissue that frequently comes up in a community ishow to help the increasing number of homelessfamilies. Children need to investigate what ser-vices are available for the homeless in the com-munity. Who helps thempublic or privateorganizations? What else can be done? How canthe children help out?

Many of the issues above are common tocommunities across the nation and the rest ofthe world. After pursuing solutions to the prob-lems in their own communities, children canthen expand their study to determine if the same

solutions might be workable in other areas of thecountry or the world.

Integrating Issues Withinthe Total Curriculum

The following learning activities are intendedas examples of what a teacher might do. Teachersmay prefer to identify issues related to the unitsthat they currently teach, rather than the issueused here, and other activities can be addeddepending on the class and the amount of timethat will be spent on an issue.

The ExampleThe study of an issue can encompass the

total curriculum, utilizing connections amongthe subject areas. When we tackle an issue in oureveryday world, we do not separate it by subjectmatter; therefore, it seems reasonable that suchan approach in the classroom causes unnecessaryschisms. Let us begin with a fifth-grade classthat is about to study the American Revolution.Instead of the usual chronological/topical what-were-the-causes approach, we ask the question,"Should the American Revolution have beenfought?" As with any other instructionalapproach, it is important to outline the rationaleand objectives for the study.

The RationaleStudents are presented with a situation:

Events in history that threatened the Americancolonists' way of life, such as the imposition ofheavy taxes, led them to the decision that it wasimportant to be free from British rule. As aresult, we have the Declaration of Independenceand the fighting of the American Revolution:Should this have happened? Was the AmericanRevolution necessary?

By pursuing these questions, students viewthe revolution from several perspectives andbecome decision makers. After investigating theinformation available about the events leading upto the war and thereafter, students test severalalternatives to war and decide whether theybelieve it should have happened or could havebeen avoided. The goal of the study is to fosterthe skills necessary for democratic citizenship.

The ObjectivesIn this exercise, students will

search for information from different perspec-tives and a variety of sources;

2339 4 el

learn to assess and validate information;use skills of critical thinking, problem solving,

and decision making;become aware of the interrelationships among

content areas;communicate with members of a group

through a variety of means;use skills of cooperation in working with

the members of a group;learn to accept the opinions of others and

recognize that opinions will vary.

Integrated ActivitiesThere are any number of possible activities to

accompany this study. The following is an outlineof some suggestions.1j Place the Declaration of Independence on a0 series of transparencies. With the entire class,analyze the document and identify in it the griev-ances of the colonists. Make a list of the griev-ances. For example, the British failed to approvelaws passed by governors; dissolved houses ofrepresentation; kept armies in the colonies duringpeaceful times; cut off trade with other countries;imposed taxes without colonists' consent; anddeprived the colonists of trial by jury.

After the class has identified the grievances,divide them into small groups with each grouptaking one of the grievances to investigate.Within each group, some students should viewthe grievances from the perspective of thecolonists, while others view it from the perspec-tives of the Loyalists (those sympathetic to thecrown). Each group should identify the event orevents that have caused their grievance. Later,after the research is completed, the groups shouldpresent their information to the class from bothperspectives.

Have students read literature that will helpIU them understand what life was like in thecolonies at the time of the revolution. Bookscan be read to the students or they may readthem individually or in groups. Some possibilitiesare the following:Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Paul Revere's Ride

(Dutton, 1990).Meltzer, Milton. The American Revolutionaries: A History

in Their Own Words, 1750-1800 (Crowell, 1987);George Washington and the Birth of Our Nation

(Watts, 1986); Thomas Jefferson: The Revolutionary

Aristocrat (Watts, 1991).Roop, Peter, and Connie Roop. Buttons for General

Washington (Carolrhoda, 1986).

Smith, Carter, ed. The Arts and SciencesA Sourcebookon Colonial America; Daily LifeA Sourcebook onColonial Life; The Revolutionary WarA Sourcebookon Colonial America (Millbrook, 1991).

7 Have students take on the role of colonistsand write letters to their relatives in Great

Britain explaining what is happening in thecolonies. Some students should write from theperspective of loyalists.

4Estimate the distance of the colonies fromGreat Britain and how long it would take to

travel between the two lands. Investigate thenumber of troops that were brought to thecolonies from Great Britain. Find out the num-ber that could be carried in each ship and esti-mate the number of ships it would take to trans-port them. Also determine how long it wouldtake to bring supplies for the troops from GreatBritain.

E Investigate the number of troops that wered quartered in colonists' homes. Determinewhat the cost would be to the families to keep thesoldiers. Decide whether this was a legitimategrievance. Estimate what the cost would be toquarter troops in people's homes today.

fo After reading Buttons for General Washington,Paul Revere's Ride, and Arts and Sciences

A Sourcebook on Colonial America, determine theextent of the technology available at that time.Find out how people communicated within thecolonies and with people in Great Britain.Determine how long it would take to get mes-sages from Great Britain to the colonies. Discussthe effect that lags in communication might haveon the war. Determine the types of guns andammunition that both sides had available andwhether that could affect the outcome.

7 Develop a time line of the major battles of the11 Revolutionary War. At the same time, devel-op a map of Great Britain and the colonies, indi-cating where battles were fought and what theoutcomes were, including the battles at sea.

Have students role play. This should be usedtill in seeking solutions to issues or in presentingissues as "real-life" situations, demonstrating howthey affect the lives of people. It may also illus-

234 2 4 4

trate the complexities of issues and the differentvalue positions people hold. Role playing a dis-cussion between a colonist who is a patriot andone who is a loyalist is one example. Other situ-ations that might be good for role playing wouldbe Cornwallis' surrender to Washington atYorktown or the signing of the peace treaty inParis. Murals could be painted as backdrops, pro-viding a more authentic setting for the situation.

Have students draw political cartoonsdepicting different perspectives of the causes

of war, for example, loyalist and patriot posi-tions.

in Using primary sources, such as diaries, let-[U. ters, and journals, help students under-

stand the feelings and ideas of the peopleinvolved in the war. Abigail Adams' letters toher husband, John Adams, when he was attend-ing the Continental Congress in Philadelphia isa good example. Letters among the delegates atthe Constitutional Convention and those whowere in Europe, such as Thomas Jefferson, JohnAdams, and Thomas Paine, tell some of thestory of what was happening as the Constitutionwas being written. Paintings and music fromthat era could further illustrate what life was likeand how people represented it through the arts.

11 Investigate the forms of government in the11 II colonies before the Declaration ofIndependence, during the time of the Articlesof Confederation, and after the Constitution.This provides important information to studentsthat will help them make some decisions aboutthe revolution. A data retrieval chart might beused to illustrate the differences among the gov-ernments at each of these times and their effecton the colonies and the people.

9. As a culminating activity, a debate or paneldiscussion can be held to discuss whether

the American Revolution should have beenfought. Alternatives to the war should be dis-cussed. Students should consider what their livesmight be like if the war had not been fought.After the debate or discussion, each studentshould decide whether he or she would havebeen a patriot or loyalist if he or she had lived atthat time. Each should write down his or herdecision and give reasons for being a patriot orloyalist.

SummaryThis chapter has demonstrated how issues-

centered social studies education can be imple-mented within an elementary curriculum. Anexample of a historical issue, the AmericanRevolution, illustrates how the total curricu-lumincluding reading and language arts,math, science, the arts, and certainly social stud-iescan be integrated through such study. Onecannot deny the importance of the elementaryyears in laying the foundation for later andincreasingly mature understanding of civicresponsibility and the information and skillsnecessary to make informed rational decisions asa citizen of a democracy. An issues-centeredsocial studies curriculum provides the opportu-nities to develop those skills and to foster a life-long habit of active participation for living ina democracy.

ReferencesBaptiste, H. Prentice, and Mira Baptiste. "Developing

Multicultural Activities." In Multicultural Education:Commitments, Issues, and Applications, edited by

Carl A. Grant. Washington, D.C.: Association forSupervision and Curriculum Development, 1977.

Engle, Shirley H. "Proposal for a Typical Issue-Centered Curriculum" Social Studies 80(September/October 1989): 187-189.

Gross, Richard. "Reasons for the Limited Acceptance ofthe Problems Approach." Social Studies 80(September/October 1989): 185-186.

Hess, R. D., and Judith Torrey. The Development ofPolitical Attitudes in Children. Chicago: Aldine, 1967.

Joyce, Bruce R. "Social Action for the Primary Schools."Childhood Education 46 (February 1970): 254-258.

National Association for the Education of YoungChildren. "Position Statement on DevelopmentallyAppropriate Practice in Early Childhood ProgramsServing Children from Birth through Age 8."Young Children (September, 1986): 4-19.

National Council for the Social Studies. "Social Studiesfor Early Childhood and Elementary SchoolChildren Preparing for the 21st Century."Social Education 53 (January 1989): 14-23.

"Notable 1992 Children's Trade Books in the Field ofSocial Studies." Social Education 57 (April/May1993): 197-208.

Ragan, William, and John D. McAulay. Social Studies forToday's Children. 2nd edition. New York: Appleton-Crofts, 1973.

Seefeldt, Carol. Social Studies for the Preschool-Primary

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Child New York Merrill, 1993.Semaj, L. 'The Development of Racial Evaluation and

Preference: A Cognitive Approach." journal of Black

Psychology 6 (1980): 59-79.

Stanley, William B. Review of Research in Social Studies

Education: 1976-1983. Washington, D. C.: NationalCouncil for the Social Studies, 1985.

Stone, Lynda. "Intercultural and MulticulturalEducation." In Elementary School Social Studies:

Research as a Guide to Practice, edited by Virginia A.

Atwood. Washington, D. C.: National Council forthe Social Studies, 1986.

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ISSAT Tbq Sd

ES-CENTERED CURRICULA AND INSTRUCTIONE MIDDLE LEVEL

el Totten and Jon Pedersen

pf

hether adults wish to believe it or not,early adolescents are definitely aware of,if not influenced and plagued by, manyof the key social issues of our times. Howcould it be otherwise when the mediaradio, television, newspapers, and maga-

zinesflood our homes and schools daily withmore and more information about the latestproblems and issues facing Americans. Indeed, itis astounding to consider what sitcoms, talkshows, television movies, compact discs, andvideos disseminate to our young people. Throughsuch means, they may witness tales of drug abuse,the homeless, racism, discrimination, genocide,child and spouse abuse, gang warfare, degrada-tion of the environment, and poverty. That doesnot even take into consideration what youngadolescents see, hear, and experience in their ownhomes, schools, and communities.

It is a simple but profound fact that manyearly adolescents have firsthand knowledge ofsociety's ills and problems. Statistics on the num-ber of early adolescents affected by poverty, vio-lence, homelessness, drug use, and crime openour eyes to the realities:

By the end of October 1992, 4,051 of casesof AIDS were in children less than 13 yearsof age; 912 cases were in adolescents aged13-19; and 103,842 cases were in youngadults 19-34 years. Because of the 10-yearaverage incubation period for AIDS, manyyoung adults who have AIDS were infectedwith HIV in their teens.

(Council of Chief State School OfficersJanuary 1993, 1)

Between 60 and 75 percent of all adoles-cents first try alcohol or tobacco products

prior to age 15 and as many as 20 to 25 per-cent already have problems with substanceabuse by that age.

(Scales 1991, 28)

At present, one in five young adolescentsaged ten to fifteen lives in poverty.

(Hechinger 1992, 30)

About 10,000 adolescents under the age offifteen annually give birth in the UnitedStates.

(Hechinger 1992, 72)

Society can hardly expect young people tobecome fully engaged, thoughtful, and activecitizens if our schools do not prepare them to beinformed and skilled in responsibly addressingsocial issues. The Carnegie Foundation's(Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development1989, 93) report on middle level education cor-roborated this point when it asserted that youngpeople should be "encouraged to reflect on theunderlying causes of current social problems andto design appropriate action campaigns inresponse to these conditions."

A key rationale educators have for developingand implementing an issues-centered education-al program is to develop "a unitary field, fusingmaterial from the disciplines but organizing itaround societal issues or problems" (Evans 1989,178). At the heart of issues-centered education isthe recognition that change and healthy conflictare inherent in a democratic society. The aim ofthis approach is to develop reflective citizens whoare ultimately capable of rationally analyzing,synthesizing, and acting upon issues central tocitizenship. Students learn to acknowledge,appreciate, and wrestle with the need to continu-

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ously reinterpret, reevaluate, and address societalvalues, issues, and policies. At the core of theissues-centered instructional process is discus-sion, problem solving, investigation, and reflec-tion. Finally, inherent in any issues-centered program is the commitment to a learn-ing process in which students examine issuescentral to their lives.

Middle School Curriculumand Instruction

Surprisingly, while much discussion in theUnited States has centered on meeting theunique educational needs of early adolescents,discussion about the middle level curriculum hasbeen, at least until very recently, oddly and dis-turbingly shunted aside or totally ignored. Beane(1990, 5) cogently noted that

efforts to reform middle level educationhave made considerable progress in thenearly thirty years of the middle schoolmovement, particularly with regard todeveloping more widespread awareness ofthe characteristics of early adolescence andreorganizing institutional features, such asschool climate. ... Largely obscured in thissearch for improved middle level educationhas been what is probably the most criticalquestion in this or any other kind ofauthentic school reform: What should be thecurriculum of the middle school?

Unfortunately, for the most part, the curricu-lar programs in many so-called middle schoolstoday are no different from those found in typi-cal junior highs. That is, they are generally tradi-tional in their approach"subject centered andlargely academic" (Beane 1990, 8). This situationpersists despite the fact that over the past forty-five years or so, numerous individuals in both thejunior-high (Gruhn and Douglas 1947; Faunceand Bossing 1958; Van Til, Vars, and Lounsbury1967) and middle level (Moss 1969; Lounsburyand Vars 1978; Arnold, 1985; Vars 1987; Beane1990) movements have called for at least a por-tion, if not the total curriculum, to be "problems-based." But, as Beane (1990, 23) pointed out, notonly has a problems-based approach largely beenignored but the reality is that "middle schoolpractice continues to be confounded by the dead-ening effects of low level subject area instruc-tion." Toepfer (1992) agreed and noted that

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while the "broad fields," "social problems," and"emerging needs" approaches all have the poten-tial for engaging students in an issues-centeredapproach, they are the most seldom usedapproaches in middle level programs today.The two key reasons why the subject-centeredapproach has held up so long is simpletradi-tion drives the curriculum and instructionalprograms of most schools, and public schools areoverwhelmingly influenced by the curriculum ofpostsecondary educational institutions, whichhave a propensity for approaching curriculum inan almost strictly subject-area fashion.

That said, three recent developments providehope on the middle level front in garneringmiddle level educators' commitment to imple-ment a personal and social problems curricularapproach. First, the Carnegie Council onAdolescent Development (1989, 15-16) delin-eated five qualities that it envisions "in the15-year-old who has been well served in themiddle years of schooling." Three are particular-ly germane to an issues-centered curriculumthe development of 1. an intellectually reflectiveperson: "to analyze problems and issues, examinethe component parts, and reintegrate them intoeither a solution or into a new way of stating theproblem or issue"; 2. a good citizen: "acceptresponsibility for shaping and not simply beingshaped by surrounding events. ... a youth whois a doer, not just an observer. ... a feeling ofpersonal responsibility for and connection to thewell-being of an interdependent world commu-nity"; and 3. a caring and ethical individual: "rec-ognize that there is good and bad and that it ispossible and important to tell the difference. ...exhibit the courage to discern the difference asa normal part of daily life and to act on theconclusions reached."

Second, the National Middle School Associ-ation (1993) developed a position paper (NMSA1992) on middle level curriculum, which contin-ues to be germane to a personal- and social-focused curricular approach:

We strongly support learning experienceswhich: help young adolescents make sense ofthemselves and the world around them;address students' own questions and focusupon enduring issues and ideas; and activelyengage students in problem-solving and avariety of experiential learning opportunities.... Further, we advocate learning experiences

ri 4Ka ,;>2,5

which: cultivate initiative and responsibility;involve students in meaningful and usefulservice activities; and above all, seek to devel-op good people, fostering caring for others,democratic values, and moral sensitivity.

Third, Beane (1990, 21) has developed a the-oretical curriculum framework for the middlelevel. The goal, in part, is to "integrat[e] infor-mation from different subjects within themesthat transcend the subjects themselves." Morespecifically, he argued that "the middle schoolought to be a general education school and thatits version of general education ought to be of thekind based upon personal and social concerns"(36). He argued that a key dimension

which a general education must be con-cerned [with] is the array of larger socialissues that face our society and world todayand those which are likely to do so in thefuture. In conceptualizing this dimension wemust remember that early adolescents do notlive in isolation within that stage of develop-ment or apart from larger realities in theworld. ... To think that [social] issues areremote from early adolescents is to ... missthe fact that they are real people living outreal lives in a very real world. ... These[social issues such as] poverty, homelessness,pollution, and racism are "marginalized" bythe typical academic-centered subject areacurriculum both in terms of the narrow viewof what it presents and by what it leaves out.An adequately framed general educationmust thus address these issues or risk col-lapsing under the weight of its own irrele-vancy (38-39)

Selecting AppropriateSocial Issues for Study

As for identifying appropriate issues for earlyadolescents, it is our belief that almost any topic,no matter how serious (AIDS, child abuse, thehomeless) or even horrendous (such as theHolocaust) can be addressed in a middle levelclassroom if done in a sensitive and pedagogical-ly sound manner. In concert with their students,teachers must use professional judgment and dis-cretion, searching for sensitive and accurateinformation that challenges but does not depressor overwhelm students. Knowing that early ado-

lescents have many and varied needs and inter-ests, educators must develop diverse and versatilecurricular and instructional programs. Such anapproach reflects the major tenet of middle leveleducation in attending to all aspects of youngadolescents' developmentcognitive, social,emotional, moral, and physical.

For those working with middle level students,it is a good idea to begin planning issues-cen-tered programs by tapping student curiosity,interests, and experiences. As Berman (1993, 9)observed, it is wise for teachers

to pay attention to the circumstances oftheir students' lives and then create thebridge to the larger world. By helpingstudents see the larger context of their livesand enter that context with a sense of con-fidence and responsibility, they empowerand inspire them.

In selecting issues for study, teachers are wiseto determine those of the greatest interest to theirstudents and those that may have the greatestinfluence upon their lives. Issues of local impor-tance often meet these two important criteria(Penick 1985; Pedersen 1992; Harms and Yager1981; Totten and Pedersen 1993). If a local issueholds interest and has influence, it is likely thatstudents will more readily come to understandthat social issues faced by members of their com-munity may also be common across the state,nation, or world. Second, selecting a local issuemay help students examine the issue "up close."Third, and possibly most significant, if the stu-dents become involved in local community ser-vice, the impact of the students' actions will beapparent to them.

A fifth-grade teacher who approached thestudy of social issues through the personal con-cerns of his students said:

I talk to them about the violence in theworld and relate that to the violence in theirown lives. They are beginning to havestrong opinions about these issues by fifthgrade. We talk about what could have beendone in the situation: What are the possi-bilities? Who was affected if the situationbecame violent? What if innocent personswere caught up in this? We often talk aboutthe 'genie' of violence being released fromthe bottle. Once it's released, you can't

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control it. Lots of times situations thatoccur in school exemplify that quite readily.(Goodman and Kreidler 1993, 81-82)

Involving students in issue selection corre-sponds with the tenet of middle level educationthat calls for providing students with ampleopportunity "to choose and make decisions" inregard to their studies. Teachers and studentscould generate a list of possible issues by:1. gleaning those items that particularly catch

students' interest during the daily discussionof current events;

2. conducting a brainstorming session;3. placing a suggestion box in the classroom

in which students submit their ideas;4. discussing conflicts in the community and/or

school for which students want more facts;5. generating a web from a target word or

phrase (e.g., "social issues in our communi-ty" or "social issues in which I'm interested"or "social issues that influence young peo-ple") to cluster ideas related to interestingissues; and

6. developing a questionnaire and conductinga survey.

Speaking about how a student project onhunger was initiated by her combinationfourth- and fifth-grade class in Cambridge,Massachusetts, Susan Hughes reported that it allstarted with a weekly current events assignment:

One week in October, the assignment wasto bring in a [news item] about somethinglocal. One child brought in an article aboutsomeone who was homeless in Cambridge.They talked about why people are homelessand who is homeless and what it would belike to be child in a homeless family. I thinkeverybody had probably heard about home-lessness, but had never thought about it inCambridge, right in their own area. Most ofthe children were devastated by the ideathat there might be someone who had livednear them at one point who might behomeless (Reindl 1993, 42)

The children were curious as to what theycould do to help address the problem, and fromthat news clipping, an issue of high interesthungerbecame the focus of a class project.The students chose to study the facets of this

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issue because they were genuinely interested andconcerned about the homelessness problem intheir community.

Infusing Social Issues at the Middle LevelCan the study of social issues be incorporated

into a school that uses ability grouping?A subject-centered curriculum? A multilingualclassroom? A school where student boredomwith a staid curriculum has led to outright resis-tance to learning? The answer to each question isan unequivocal "yes." Indeed, the incorporationof social issues into the extant curriculum can bedone in scores of different ways, e.g., within asingle subject in or outside of the core curriculumor within a cross-disciplinary or interdisciplinaryapproach. It can also be done by conducting thestudy in advisor/advisee classes or within anexploratory curriculum program.

In light of the typical constraints in any pub-lic school setting (e.g., time factors and an alreadypacked curriculum), the most opportune place toinclude an issues-centered course is within theexploratory curriculum. In such programs teach-ers generally have greater freedom to develop anentire course along such perennial issues asracism, poverty, violence, and individual freedom.

That said, those teachers who are eitherinnovative or working in schools where there ismore freedom to be innovative can develop out-standing issues-centered courses within theextant curriculum. An exemplary instance is theone developed by Debbie Bell in northernCalifornia (see below).

No matter which approach is used, none pre-cludes incorporating current events, biographies,literature, music, and multicultural strandsthroughout the study. This not only enriches thecurriculum but assists students in making con-nections between the various disciplines, bene-fiting students both cognitively and affectivelythrough study that is in depth, not superficial.Such an approach will also more likely meetthe needs of students' various learning styles aswell as their individual interests.

Take for example Zakiyah Bilal, a seventh-grade English teacher at Solomon LewenbergMiddle School in Mattapan, Massachusetts,who teaches social issues through the study ofliterature and uses drama and oral history toengage her students. Her students comprise aneclectic groupa mix of African-American,Hispanic American, Asian-American, and

European-American studentsyet she makes aspecial effort to portray the richness of her stu-dents' cultures through literature and drama.Speaking of the power of literature, she said:

Good literature has a way of opening uptopics the kids are concerned about. They'rechildren, but they're aware of things. ...There's a lot on kids' minds these days andon mine, too. A student I taughta sixthgrader I remember as the kid who chewedgumwas stabbed to death in a foolishargument. A twelve year old girl was shot todeath on a street corner, mistaken for a gangmember. ... I don't want to exploit my stu-dents' bad experiences, or probe any psychicwounds. But they have the potential to wit-ness another's pain without laughter ormockery, and I want them to learn throughliterature that the human spirit is resilient,in spite of terrible circumstances and events.I want them to know about the sufferingsand eventual triumphs of Jean Valjean andCosette [characters in Victor Hugo's LesMiserables]. About Richard Wright's strug-gle to become literate in a society where itwas a punishable crime for an AfricanAmerican to possess a library card.(Beckwith 1993, 113, 115)

Bilal used drama-oral history methods withLangston Hughes' "Thank you, Ma'am," whichallowed her to explore the impact of poverty andrepression with her studentsmany of whomdeal with poverty in their own lives. Studentsread and discussed the literature and acted outfolk tales, created alternative endings to storiesand poems, shared their own experiences andconcerns, and conducted oral histories related tothe stories and issues they read.

The incorporation of music is easy to tie tothe study of most social issues. Teachers can pro-vide the lyrics of rock artists like Sting, PearlJam, Salt-n-Pepa, and others who address socialissues in their music. After listening to and dis-cussing why songwriters and singers addresssuch issues, the students could ascertain whatthe messages are and how accurately the lyricsportray each problem; creating their own social-ly conscious lyrics and then putting the lyrics tomusic; performing the songwriters' or their ownlyrics; and reading interviews of songwriters andmusicians about the social issues on which they

base their songs. Similar efforts could be con-ducted in other fine arts as well.

Another excellent example of the issues-centered approach is Debbie Bell's fifth-gradeclass at Ohlone School in northern California.She teaches in a self-contained, bilingual class-room where 98 percent of her students areHispanic, 89 percent are Limited EnglishProficient, 75 percent meet Chapter 1 require-ments, and 90 percent are members of familiesthat qualify for Aid to Families with DependentChildren (AFDC). Bell (1992, 175, 177) sharedthe impact of her program:

Through our partnership with universitystudents [from the University of California,Santa Cruz], my fifth graders have chal-lenged the educational status quo. Becauseof political, economic, linguistic, cultural,and educational "realities"all socialissuesnearly all of my students are (orhave been perceived as) at risk of droppingout of school and/or low academic achieve-ment, or at least are very unlikely to go onto higher education, especially above thecommunity college level. Those that domake it into the four-year system are statis-tically unlikely to graduate. Nonetheless,this partnership has started to redefine mystudents as "college bound."

Within a partnership between fifth gradersand university students who write and exchangeletters, share translation duties, read letters aloudto one another, establishing real and lasting rela-tionships, Bell's students examine many of thesystemic issues that most teachers shy away fromdiscussing in a school setting, e.g., what it means(and feels like) to be marginalized in a society,the lack of expectations by educators and societyat large for certain portions of our society, andthe power of knowledge and the abuse of thatpower by those within the power structure (andhow to overcome that abuse).

The middle level curriculum is also rich withpossibilities for conducting cross-disciplinary andinterdisciplinary studies. A group of seventh-grade students in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, tookpart in a cross-disciplinary study of theHolocaust, which addressed issues of prejudice,discrimination, and the deprivation of humanrights. In this study the social studies teachertaught the basic historical events that led up to

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and culminated in the Holocaust; the Englishteacher read portions of Lois Lowry's Number theStars to the students (an account of the Danes'efforts to rescue Jews fleeing the Nazis), and stu-dents discussed and wrote about Anne Frank'sdiary; the math teacher had "students calculatethe relationship between the number ofHolocaust victims and the current population ofNew Jersey"; and the science teacher and studentsexamined "the physiological conditions that madeit possible for the Danes to desensitize the senseor smell of guard dogs as part of their rescueefforts" (Townsend and Wraga, forthcoming).

Eighth-grade English students in Tacoma,Washington, selected to study about the home-less. They generated focal questions, researchedthe issue using INFOTRAC (an automated ref-erence system that provides easy and fast com-puter-aided retrieval of bibliographic referencesto more than four thousand magazines, journalsand newspapers), interacted with guest speakers(including a teacher who had been homeless aswell as an advocate for the homeless), read youngadult literature whose focus was the homeless,wrote reflective pieces in journals concerningtheir new insights and feelings in regard to theplight of the homeless, and devised solutions toaddress the homeless problem.

In Media, Pennsylvania, a seventh-grade mid-dle level teacher and her students conducted aninterdisciplinary study of peoples' perceptionsand treatment of the physically handicapped,including access and lack of access for such indi-viduals. In doing so, they discussed various dis-abilities; studied the anatomy of the nervous,muscular, and skeletal systems; conducted simula-tions where the students were hearing impaired,learning disabled, or physically disabled; interact-ed with speakers who were disabled; and evaluat-ed the level of access in their school and, whenthey discovered some buildings did not meet basicrequirements, drew up an action plan.

Students of Amy Blanchard, a teacher atSouthern Middle School in Louisville, Kentucky,conducted a study of child abuse. Students"interviewed social workers, nurses, and juvenilejustice officials, wrote a seven-act play which theyperformed before an audience, and prepared abooklet for younger students on how to get help"(Lewis 1991, 4).

On a more sophisticated level, the study couldinvolve the use of unifying themes which wouldresult in a study that is more thoroughly inte-

grated and interdisciplinary in nature. If, forexample, the students focus on AIDS, trends andcycles could be used as one of the unifyingthemes that tie together all of the disciplines.More specifically, in science the students couldstudy the life cycle of the virus; in social studies,they could track and examine the trends of AIDSinfection in the community or state; in health,P.E. or home economics, they could tracklifestyle trends (e.g., changes) as the epidemicbecomes more worrisome for all members ofsociety; in math, both statistical trends and cyclesregarding the AIDS infection rate in a commu-nity or state and/or the changes in public opinionas the epidemic becomes more prolonged andwidespread could be monitored and studied; and,in literature, students could ascertain and studyhow the spread and threat of the disease impactsthe trends and changes in the type of literaturethat is produced. This approach, it should benoted, is still far removed from the "general edu-cation" model recommended by Beane (1990).

The table on pages 244 and 245 provides anexample of an issues-centered unit that coverscore curriculum within a U.S. history coursethrough an interdisciplinary study centeredaround a perennial human issue.

any subjects, such as art, physical educa-tion, health, industrial arts, music andhome economics, are often perceived assubjects that do not lend themselves tothe study of social issues. The fact is,however, that each of these content areas

can address many vitally significant social issues.On a rather simplistic level, for example, sub-stance abuse (including use of steroids), AIDS,and stereotyping could easily and powerfully betied to the extant curriculum in physical educa-tion. Recycling, hazardous substances, pollution,and defective products are all legitimate issues forstudy in the industrial arts classroom. Home eco-nomics lends itself to the study of abuse in fami-lies, homelessness, food additives, pesticides, andtruth in advertising. Health class promoteshealthy life styles and healthy living, and theseconcerns naturally correspond with such issues asAIDS, substance abuse, water contamination,poverty, and malnutrition. The environment,human rights, civil rights, civil disobedience, andwar could all be tied to the art and music cur-riculums. Ideally, though, all disciplines, could

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approach the study according to Beane's (1990) con-cept of general education.

Challenges in the Issues-CenteredClassroom

One of the major problems in implementingan issues-centered curriculum is the dominanceof the subject-centered curriculum and teachers'headlong push to cover everything listed in thecurriculum guides, state mandates, and text-books. This drive for total coverage emits pres-sure, convincing many teachers that there is noroom or time left for the study of social issues.Instead of examining the age-old curriculumquestion of "what knowledge is of most worth,"teachers and administrators take for granted thatthe subject approach is the best simply becausetradition dictates it. However, by using an issue asthe context, then integrating the various disci-plines into the study, the teacher may "cover" lessinformation but the student will more readilymake key connections between major ideas.

Teachers have also faced the challenge ofimplementing interdisciplinary units effectively.As Beane (1990, 21) stated:

What interdisciplinary teaching does takeplace is consistently of a particular kind,namely "simple" correlations of subjectareas. For example, many [interdisciplinary]teams undertake thematic units ... in whichvarious subject areas make subject-specificcontributions during some part of the unit.However, the subjects retain their distinctidentity in the units and the contributionsoften depend upon how much time partic-ular teachers want to devote to them inrelation to other content they "need" tocover in their subject. ... [Such teachers endup stopping] short of possibilities for inte-grating information from different subjectswithin themes that transcend the subjectthemselves.

In fact, most middle level teachers only findthe time to conduct one or two so-called "inter-disciplinary" units a year. By truly working with-in interdisciplinary teams in which team mem-bers design a semester- or yearlong curriculumwhere the disciplines truly and thoroughly inte-grate around social issues, teachers are able tomove beyond a fragmented approach.

Issues-centered study within heterogeneous

group organization presents a challenge becauseof the wide span of cognitive and moral reason-ing abilities that may be represented in a singleclass, and the vast differences in regard to thestudents' social and emotional, and physicaldevelopment. In order to address these problems,different instructional strategies designed forteaching and studying about social issues are rec-ommended with heterogeneous groups, such asCooperative Controversy (Holubec, Johnson,and Johnson 1992); the Jurisprudential Modelfor Science, Technology, and Society (Pedersen1992); the Jigsaw Synthesis (Totten 1995); andGroup Investigation (Sharan and Hertz-Lazarowitz 1980; Wheelock 1992).

It is worth noting that the National Associ-ation for Gifted Children (1991) argued thatproviding a homogeneous group for gifted stu-dents allows teachers to match instruction to therapidly developing skills and capabilities for thegifted student. On the other hand, the NationalMiddle School Association is adamantly opposedto rigid ability grouping in educational settings.

Matching MissionsDespite the few challenges of issues-centered

education in a middle school setting, the goals ofissues-centered education and the tenets of mid-dle school education are compatible. A primarypurpose of the study of social issues is to assiststudents to become reflective, analytical citizenswho are capable of participating effectively in ademocratic, self-governing society. Middleschool educators accept an extremely worthwhileundertaking by preparing young adolescents toask penetrating questions, to weigh and solveproblems, to search out information pertinent tomake intelligent, just, and measured decisions,and to add a voice to a shared discussion amongall concerned. Through issues-centered educa-tion, those who teach early adolescents can capi-talize upon youth's deep and abiding concern forthe earth, a sense of social justice, and a genuineconcern for those who find themselves in unfor-tunate circumstances.

ReferencesArnold, John. "A Responsive Curriculum for Early Adoles-

cents." Middle School, ournal6 (May 1985): 14-18.

Beane, James A. A Middle School Curriculum: From

Rhetoric to Reality. Columbus, Ohio: NationalMiddle School Association, 1990.

Beckwith, Barbara. "Literature in the Classroom:

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UNIT GOALSStudents will gain:1. a deeper understanding of racism and its ramifications

throughout history in the United States.2. an appreciation and understanding of key documents, legal

structures, and legal options for taking action against racism.

Interdisciplinary Nature of StudyThe study draws on and interweaves contributions from such fieldsas history, political science, English (literature, composition, gram-mar, speaking, and listening), art, and music.

Identifying Central IssuesTeacher conducts a brainstorming session to ascertain issues ofinterest that also relate well to students' lives:

Individual students "argue" their case for inclusion ofdesired issues.Following ample discussion, students vote on the preferred issueof unit study.

UNIT ACTIVITIESReflective PracticeNote: This strand is woven throughout the unit.

1. Learning logs emphasize reflection, analysis and synthesis of theissue.

2. Class meetings allow students the opportunity to share thoughtsand ideas pertaining to the issue.

3. Ongoing discussions with e-mail groups regarding variousperspectives on racism.

4. Periodic responses to affective and cognitive questions posedby the teacher.

Pathways to Social Responsibility." In PromisingPractices in Teaching Social Responsibility, edited by

S. Berman and P LaFarge, 104-119. New York StateUniversity of New York Press, 1993.

Bell, Debbie. "Public School and UniversityCompaneros: Changing Lives." In Social Issues in theEnglish Classroom, edited by C. M. Hurlbert and S.Totten, 174-195. Urbana, Ill.: National Council ofTeachers of English, 1992.

Berman, Sheldon. "Introduction." In S. Berman and P.Lafarge, eds., Promising Practices in Teaching Social

Responsibility (Albany, N.Y.: State University ofNew York, 1993): 9.

Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development. TurningPoints: Preparing American Youth for the 21st Century.

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DAILY ACTIVITIESStudents will:

brainstorm preconceived ideas of racism.share their own experiences in regard to racism:

1. personally feeling the brunt of it.2. behaving in a racist manner.3. observing incidents of racism.

clarify and define the term racism after:1. webbing or clustering racism as the central theme.2. discussing individual webbing.3. creating a mind map based on individual webbings

as a whole-class activity.4. defining racism in small groups, then developing

a class definition.Teacher will:

share classic examples of racism (e.g., events, incidents, periods)within U.S. history and provide a synopsis of each. Study mayfocus on any of the following events/periods:Civil WarKKK activity during the 1920s (baiting of Jews, Catholics andBlacks)U.S. internment of the Japanese during World War IICivil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960sContemporary examples1. Skin Heads 3. Rainbow Coalition2. Nation of Islam 4. Treatment of recent immigrants

Students and teacher will:decide on four key areas to examine.locate resources (print, audio, video, and conduct searchesover the Internet).develop e-mail conferences with other classrooms aroundthe United States that are studying parallel issues.analyze, synthesize, and discuss key sources of information.

Note: During the course of unit study, students will examine seminal documents and

governmental actions such as the Declaration of Independence, Emancipation

Proclamation, the Brown vs. Board of Education decision, and the Civil Rights Act.

New York Carnegie Corporation of New York, 1989.Council of Chief State School Officers. Turning Points:

State Network News: A Newsletter of Carnegie

Corporation of New York Middle Grade School State

Policy Initiative 3 (January 1993): 1-23.Evans, Ronald W. "A Dream Unrealized: A Brief Look

at the History of Issue-Centered Approaches."The Social Studies 80, no. 5 (1989):178-84.

Faunce, Roland C., and L. Nelson Bossing.Developing the Core Curriculum. 2d. ed. New York:Prentice-Hall, 1958.

Sample Middle Level Interdisciplinary Unit on U.S. Racism:(continued)

Small groups of students will:select different mediums and analyze various examples ofracism from the periods under study in order to ascertainkey similarities and differences during the various periods.They will also examine how the racist incident wasaddressed or ameliorated through various channels (e.g.,social activism, legislative actions, etc.). They will reporttheir findings to the class.

Students will:set up a panel discussion on racism. The panel will be com-prised of members from NAACP, Rainbow Coalition, localpolice department, Skin Heads, local member of the clergy,a community college or university history or Americanstudies professor, and other relevant organizations.study related literature (short stories; slave narratives; oralhistories by freed slaves, interned Japanese during WorldWar II, civil rights leaders, and recent immigrants (especial-ly Hispanics and Asians) and at least one novel (e.g., ErnestGaines' The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman).study key music, including slave spirituals, gospels, rap, andcontemporary rock.study art by and about different races that depict incidentsof racism and/or solidarity. Students will also develop theirown artistic products (including collages, pen and ink draw-ings, paintings, sculptures, and mobiles) based upon theirstudies.

CULMINATING SOCIAL ACTION PROJECTIn order to meet the interest of as many students as possi-

ble, the teacher and students will brainstorm ideas addressingracism in their school or community. Based on these sugges-tions, individuals and/or small student groups will design andcarry out social action projects. Among the many racism-related projects that might be considered are the following:1. Writing and acting out a play.2. Producing and appearing on a public access television show.3. Initiating and/or becoming a member of an Amnesty

International Adoption Group.4. Developing and conducting a survey on racism for

use in the local community and publishing the results.5. Developing and conducting a panel discussion on racism as

a school assembly.6. Initiating a school-based conflict resolution process and

submitting it to the school administration for approval.7. Developing a community-based lecture series on

tolerance in which invited guests give lectures throughoutthe school year

Goodman, Sara, and William J. Kreidler. "'You NeedLots of Choices': Conflict Resolution in theElementary Grades." In Promising Practices inTeaching Social Responsibility, edited by S. Berman

and P Lafarge. Albany, N.Y.: State University ofNew York Press, 1993.

Gruhn, William T, and R Harl Douglas. The ModernJunior High School. New York Ronald, 1947.

Harms, N. C., and R. E. Yager. What Research Says tothe Science Teacher. Vol. 3. Washington, D.C.:

National Science Teachers Association, 1981.Hechinger, Fred M. Fateful Choices: Healthy Youth for the

21st Century. New York Carnegie Council onAdolescent Development/Camegie Corporationof New York, 1992.

Holubec, Edythe Johnson, David W. Johnson, andRoger T Johnson. "Dealing with Conflict AStructured Cooperative Controversy Procedure."In Social Issues in the English Classroom, edited by

C. M. Hurlbert and S. Totten. Urbana, NationalCouncil of Teachers of English, 1992.

BEST COPY AVAI BLE

Hugo, Victor. Les Miserables. Translated by Charles E.Wilbur. New York The Modern Library, 1931.

Lewis, Anne. "Hewing City Life: Foxfire and UrbanYouth." High Strides: The Bimonthly Report on Urban

Middle Grades 4 (December 1991): 4.Lounsbury, John H., and Gordon F. Vars.A Curriculum

for the Middle School Years. New York Harper andRow, 1978.

Lowry, Lois. Number the Stars. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1989.

Moss, Theodore C. Middle School. New YorkHoughton Mifflin, 1969.

National Association for Gifted Children. Position Paper:Ability Grouping. Washington D.C.: NAGC, 1991.

National Middle School Association. Middle LevelCurriculum: A Work in Progress The Initial PositionPaper of National Middle School Association.

Columbus, Ohio: NMSA, 1993.Pedersen, Jon E. "The Jurisprudential Model of Study

for STS Issues." In The Status of Science-Technology-

Society Reform Efforts around the World: International

Council of Associations for Science Education Yearbook,

1992, edited by R. E. Yager. Washington, D.C.:National Science Teachers Association, 1992.

Penick, J. W. Science, Technology and Society: Resources for

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Science Educators. Columbus, Ohio: SEMACInformation Reference Center, 1985.

Reindl, Sheila. "Bringing Global Awareness intoElementary School Classrooms." In PromisingPractices in Teaching Social Responsibility, edited by

S. Berman and P. LaFarge. Albany, N.Y.: StateUniversity of New York Press, 1993.

Scales, Peter C. A Portrait ofYoung Adolescents in the

1990s: Implications for Promoting Healthy Growth andDevelopment. Carrboro, N.C.: Center for EarlyAdolescence, 1991.

Sharan, S., and R. Hertz-Lazarowitz. "A GroupInvestigation Method of Cooperative Learning inthe Classroom." In Cooperation in Education, editedby S. Sharan, P Hare, C. Webb, and R. Hertz-Lazarowitz. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young UniversityPress, 1980.

Toepfer, Conrad F. Jr. "Middle Level SchoolCurriculum: Defining the Elusive." In TransformingMiddle Level Education: Perspectives and Possibilities,

edited by J. Irvin. Needham Heights, Mass.:Allyn and Bacon, 1992.

Totten, Samuel. "Jigsaw Synthesis: A Method forIncorporating a Study of Social Issues into theExtant Curriculum." In Cooperative Learning inSecondary Schools, edited by J. Pedersen and A. Digby,

389-424. New York: Garland Publishing, 1995.Totten, Samuel, and Jon E. Pedersen. "Taking Action at

the Local Level: The Study of Social Issues in theMiddle School." Inquiry in Social Studies: Curriculum,Research, and InstructionThe Journal of the NorthCarolina Council for the Social Studies29 (Spring

1993): 19-33.Townsend, Regina, and William G. Wraga.

"Implementing an Interdisciplinary Unit on theHolocaust." In Social Issues and Community Service at

the Middle Level, edited by S. Totten and J. Pedersen.Needham Heights, Mass: Allyn and Bacon, forth-coming, 1997.

Van Til, William, Gordon F. Vars, and John H.Lounsbury. Modern Education for the Junior High School

Years. 2d ed. Indianapolis, Ind.: Bobbs-Merrill, 1967.

Vars, Gordon E Interdisciplinary Teaching in the Middle

Grades. Columbus, Ohio: National Middle SchoolAssociation, 1987.

Wheelock, Anne. Crossing the Tracks: How 'Untracking"Can Save America's Schools. Boston, Mass.: The

Massachusetts Advocacy Center, 1992.

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KING SOCIETAL ISSUESHOOL SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS

rt E. Yager and Martha V. Lutz

Traditional science and mathematics class-rooms generally lack relevance and use.The National Science Foundation StatusStudies provided abundant evidence that90 percent of all U.S. schools have tradi-tional classrooms (Helgeson, Blosser, and

Howe 1977; Stake and Easley 1978; Weiss,1978). This is true even in most college class-rooms and laboratories (AAAS 1990). Studentsperceive a deep chasm between the classroom'sworld of explanations and information in the realworld. Brumby (1984, 501) offered a succinctdiagnosis of the problem, describing how scienceis presented as "a body of absolute knowledge,most of which is recorded in books, or yet to bediscovered by experts." According to Brumby,students see their task as primarily memorizationof facts so they can answer their teacher's ques-tions. These students may become highly skilledat rote memorization but without learning toreason. Brumby asked: "When will they begin touse rather than recite their knowledge?" (501).

Issues-centered education provides both rele-vance and use. It parallels current constructivistlearning theory and meets demands for newteaching strategies in science education groundedin such theory. It is also compatible with two vitalgoals in science education: to assist students inbecoming independent learners, and to providestudents with opportunities to apply their knowl-edge to real-world situations. Rather than solvingcontrived puzzles found in textbooks or lab man-uals, students learn about current communityand global issues and how scientific and mathe-matical analysis, problem solving, and researchhave direct application in their daily lives.

Constructivist theory and its research baseprovide a critical rationale for issues-centeredcurriculum. Research from cognitive science has

established the importance of constructivism inteaching science and mathematics (Cleminson1990). This chapter offers science and mathe-matics teachers a teaching approach that isconstructivist, issues-centered, and true to theirdisciplines.

Constructivist TheoryConstructivism is a theory about how people

learn. This explanation developed from observ-ing that individual knowledge is what the mindconstructsnot what the mind is taught. At theheart of constructivism is the need to makeconnectionsbetween new information comingin and previously learned information alreadystructured in the learner's mind. These connec-tions are most easily made when new informa-tion is offered within a context. A familiar, per-sonally relevant context is usually most effective.Constructivism received particular attentionafter 1985 when cognitive scientists' researchwas made public (Fosnot 1989; Resnick 1987;Simon and Schifter 1991; von Glasersfeld 1987,1988). It has emerged as a dominant theme ineducational reform.

Constructivism predicts that true learningrequires both a context and the active involve-ment of the learner. It requires learners to takeresponsibility for their own learning. Becauselearning and teaching are intrinsically related,effective teachers provide a personally relevantcontext for students and encourage them toengage in the learning process (Driver andOldham 1986).

Reinsmith (1993) asserted that, without anappropriate context, no learning can take place.Conventional teaching strategies attempt to cre-ate learning only within a textbook's context, andcurriculum is too often determined by those

who have not set foot in a real classroom for along time. Although conventional teachingstrategies may produce students who appear tohave learned the required material, later testsoften confirm that the students have not retainedmuch information, and may not have understoodit even while they remembered it (Brumby 1984).Constructivist theory predicts such conse-quences.

Many physicists and physics teachers are con-cerned by suggestions that schools move to anissues-centered orientation. Will science andmathematics mastery be compromised by issues-centered teaching? When undergraduate physicsmajorsviewed as the most successful learners interms of concept mastery, laboratory skills, andmotivationwere given real-world problems toinvestigate, 85 to 90 percent of the time theywere not able to solve the problems (Champagneand Klopfer 1984; Mestre and Lochhead 1990).With real-world problems and issues as relevantcontexts for learning, students will learn morephysics content, understand it better, and retainthis understanding longer than if studyingphysics consists of solving a series of book prob-lems and recalling formulas on exams. If learningis a desirable outcome, then physics proponentsneed not fear an issues-centered curriculum.

STS: A New Approachto Teaching Science

Science and technology can be learned with-in the context of human experiences through theteaching approach known as Science/Techno-logy/Society (STS)(National Science TeachersAssociation [NSTA] 1990-91). This "context ofhuman experiences" means teachers use relevantsocietal issues in instruction. It is essential in STSto provide a context for all content, which quali-fies it as a constructivist teaching strategy. Usinga real-world issue provides a context that firstengages students in questions, encourages themto search for answers, and finally, extends to test-ing alternative solutions the students proposed.

The goal of STS is to meet the serious needfor an informed U.S. citizenry, capable of makingcrucial decisions about current problems andissues and taking personal actions as a result ofthese decisions. STS teachers identify local,regional, national, and international issues, planindividual and group activities around them, andpromote actions designed to address or resolvethe issues under investigation, emphasizing

responsible decision making in the real world.STS prepares students for current and futurecitizenship roles.

STS offers science and mathematics teachers astrategy for achieving scientific and technologicalliteracy for all. Analyzing this approach in light ofconstructivist theory shows how use of issues pro-motes real learning. Aldridge (1993, 2) describeda childhood experience that is a classic, prototyp-ical STS-type investigation: he was "drifting,doing enough to pass but little else." Then afriend's older brother told him about electronics,and his interest was engaged (the initial step inboth learning and STS). He learned as muchinformation about electric circuits as he could.He tried to build a circuit but discovered thathe needed to learn mathematics, which he hadpreviously "never bothered with" (2). This needstimulated a search for information, another fea-ture of STS. A young Aldridge also discoveredthat he needed to learn chemistry and physics,and ultimately recognized the need to understandunderlying principles, not just repeat descriptiveexplanations. His initial interest in and experiencewith electronics provided a sustained motivationand grew into a career in physics.

STS teachers encourage their students todevelop their own theories to account for thedata they collect in their experiments. Aldridge(1993, 3) believed that all students should havesuch "science experiences":

Working one's way through the creation ofa theory to account for an entire array ofseemingly unrelated scientific principles orlaws opens a whole new world of thought.The experience of learning a basic part ofscience for yourself can be a powerful, long-term source of motivation. The history ofscience is filled with examples of a small,apparently insignificant learning experiencethat was sufficient to sustain the personuntil an exponentially increasing number ofsuch experiences produced major scientificachievements. How many young peoplehave never had even one such experience?These are not privileged experiences openonly to the elite few who will becomeresearch scientists. They should be open toall students.

STS instruction follows the steps in the con-struction of knowledge promoted by construc-

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tivists. The first step is filtering incoming stimulibased on perceived context. (For example, theword set has one meaning for a tennis player,another meaning for an interior decorator, andstill another very particular meaning for a math-ematician. Knowing the context determineswhich meaning to use to interpret the word set.)By providing a context, STS focuses the students'attention on relevant stimuli and information.

The second step is making connections andgenerating knowledge structures. This will onlyhappen if the learner is actively involved in thelearning process. Without engagement on thepart of the learner, no real learning will takeplace; at best, there will be rote memorizationwithout comprehension, and the information willsoon be forgotten. STS satisfies the second con-dition necessary for construction of knowledgeby using real-world issues to engage students.

Finally, the knowledge that an individualconstructs must be tested against both internaland external information. If the learner perceivesconsistency, the knowledge will be subsumed intolong-term memory. STS prescribes that studentquestions and investigations drive the lessons, sowhen STS teachers allow students to design andcarry out their own tests rather than usingprepackaged "experiments" from a text or labmanual, it is consistent with constructivism.

These features of STS (defining a question,designing tests, and engaging in creative

thinking based on data) are all basic fea-tures of science as defined by Simpson

(1963). STS teachers encourage students to testtheir ideas (hypotheses), something not done intraditional science classrooms. Students discusstheir results, inform others (a feature of basic sci-ence), and take action based on the results.These actions may not be science per se, but theyillustrate the value of extending science acrossthe curriculum, or even outside the school. Suchextensions can engender community support forthe science program, provide recognition for stu-dents, and generally illuminate the inherentvalue of science.

STS empowers students with skills, allowingthem to become active responsible citizens,responding to issues that influence their lives.STS is structured around issues and problemswith local importance and relevance. Many con-temporary global problems are rooted in scienceand technology; radioactive waste, pesticide driftbetween national borders, and AIDS are just afew examples. Local applications are obvious:what happens to radioactive waste from the localhospital? Do pesticides applied to a lawn or farmfield end up on the neighboring lawns or ingroundwater? How can individuals reduce theirchances of contracting AIDS?

STS advocates propose to make school sci-ence a more accurate representation of real sci-ence (Yager 1988, 1990). Science content is anemergent property of STS investigations, not alist of prescribed concepts and activities. In STScourses the lists of science concepts and processskills ordinarily used to dictate instruction are

ducational efforts such as environmental education, energy education, drug educa-tion, AIDS education, technology education, and even metric education can bethought of as STS-related. Today most science educators who advocate STS acceptit as representing a new science teaching approach, not a new curriculum approach(NSTA 1990-91). NSTA (1990-91, 47) has identified ten features that characterize

the STS approach:

1. Utilizing issues (with scientific and technicalcomponents, and which are interesting and rele-vant to students) as organizers for the course;

2. Using local resources (human and material)as original sources of scientific or technicalinformation;

3. Involving students in seeking scientific or tech-nical information to solve real -life problems;

4. Extending science learning beyond the classperiod, the classroom, and the school;

5. Focusing upon the impact of science andtechnology on each individual student;

6. Viewing science content as relevant to life,not exams;

7. Removing the emphasis on mindlesslymimicking science process skills;

8. Emphasizing career awarenessespeciallycareers related to science and technology;

9. Providing opportunities for students to performin citizenship roles as they attempt to solveproblems and answer questions about thenatural world; and

10. Demonstrating that science and technology aremajor factors which will impact the future.

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instead the products of learning: constructedknowledge. If students can use such higher orderthinking skills as application, synthesis, andevaluation, learning is evident. Use of skills andknowledge is further evidence of mastery (Yager,Blunck and Ajam 1990).

Examples of Issues-CenteredInstruction

Using current problems and issues as curricu-lum organizers is both motivating and contextu-alizing for students. In this section of the chapterfour authentic narratives about issues-centeredscience and mathematics instruction illustratehow issues-centered STS courses can be taught.These four examples are not organized aroundprescribed content areas nor are they focused pri-marily on scientific or mathematical processes.Instead, each classroom example is organizedaround a context: an issue of personal relevanceto the students.

Analyzing Problemsof the Local Airport

Morgan Masters' science students inChariton, Iowa, made discoveries about their air-port when its maintenance funds ran low. Theseeighth graders were beginning a two-day unit onflight, when a student asked, "Why all this fussabout the airport?" Others questions followed."Who uses the airport?" "What types of planesland at the airport?" "How much does a pilot'slicense cost?" None of these questions could beanswered by looking in a textbook.

Students searched for answers to their ques-tions. They telephoned airport personnel, cityofficials, and community business people. TheCounty Extension Offices, the Iowa Departmentof Transportation, Iowa Civil Air Patrol, andother airports across Iowa gave the students moreinformation. The students set up a network ofresources, and each resource contacted led tomore ideas, deepening the students' understand-ing of the issue.

Students surveyed the community to deter-mine what people knew about the airport'sfinancial crisis; the majority of the people werenot aware of problems. The students decided toput the airport at the center of the public's atten-tion by planning a "Flight Day." The studentstook charge of setting up Flight Day activitiesfor this one-day event.

The big day featured hot-air balloonists, stunt

pilots, rocket launches, kite-flying contests, andwater-balloon launches. Flight Day showcased avariety of community talent and the work of localand state transportation agencies. Students tookon various rolessome were system flight ana-lysts (recording flight times and patterns of rock-ets); others were photographers, video-cameraoperators, or announcers. The assistant airportmanager and a team of students arranged fortwenty different pilots and their planes to beavailable for tours and demonstrations.

Students built community awareness throughFlight Day. They followed up with a presentationat the City Council Meeting, voicing their con-cerns and the concerns of the community. Todayrepairs have been made to the runways. The air-port continues to serve the community's needs.The eighth graders felt that they enlightened theentire community Flight Day has become atradition in Chariton, Iowa, continuing to linkthe school and the community in a special way.l

Measuring Crime, Babies, and GradesIn Jennifer Matt's Probability and Statistics

class in Cresco, Iowa, students learn on their ownby using problems from the "real world." Theycollect data and then present written and oralreports to people who might be interested in theresults. Examples are:

Birth of babies at the Howard CountyHospital. Students evaluate data on weight,length, circumference of head, time of birth,length of pregnancy, and other information theyselect. The students draw conclusions from thedata. (Critical features of this experience are thatthe students select variables for data collection,develop their own hypotheses, and draw conclu-sions from the data. This is radically differentfrom having the text or teacher tell them whatthe hypothesis is, what data to collect, and whatthe "right" answer will be.)

Ambulance calls. Students evaluate dataon the time a call is received, length of the run,time to reach the location, time to return to thehospital, and type of call. After the data collection,students are encouraged to speak with the emer-gency staff with recommendations that have rea-soned conclusions drawn from the collected data.

Crime in Cresco. Students evaluate data onthe type of crime, when it happened, where ithappened, dollar amount involved, etc. Uponevaluation, they look for patternse.g., morecrime occurs on paydays. (Looking for patterns

2S0

260

WIC* .4CrAii .7" wit a. figaragdill Ofillaitndants*Otleffe'ISOri.'-

iSChnOiiii`Charlei .theanswer: How many milk jugs'ddes it'take'to'fill agarage dr 'MalcC:ajecycled picnic table? CharlesCity 'stildentslised i'donatedgOi* as a"'reCy-cling- center-- for-:- an :.entireTyear;':i'eaichirk. foranswers tn'Suchqiiestions. They -Usedtheir Math-ematics and science' skills in al-Way that wasmeaningful and useful.

It all' begair one day in sCience.: class'rwhensomeone asked: Doesn't the- density of "`plastichave something to do with Vthetlief you can.iecy-de it orniot?Thi- question inideWerybneihinlc.For yeais **sixth- graders in --"Science class 'hadexplored density, but their teacher, Janet Dunkel,thought exploring this student question woulduncover a wealth of understanding connectedto an important statewidelenges heitiidelifs on a. regular. basi'eib questionand devise-test:Slot their quei-ions. For their pro.-ject students. ,collected plastic containers.. of allsorts. They contacted engineers and scientistsand manufactureis who create plastics, investi-gating the concept of density in a new way.Students collected, analyzed, and' interpreteddata. They were not mindlessly memorizing

in data is a key feature of basic science.) Studentsrecommended the time of day when the policechief should assign more police officers on duty.

Absences and grade-point average. Studentscollect comparative data on the number ofabsences in high school and GPA. When theydiscover a negative correlation, they then mustdecide if it is significant.

Some students do not like these projectsbecause they do not know what the answer isgoing to be. Many of Matt's "good" students aregood merely because they mimic her steps. It isvery difficult for them to think on their own.They really don't want to struggle with learning.They often ask her to "Just tell me how to do it."Other students like the projects because they cansee that mathematics is more than working text-book problems?

Beautifying Iowa RoadsidesClayton County employees won't be spend-

ing their time mowing roadsides. Bill Crandalland his biology students have returned areasalong highways near Elkader, Iowa, to their nat-

formulas and definitions; they were using them.Students surveyed the Charles City commu-

nity to determine personal recycling habits andwhat people thought of recycling. Apparently,plastic milk jugs were causing the most concern.Charles City did not have a comprehensive recy-cling plan. The students thought that perhapsthey could collect and recycle milk jugs. Peoplebegan stopping by the elementary school to dropoff milk jugs. The students asked if someonecould donate "warehouse" space for the jugs.A neighbor donated a vacant garage adjacentto school property.

The Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts heard of theproject and offered help by sorting and baling.The local grocery store provided a compactor,and a local trucking firm donated a truck and dri-ver to move the bales of jugs to the recycling cen-ter in northeast Iowa. The idea had taken hold,and the project was growing. The students creat-ed a proposal for the City Council, asking for thecommunity to assume some responsibility andmake recycling part of the overall city plan forwaste management. Today Charles City has acomprehensive recycling plan that grew out ofthe garageful of plastic milk jugs andthe concerns of sixth-graders.3

ural state. These students are concerned withissues in the real world and have come to viewscience as a way of thinking and doing.

Students generated questions concerning thebest way to manage the roadside near Elkader.Rather than using a text's predetermined andgeneric ecology questions, the students brain-stormed their own ideas and questions, and thendefined a specific issue for their attention.For many years, the county's standard operatingprocedure had been mowing roadside areas ona regular basis. The students viewed roadsideareas as places for wildflowers and native grassesto flourish. The students wondered if these areascould be managed in a more efficient and natur-al way. Students investigated issues of wildlifepreservation, effective land management, cost,and beautification of Iowa's highways.

The county gave the students a stretch ofhighway where they could test their ideas on con-servation and integrated roadside management.Many county engineers and officials served asconsultants on the project. The students realizedthat their ideas were working and could perhaps

save the county dollars in labor costs and equip-ment. The students took their data, organizing itinto a proposal, and presented it to the countyboard of supervisors. The students' skills andknowledge in science and mathematicsimpressed the adult leaders, and the county boardapproved their plan for change. As a result, theroadsides in this section of eastern Iowa are richwith native grasses and wildflowers.

Since 1990, biology students have monitoredchanges in roadside areas that have returned to anatural condition. Some of these students havepart-time jobs working for the county alongsidecounty engineers. People notice the beautifulClayton County highways, and other countiesare considering this approach to roadsidemanagement. The ideas of these high schoolscience students resulted in dramatic changes.4

Barriers to Implementing STSas an Issue-Centered Approach

Traditional science and mathematics teachersfind the use of social issues to organize their cours-es a difficult philosophical position. Many preferto transfer their own knowledge to the students.However, this process (i.e., giving students infor-mation that scientists know, and the skills theyuse) may destroy the chance for a real scienceexperience. The term passive learning is an oxy-moron. Unfortunately, school administrators andparents are often in favor of maintaining the statusquo. They are content to picture teachers as pur-veyors and students as passive recipients of math-ematics and science information. There is clearevidence that such a static view of classrooms, cur-riculum, and instruction invites failurestudentswho have not learned how to think.

STS advocates readily accept such "core" ideasas those advanced within Project 2061 (AAAS1989) or the Scope, Sequence, and CoordinationProject (Aldridge 1991). They refrain, however,from identifying a list of concepts as organizersfor teaching. They doubt that any set of individ-uals can determine with complete certainty whatall students must know. Instead, STS proponentsargue that natural curiosity, a facilitative teacher,discrepant events, current situations and news,and the social structure of schools and classroomscan be used to achieve mastery of all importantconcepts and processes. Mastery is achievedbecause students perceive a need for informationand because they use that information, notbecause of the efforts of teachers, scientists, or

252

curriculum developers. This does not suggest thatteachers should sit idly until students suddenlywant to learn. Instead, teachers should deter-minedly and enthusiastically try to encourageall students to question and become involved.

This encouragement and call to action canprovide motivation. If a list of "vital" constructsof science is identified and accepted, STS propo-nents will work to provide a setting (context) thatwill assist students in using such constructs inreal-world situations. When students internalizelearning, it tends to last; it arises from and con-nects with their experiences in the real world.There is considerable research to indicate that alllearners are able to learn more and to retain itlonger when the learning takes place in a real-world context (Lochhead and Yager, 1996;Mestre and Lochhead, 1990; Yager, 1993). Surelythe real world provides countless problems thatneed resolution.

Anything that builds upon students' curiosi-ty, encourages students to create explanations,and insists upon explanations being verified andvalidated, is in reality science. Activity-basedscience programs have been shown to improvereading readiness skills, stimulate vocabularydevelopment, increase verbal fluency, enhancelogical thinking, and strengthen concept forma-tion and communication skills (Pratt, 1981).When such programs are also issues-centered,the advantages are even more pronounced. Usingscience-related issues across the curriculum iscompelling. Science provides real issues, stimu-lates real curiosity, engenders real tests, allowsactual practice with decision making, and pro-vides opportunities for personal actions.

ReferencesAldridge, B. G. "A Circuitous Route." Quantum 3

(July/August 1993): 2-3.Aldridge, B. G. "Improve Science Education Using

`Basic Science' with Applications."NSTA Reports!(May 1991): 8,32.

American Association for the Advancement of Science.Science for All Americans: SummaryProject 2061.Washington, D.C.: AAAS, 1989.

American Association for the Advancement of Science.The Liberal Art of Science: Agenda for Action, The

Report of the Project on Liberal Education and the

Sciences. Washington, D.C.: AAAS, 1990.

Brumby, M. N. "Misconceptions about the Conceptof Natural Selection by Medical Biology Students."Science Education 68 (1984): 493-503.

or.9

Champagne, A. B., and L. E. Klopfer. "Research inScience Education: The Cognitive PsychologyPerspective." In Research within Reach: ScienceEducation, edited by D. Holdzkom and P. B. Lutz,171-89. Charleston, W.V.: Research andDevelopment Interpretation Service, AppalachiaEducational Laboratory, 1984.

Cleminson, A. "Establishing an Epistemological Basefor Science Teaching in the Light of ContemporaryNotions of the Nature of Science and of HowChildren Learn Science."Journai ofResearch inScience Teaching 27 (1990): 429-45.

Driver, R, and V. Oldham. "A Constructivist Approachto Curriculum Development in Science." Studies inScience Education 13 (1986): 105-22.

Fosnot, C. T Enquiring Teachers, Enquiring Learners:A Constructivist Approach to Learning. New York,

N.Y.: Teachers College Press, 1989.Helgeson, S. L., P. E. Blosser, and R. W. Howe. The

Status of Pre-College Science, Mathematics, and Social

Science Education: 1955-75. Columbus, Ohio: Centerfor Science and Mathematics Education, The OhioState University, 1977.

Lochhead, J., and R E. Yager. "Is Science Adrift in a

Sea of Knowledge? A Theory of Conceptual Drift."In Science/Technology/S'ociq.. Research Implications for

Science Education, edited by R E. Yager, 25-38). Albany,

N.Y.: State University of New York Press, 1996.

Mestre, J. P., and J. Lochhead. Academic Preparation inScience: Teaching for Transition from High School to

College. New York, N.Y.: College EntranceExamination Board, 1990.

National Research Council. National Science EducationStandards. Washington, D.C.: National AcademyPress, 1996.

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for SchoolMathematics. Reston, Va.: NCTM, 1989.

National Science Teachers Association. "Science/Technology/Society: A New Effort for ProvidingAppropriate Science for All." In NSTA Handbook,47-48. Washington, D.C.: NSTA, 199Q-91.

Pratt, H. "Science Education in the ElementarySchool." In What Research Says to the Science Teacher,

Vol. 3, edited by N. C. Harms and R E. Yager,73-93. Washington, D.C.: National ScienceTeachers Association, 1981.

Reinsmith, William A. "Ten Fundamental Truths aboutLearning." The National Teaching and LearningForum 2 (1993): 7-8.

Resnick, L. B. "Constructing Knowledge in School."In Development and Learning: Conflict or Congruence?,

edited by L. S. Liben, 19-50. Hillsdale, NJ.:

.J"

Erlbaum, 1987.Simon, M., and D. Schifter. "Toward a Constructivist

Perspective: An Intervention Study of MathematicsTeacher Development." Educational Studies inMathematics 22 (1991): 309-31.

Simpson, G. G. "Biology the Nature of Science."Science 139 (1963): 81-88.

Stake, R. E., and J. Easley. Case Studies in ScienceEducation, Volumes I and IL Urbana, Ill.: Center forInstructional Research and Curriculum Evaluation,University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1978.

von Glasersfeld, E. The Construction of Knowledge.

Seaside, Calif.: The Systems Inquiry Series,Intersystems Publication, 1987.

von Glasersfeld, E. Cognition, Construction of Knowledge,and Teaching. Washington, D.C.: National ScienceFoundation, 1988.

Weiss, I. R. Report of the 1977 National Survey of Science,Mathematics, and Social Studies Education: Center for

Educational Research and Evaluation. Washington,D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1978.

Yager, R. E. "A New Focus for School Science: S/T/S."School Science and Mathematics 88 (1988): 181-90.

Yager, R. E. "STS: Thinking over the Years: AnOverview of the Past Decade." The Science Teacher 57

(1990): 52-55.Yager, R. E. ,ed. What Research Says to the Science Teacher,

Vol. 7. The Science, Technology, Society Movement.

Washington, D.C.: National Science TeachersAssociation, 1993. commas in original title?

Yager, R E., S. M. Blunck, and M. Ajam, ed. The IowaAssessment Package for Evaluation in Five Domains of

Science Education. 2d ed. Iowa City, Iowa: The

University of Iowa, Science Education Center, 1990.

1Science Teacher: Morgan Masters; Principal: Bernard

Stephenson, Chariton Middle School, Chariton, Iowa2Mathematics Teacher: Jennifer Matt; Principal:

Charles E. Miller, Crestwood High School, Cresco, Iowa3Science Teacher: Janet Dunkel; Principal: Doug

Bergston, Jefferson School, Charles City, Iowa4Science Teacher: Bill Crandall; Principal: Donald

Grove, Central Community School District, Elkader, Iowa

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283

)AN SSUES-CENTERED CURRICULUM FOR HIGHSCH OL SOCIAL STUDIESbq Ro Id W. Evans and Jerrq Brodheq

01.1 dolescents today face real, difficult chal-lenges: teenage pregnancy, drug use, vio-lent communities, racial stereotypes andprejudices, broken homes. Many face thebleak economic realities of escalatingcollege costs, or low-paying jobs for the

non-college bound. Their families face the prob-lems of unemployment or declining or stagnantreal income. As students walk the streets of ournation's cities they are confronted with home-lessness, declining social services, and environ-mental blight. They will soon face pressingproblems of securing health care, finding a jobthat will allow growth and success, and makingdecisions about their lives as individuals and aspart of a larger community. Unfortunately, thetypical social studies curriculum fails to explicit-ly address these issues, fails to help preparestudents for the very real issues and problemsthey will face in their lives.

For social studies to reach its potential, webelieve that the classrooms of the 21st centurymust be different from the classroom of today.In today's typical high school, the bell rings andthirty to forty students shuffle in. Students sit inrows. A heavy textbook is pulled out of studentbackpacks, and the lesson begins. Students sit,take notes, complete fill-in-the-blank worksheets,answer questions from the book, study for exams,and are graded on mastery of factual knowledge.Tests are often multiple choice and graded bya machine. Students endure courses in Ameri-can History World History, Geography, Govern-ment, and Economics. The social studies curricu-lum, and typical classroom activities, are verysimilar to what went on in the same space twentyor even fifty years ago (Cuban 1984; Goodlad1984; Shaver, Davis and Helburn 1979).

Some individual teachers are better at this

ll

model than others. In some classrooms, lecturesare interesting and discussions are lively: simula-tion, debate, and role-playing may occur on aregular basis. While these classrooms may belivelier, and students are more involved, the basicpattern remains. Students leave the classroomand leave social studies behind. They enjoy thecompany of their friends in the halls, and thenshuffle off to math, or science, or English, or art.The curriculum, and the school day, are segment-ed into unrelated packages. Even more damagingis the fact that what is learned is divorced fromthe rest of their lives.

In the following pages, we develop a propos-al for an issues-centered social studies curricu-lum framework aimed at creating stronger link-ages between students' lives and the topics theystudy in high school social studies. In developingan alternative conceptualization for social stud-ies curricula, we will describe previous modelsfor an issues-centered social studies program anddiscuss the potential strengths and limitationsof each. Following that, we present our owncurricular framework, then discuss its potentialstrengths and anticipate likely criticisms.We have chosen not to include direct discussionof our rationale for an issues-centered approachin this chapter because this is dealt with in depthin another section of the Handbook.

By issues-centered education we mean anapproach to education centered around problem-atic questions, probing questions which haveno "right" answer. It is an approach to educationthat demands thoughtfulness and depth,weighing evidence, values, and consequences.This approach is heavily dependent on reflectivediscussion using multiple formats, including:socratic seminar, groupwork, role-playing andsimulation, student research, and a variety of

264

other formats for large and small group discus-sion (Evans, Newmann and Saxe 1995). It is anapproach that seeks to create a critical dialogue, aproblem-posing education in the classroom(Freire 1970).

Content selection should include a mix ofemergent and pre-determined curricula andmaterials. Out of practical necessity teachersmust make use of content from history and thesocial sciences. On each topic considered, a seriesof lessons or a unit could be developed by usinga problem or issue as the starting point and prob-lem resolution as the goal. Given an issues-cen-tered orientation, we believe that considerationof alternative scope and sequence possibilitiesmay help teachers and school districts developmore powerful models for fostering studentreflection. Designing a curriculum to facilitatethis possibility is a challenge we will examine inthe following pages.

Examining Alternative ModelsPrevious advocates of an issues-centered social

studies have developed alternative visions of anissues-centered curriculum. For the most part,these thinkers have conceived of issues educationas an approach that would be implemented acrossthe social studies curriculum and infused withindiscipline-based course offerings, organizedchronologically or conceptually. Several otheralternatives might be developed and explored. Forexample, one alternative for the implementationof issues-centered approaches would be to createissues-centered units within discipline-basedcourses. A second alternative would be to developcourses built around issues and issue areas, a full-blown issues-centered structure. This approachwould mean creating an issues-centered alterna-tive to the typical scope and sequence. A thirdalternative would be to pose an open curriculumin which selection of topics and issues wouldemerge based on student interests and needs.

Several previous models for an issues-centeredcurriculum deserve description and comment.Rugg (1939) proposed an entire social studiescurriculum centered around what he termed "TheAmerican Problem." The curriculum containedstrands or themes relevant to major problem-topics and culminated in a two-year course onAmerican Life and Problems. Rugg's tenth gradecourse is titled, "World Problems and WorldHistory" and contains "'Strand' history of twochief concepts: 1. industrialism; 2. democracy...

focussed on international problems... 'the WorldProblem' counterpart of 'The AmericanProblem.'" The two-year capstone course is titled,"The American Problem and Its HistoricalBackground." This is a Problems of Democracycourse spread over two years, with the "historyof each group of problems directly studied."Though dated, Rugg's framework illustrates athorough blending of strand history and the in-depth study of problem-topics such as problemsof "reconstruction of natural and humanresources... economic abundance... labor...farming... housing... social security... democra-cy and government" (1939, 147). With the excep-tion of the capstone course, however, Rugg's pro-posed curriculum stopped short of calling forcourses titled and devoted to problems and issues.

Hunt and Metcalf (1955 and 1968) proposeda curriculum that would inquire into problemat-ic areas of culture, focusing in particular on"closed areas" of culture as appropriate in a givencommunity. They proposed that "problems,units, projects, blocks of workcall them whatyou willshould focus on a problematic area ofculture," and suggested that such an approach"does not require major disruption of presentcurriculum patterns. It does require that teachersconceive social-studies courses more broadly.History, for example, will include data fromsociology, anthropology, psychology, and thelike. But no overhauling of the present pattern ofcourses seems necessary in order to apply theproblem-centered approach recommended here"(1968, 302). Like Rugg, their approach stoppedshort of recommending a dramatically newcourse framework. Table 1 provides an overviewof their "Problematic Areas of Culture."

Oliver and Shaver (1966) proposed a some-what similar set of "General Problem Areas" andsample unit topics as a guide for selectingand organizing content for issues-centered educa-tion, as illustrated in Table 2. In their analysis ofmethods of organizing and teaching issues, Oliverand Shaver discuss two different approaches: thehistorical crisis approach and the problem-topicapproach. The first, "the historical crisisapproach," focuses on historical periods ripe withmultiple issues which are analogous to or may becontrasted with contemporary history, and whichmay help explain contemporary problems. Thesecond, "the problem-topic approach," beginswith selection of a contemporary issue consideredimportant and persistent, then examines relevant

2SS

7.-o D

Power and the LawSovereign Citizen vs. Power CentersLaw as Protection of the Weak vs. Lawas a Weapon of PowerCourts as Dispensers of Justice vs. Courtsas Dispensers of Injustice

EconomicsGovernment Frugality vs. GovernmentFinancing of Needed ProjectsTaxes and Government SpendingMonopoly and Free CompetitionFree Enterprise and SocialismProsperity and Population Growth

Nationalism, Patriotism,and Foreign Affairs

War and PeaceNational Honor and Foreign CommitmentsSelf-Determination of Nations and PuppetGovernmentsPatriotism as Obedience and Patriotism asCritical Inquiry

Social ClassRank in a Classless SocietyEarned Success and Fortuitous SuccessSuccess and HappinessLiberal vs. Vocational Education

Religion and MoralityReligious Belief and PracticeScience and ReligionHigh Pleasures and Low PleasuresDemocracy and Religion

Race and Minority-Group RelationsRace and Minority-Group RelationsRacial Differences and Human SimilarityNegro Inferiority and Negro CapacityJewish Greed and Jewish RadicalismCatholic Conservatism and Catholic Liberalism

Sex, Courtship, and MarriagePurity Versus ExperienceChastity and Peer-Group StatusThe Nice Girl Versus the Good SportModesty and Sex AppealCareer Versus Housewifery

data from a variety of sources, including histori-cal, journalistic, social sciences, etc.

Oliver and Shaver blended these approaches,and chose to site their work in a particular course,United States History, and "allowed chronologyto dictate roughly the order of the units." Theysuggest that "The topic-problem and historicalcrisis organization of content can thus easily befitted into a 'conventional' history course. Therationale for our decision was partly convenience:It was more in line with the expectations ofchildren and parents. But it also stemmed fromthe conviction that a broad chronological frame-work does give the course additional structureand meaning" (1966, 147). Like both Rugg, andHunt and Metcalf, Oliver and Shaver developedcurriculum strands but stopped short of recom-mending courses titled by and centered in prob-lem-topics or issues.

In a somewhat similar vein, Engle and Ochoa(1988) developed a "Framework for the Curricu-lum" in which issues and problems would beselected for their "potential for encouragingthinking, or even controversy, about matters offact... historical interpretation... or resolution tosocial problems in the present" (1988, 129). Theyrecommend a modest change from the tradition-

al curriculum scope and sequence, and suggestthat the subjects of United States history, worldhistory, and geography would remain the prima-ry courses taught, but that their "usual contentwould be broadened"... and "in some cases com-bined with content from other disciplines andfields of study"... to be fully relevant to societyand its problems. They propose eight suggestedcurriculum strands, described in Table 3, and, likethe scholars discussed above, suggest that thesewill be helpful in enlivening a standard curricu-lum and infusing a reflective focus.

One final model for consideration comes froman article which appeared in Social Education. Inan article tided "Social Education for SocialTransformation," Stanley and Nelson developguidelines for a critical approach to social studies,with broad and general themes for groupings ofdifferent grade levels (see Table 4). While theirideas are admirable (if implemented they wouldlead to a fully issues-centered curriculum), mostteachers and administrators prefer more guidance.Unlike the authors of models considered previ-ously, Stanley and Nelson (1986) suggest a majorrethinking of scope and sequence. They proposedismantling traditional, discipline-based coursetitles, and replacing them with social studies work

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2 Gs

Racial and Ethnic ConflictSchool DesegregationCivil Rights for Non-Whites and Ethnic MinoritiesHousing for Non-Whites and Ethnic MinoritiesJob Opportunities for Non-Whites and Ethnic MinoritiesImmigration Policy

Religious and Ideological ConflictRights of the Communist Party in AmericaReligion and Public EducationControl of "Dangerous" or "Immoral" LiteratureReligion and National Security: Oaths, Conscientious ObjectorsTaxation of Religious Property

Security of the IndividualCrime and Delinquency

Conflict Among Economic GroupsOrganized LaborBusiness Competition and Monopoly"Overproduction" of Farm GoodsConservation of Natural Resources

Health, Education, and WelfareAdequate Medical Care: for the Aged, for the PoorAdequate Educational OpportunityOld Age SecurityJob and Income Security

Security of the NationFederal Loyalty-Security Programs[Foreign Policy]l

1This topic obviously should be the center of a new curriculum, extending our analysis of domestic problems. It might consist of a wide variety ofsubtopics.

aimed at education for social transformation.Each of these models has strengths and weak-

nesses. Each presented innovative approachesthat would enhance the intellectual quality ofclassroom discourse. Only one, that of Stanleyand Nelson, offered a description and rationalefor an alternative curricular scope and sequence,the others instead suggesting that issues andproblems should be a strong part of any curricu-lar framework or scope and sequence. Theseadvocates of issues-centered approaches believedit prudent to offer their models as alternativeapproaches to teaching traditionally structuredcourses. This was perhaps a strategic considera-tion given the expectations of teachers, students,parents, and administrators concerning the cur-riculum. In each case, the frameworks developedmight be viewed in hindsight as emergent mod-els for a more radical departure from the tradi-tional reliance on course structures drawn fromthe social sciences and history.

Social studies theorists and practitioners owea great debt to these thinkers. Their work is stillthe best of social studies theory applied to prac-tice. Yet, we believe that it is time to considermore dramatic departures from typical scope andsequence alternatives.

Developing a Framework forSecondary Social Studies

We believe that the often mediocre state of

practice in the field indicates a need to entertainalternative visions and curricular frameworks,and requires that alternative visions be innovativeand dynamic. In what follows, we propose a cur-riculum in which social studies is defined as aunitary field of study that is fully issues-centered,interdisciplinary and extradisciplinary ratherthan a field that is merely derivative of academicdisciplines (Wraga 1993). We believe that wehave created a vision that may lead to the kind ofborder crossing that Henry Giroux espouses,overcoming the boundaries of the traditional dis-ciplines and school subjects and the tensionbetween social issues and academic disciplines asthe foundation for the curriculum (Giroux 1992).

Instead of building a curriculum aroundcourses based in the academic disciplines, webelieve that a more powerful vision for the futureof social studies might be built around certainsocial realities and the ethical questions andpossibilities they raise. This is similar to theproblem-topic approach discussed by Oliver andShaver (1966, 139-140). Imagine a semester-long high school course titled Race and Ethnicityin American Life; another titled Social Class,Stratification and Social Responsibility; anotheron Gender and Sexuality in Social Life andCulture; another on Ideology, Government, andEconomic Life; another titled Power in America;still another, Nationalism, Patriotism, andAmerican Foreign Policy; another on Philosophy

076 7

Table 3: Engle and Ochoa's Suggested Curriculum Strands

Environmental StudiesThe study of problems that surround human use of the environ-

ment. This strand should be organized around a listing of importantenvironmental problems, which should be revised from time to time tobring it into correspondence with current realities and concerns.

Institutional StudiesThe study of the origins and the present circumstances of the

broad range of social institutions of the United States, including:1) institutions that express and protect fundamental freedoms, 2) eco-nomic institutions, 3) political institutions, 4) global institutions, and5) the family, religious groups, etc.

Cultural StudiesWhy people of different regions, historical backgrounds, national-

ities, and ethnic groups grow up differently; How we can live usefullyin a world of differing cultures; How people of varying cultures shareprofound human similarities; and, How we turn cultural differencesinto assets for social improvement.

Social ProblemsOne major social problem would be studied for an extended peri-

od, in depth, on one occasion each year in each social studies class-room at every grade level with all classes engaged in study at the sametime, with principal as leader and involvement of other departments,parents and the community.

Problems in Decision MakingThree groups of questions would guide this study. Epistemo-

logical: What is knowledge? What is evidence? Which way of know-ing is most dependable? Communications: What are the purposes ofthe media? How can we judge the dependability of what we read orhear? Values: What do I value most? What do I do when two or moreof my values seem to be in conflict?

Internship in CitizenshipA one-year, one-day-a-week internship in some useful social or

civic enterprise would be a natural progression from thinking aboutsocial problems. Useful volunteer work would be sought with a service,political, or civic organization.

ElectivesElectives would focus on nature of the disciplines and methods by

which social scientists and historians arrive at dependable knowledge.One-year courses in economics, political science, sociology, anthropol-ogy, and journalism. Students would engage in laboratory practice ineach discipline, and be expected and encouraged to complete one suchelective.

A Democratic School EnvironmentThe school itself must be governed democratically. Never underesti-

mate the willingness of students to particpate in their own governance.Democracy is also exemplified by the respect shown by teachers for intel-lectual honesty and the intelligence of students to think for themselves.

in Personal and Public Life; another on Mediaand Social Understanding; another titledUtopian Visions and Competing Ideologies; yetanother on Technology, Society and theEnvironment; another tided Sex, Marriage, andFamily Life; and, of course, The School as anInstitution.... this incomplete list could go onand on. The main criteria are that the coursemust have an issue-focus and must not be limit-ed by any of the disciplines sited at the universi-ty. A shift to semester-long courses might alsohelp break dependence on massive textbooks andencourage use of multiple sources.

Each of these courses would be extradiscipli-nary and interdisciplinary by necessity, and eachcould have strands reflecting what we currentlythink of as the major sources of knowledge. Eachwould include cross-national perspectives. Theirlength may vary; some might be required, otherselective. The curriculum might begin withAn Introduction to Problems and Issues, andconcludewith Philosophy and Life. A course

2S0

titled Social Research might be included, inwhich students engage in in-depth research on acommunity or school issue that is linked to anational or global problem. Most courses couldinclude research components, and time for indi-vidual and committee study while consultingwith teachers. Perhaps a service learning compo-nent could be built in where appropriate. Mostimportantly, the starting point for each coursewould be the present manifestations of persistentissues and dilemmas. Students must have first-hand knowledge of the issue, and should be ableto study the issue directly both within the schooland outside in the community. Each coursewould be built around the reflective investigationof central questions, problems and issues. Eachcourse would also allow for the kind of in-depthstudy required for meaningful social education.

It might be helpful to explore the possibilitiesfor a particular course following this approach,and then compare and contrast it with a disci-pline based course. Let's take American Foreign

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Table 4: Stanley and Nelson's Curriculum for Social Transformation

GRADES 7-9Theme: Testing ideas, refining ethical ideologyContent:

examining criteria considering ideologiesideas and their sources political economy of ideas politicalgeography of ideas examination of historical examples of ide-ologies logic, reasoning, alternative views ideological domi-nance and repression cultural and ideological differences rootsof ideologies the nature of our culture as compared to othersmeanings and messagesmedia examination text analysis historic document studyways of knowing, different conceptions of truthdiscourse developmentanalysis of language, language theory concern for ideas ofothers justice and equality improving reading, writing,speaking, listening discourse, science, and social scienceexamination of elected social problemsdefining significant social issues developing hypotheses recon-sidering ethical criteria identifying and evaluating evidencetesting hypotheses drawing tentative conclusions proposingpotential social improvements examining contrasting view-points selecting avenues for social participationtaking responsibility for views and actionssocial participation activities

GRADES 1 0- 1 2Theme: Refining critical thinking proposals for

change; social participationContent:

reviewing ideas from previous sodal education workinterdependence ethics ideologies nature, sources and uti-lization of knowledge traditional forms of knowledge and theircritics contributions of history and the social sciencesdeveloping and reviewing process skillsethical reasoning discourse/discussion responsibilities con-ducting research social criticism critical thinking: decisionmaking social participation activitiesexamining identified significant social issueslocal national globalconsidering alternative futures and "relevantutopias" based on ethical justification forsocial transformationproposing ideas for social improvement rooted

in justice and equalitydeveloping interdependent social participationactive work, over a period of time, in social

improvement activitiesevaluating social education

Policy as an example. In the typical high schooltoday, our nation's role in the world is addressedprimarily in courses on United States History.Typically, American foreign policy issues are notexplicity addressed, at least not directly, exceptin the occasional forays into current events.Potentially relevant evidence on the issue iscovered as part of the chronological survey of his-tory. In a classroom in which an issues approachis infused, the issue would at least be addressedeach time the chronology dictates (MonroeDoctrine, Spanish American War, etc.).

In the alternative vision we have sketchedabove, our nation's role in the world wouldreceive in-depth treatment through a separatecourse. The course could begin and end withthe question: "What role should the U. S. play inthe world?," and would examine alternatives forthe future as well as our changing role in theworld over time. The course might include unitson various aspects of the central issue, e.g., thedefense budget, world government, etc. It wouldalso include an in-depth study of key episodes inhistory and examination of the chronologicaldevelopment of U. S. foreign relations. Specific

current problems would be studied, discussed anddebated. This approach would, in the end, help toprepare students who are conversant on the issueand knowledgeable about its history. Studentswould leave the course understanding relevantscholarship and evidence that might help themdevelop a saner and more sophisticated approachto thinking about foreign policy issues.

An Issues-Centered FrameworkIn what follows we offer an illustrative scope

and sequence, drawing on elements of the worksdescribed earlier. Actual courses, possible unittitles and a few of the central issues that mightbe explored are presented. Throughout, studentswill be asked to evaluate, critique, and takeresponsibility for their own education. Thisframework is only a partial start. It will needconsiderable further development by interestedteachers and curriculum developers who chooseto apply this approach. Like any framework,in practical application it would allow studentsand teachers to pursue "open" topics and issuesas desired, or when events or student interestswarrant.

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Grade 9. Introduction to Problemsand Issues (first semester)

This course will introduce students to alter-native perspectives on social issues, competingideologies, and the process of reflection andproblem investigation. Students would considerrationales for issues-centered study, the nature ofknowledge, meaning and messages, language,and the role of personal, public, and disciplinedknowledge in making decisions on matters ofinterpretation and public policy as well as per-sonal decisions. Students would investigate a

select number of issues that are chosen tointroduce some of the key issues from

the courses that will follow. Students will drawon and consider knowledge from history, thesocial sciences, and other relevant fields of studyas well as community, media, and personal expe-rience. Students will engage in consideration ofalternative perspectives, research in field andlibrary, and social participation in the communi-ty. In addition, each of these elements will con-tinue to appear and reappear in later coursesthroughout the curriculum.

Electives: These courses offer greater depthon topics of special interest to students. Theymay be offered as teaching schedules and studentinterest permit.

Grades 9-12. One-Semester Courses

ftII students would be required to enroll in one of these courses each semester forQ a total of six required semesters. Students may enroll in additional elective courses

ftas schedules permit. Each course would include emergent present-day manifestationsof the central issues, study of relevant historical cases and trends from the UnitedStates and the world, cross-cultural and global study, and inclusion of relevant art, lit-

erature, music, etc. Teachers and students would make judicious selections from a multitudeof resource materials.

Race and Ethnicity in American LifeDefining the Issues: Changing Demographics

in the U. S. TodayAlternative Perspectives on Racial and

Ethnic ConflictPrejudice and Institutionalized RacismRacial Patterns in Schools, Housing, and

EmploymentHistory of Racial and Ethnic Groups: Chronology

and CasesImmigration: What Should Our Policy Be?Global Perspectives on Race, Ethnicity and

Cultural DiversityPolicy and Personal Responsibility

What impact do race and ethnicity have on ourlives? How have attitudes, beliefs and social practicesregarding race and ethnicity changed over time? Howcan we best explain the socioeconomic status of differ-ent ethnic groups? What are the origins of race oppres-sion? What should we do about racial oppression?

Social Class, Stratification, andSocial Responsibility

Defining the Issues: Social Class in the U. S.Alternative Perspectives on Social ClassHistory of Class Conflict in America: Chronology

and CasesGlobal Perspectives: Class and Caste in World

HistoryRural Poverty and Urban BlightThe Rich and Super RichMiddle Class AmericaCrime and Delinquency: Gangs, Drugs, Prostitution, etc.Utopian Visions and Competing IdeologiesSchools and Social ClassSocial Welfare: AFDC, Social Security, Health CareSocial Policy and Personal Responsibility

How are wealth and income distributed? Whatdetermines these patterns? How and why have these pat-

terns changed over time? What role should governmentplay in providing for the general welfare of citizens?

Gender and Sexuality in Social Lifeand Culture

Defining the Issues: Status of Women and MenAlternative Perspectives on Gender OppressionFeminist ThoughtHistorical Development of Women's Rights:

Chronology and CasesChange in Gender Roles Over TimeChanging Definitions of ManhoodHomosexuality: Gay and Lesbian RightsThe Changing FamilyHistory of Sexuality: Attitudes, Belief, PracticesDating, Sex, MarriageSocial Policy and Personal Responsibility

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Grades 9-12. One-Semester Courses continued

,-- What are the origins of gender inequality?How has the role of gender in our lives changed overtime? How might we best explain the changing rolesof women and men? What role should gender andsexuality play in our lives?

Ideology and Economic LifeDefining the Issues: Conflicting Ideas

in Economic LifeAlternative Perspectives on Economics:

Smith, Marx, Keynes, etc.Government Regulation or Control in

Economic LifeThe Market: Command vs. Free?Historical Development of the American

Economy: Chronology and CasesIndustrial Revolution: Blessing or Curse?Giants of Industry: Industrial Statesmen or Robber

Barons?Rise of LaborTechnology and Society:

Environment vs. Development?Are Multinational Corporations Beyond Control?Global Perspectives on Economic LifeSocial Policy and Personal Responsibility

How can we best understand the economic aspectsof our society and the world? What role should gov-ernment play in economic life? What is the properrole of government in regulating business? What roleshould government play in protecting the rights oflabor? What role in these matters has governmentplayed in different times and cultures?

Power in AmericaDefining the Issues: What is Power?Perspectives on Power in America:

Elitism vs. PluralismHistorical Development of American Government:

Chronology and CasesThe Constitution: Protector of Democracy or

Conservator of Elitism?

Political Institutions: Hierarchies of Controlvs. Citizen Empowerment

Global Perspectives: Comparing GovernmentalForm and Function

Civil Rights and Civil LibertiesDissent: Stability vs. Right of ProtestReligious and Ideological ConflictPower, Words, and Images: Who Controls

the Media? Who Benefits?Politics, Power, and Personal Responsibility

Who rules America? Who benefits? How havepower relationships changed over time? Is a hierarchi-cal power structure inevitable? How have other cul-tures handled the question of power? In what waysshould we alter or reform the power structure in theUnited States to gain greater empowerment for theaverage citizen? When, and under what conditions,should citizens challenge legally constituted authority?By what means?

Nationalism, Patriotism, andAmerican Foreign Policy

Defining the Issues: America's Role in the WorldPerspectives on Foreign Policy:

Missions of Hope or Tragic ImpositionHistorical Development of

American Foreign PolicyAmerican Expansion and EmpireRise to Globalism: The World WarsCold War and BeyondNuclear Pasts and FuturesDefining Patriotism: Obedience vs. CritiqueThe Military: How Much Defense is Necessary?A Peace Time Draft vs. Voluntary ServiceWorld Government: How Much Power for

the United Nations?Policy and Personal Responsibility

What role should the United States play in theworld? How and why has the role of the U. S.changed over time? What are the origins ofAmerican globalism?

The Border Mentality: Nationalism andInternational Relations

Religion and Philosophy in Personal and Public LifeMedia and Social UnderstandingUtopian Visions and Competing IdeologiesTechnology, Society, and the EnvironmentSex, Marriage, and Family LifeThe School as an Institution

Introduction to the Social SciencesIntroduction to Social Research

Grade 12. Philosophy and Life(second semester capstone course)

In this course, each student would developa personal statement of individual and socialphilosophy, based on the student's own under-

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standing of our society and our world. Thecourse would include a revisiting of issues posedthroughout the curriculum, with special focus onphilosophical issues including the nature ofknowledge, theories of reality, theories of value,and perspectives on social justice. Students willalso consider alternative futures and proposeideas for social improvement, engage in commu-nity involvement or service learning activitiesconsistent with a personal vision of social justice,consider ethical implications of career alterna-tives, and other personal choices. Finally, stu-dents will be asked to evaluate and critique theirown education.

Strengths of the Frameworkand Potential Problems

While we reiterate our respect for the frame-works discussed earlier and the invaluablecontribution their authors have made to the field,we believe that the framework we propose hasseveral advantages over previous proposals. Thecurriculum builds on student interest in issuesaffecting their lives. In each course, the relevanceof the issues examined will be immediately clear.The focus on a central set of questions in eachcourse will help to create a reflective, engagingenvironment. In each course, teachers and stu-dents will also study relevant strands of historicaldevelopment, cases and cross-cultural and globalaspects of the topic being considered.

Unlike the previous attempts at developing anissues-centered curriculum, we have suggestedthe establishment of actual courses with issues atcenter. This is at the heart of our proposal, and isthe major distinction between this frameworkand the earlier proposals we discuss. This choiceelevates issues to a more prominent place in thecurriculum. If we can achieve this, it will be morelikely that books and materials will becomereflective and problem-centered in orientation,and that the curriculum will address issues rele-vant to students' lives. As we indicate above, thisframework allows history and social scienceperspectives to be employed, especially so incourses corresponding to economics and politicalscience, or including aspects of sociology andanthropology. Our proposal also encouragesextradisciplinary and interdisciplinary study bysiting courses outside any particular discipline.

While we believe that our proposal deservesfair consideration, we recognize that any suchproposal will draw a good deal of criticism.

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Opposition to issues-centered approaches haslong centered around the following main argu-ments (Evans 1987):

First, critics are likely to charge that theapproach lacks content. This charge is patentlyfalse. Content for each course may be found intextbooks, and in materials in school and publiclibraries. If this approach is to be thoroughlyimplemented, it will mean including moredata than the current curriculum typicallyoffers. Of course, current texts aren't organizedin an issues-centered fashion. For this approachto take hold, alternative materials will have to bedeveloped; texts, teaching manuals, and discus-sion guides will have to be created to correspondwith this framework. In the meantime, current-ly available texts and materials can be usedeffectively, but they will be used only as relevantto the topic and issue under consideration. Untilappropriate issues-centered texts and materialsare developed, teaching social studies with thisframework as a guide would be quite demand-ing for teachers. Realistically, any departmentor school district choosing to implement a fullyissues-centered curriculum would need suffi-cient preparation time to locate and createappropriate materials.

Other critics are likely to voice a related com-plaint that students won't know their history.This depends how history is used in this format.We hope that we have made clear that ourframework is heavily historical, that data, cases,strands of chronological development, and con-sideration of competing interpretations of thepast would permeate the curriculum. We believethat this will likely result in a better understand-ing of historical knowledge gained than in thetraditional curriculum.

A related complaint is likely from those whofavor a discipline-based approach. They mayargue that students won't have a sufficient under-standing of disciplined knowledge as a base forintellectual growth and social understanding.Again, we think this depends on how disciplinesare used. We view the academic disciplines ashelpful but inadequate to the challenge ofpreparing thoughtful citizens. The focus of ourcurriculum is on the critical thinking process,part of any intellectual endeavor but beyond thescope of any one discipline or combination ofdisciplines.

Another likely complaint is that this will leadto a superficial hodge-podge of topics and issues

in no logical sequence. We are sensitive to thisargument. While there may be no absolutelybest logical sequence for social study, we haveendeavored to sequence the courses in our pro-posal from the study of issues and topics close tostudents lives, to issues they will face as adults,some of which seem further from students'immediate experience. Hence, following theintroductory course, we chose to begin the cur-riculum with issues of race, class, and gender.Each of these areas is immediate to studentexperience, and later courses explore underlyingstructures behind these issues in greater depth.Students would have completed in-depth studyof race, class, and gender issues by the end oftenth grade. Grade eleven would be primarilydevoted to the economic and political issues andinstitutions that undergird and cut across mat-ters of race, class and gender. By this time intheir intellectual development, students shouldbe interested enough in furthering their under-standing that these courses will be especially rel-evant. Each course builds on previous learning,adding greater depth and breadth to studentunderstanding. Finally, in their senior year, stu-dents will focus outward, on their relationshipswith the world and on their own individual rela-tionship with the community.

Another likely complaint, and one withmerit, is that legal mandates exist for teachingthe U. S. Constitution, U. S. History, and eco-nomics, and that in some states, standardizedtests require a more traditional curriculum. As wehave noted above, each course will contain strongelements of U. S. History. The Constitution andeconomic content would be infused across cours-es, but would also be a focus in the 11th grade.We suggest that creative teachers and curriculumdevelopers could build units on these subjectswhere appropriate.

ConclusionGiven the diversity of ideas and approaches

in the field of social studies education, it isimpractical to suggest that there is one bestscope and sequence. Nevertheless, we believethat our proposal merits consideration and hopethat it will inspire discussion and action towarda more engaging curriculum. We recognize thedaunting nature of trying to reform school cur-ricula (Cuban 1984; Shaver 1989), yet reformershave had some success over the years. Our pro-posal must be tempered by a realistic assessment

of classroom constancy. It must be amenable toadaptation in a variety of forms and contexts.We recognize the wisdom in continuing to pro-mote an issues-centered focus within presentofferings, yet we believe that it is helpful todevelop alternatives such as the framework wepropose. It is important to continue to offerstrong options to the currently dominant inter-ests that would replace social studies with histo-ry and geography.

As we noted at the outset, young peopletoday face real and difficult challenges. Webelieve that teachers and schools ignore thosechallenges at great peril. The curriculum must, atits very foundation, offer studies relevant tostudents' lives. Social studies must introducea rising generation to the challenges and dilem-mas faced by all inhabitants of our planet.It must provide them with the knowledge andskills necessary for thoughtful and participatorycitizenship so that we might all find better waysto live as part of one family.

ReferencesCuban, Larry. How Teachers Taught. New York

Longman, 1984.Engle, Shirley H., and Anna S. Ochoa. Education for

Democratic Citizenship: Decision Making in the Social

Studies. New York Teachers College Press, 1988.Evans, Ronald W. Defining the Worthy Society: A History

of the Societal-Problems Approach in Social Studies,

1895-1985. Ed.D diss., Stanford University, 1987.Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed New York

Continuum, 1970.Goodlad, John. A Place Called School. New York

McGraw-Hill, 1984.Giroux, Henry. Border Crossings: Cultural Workers and

the Politics of Education. New York Routledge, 1992.Hunt, Maurice P, and Lawrence E. Metcalf. Teaching

High School Social Studies: Problems in Reflective

Thinking and Social Understanding. New YorkHarper and Row, 1955 (2nd edition, 1968).

Oliver, Donald 0., and James P Shaver. Teaching PublicIssues in the High School. Boston: Houghton Mifflin,1966.

Rugg, Harold 0. "Curriculum Design in the SocialStudies: What I Believe..." In The Future of the SocialStudies, edited by James A. Michener. CurriculumSeries no. 1. Washington, D.C.: National Councilfor the Social Studies, 1939.

Shaver, James P. "Lessons From the Past The Future ofan Issues-Centered Social Studies Curriculum." The

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Social Studies 80 (September/October 1989): 192-196.Shaver, James P, 0. L. Davis, and Suzanne Helburn.

"The Status of Social Studies Education:Impressions from Three NSF Studies."Social Education 43 (1979): 150-153.

Stanley, William B. and Jack L. Nelson. "Social Educa-tion for Social Transformation." Social Education 50(1986): 528-533.

Wraga, William G. "The Interdisciplinary Imperativefor Citizenship Education." Theory and Research inSocial Education 21 (1993): 201-231.

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TEATHEbq

HMG SOCIETAL ISSUES ACROSSSECONDARY CURRICULUM

m 6. Wrap

ocietal issues are too important to confineto the social studies. Every subject can andshould make important contributions tothe development of students' understand-ing of complex issues that they will face asadults. While the previous two chapters

offer suggestions for addressing societal issues inthe secondary social studies, science, and mathe-matics curricula, this chapter attempts to orientthe reader toward the possibilities for addressingsocietal issues in other areas of the high schoolcurriculum, namely, English, the fine and per-forming arts, modern foreign languages, physicaleducation and health, and vocational education.The imperative of interdisciplinary approachesto societal issues and the educative power ofthe daily operations of the school, including co-curricular activities, will be discussed, as well.

The ability to identify, analyze, and act uponpressing societal issues comprises a requisitecompetency of democratic citizenship, and assuch should be firmly anchored in the localschool district's educational philosophy andlearning objectives. Local endeavors to identifyand develop aims and objectives related toparticipatory citizenship and the concomitantability to address societal issues can be informedby notable past efforts to formulate usableeducational goals. The Commission on theReorganization of Secondary Education (1918),the Educational Policies Commission (1938), theSurvey Study of Behavioral Outcomes ofGeneral Education in High School (French1957), and Good lad (1984), a study of schooling,can serve as useful resources in this area. Selectedgoals from the Educational Policies Commission(1938) are presented in Table 1 as a model of thekinds of learnings issue-focused curriculum andinstruction across the subject areas seek to attain,

and against which lessons, units, courses, andprograms can be evaluated.

Teaching about Societal issuesin Subject Areas

Each conventional subject in the schoolcurriculum can contribute to students' under-standing of social issues, even though not all ofthem are typically regarded as fertile ground foraddressing issues (e.g., Vatter 1994). Insofar associal issues provide a connection between thescholastic treatment of subject matter andthe "real world," the study of social issues acrossthe curriculum also can enliven subject areas per-ceived by students as being divorced from lifebeyond the school walls. Since curriculum devel-opment is most meaningful when teachers andstudents genuinely collaborate to identify andexamine ideas and issues, the examples belowshould be regarded as possible starting points forexamination of social issues and, therefore, also assuggestive rather than exhaustive.

English Language ArtsAn effective way to study social issues in the

English classroom is to examine the use andabuse of language by public officials and byspokespeople for special interest and lobbyinggroups (Totten 1992). The National Council ofTeachers of English monitors such usage, high-lighting its concern by annually presenting itsDoublespeak Award to notable efforts to obscurereal practice with euphemistic verbiage (Lutz1989). English classes could maintain their owndoublespeak lists and issue their own awards. Thecurrent movement to promote so-called political-ly correct speech could be examined in a similarlight, as well. Students also could learn to detectpropaganda devices, logical fallacies, and other

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1. Social Justice The educated citizen is sensitive to the disparities of human circumstance.2. Social Activity The educated citizen acts to correct unsatisfactory conditions.3. Critical Judgment The educated citizen develops defenses against propaganda.4. Tolerance The educated citizen respects honest differences of opinion.5. Conservation The educated citizen has a regard for the nation's resources.6. Social Applications of Science The educated citizen measures scientific advance by its contribution to the general welfare.7. World Citizenship The educated citizen is a cooperative member of the world community8. Political Citizenship The educated citizen accepts his civic duties.9. Devotion to Democracy The educated citizen acts upon an unswerving loyalty to democratic ideals.10. Public Health The educated person works to improve the health of the community11. Occupational Choice The educated producer has selected his occupation.

12. Occupational Appreciation The educated producer appreciates the social value of his work.13. Consumer Protection The educated consumer takes appropriate measures to safeguard his interests.

Source: Educational Policies Commission, The Purposes of Education in American Democracy (Washington, D.C.: National EducationAssociation, 1938), pp. 50, 90,108.

techniques of persuasion by analyzing a variety ofprint and non-print texts for such usages (see Lee1939; Beyer 1987; Paul and Rudinow 1990;Steele 1992).

There is growing emphasis in English educa-tion on the idea that since the superordinate pur-pose of the language arts is to communicatemeaning, students best learn the tools of writtenand verbal communication in the context of pur-poseful dialogue about matters that are meaning-ful to them. Additionally, there are signs thatEnglish educators are increasingly placing a pre-mium on the social value of communicationwhich moves English curriculum and instructionbeyond the mere acquisition of common skillsand information and toward treating these areasof competence as vehicles for fostering a commondiscourse in the name of democracy (Lloyd Jonesand Lunsford 1989; Hlebowitsh, Muller, andPickett 1991). Together these two developmentsprovide favorable conditions for social issuesbecoming the focus of student reading, writing,and speaking. A variety of textual materials can beused, both expository and persuasive, includingmagazine and newspaper articles, news reports,editorials, reference works, and policy books. Inthis way, social issues become meaningful top-icsespecially if selected carefully by studentsfor research and writing assignments that providethe context for developing important languagearts competencies and at the same time enable

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students to participate effectively in social dis-course (see, for example, "Civic Literacy" 1991).

Literature traditionally read in high schoolEnglish classes is virtually brimming with oppor-tunities for addressing social issues. In Americanliterature, conventional titles such as Paine'sCommon Sense, Thoreau's Civil Disobedience,Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, Stowe's UncleTom's Cabin, Twain's Adventures of Huck Finn,Lewis' The Jungle, Hemingway's A Farewell toArms, Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, andMiller's The Crucible cover a wide range of socialand political issues. Titles commonly read inBritish literaturesuch as Julius Caesar, Macbeth,and almost any work of Dickensoffer similaropportunities. A thematic unit such as "Industri-alism in Victorian Literature" or "Evolution inVictorian Literature" could simultaneously intro-duce students to basic characteristics of the era'sliterature and to perennial social issues (seeAbrams 1968, 1334-1372).

Yet as Tanner (1971, 224) points out, litera-ture selections must transcend traditional readinglists to represent the reality of our polyglot soci-ety and to bear relevance and meaning to stu-dents of diverse backgrounds. Calls to add toschool reading lists literary works written duringthe twentieth century and by minority authorshave come to dominate scholarly discourse onEnglish curriculum, but have made only slightinroads into classroom practice (Gehrke, Knapp,

and Sirotnik 1992). Suggestions for diversifyinghigh school reading lists in terms of race, ethnic-ity, and gender ("Rediscovering America" 1992),the variegated experiences of today's youth("Adolescent Literature" 1992), and providing aglobal perspective through literature ("A GlobalPerspective" 1990) are readily available in theprofessional literature. Such readings are rich insocial issues that can hold special meaning for thegroups they represent but also can serve to broad-en the perspective of majority students (Hurlbertand Totten 1992).

Fine and Performing ArtsDewey (1985) contends, "The freeing of the

artist in literary presentation ... is as much a pre-condition of the desirable creation of adequateopinion on public matters as is the freeing ofsocial inquiry" (p. 183). He identifies the specialrole of art in public discourse when he notes,"Artists have always been the real purveyors ofnews, for it is not the outward happening in itselfwhich is new, but the kindling of it by emotion,perception, and appreciation" (p. 184). The artcurriculum can contribute to the development ofstudents' ability and inclination to handle socialissues by providing opportunities for them toexamine art as a means of expression, as a sourceof a unique perspective on an issue, and as areflection of temporal issues.

Painters, for example, have long used theirmedia to comment on social issues of the day.Indeed, entire artistic movements, such as Dadaduring the post-World War I era and, to a lesserextent, pop art of the 1950s and 1960s, haveclaimed social commentary as an express purpose.In art classes, individual works can be employedto illustrate the social-political function of artisticexpression; across the curriculum, art can be usedto raise or represent particular issues under dis-cussion. Famous paintings that deal with politicalissues include David's The Death of Socrates (1787)and The Death of Marat (1793), Goya's The Thirdof May (1808), and Picasso's Guernica (1937).Similarly, well-known works such as Daumier'sThe Third-Class Carriage (1862) and Munch's TheScream (1893) raised issues about the alienationof the individual in modem industrial societymore than fifty years before David Riesmancoined the term "the lonely crowd."

There is a strong tradition of social commen-tary in American painting, as well. Notableexamples include Copley's Portrait of Paul Revere

(c. 1768), characterized by one art historian as"probably the first picture of political protest byan American artist" (Baigell 1974, 60); Innes'Lackawanna Valley (1855), an exploration of therelationship between nature, the new technolo-gy, and man; Hopper's bleak depiction of indi-viduals who exist in close physical proximity butemotional isolation in works such as Room inNew York (1932) and Second-Story Sunlight(1960); and Wood's satirical representations ofAmerican myths and traditional values in workssuch as the famous American Gothic (1930) andDaughters of Revolution (1932). Of particular rel-evance here is the social realism movement dur-ing the 1930s, in which artists espoused a widerange of political viewpoints through theirpainting (see Baigell 1973).

As an artistic medium, photography not onlyoften captures great moments of social andhuman import, but also can yield insight and per-spective on social conditions and problems(Newhall 1978). The work of Jacob Riis aroundthe turn of the century and that of DorotheaLange and other Depression-era photographersare exemplars in this latter application of thecamera's lens. Photographs can be used to raiseissues, as sources of information and insights intoparticular social issues (Lesy 1982), and as sub-jective statements to be analyzed for inherentbiases (Stott 1973). Students can also use themedium themselves to document or commentupon a particular issue under study.

The performing arts also enjoy a long tradi-tion of addressing social issues. From The Birth ofa Nation to Do the Right Thing, for example, filmshave attempted to comment on issues of race,power, and social structure. Recent films such asCity of Hope, Bob Roberts, and Roger and Me,to cite just a few examples, speak to a range ofsocial issues that could be discussed in relationto cinematic techniques employed by the film-makers. Similarly, dramatic productions conduct-ed by the school's drama club or visiting profes-sional troupes could be chosen for their potentialcontribution to student understanding of aperennial or contemporary social issue. Toincrease the educational impact of the assembly,prior to attending a performance, students couldexamine the background of the play and relatedinformation about the issue(s) it addresses.Following the assembly, students would discussthe implications of the play for the particularissue as well as the role of the performing arts in

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addressing social issues.Popular music is a staple of adolescent life and

culture, and addresses social issues more oftenthan adults sometimes think. The role of folkmusic in social protest, for example, is a conve-nient vehicle for examining societal issuesthrough music. (See the many useful issues ofFolksong in the Classroom.) Likewise, popularmusic styles and lyrics can be examined as areflection of trends and themes representative ofparticular periods, including the present.Similarly, a consideration of Antheil's Balletmecanique (1925) could serve to open the possibil-ity for students that even formal music attemptsto comment on changing social conditions.Furthermore, art students would likely profit froman investigation of issues surrounding govern-ment funding of the arts and the First Amend-ment. Again, these suggestions are offered asexamples and clearly do not exhaust the innumer-able possibilities for examining social issuesthrough the performing arts.

Modern Foreign LanguagesAlthough during the last half-century the

emphasis on the function of modern foreignlanguage education has shifted in both the litera-ture of popular school reform (from cold war pre-paredness to international economic competition)and the professional literature (from discipliningthe mind to appreciation of other cultures to com-municative ability), the functions most often pro-moted commonly include a strong practical versusacademic bent. The examination of social issues isclearly consistent with and a logical extension ofthis trend toward the practicality and applicabili-ty of foreign language study to social affairs. Themodem foreign language curriculum could, forexample, provide opportunities for students toinvestigate issues surrounding the social, political,and economic relationships between the UnitedStates and countries and/or regions where the tar-get language is heavily spoken or indigenous. Theforeign language program may also be the appro-priate place in the school curriculum for studentsto examine the issue of an official national lan-guage in the United States. Although the so-called English First issue is usually the property ofbilingual educators in the education field (seeSecada and Lightfoot 1993 for a discussion of thepolitics of the issue), the issue may well be ofsome interest to students who enjoy an aptitudein language arts.

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Physical Education and HealthIn developing a case for reconceiving physi-

cal education to serve the purpose of "emancipa-tory education," Bain (1988) raises a number ofissues relating to physical education with whichshe feels physical educators must come to terms,many of which could be examined by students aspart of the physical education/health curricu-lum. The "cult of thinness" in our society, thepervasive influence of sports on our lives, racismand sexism in sports (relating to stereotypingand access, for example), sports-related drug use(i.e., steroids), family planning, sexually trans-mitted diseases (including HIV/AIDS), andimages of alcohol and smoking in the media(including advertising) are among the issues stu-dents could consider in the physical educa-tion/health education curriculum. Other issuespertinent to these subjects include the salaries ofprofessional athletes, the effects of tobacco useand government subsidy of the tobacco industry,and proposals for a national health plan. Asgreater attention is devoted to the social vari-ables of health and well-being (e.g., Sagan 1987;Sen 1993), possibilities increase for teachingabout social issues in health classes.

Vocational SubjectsThe primary purpose of vocational education

is usually taken to be that of providing studentswith marketable job skills. The focus tends to beon fitting students into the existing job market,rather than on providing them with life-longcompetencies to forge their personal place andultimately to exert significant influence over theirown employment destinies. Concerns aboutinternational economic competitiveness have oflate focused discussions of vocational educationon servicing business-sector needs and national-istic imperatives more than on enhancing theefficacy of the individual citizen-worker.

Vocational education, however, holds greatpotential for addressing societal issues. Whileearly writings about vocational guidance placedremarkable emphasis on the personal-social (ver-sus political-economic) function of vocationaleducation (see Wraga 1994), in practice theemphasis is usually on developing trade skills atthe expense of fostering an understanding ofvocations in wider economic, social, and civiccontexts. Dewey (1966) is worth quoting atlength about the social power of vocationaleducation:

... an education which acknowledges thefull intellectual and social meaning of avocation would include instruction in thehistoric background of present conditions;training in science to give intelligence andinitiative in dealing with material and agen-cies of production; and study of economics,civics, and politics to bring the future work-er into touch with the problems of the dayand the various methods proposed for itsimprovement. (p. 318)

Dewey (1966) emphasizes, "Above all, itwould train power of readaptation to changingconditions so that future workers would notbecome blindly subject to a fate imposed uponthem" (p. 319). From this perspective, vocationalstudies offer substantive opportunities for thereflective examination of social issues thatimpinge on the nature of work, on opportunitiesfor securing and maintaining fulfilling employ-ment, and on the need to view occupations in thewider socioeconomic context rather than simplyas a matter of mastering specific job-related skills.

The recent report of the Department ofLabor's Secretary's Commission on AchievingNecessary Skills (1991), which identifies animpressive array of relatively sophisticated com-petencies that will ostensibly be required offuture workers, nevertheless falls into the con-ventional school of thinking about vocationaleducation. Despite the elaboration of complexskills and caveats such as "We are not calling fora narrow work-focused education" (p. v), theSCANS report discusses its targeted competen-cies only in the context of solving work-relatedproblems. It omits mention of the skills workerswill need, for example, "to protect themselvesfrom on-the-job dangers and from employerswho would exploit them or who would discrimi-nate on the basis of race or sex," as Hayes (1991,253) insightfully indicates. Such skills obviouslyare those that enable employees to deal with per-vasive social issues that impinge directly upon theworkplace and upon the lives of workers.

Examination of such issues in vocational edu-cation can go a long way toward helping workersto identify and subsequently deal with theseissues on the job. Echoing Dewey's call for abroad conception of vocational education, Hayes(1991) notes, "I've read nothing about theSCANS proposals that would help studentsappreciate the history of the labor movement, the

fight to abolish child labor, or the struggle forminimum wage laws and for workers' rights ingeneral" (p. 253). These are among the numeroussocial issues highly pertinent to vocational edu-cation (which recent proposals for youthapprentice-ship programs seem to neglect, aswell). Other issues appropriate for the vocationalcurriculum include problems created by theapplication of technology; consumer rights;product safety; right-to-know; and workplacesafety. Issues of race, ethnicity, and genderregarding occupational access and salary equity,such as the specific case of women in the military,also provide fruitful opportunities for examiningsocietal issues in vocational classes. Examinationof these kinds of issues could even lead to a dis-cussion of the role of government in regulatingworkplace practices and the trade-offs involvedin protecting individual rights and maintainingan effective market. Issues such as these could beexamined in almost any vocational course.

In developing a case for integrating socialstudies and home economics curricula, Gentzler(1991) points to important opportunities forteaching about social issues in home economicscourses. Gentzler summarizes the traditionalaim of home economics as "helping individualsand families improve the quality of their living"(p. 199) through five areas of study: child andhuman development; foods and nutrition;clothing and textiles; family and consumer eco-nomics; home and family management. ThoughGentzler does not raise them in this context,several societal issues are clearly inherent tothese areas of study, including issues relatingto education, product development, and adver-tising. The study of the role of advertising inshaping purchasing patterns as well as in manip-ulating consumers by creating desires (see Ewen1976), for example, could be a rewarding com-ponent of the home economics curriculum.

Gentzler (1991) provocatively calls forcollaboration between social studies and homeeconomics departments that would bring to bearan understanding of wider social contexts on tra-ditional home economics topics. Such a unitabout world hunger would focus on questionssuch as "What should be done about hunger inour communities? Are there social structures inplace that promote hunger? If so, what stepsshould be taken to restructure our system to dis-courage hunger? Is hunger good? Should hungerbe resolved?" (p. 199). Gentzler offers similar

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suggestions for deliberation about social issuessurrounding substance abuse.

In summary, myriad opportunities exist forincorporating the examination of social issuesinto conventional subject areas outside the socialstudies. Implementation strategies for infusingteaching about social issues into existing coursesinclude the addition of regular lessons, an ongo-ing independent or group research project, aseparate unit of the curriculum, or throughco-curricular clubs. Again, insofar as social issuesprovide a connection between the scholastictreatment of subject matter and students' real-lifeexperiences, the infusion of social issues acrossthe curriculum also can enliven subject areas per-ceived by students to be divorced from lifebeyond the school walls.

Interdisciplinary Approachesto Societal Issues

The sheer complexity of many social issuesrequires crossing conventional disciplinaryboundaries to develop a thorough understandingof them, as Gentzler's discussion of home eco-nomics-related issues suggests. The school cur-riculum, therefore, should provide planned expe-riences through which students learn to integrateand apply knowledge from multiple disciplines inan effort to grasp important social issues.

While numerous terms are used to describevarious interdisciplinary curriculum designs,these designs can be organized into three gener-al categories (National Association for CoreCurriculum 1992; Vars 1993; Wraga 1993).Curriculum correlation involves bringing two ormore subjects to bear on a selected topic, issue, orproblem in ways that purposefully seek connec-tions between and among the subjects in relationto the topic of study. Correlation is the easiestform of interdisciplinary curriculum to imple-ment since it involves no significant reorganiza-tion of the overall school program, with the resultthat the disciplines (and, therefore, teachers)retain their identities. Fused curriculum involvescombining the content from two or more sub-jects into a new course. Fused courses are oftenteam-taught by teachers representing traditionalsubjects. In such arrangements the disciplinesusually remain recognizable although the focus isincreasingly on the topic or issue rather than onthe subject matter. The core curriculum involvesfocusing on personal-social problems and issuesthat are meaningful to students, applying subject

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knowledge and perspectives as appropriate to theissue at hand without deference to conventionalsubject divisions. The core curriculum can beeither pre-planned by the teacher (structuredcore) or collaboratively planned by the teacherand students (open core).

What might these theoretical interdiscipli-nary designs look like in practice? In a correlat-ed issue-focused unit, two or more subjectswould schedule a series of lessons devoted to aparticular issue to be taught at about the sametime, and the teachers would explicitly identifyways in which their respective disciplines illumi-nate the issue. Using conventional subject matterin English and social studies, for example, issuesrelating to freedom of speech, public opinion,due process, the dignity of the individual, andthe relationship between the individual and thesociety can be examined through the study ofArthur Miller's The Crucible and the time peri-ods in which it was written and about which itwas written. Recognizing the work as a 1950splay about the 1690s, students could comparesocial contexts to consider how Miller used his-torical drama to illuminate contemporary issuesthat go to the heart of the American experience.This unit could be extended to include compar-ative analysis of the film Dead Poet's Societya 1980s film about social conditions in the1950sas it deals with issues of individualismand conformity.

Engle and Ochoa (1988) recommend annual-ly devoting a block of time (at least two weeks) toa correlated, school-wide study of a selectedsocial issue. Figure 1 represents possible subjectarea contributions to an issue-focused unit aboutacid rain. After determining the problem area tobe studied, in this case acid rain, the next stepwould be to identify specific questions that focuson critical dimensions of the issue. Some of thesequestions would lead to an informed understand-ing of many facets of the issue, while otherswould be open-ended, requiring students to useevidence to take and defend opinions about theissue. Activities would be designed to answer thefocus questions, and may resemble those suggest-ed in Figure 1. In addition to subject-relatedactivities, school-wide and community-basedactivities could foster a wider sense of socialresponsibility and public-mindedness that tran-scend the classroom. These activities couldinclude conducting an information campaign orpetition drive, holding an assembly featuring

guest lecturers and/or student panels about theissue, and devoting a special section of the stu-dent newspaper to an examination of the prob-lem area. Such a unit could be correlated amongthe various subject courses or conducted as acomponent of a problem-focused or core course.

Examples of curriculum fusion can be foundin courses that purposefully blend content fromtwo or more conventional disciplines to address asocietal issue. Indeed, the two units just describedcan be conducted as either correlated or fusedcurricula. Science-Technology-Society coursesand some Problems of Democracy courses fallinto this category, as do the courses described byGeller (1973) and Dillingham, Kelly, and Strauss(1975) that integrate subject matter from scienceand social studies to address issues pertaining topollution, health care, housing, racism, elitism inthe environmental movement, and the ethical useof scientific knowledge. Table 2 suggests learningobjectives for an issue-focused unit or course thatcan also serve as general classroom procedures forformally examining a social issue or problem.

Common Learnings CourseRequired of An Students

While there certainly are ample opportuni-ties in correlated and fused interdisciplinarycurricular organizations for the application ofsubject knowledge to an examination of societalissues, there is, however, an equally great, if notgreater, tendency for such courses to dwelllargely, if not solely, on the mastery of pertinentsubject knowledge. Ideally then, an interdisci-plinary, problem-focused, heterogeneouslygrouped, full-year core or common learningscourse required each year for all students shouldbe an integral, unifying component of every highschool curriculum. In this course, students ofvarious backgrounds, abilities, and aspirationswould engage in a collaborative effort to tacklecommon problems and issues. Problem areascould be predetermined by teachers or developedcooperatively by teachers and students. In sucha setting, students would have the opportunityto participate in a sustained study of problemareas that would include issues of personal andcommunity health, interpersonal relationships,cultural diversity, racism and prejudice, econom-ic change, global interdependence, the environ-ment, communications and the media, and oth-ers. Problem-focused units would correlate withthe discipline-centered subjects of the school

curriculum as well as integrate subject knowl-edge and perspectives as appropriate to the par-ticular problem under study. Again, the unitdepicted in Figure 1 could be conducted througha core or common learnings course. Descriptionsof secondary core programs can be found inGiles, McCutchen, and Zechiel (1942), Wright(1950), Educational Policies Commission(1952), Tanner and Tanner (1980), and Vars(1993). McDonald and Czerniak (1994) offer avariety of strategies and guidelines for develop-ing interdisciplinary units, and explain the use ofplanning wheels, webbing, and concept maps.

Societal Issuesbeyond the Classroom

Teaching and learning about social issuesshould not be limited to the confines of theclassroom. As noted above, students can consid-er social issues in subject-related clubs or inschool assemblies such as dramatic presentationsthat complement classroom examination ofselected issues. In fact, co-curricular activitiessuch as the student government, peer leadershipprograms, the school newspaper, and the debatesociety provide numerous opportunities forengaging students in important personal-socialissues. Significantly, a positive correlation existsbetween involvement in school governance andother co-curricular activities and post-gradua-tion involvement in civic and community affairs(Ferguson 1991; Berk 1992). Community ser-vice projects obviously offer further opportuni-ties for students to become actively involved insocial issues (Nathan and Kielsmeier 1991;Barber 1992). Related directly to the formalcurriculum, co-curricular and service activitiescan make "academic" subjects valuable sources ofinformation about the world beyond the school.In short, the co-curriculum and the daily opera-tions of the school can serve as valuableresources for engaging students in problematicsocial issues. In 1918 the Cardinal Principlesreport proposed that every high school includeamong its staff a citizenship director whose jobit would be to "foster civic-mindedness throughthe school paper, debating society, and generalschool exercises, and give suggestions for direct-ing the thinking of pupils to significant prob-lems of the day" (Commission on the Reorgani-zation of Secondary Education 1918, 28). Thisrecommendation is clearly commensurate withthe status the preparation of citizens should hold

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Table 2: Sample Learning Objectives for an Issue-Focused Course

Students will learn to do the following:1. Identify local, national, and/or global issues or problems.

2. Apply knowledge and concepts from pertinent disciplines to understand these issues.

3. Explain the relationships between the disciplines pertinent to the problem/issue.

4. Assess the relevance of research information and the credibility of information sources.

S. Identify bias in media sources.

6. Identify possible solutions to the problems/issues.

7. Assess the possible impact of solutions.

8. Choose a particular solution and defend it in writing using logic, evidence, personal values, and social ideals.

9. Generate the best logical argument against evidence that is in conflict with a chosen solution.

10. Develop and implement an activity to promote their solution.

Adapted from: E. Wolf, Foreign and Domestic Policy Practicum Curriculum Guide (Basking Ridge, NJ.: BemardsTownship Public Schools, 1993).

Table 3: Suggested Guidelines for Dealing with Societal Issues

1. Lead students to expect controversy in the classroom.

2. When dealing with an issue, clarify the nature of the issue and agreements and disagreements surrounding it.

3. Ensure student exposure to a best-case, fair hearing of competing points of view.

4. Ensure that sufficient factual information is brought to the discussion to promote the development of

informed opinions.

S. Ensure that logic is used as a criterion for evaluating the credibility of arguments.

6. Employ small-group discussions to enable all students the opportunity to participate and

to enable the teacher to work individually with more students.

7. Respect students' right not to express their opinions publicly on all issues.

8. Be willing to accept that not all issues can be resolved.

9. Establish closure to all discussions of issues (e.g., deciding when the class will agree to disagree).

10. Occasionally provide opportunities, as appropriate, to revisit previously addressed issues.

Source: Adapted from T E. Kelly, "Leading Class Discussions of Controversial Issues," Social Education (October1989): 368-370; Social Science Education Consortium, Science, Technology, Society Training Manual(Boulder,Social Science Education Consortium, 1988).

as an express curricular priority and could go along way toward actualizing this prioritythroughout the school program.

ConclusionFertile opportunities for engaging students in

substantive consideration of social issues existthroughout the secondary curriculum. With rel-atively slight modifications, virtually any subjectarea can develop student competency in address-ing social issues. Inclusion of social issues innon-social studies subjects may, however,

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prompt serious rethinking of the purpose andnature of those curriculum areas. Further, how-ever and whatever social issues are infused intothe school curriculum, issue-focused instructionrequires a sensitivity to the potential volatility ofcertain issues and should be handled using tech-niques that ensure fair and balanced treatment ofconflicting viewpoints. The guidelines suggestedin Table 3 can be useful in any classroom and/orco-curricular treatment of societal issues.Providing structured opportunities for studentsto reflect systematically on perennial societal

Figure 1: Possible subject area contributions to an issue-focusedunit on acid rain.

Foreign LanguagesTranslate news reports from othercountries for differentperspectives on the issue.

Fine and Performing ArtsCreate and perform a dramatic skitaddressing the issue.Create a mural addressingthe issue

Social StudiesMap affected areas by regions andnations.Evaluate available solutions to theacid rain problem in terms of cost-effectiveness.Explain internationalpolitical and economicimplications of the issue.Hold a debate on the issue.Conduct a petition drive.Lobby elected officials.

Vocational SubjectsDetermine the impact of acid rainon the economy and jobs.Analyze industrial policies regard-

ForeignLanguages

EnglishLanguage

Arts

Health

Fine andPerforming

Arts Science

SocialStudies

VocationalSubjects

Mathematics

ing the issue.Propose a new industrial policy addressing the problem.Invent products or services to help solve the problem.

MathematicsCompile and graph statistics on the rate and extentof acreage affected by acid rain.Develop mathematical model(s) extrapolating futuredamage.

ScienceConduct a lab demonstrating the effects of acidprecipitation on plant life.Develop a model demonstrating meteorological factors

Explain scientific opinions on the issue.Evaluate available solutions to the acid rain problemin terms of its environmental impact.

HealthCreate a poster representing the affect of acid rainon standards of living.

English Language ArtsApply reading, writing, and research skills to clarifythe issue.Access a variety of information sources about the issue.Write a letter to the editor of a newspaper expressinga position on the issue.

issues across the curriculum is an important steptoward making the secondary school truer to itshistoric mission of educating enlightened citi-zens for life in a democratic society.

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Social Roots of the Consumer Culture. New York

McGraw-Hill, 1976.Ferguson, P "Impacts on Social and Political

Participation." In Handbook of Research on Social

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School. New York Russell Sage Foundation, 1957.Gehrke, N. J., M. S. Knapp, and K. A. Sirotnik. "In

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Having Social Studies and Home EconomicsDepartments Collaborate." Social Studies 82, no. 5(September/October 1991): 198-201.

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2S5

Paa ri: flr ssessrerlIntroduction hu Waller C. Parker

This section of the Handbook is concernedwith assessing student learning in an issue-oriented curriculum environment. Its twochapters suggest that the boundariesbetween assessment work and curriculumwork are not well-defined, as once was

assumed, but profitably can be blurred to the pointat which a discussion of assessment becomesa discussion of curriculum goals, and visa versa.

The theme of these two chapters is thatassessments do not merely help educators findout what and how much students have learned;they also serve as the ends for teaching and learn-ing. Whether or not they are ends worth pursu-ing depends on the kind of thinking, learning,and community life they encourage. Both chap-ters are based on work that is underway in publicschools in the authors' home states ofWashington (Parker) and Michigan (Harris).

In the first chapter, several examples of issue-oriented curriculum guidelines are spelled out interms of performance assessment. I argue that itis important in this kind of curriculum/assess-ment work to distinguish between course and pro-gram planning, and I identify subject matterboth topics of study and intellectual frameworksfor studying these topicsthat ought to driveteaching, learning, and assessment at both levels.In the second chapter, David Harris shows howan issue-oriented curriculum target can be clari-fied and made more attainable when assessmentcriteria are carefully developed. The target ofconcern for Harris is competent small-group dis-cussion of public issues. This arguably is the cen-tral civic competency required of citizens in soci-eties attempting to be democratic (Parker 1996).

"Assessment" is a broad term that includes allthe different methods teachers employ to gatherinformation in their classrooms and the many

2

purposes this information can serve. In thisintroduction, I briefly review these means andends, address their political dimensions, and thenconsider assessment as a tool for school reform.

PurposesAssessment can serve very different masters.

One prominent classification scheme identifiesthree main groups of purposes (Resnick andResnick 1991). The first is public accountabilityand program evaluation. Assessment of this typepermits those in elected and appointed positionsto monitor school performance. Here we seeespecially the phenomenon of standardized test-ing, with results being used to compare schoolsand states and even nations. The second class ofpurposes is the selection of students for particularschools and programs. These tests provide informa-tion on individuals rather than groups. TheScholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), introduced in1926, is perhaps the most famous assessment usedfor this purpose. IQtests used to select studentsfor special programs and lesser-known tests usedfor placing students in learning- and behavior-disorder programs are included, too. The thirdset of purposes is closer to daily classroom life:instructional management and monitoring. Hereassessment is conducted in order to help studentslearn and teachers teach. Sample purposes are:a. developing units of instructionb. deciding how to teach the rest of a unitc. judging the depth of student knowledge

and the range of their abilitiesd. diagnosing student problemse. motivating students to studyf. providing feedback to students on their progressg. judging the appropriateness of performance

criteriah. assigning students to small groups for

cooperative worki. identifying cultural differences so as to

provide culturally relevant instructionI. achieving a cooperative and thoughtful

environment.

The two chapters in this section are concernedmainly with this third set of purposesinstruc-tional management and monitoring.

MethodsAssessment methods geared toward instruc-

tional management and monitoring can be divid-ed into three approaches: paper and pencil tech-niques, observations, and interviews.

Paper and pencil techniques are one majorway to collect assessment data in the classroom,and these techniques generally take two forms:production and selection (Airasian 1994).Production items require students to constructa response to a question, such as when studentswrite a statement clarifying and supporting aposition they have taken on a foreign policycontroversy. Selection items require students tochoose the best answer from a set of options, aswhen they choose which group of data bestrefutes a stated conclusion.

Observation is another approach used to col-lect assessment data. Teachers have always usedobservation on an informal basis, and they do soalmost continually. For example, they note stu-dents' responses to something they say or to aguest speaker's comment. They see a studentsquint to see the board, race to be in the seatbefore the bell rings, or walk slowly into theclassroom and slump into a desk. Teachers useobservation more formally, also, such as whenthey use criteria to judge students making pre-sentations to classmates or conducting debates.Students may be asked to demonstrate their abil-ity to moderate discussions while another studentobserves and scores their performance on severalcriteria the class has been studying.

Interviews are a third, powerful way teacherscan gather information (Valencia, McGinley,Pearson 1990). Teachers of writing are increas-ingly conducting "writing conferences" with theirstudents in which they not only assess a piece ofstudent writing but ask questions to ascertain thethinking behind its productiona student's con-ception of the writing process, for example, whathe or she finds most difficult or easy about it, andwhether he or she searched for opposing points

of view before taking a position. Similarly, issue-oriented teachers can use the interview to inves-tigate students' conceptions of issues. Doing thissanctions and models conversation about issuesabove and beyond debate on their particulars.Specifically, teachers can ask students how theyconceptualize a particular issue, why they think itbecame an issue, for whom it is an issue, andwhether it is a public or private issue. Also, teach-ers can ask about historical analogies, and theycan move their students toward a multiculturalunderstanding of issues by asking about differentperspectives that might be brought to an issue.

These are difficult questions, to be sure. Theyreflect high standards. Asking these questionsindicates that the teacher has a good understand-ing of the nature of issues; similarly, studentresponses will indicate their understanding. Andthat is the point. Interviews allow teachers toapprehend their students' grasp of a task's perfor-mance criteria. This is true of any task, whetherwriting an analysis of a public problem, framinga discussion question, developing a resolution fora debate, or researching value conflicts on anissue. In one-to-one as well as group interviews,teachers can learn what students believe are goodperformances and why, and they can elicit themeanings students give to the performance crite-ria that teachers are wanting them to learn.

The Politics of AssessmentDistinctions of this kind among purposes and

methods of assessment should help bring someorder to our topic, but still it sprawls. Assessmentexperts themselves belong to an array of campsand sects. Some work directly for the federalgovernment, others for research centers, universi-ties, and regional laboratories, and others forschool systems. Some are disgusted with U.S.students' achievement record, others are proud ofit, and others believe it is not important. Someare enamored of particular techniques (e.g., "kidwatching" and "portfolio assessment"), others aremeasurement specialists, and others argue overauthority issues (e.g., the role of the federal gov-ernment vis-a-vis states).

The history of assessment practices in theUnited States and elsewhere reveals that assess-ment often is not what it appears. While usuallyassessment is discussed as though it is a politi-cally and culturally neutral activity, assessmentin fact has been used for political and culturalpurposes. For example, assessment has been used

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to conserve the status quo by "naturalizing" it;labels are affixed to children as though theysignified natural ability rather than differencesbased on economic and cultural capital (Apple1992). The disproportionate numbers of AfricanAmerican children labeled "behaviorally disor-dered" and "learning disabled" is one example,while girls' difficulties with mathematics isanother.

Another topic on which the political uses ofassessment stand out in sharp relief is deliverystandards (Porter 1993). Delivery standardsalso known as "opportunities to learn" or, simply,"assistance" or "support"refer to the humanand material resources schools offer to studentsso that they can learn what is expected of them.A truism in education is that students shouldnot be expected to achieve curriculum objectiveswithout assistance. This is why schools do notonly provide objectives, but also teachers, cur-riculum materials, and other resources. It is awell-known fact that these resources are notalways forthcoming and certainly not equitablydistributed (e.g., Kozol 1991).

At the most general level, the two most pow-erful forms of support schools can provide tostudents are (a) high-quality curriculum andinstruction that are relevant to the tasks onwhich students' performances will be assessed,and (b) clear expectations, by which I mean clar-ification of the tasks at which students are sup-posed to succeed and the criteria that distinguishsuccessful from mediocre or unsuccessful perfor-mances. Both kinds of assistance, in turn, requiresuitable physical plants, academic and moral cli-mates, relevant materials, and competent, caringfaculty. In the words of the New StandardsProject, "this means that (students) will betaught a curriculum that will prepare them forthe assessments, their teachers will have thepreparation to enable them to teach it well, andthere will be an equitable distribution of theresources students and their teachers need tosucceed" (University of Pittsburgh 1992, 15).

This level of support is a tall orderone thateducators generally were unable to meet evenbefore the current movement to raise curriculumstandards. This is an important point, becauseincreased assessment activity could furtherthreaten students who already are most at risk ofschool failure. The reason is simple: Increasedassessment activity may not be coupled with thenecessary support for student learning.

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The size of the "at-risk" group could grow inanother way, too, by adding to it those students inthe middle track of the American secondaryschool who are now "making it" simply becauseassessment activity is inconsequential or focusedon curriculum standards so low as to requirelittle beyond seat time.

Both assessment and the provision of supportrequire a set of curriculum targets that are dearlyvisible, and such targets generally should be theassessment tasks themselves (Newmann, Secada,and Wehlage 1995). The same thing that makes acurriculum achievable makes student progressassessable and the provision of relevant supportpossible: clarified targets for teaching and learning.

Assessment and School ReformWhat has brought the topic of assessment to

the center of educators' attention in recent years?Two developments stand out: renewed claims ofschool mediocrity in the United States broughton initially in 1983 by a government study,A Nation at Risk, and the growing realization thatassessment practices were lagging far behindresearch on thinking and learning. At the inter-section of these two forces, assessment reformemerged as a solution to the mediocrity problem.Teacher education was not rising to the task, norwere teacher hiring and retention practices,increased salaries, site-based management, schoolrestructuring, or other promising movements.

The unique promise of assessment as a toolfor educational reform is its influence on educa-tors' behavior, which is to say its power to attractand focus teachers' (and students') attention andefforts (Cohen 1987; Smith 1991). This is partic-ularly true of high-stakes assessments that areadministered for accountability and selectionpurposes, but it is also true of more routine class-room assessments as well. The basic notion hereis that "you get what you assess" and "you do notget what you do not assess" (Resnick and Resnick1991, 60). If assessments are geared toward cur-riculum targets that no one cares much about,then teachers' and students' energies are spent inways that do not matter. The reverse is also true.

ConclusionClassrooms are complex social landscapes

on which many things are occurring, on manylevels, at once. Assessment, therefore, is not asimple matter, and it certainly is no magic bullet.The high hopes put before it are unrealistic. But

it is a worthy effort that should bear at leastsome fruit, not the least of which is exposing thehypocrisy that has allowed educators often topreach one thing while teaching and testinganother.

"We have the tests we deserve," GrantWiggins observed wryly. Students in the UnitedStates are "the most tested but least examined inthe world" (Wiggins 1993, 3), and the cause is apersistent failure to appreciate the relationshipbetween curriculum and assessment on the onehand, and assessment and learning on the other.We have the tests we deserve, Wiggins contin-ues, "because we are wont to reduce 'assessment'to 'testing' and to see testing as separate fromlearningsomething you do expediently, once,after the teaching is over, to see how studentsdid (usually for other people's benefit, not theperformer's)." Just how we got ourselves intothis predicament is another matter (see Berlak1992). Getting out of it is the concern here.

The two chapters that follow try to overcomethe disjunctures of curriculum from assessment,and assessment from teaching and learning. Theydeal with only small parcels of the broad land-scape, but they do so in a way that hopefully willsuggest lines of reasoning and ways of proceedingthat are broadly useful to our readers.

ReferencesAirasian, Peter W. Classroom Assessment. 2nd edition.

New York McGraw-Hill, 1994.Apple, Michael W. "Do the Standards Go Far

Enough? Power, Policy, and Practice in MathematicsEducation."Journal of Research in MathematicsEducation 23, no. 5 (1992): 412-431.

Berlak, Harold. 'The Need for a New Science ofAssessment." In Toward a New Science of EducationalTesting and Assessment, edited by Harold Berlak, FredM. Newmann, Elizabeth Adams, et al. Albany: StateUniversity of New York Press, 1992.

Cohen, S. Alan. "Instructional Alignment: Searchingfor a Magic Bullet." Educational Researcher 16, no, 8

(1987): 16-20.Kozol, Jonathan. Savage Inequalities. New York Crown,

1991.Newmann, Fred M., Walter G. Secada, and Gary G.

Wehlage. A Guide to Authentic Instruction andAssessment: Vision, Standards, and Scoring. Madison:

University of Wisconsin Press, 1995.Parker, Walter C. "Curriculum for Democracy" In

Democracy, Education, and the Schools, edited by Roger

Soder. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1996.Porter, Andrew C. "School Delivery Standards."

Educational Researcher22, no. 5 (1993): 24-29.

Resnick, Lauren B. and Daniel P. Resnick. "Assessingthe Thinking Curriculum: New Tools forEducational Reform." In Changing Assessments:Alternative Views of Aptitude, Achievement, and

Instruction, edited by Bernard R. Gifford andMary Catherine O'Conner. Boston: KluwerAcademic Publishers, 1991.

Smith, Mary Lee. "Put to the Test: The Effects ofExternal Testing on Teachers." Educational Researcher

20, no. 5 (1991): 8-11.University of Pittsburgh, Learning Research and

Development Center. The New Standards Project.1992 1995:4 Proposal Pittsburgh: LearningResearch and Development Center, 1992.

Valencia, Sheila W., William McGinley, andP. David Pearson. "Assessing Reading and Writing."In Reading in the Middle School. 2nd Edition, editedby Gerald Duffy. Newark, NJ: International ReadingAssociation, 1990.

Wiggins, Grant P. Assessing Student Performance.

San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1993.

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ASSOFbe Wel

SSING STUDENT LEARNINGN ISSUE-ORIENTED CURRICULUM

r C. Parker

1.11 ssessment work is 80 percent curriculumwork, and curriculum work is 80 percentcontent selection, more or less. In thischapter on assessment, accordingly, I willspend a good portion of the allotted spaceon curriculum matters, particularly the

problem of deciding which small set of learningsis worth assessing. I will draw on the "authentic"assessment and issue-oriented curriculum litera-tures as well as my experience as a curriculumplanner, teacher, and researcher.

Assessment means finding out what studentsknow and are able to do. While not easy, this isalso not terribly difficult. What has to be donegenerally is the work of imagination and ethnog-raphy: Imagining how learners might demon-strate what they have learned, and observingsociocultural life to detect which demonstrationsmight be most meaningful to the learners them-selves, their teachers, and their communities.More difficult is the problem of deciding whatknowledge and abilities deserve the concertedeffort and persistence of teachers and students(Parker 1991; Shaver 1977). We will turn to thisproblem first, conducting a search for the essen-tial contentthe central understandings andabilitiesof an issue-oriented curriculum.

Issue-Oriented CurriculumTable 1 presents a thought experiment I have

used when working with social studies curricu-lum planning committees in public school dis-tricts. I present it early in this chapter for thesame reasons that I use it early in curriculumplanning work. First, the exercise involves com-mittee members simultaneously in the work ofcontent selection and assessment planning.Second, it encourages them to think beyond theirown courses and grade levels to an encompassing

unit of analysisthe long-term, cumulative pur-poses of a K through 12 program of study. It asksa committee to consider, in particular, what prod-ucts of learning students might be asked toexchange for a high school diploma. The prod-ucts are to be few in number and collected in a"slim portfolio." If the size of the collection is notlimited, choices and rationales become unneces-sary and, consequently, the exercise loses power.

This kind of curriculum/assessment work is a"high-stakes" proposition because students' grad-uation is at stake. Accordingly, controversiesabound, and the exercise in Table 1 helps bringthem to the surface where they can be discussed.The advantage of raising them early, while nottrying to solve them early,2 is that the complexproblem space of curriculum planning is sketchedout in a fairly full and rich way. Furthermore,committee members are actually experiencingissue-oriented discourse, getting a student's-eyeview of it. Six issues are central to this planning.

CONTENT SELECTION: What subject mattersknowledge and abilitiesshould students learn

across the K through 12 years and be heldaccountable for having learned? Why these?Stated differently, and realizing that not every-thing of value can reasonably be taught in school,to which small, important sample of learningsshould school time be directedteachers', stu-dents', and administrators'and based on whatrationale?

2MULTIPLE OBJECTIVES: How important is it todistinguish ability objectives (e.g., weighing

alternatives, persuasive reasoning, perspective tak-ing) from knowledge objectives (e.g., the conceptsof democracy and pluralism), and to specify bothin content selection and assessment work?

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Table 1: Planning the Social Studies Graduation Portfolio

Imagine the following:t's late May and time for the Twin Peaks HighSchool graduation ceremony. The graduates,wearing caps and gowns, file to the podium,where they shake hands with a representative ofthe school board, receive the diploma, move the

tassel from one side of the hat to the other, anddescend the stairs. That's it. A few minutes remem-bered for a lifetime. This year, things are different.The marchers do not approach the podium empty-handed. Instead they carry a slim portfolio contain-ing a collection of their school work. The collection,specified years in advance, has already been judgedadequate for the diploma. (Judging occurred duringthe preceding three months.) The key point in theceremony is the moment at which the portfolio isexchanged for the diplomaa gesture indicatingthat the diploma has been earned.

What should be some of the contents ofthe social studies portfolio?

For the present -exercise, we are interested only in thesocial studies portion of the portfolio.

We want to look, therefore, at that portion that willprove to us that powerful social understandings and civiccompetence have been demonstrated.

Brainstorm with others a few items that you wouldwant to see there. They should be performances (exhibi-tions) that prove, more or less, that the desired socialunderstandings and civic competencies have beenachieved. They should be worth learning, and most shouldrequire students to use their knowledge in challengingways (e.g., policy analysis and formulation).

Ask someone at your table to monitor the brainstorm-ing session while participating in it. The monitor makes alist of the ideas suggested and keeps the brainstormingmoving rather than dwelling on any one suggestion.

NOTE: Be ready to give a progress report in 20 minutes.Try to have 5-10 items on the list by then, and consider it afirst draft. Following progress reports, discuss the exercise and

some of the issues it raises.

3CONCERTED EFFORT ON CORE CURRICULUM:How much instructional time should converge

on a common set of critically important learn-ings, such as the analysis of public issues, andhow much should be left to teachers' own (andoften divergent) designs? That is, to what extentshould teachers coordinate their efforts, in theirdifferent grade levels and courses, on the samesubject matter? (I prefer the 60/40 ratio: 60 per-cent of instructional time is spent on core learn-ings, 40 percent on learnings of a teacher's ownchoosing.)

4ASSESSMENT: How will students, their teach-ers, and their communities know if, and to

what extent, students have learned these things?What are the different kinds of indicators thatmight represent the desired learning? And, whatwill be done about students who do not learnthem to the degree deemed sufficient?

CURRICULUM DIFFERENTIATION: Which stu-dents will be expected to learn these things?

Which students will not, and why? For example,will the majority of students in a high schoolstudy a middle-track American history curricu-lum that evades rigorous study of great ideas andissues? Will a disproportionate number of work-

ing-class students be assigned a less challengingand less interesting curriculum?

OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN: What conditionsare necessary and sufficient in schools to sup-

port student success on assessment tasks, and whatcan be done to establish them? A huge gap sepa-rates moneyed and poor schools; the developmentof "world-class standards," consequently, couldfurther disadvantage those students who lack theinstitutional support needed to reach them.

Whether the activity in Table 1 rouses allthese controversies or only a few, it invariablymakes clear the intimate connection betweenassessment work and curriculum planning. Thisis because the items considered for the portfolioare at once performance assessments and curricu-lum goals.

Course and Program PlanningLocal curriculum planning occurs mainly on

two levels: courses and programs. Course plan-ning is common in the United States today andconsumes a good portion of the daily profession-al work of elementary and secondary schoolteachers. Its object is the set(s) of subject matterand experiences through which a teacher willguide his or her students over an identifiable pefi-

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od of time, such as a year or semester. Elementaryschool teachers guide their students on severalcourses at once, usually drawn from the fourmain fields of study found in schoolssocialstudies, language arts, mathematics, and science.

Whether in elementary or secondary educa-tion, course-level curricula often are not con-nected to broader, long-term goals that wouldencompass and to some extent shape course-level planning. Courses frequently are ends inthemselvesisolated studies that have not beenarticulated with others toward some planned,cumulative end. This is an old problem, to besure. A scholar writing in the 1930s about cur-ricula suitable for democracy complained thatthe conventional school curriculum was utterlywithout "design," its courses and materials amere "aggregate of parts serving separate, fixedfunctions," all "held together in a mechanicalway" (Harris 1939, 176).

When, on the other hand, courses are coor-dinated as a system of studies aimed at inte-grated outcomes, we have the second level ofcurriculum development: program planning.Programs differ from one another by their field,scope and sequence, and aims. A program maybe as broad in scope and sequence as an entireK through 12 social studies program or smaller,such as a high school social studies or scienceprogram, a middle school or elementary schoolmathematics program, or a primary grades inte-grated program. What defines a program ofstudy is not the mechanical joining of fragmentsunder one titlee.g., The High School SocialStudies Program-but a. aims held in commonby the several parts, b. concerted curriculum andinstruction directed toward these common aims,and, C. ongoing evaluation and revision of aims,curriculum, and instruction by teachers, curricu-lum coordinators, and students.

Content SelectionWhen planning an issue-oriented program

or course, content selection is the central task.Advice is plentiful, fortunately; planners do notneed to start from scratch. Oliver and Shaver(1974) offer the key principle: subject mattershould be derived from a consideration of thedemands of citizenship in the modern democraticstate. "One cannot discuss the objectives of educa-tion without considering the objectives of thesociety in which education is to operate" (p. 9).

Numerous approaches rest on this principle.

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Hunt and Metcalf (1968) concentrated on thestudy of human conflicts, especially those drawnfrom "closed" or taboo areas of societycontro-versial topics on which careful deliberation issocially or politically discouraged. Oliver andNewmann (1967) introduced students to distinc-tions among several kinds of issuesdefinition-al, empirical, ethicalas well as strategies formoving discussions forward, (e.g., clarifying anissue, stipulating a definition, and drawing ananalogy). Newmann (1975) later advocated a"citizen action" approach geared toward exertinginfluence on public policy. Engle (1960) empha-sized decision-making, "which is reflective, spec-ulative, thought provoking, and oriented to theprocess of reaching conclusions" (p. 303).

Multiple Objectives. Whatever the particu-lar subject-matter angle or emphasis, issue-oriented curriculum visions are united on therequirement of multiple objectives. Recall thatthe first issue in the list of six above asked notonly about essential knowledgewhat studentsshould knowbut essential abilitieswhat stu-dents should be able to do. These are two types ofcontent objectives to which the issue-orientedtradition gives equal and concurrent attention.There is no agreement on labels for these pairedcategories. The terms "topics" and "thinkingskills," or "content" and "processes" are oftenused. "Powerful social understandings" (TaskForce on Teaching and Learning 1992) and"higher-order thinking," or "HOT," (Newmann1990a), are precise. In Oliver and Shaver's terms,content selection involves two major decisions:"What topics will one choose as the basis forselecting specific materials of instruction? Whatintellectual framework will be used to guide theteacher and, in turn, the student in handlingthese materials?" (1974, 59).

This division is necessary because contentselection must occur deliberately on both fronts;yet, the goal for daily teaching and learning mustbe an effective synthesis of the two. This synthe-sis could be called "knowledge-in-use" (Sizer1992) or a "thinking curriculum" (Resnick andKlopfer 1989). It is a necessary synthesis foreven the most rudimentary forms of learning(Resnick and Resnick 1991).

As for the first category of objectivestopicswe saw above that the main topical areais public conflict and related policy controversies.Methods and findings from the disciplines areincluded as well, but they enter the problem

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space as tools for deliberating conflict and policyrather than as the central objects of study. Oliverand Shaver (1974) identified several problemareas from which controversies might be drawn:racial and ethnic conflict; religious and ideologi-cal conflict; security and the individual; conflictamong economic groups; health, education, andwelfare; and national security. Each problem areahas a perennial and cross-cultural quality; eachcontains potentially many cases across time andspace. Careful selection of analogous cases fromdifferent historical eras and cultures but within asingle problem area should help students under-stand that publics across time and space have hadto deal with many of the same problems. Thiscould make for an extraordinarily rigorous courseor program of courses, richly historical and glob-al in scope, and centered squarely on real andpersistent problems of democratic citizenship.

The second category of content objectives,the intellectual framework or higher-orderthinking (HOT) abilities, is constrained by deci-sions made in the first category. Needed areHOT abilities with which this particular sub-stantive knowledge is to be formed, elaborated,and refined. Planners have good reason to selecta decision-making model, reflective inquiry, orothers. Let us for the sake of argument takeOliver and Shaver's (1974) well-developed"jurisprudential framework," which, to onedegree or another, includes the others. Thisframework is less concerned with the skills offormal logic than with clarification and analysis,analogy, weighing alternatives, and predictingalldirected at a. problem areas, b. selected contro-versies within problem areas, and C. the diversepoints of view and value conflicts they entail.

Issue-Oriented AssessmentThe most important thing to be said about

assessments is that they do not merely help edu-cators find out what and how much students havelearned. Rather, assessments set the targets forteaching and learning. When assessments arecarefully fitted to curriculum goalsby which Imean that they clarify, specify, and qualify themthe boundaries between assessment and curricu-lum work are effectively blurred. A discussion ofassessment measures becomes a discussion of cur-riculum goals and visa versa.3 In this sense, bothcourse- and program-level curricula should "teachto the test," and curriculum planning shouldbegin with "visions of and criteria for success in

those achievements toward which the curriculumwill aim" (Newmann and Archbald 1992, 76).

For this to occur, the working notion ofassessment needs to change from measures ofstudent learning that are ill-fitted to valued cur-riculum goals to measures that fit them well.When the fit is poor, teachers rightly complain(and students should as well) that the measure isnot a worthy target of teaching or learning.

Performance AssessmentWhen the fit is good, the targets are mean-

ingful ("authentic") achievements. They are"actual examples of student work that exemplifyoutcomes specified by content standards"(Simmons and Resnick 1993, 11). Such examplesoften, but not always, are "performance assess-ments." That is, they require students to perform4on some sort of tasks that is related meaningfullyto a valued curriculum goal.6 Because the targetsare genuine achievements, they require studentsto become thoughtful judges of their own work."Theirs is the work of posing questions, makingjudgments, integrating criticisms, reconsideringproblems, and investigating new possibilities"(Zessoules and Gardner 1991, 64). Teachers morelikely will be proud to teach to such targets, andstudents should be able to see the value in work-ing toward them. This is the vision of authenticassessment.

Examples of such targets in other fields canbe helpful. Consider, in sports, the gymnasticsand figure skating competitions in which athletesare not pitted against one another, but judged onperformance criteria known to all. Or considerrecitals in music and portfolio exhibitions inthe arts. Performance assessments are methods oftesting that require students to demonstrate theirabilities and knowledge by creating productsthat display them. The list below (from Officeof Technology Assessment 1992, 17) is a contin-uum of performance formats ranging from con-structed-response questions to the more compre-hensive "exhibitions" and "portfolios." A con-structed-response item can be an efficient andvalid means to assess students' knowledge of animportant concept relevant to issue-centeredstudy For example, a simple classifying itemmight have students produce in writing adescription of a perennial public issue studied inthe course, or of democratic values, citizenship,definitional dispute, analogy, ethical issue, or point-of-view. Whatever the concept, students should

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not be asked only to produce an example of it, forthis gives the teacher too little information. Thestudent also should be asked to produce a state-ment that explains why it is an examplewhatattributes does it have that all examples of theconcept must have? A classifying task, then, asksboth for an example and a supporting argument.

At the other end of the continuum, studentsmight be asked to mount a comprehensiveexhibition of the issue-oriented work they haveproduced over a one-semester senior problemscourse: a narrated slide show, for example, dis-playing several public policy forums in which thestudent has participated, both as moderator anddiscussant. The third format on this continuum,oral discourse, is featured in the next chapter.

Before proceeding, however, let us look at thefull continuum of performance formats. The read-er may wish to brainstorm additional examples ofeach, taking care that each example involvesknowledge and/or abilities that are related toissue-oriented social studies as defined above.

Constructed-response questions require students toproduce an answer to a question rather than to selectfrom an array of possible answers (as multiple-choice items do). In constructed-response items,questions may have just one correct answer or maybe more open ended, allowing a range of responses.The form can also varyfilling in a blank, writingshort answers, drawing an illustration.

Essays have long been used to assess a student'sunderstanding of a subject by having the studentwrite a description, analysis, explanation, or sum-mary of one or more paragraphs. Essays are usedto demonstrate how well a student can use facts incontext and structure a coherent discussion.Oral discourse was the earliest form of perfor-mance assessment. Before paper and pencil, chalk,and slate became affordable, school childrenrehearsed their lessons, recited their sums, andrendered their poems and prose aloud.Exhibitions are designed as comprehensivedemonstrations of skills or competence. Theyoften require students to produce a demonstrationor live performance in class or before other audi-ences. Teachers or trained judges score perfor-mances against standards of excellence known toall participants ahead of time. Exhibitions requirea broad range of competencies, are often interdis-ciplinary in focus, and require student initiativeand creativity.

Portfolios are usually files or folders that contain

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collections of a student's work. They furnish abroad portrait of individual performance, assem-bled over time. As students assemble their portfo-lios, they must evaluate their own work. (Office ofTechnology Assessment 1992, 17)

Performance Assessment at the ProgramLevel. At the program level, assessment concen-trates on cumulative, long-term targets. Planningcommittees need to imagine performances thatstudents might exhibit as the combined achieve-ment of an articulated course of study. The casein Table 1 had planners decide the performancesthat students would collect at the end of thetwelfth grade. Issue-oriented performance tar-gets for this graduation portfolio might includethose given as samples in Table 2.

The three targets in Table 2 involve the pro-duction of coherent and informed civic dis-course, both oral and written, which arguably isthe most fundamental demand made on citizensin societies organized under democratic ideals(Parker 1996). This list of targets can serve as aone-page curriculum guide for a K through 12issue-oriented social studies program, and itcould double as a specification of performanceassessments toward which the resources of theschool district should be directed from kinder-garten through the twelfth grade. This would bemore valuable, in my judgment, than the elabo-rate K through 12 curriculum matrices that havebecome conventional in school district curricu-lum offices, with their long lists of objectivesthat so often are ignored.

Each target represents a set of integrated,essential learnings. In an experimental highschool in Seattle for "at-risk" students, my col-leagues and I attempt to accomplish this using atwo-column chart. Targets are listed in columnone and related learnings are specified in columntwo. An example is presented in Table 3. Notethat the example is aimed at the third graduationportfolio target in Table 2discussion competence.In column one, note that the target is written asa set of general instructions to the student; alsonote that in the second column both categories oflearningknowledge and abilitiesare speci-fied. Column two was added when a parentcommittee read the target, then wanted to knowwhat the individual learnings were that com-posed it. This was a helpful prompt, and it causedus to deduce specific learnings from the target,thus specifying them for instruction. The parents

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Table 2: Sample Tasks for Graduation Portfolio

1. Issues IdentificationWorking with three or four other students, you are to

develop a list of public controversies (not private) drawnfrom current news media, then group and label them.Next, identify the two that best exemplify public conflictsthat stem from differing interpretations of liberty, equali-ty, justice, and public order/safety. These decisions shouldbe made using group consensus-reaching procedures.Following this work, you will write, relying on "writing-process" procedures, an evaluation of the two issues select-ed and a narrative description of your group's consensus-reaching process.

2. Policy AnalysisYou will be given a list of enduring public issues and

asked to develop a conceptual model of one of your choos-ing. You will need to incorporate in your model at leastthese things:

a. Diversity. Include an accounting of alternative posi-tions on the matter referenced to the research thatyou and others have conducted (e.g., library research,surveys and interviews, popular magazines, art).Give evidence that you have included not only cen-trist positions but marginal views as well, and not

only popular but also scholarly opinion.b. Analogies. Draw two or more historical analogies.

Because these are enduring issues, earlier and cul-turally diverse cases that are somewhat analogousgenerally can be found. Find two or more, and eval-uate the extent to which they parallel the presentcase.

4. Consequences. Predict the consequences of threeor more of the alternatives your research uncovered.Carefully support the predictions you make.

3. Discussion CompetenceCollect audio and/or video recordings of your partici-

pation in discussions of public controversies. These will besmall-group discussions in which public conflicts and pol-icy alternatives are being interpreted and analyzed, andtheir consequences predicted. Along with the tapes, sub-mit an annotated transcript of a selection of discussionexcerpts displaying these and other competencies youidentify: stating and identifying issues, using historicaland social science knowledge, summarizing points ofagreement and disagreement, inviting contributions fromothers, using strategies to move the discussion forward.

were worried, rightly so, that without this speci-fication their children would be expected to per-form well on the targeted task without havingbeen adequately instructed on the componentknowledge and skills. We have found this two-column format enormously helpful for commu-nicating the school's curriculum and assessmentplan in brief and straightforward fashionbothto one another and to our constituenciesthe school's curriculum and assessment plan.

Performance Assessment at the CourseLevel. With a limited number of program-levellearning outcomes and performance tasks in place,course planning can proceed in a sharply focusedway with the identification of course-level targets.At the course level, it is helpful to expand thechart's design from two to three columns.Performance targets again are listed in columnone, related leanings in column two, and the thirdcolumn lists key curriculum materials. These threecolumns present, in a concise manner, the coursesyllabus. This three-column chart may extendover a few pages, because a course typically hasa handful of major targets, not just one.

Presented in Tables 4 and 5 are excerpts fortwo courses. The first of the two is correlated tothe third graduation portfolio target sketched inTable 2discussion competence. It is one of sever-al targets for an eleventh-grade American studiescourse. Note that it requires students to do exten-sive work with civic discourse. This work mustbe done across multiple public issues, therebyhelping students to construct flexible, case-basedunderstandings. These cases are drawn frommore than one historical era. Furthermore, stu-dents are expected to write an analysis of theirdiscussion participation. Clearly, this is an ambi-tious target in most communities, one that wouldrequire sustained teaching and learning across asignificant period of time. The target takes issueslearning deeply into disciplinary knowledge andinto the primary practice of democracydiscus-sion. It is an integrated task, too, requiringstudents to pull numerous learnings together.

The second of the two excerpts (Table 5) iscorrelated to the second graduation portfoliotarget in Table 2policy analysisand wasdesigned for a twelfth-grade senior problemscourse. Note that it is focused on conceptual

Os

Table 3: Program-Level Curriculum Guide

PROGRAM TARGETS3. Discussion competence

Collect audio and/or video recordings of your partici-pation in discussions of public controversies. Thesewill be small-group discussions in which public con-flicts and policy alternatives are being interpreted andanalyzed, and their consequences predicted. Alongwith the tapes, submit an annotated transcript of aselection of discussion excerpts displaying your com-petencies as both moderator and discussant, includingthese and others you identify: clarifying and analyzingissues and alternative courses of action, distinguishingamong kinds of issues, listening as well as talking,seeking an array of views, and using strategies to movethe discussion forward.

LEARNINGSEssential Knowledge

Public controversy/conflictEnduring problem areas versus current eventsEthical, definitional, and empirical issuesLiberty, diversity, order, democracy

Essential Abilities (HOT)Reading and writingClarifyingInterpretingAnalyzingPredictingModeratingReasoning dialogicallyListening to and expressing viewsSeeking alternative viewsWeighing alternativesUsing strategies to move the discussion forward

modeling, which helps students build complexunderstandings of public issues with an eyetoward recommending policy. Study bookletsfrom the National Issues Forum have proven tobe a helpful resource; hence they are listed incolumn three. Each booklet presents three orfour viewpoints on a particular issue, such ascriminal violence. When students study an issuein this way, working through multiple lenses,reading extensively, and forging shared under-standings through discussion, they can build amodel of the problem rather than only reactingto it with the first opinion that comes to mind.The performance target in column one assumesthat students have studied five policy questionsin this way. The target requires students now toproduce such a studya briefing bookletthat others, perhaps younger students or eventhe city council, can use to develop policy.

ConclusionThe main idea of this chapter is that issue-

oriented curriculum development and assess-ment are, at the higher levels of quality, the samething. The boundaries between assessing studentlearning and deciding which content is worthteaching and learning are blurred as learning isconceptualized in performance terms. Accord-ingly, examples of performance assessment areprovided, both for programs and individualcourses, and these double as curriculum objec-

206

tives tailored to the goals of issue-orientededucation.

Still, we are left with the question: How cana commendable performance be distinguishedfrom one that is mediocre or incompetent?A helpful tool is a scoring rubric. Scoringinvolves judging levels of quality displayed intargeted performances; a scoring rubric is the setof guidelines scorers use to decide the level ofquality in a performance they have observed.

Developing a reliable rubric for a target ischallenging work that requires a nuanced under-standing of the target (McCollum 1994).Because it can be difficult, developing a rubriccan function as a roadblock if it is attempted toosoon. That is, it can prevent work on the morefundamental problem of developing ambitioustargets for teaching and learning. I have seen thishappen so often that I have come to expect it,and I can assure readers that the consequencesdo not vary: As planning groups become miredin scoring, they back away from the identifica-tion of ambitious targets. Because developinggood targets for teaching and learning is thechief object of curriculum and assessment work,it is altogether unwise for teachers and curricu-lum supervisors to get sidetracked by scoringproblems. Doing so lets the tail wag the dog.

After valued performance targets have beenselected, it becomes necessary to identify grada-tions (standards/criteria) of performance quality.

(..)c-1,

Table 4: 1 1 th Grade: American Studies (excerpt)

COURSE TARGETS3. Make audio recordings of your participa-

tion in discussions of three public contro-versies drawn from three major eras ofU.S. history. Select the tape with thehighest-quality discussion and taperecord or write an analysis of (a) thekinds of issues involved, (b) any road-blocks present in the discussion, (c)strategies used to move the discussionforward.

LEARNINGSE ssential Knowledge

Public controversyKnowledge of the issue selected and typesof issues (ethical, definitional, empirical)Eras of U.S. historyRoadblocks in discussions of public issues

Essential Abilities (110T)Reading and writingOral expressionStrategies for moving discussions forward

MATERIALSA. Discussion

Taking a Stand (Oliver & Newmann)B . Issues

The Federalist Papers andPublic Issues Series (Social ScienceEducation Consortium) orReasoning with Democratic Values(Lockwood & Harris) orEvaluating Viewpoints (O'Reilly)

C. TextbookThe U.S. and Its People(King, McRae, Zola)

Table 5: 12th Grade: Senior Problems (excerpt)

COURSE TARGETS2. Develop a written and illustrated concep-

tual model of one of the public issues youexamined in this course or a sixth youchoose to investigate. Incorporate diverseviewpoints and historical analogies andweigh the consequences of alternativepolicies.

LEARNINGSE ssential Knowledge

Public controversyViewpoints and history on the issueselected

E ssential Abilities (140T)Reading and writingConceptual modelingFinding and representing diverseperspectivesDrawing and evaluating historical analogiesPredicting and weighing consequences

MATERIALSA. Issues

National Issues Forum booklets(Kendall-Hunt); news media, libraries;government offices

B . Citizen ActionCivics for Democracy (Isaac)

C. Political TheoryShould We Consent To Be Governed?

(Nathanson)

Doing so has two effects. First, teachers and par-ents can find out what students know and areable to do in relation to these quality levels.Second, instruction can be fine-tuned; teacherscan coach students toward performances at high-er levels of quality. The explanation for botheffects is this: The gradations needed for scoringare needed also for clarifying the target and,therefore, for fine-tuning instruction.

David Harris's chapter, which follows,demonstrates the point nicely. He presents afield-tested scoring rubric for assessing studentperformance on a key outcome of issue-orientededucation: competent, small-group discussionsof public issues. The assessment criteria he pro-vides define the target in a way that will helpteachers teach and students learn.?

ReferencesBaron, Joan Boykoff. "Performance Assessment:

Blurring the Edges Among Assessment, Curricu-lum, and Instruction." In Assessment in the Service ofInstruction, edited by Audrey B. Champagne et al.Washington, D.C.: American Association for theAdvancement of Science, 1990.

Committee on Social Studies, Commission on theReorganization of Secondary Education of theNational Education Association. The Social Studies inSecondary Education, Bureau of Education Bulletinno. 28. Washington, D.C.: U.S. GovernmentPrinting Office, 1916.

Engle, Shirley "Decision Making: The Heart of SocialStudies Instruction." Social Education 24, no. 7

(1960): 301-306.Griffin, Alan F. Alan F Griffin on Reflective Teaching:

A Philosophical Approach to the Subject Matter

Preparation of Teachers of History. Washington, D.C.:

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BEST COPY AVAILABLE

National Council for the Social Studies, 1992(originally published in 1942).

Harris, Pickens E. The American School: A DelinquentInstitution." In Democracy and the Curriculum, edited

by Harold Rugg. New York Appleton-Century 1939.Hunt, Maurice P, and Lawrence E. Metcalf. Teaching

High School Social Studies: Problems in Reflective

Thinking and Social Understanding. 2nd Edition.New York Harper and Row, 1968.

Lockwood, Alan L., and David E. Harris. Reasoningwith Democratic Values: Ethical Problems in United

States History. Volumes 1 and 2 and instructor's man-ual. New York Teachers College Press, 1985.

McCollum, Steven L. Performance Assessment in the Social

Studies Classroom. Joplin, MO: Chalk Dust Press, 1994.

Newmann, Fred M. Education for Citizen Action.Berkeley: McCutchan, 1975.

. "Higher Order Thinking in Teaching SocialStudies: A Rationale for the Assessment ofClassroom Thoughtfulness. " ,Journal of CurriculumStudies 22, no. 1 (1990a): 41-56.

. "A Test of Higher-Order Thinking in SocialStudies: Persuasive Writing on Constitutional IssuesUsing the NAEP Approach." Social Education 54,no. 6 (1990b): 369-373.

Newmann, Fred M., and Doug A. Archbald. 'TheNature of Authentic Academic Achievement."In Toward a New Science of Educational Testing and

Assessment, edited by Harold Berlak et al. Albany:State University of New York Press, 1992.

Office of Technology and Assessment, Congress of theUnited States. Testing in American Schools: Asking the

Right Questions. Washington, D.C.: Office ofTechnology and Assessment, 1992.

Oliver, Donald W. 'The Selection of Content in theSocial Sciences." Harvard Educational Review 27,no. 4 (1957): 271-300.

Oliver, Donald W., and Fred M. Newmann. Taking aStand: A Guide to Clear Discussion of Public Issues.

Middletown, Conn.: Xerox Corporation/AmericanEducation Publications, 1967.

Oliver, Donald W., and James P. Shaver. Teaching PublicIssues in the High School. Logan: Utah State

University Press, 1974 (originally published in 1966).Parker, Walter C. Renewing the Social Studies

Curriculum. Alexandria, Va: Association forSupervision and Curriculum Development, 1991.

. "Curriculum for Democracy." In Democracy,Education, and the School, edited by Roger Soder.

Chicago: San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1996.Porter, Andrew C. "School Delivery Standards."

Educational Researcher 22, no. 5 (1993): 24-29.Resnick, Lauren B., and Daniel P Resnick "Assessing

the Thinking Curriculum: New Tools for EducationalReform." In ChangingAssessments: Alternative Views of

Aptitude, Achievement, and Instruction, edited by

Bernard R Gifford and Mary Catherine O'Connor.Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1991.

Resnick, Lauren B., and Leopold E. Klopfer, eds.Toward the Thinking Curriculum: Current Cognitive

Research. Alexandria, Va.: Association for Supervisionand Curriculum Development, 1989.

Shaver, James P Building Rationales for CitizenshipEducation. Washington, D.C.: National Council forthe Social Studies, 1977.

Simmons, Warren, and Lauren Resnick. "AssessmentAs the Catalyst of School Reform." EducationalLeadership 50, no. 5 (1993): 11-15.

Sizer, Theodore R. Horace's School. Boston: HoughtonMifflin, 1992.

Task Force on Teaching and Learning, NationalCouncil for the Social Studies.A Vision of PowerfulTeaching and Learning in the Social Studies: Building

Social Understanding and Civic Efficacy. Washington,

D.C.: National Council for the Social Studies, 1992.Zessoules, Rieneke, and Howard Gardner. "Authentic

Assessment: Beyond the Buzzword and into theClassroom." In Expanding Student Assessment, editedby Vito Perrone. Alexandria, Va: Association forSupervision and Curriculum Development, 1991.

1My thanks to Sheila Valencia, Catherine Taylor, andRon Evans for comments on earlier drafts of this chapter.

2 T W. Roby discusses the rush to pet solutions:"Habits Impeding Deliberation," Journal of CurriculumStudies 17, no. 1 (1985): 17-35.

3I am grateful to Joan Baron (1990) for conversationson this idea.

4 The vocabulary of assessment lacks agreement.Tentatively, synonyms for "perform" are construct, create,and demonstrate.

5 I.e., a project requiring the novel application ofknowledge and ability.

6 I.e., outcome; curriculum standard; objective.

7 Newmann (1990b) developed another exemplaryrubric, this one for assessing persuasive writing/reasoningon issues involving constitutional rights. Harris's andNewmann's rubrics together make a good study of rubricdesign for issue-oriented outcomes.

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ASSASall Day

SSING DISCUSSION OF PUBLIC ISSUES:ORING GUIDEHarris

The importance of civic discourse in socialstudies education has been emphasized inrecent scholarship. There is a call to reded-icate ourselves to "public talk" as an essen-tial element of the curriculum and to assessthe quality of oral discourse produced by

students (Barber 1989; Newman, 1992; Parker1989).

The rationale for oral discourse about publicissues is manifold. First, it facilitates the learningof social studies content. The effort to producecoherent language in response to a question ofpublic policy puts knowledge in a meanincontext, making it more likely to be understoodand remembered. Second, dialogue among stu-dents reinforces the development of social per-spectives considered fundamental to democraticcitizenship, especially tolerance or taking the roleof another. This kind of reciprocal thinking, thepersistent effort to anticipate the perspective ofanother, fosters more than communication; it isthe essence of moral sensitivity. Third, intelligentconversation promotes reflection crucial to thepreservation of democratic values such as consentof the governed, individual liberty, equality underlaw and, more recently, national economic pros-perity within the world economy. Fourth, whenthoughtfully engaged in conversations aboutpublic issues, students are building not only sub-stantive knowledge but also higher order think-ing abilities. They use complex language toexpress their ideas. They must speak not in singlewords or short phrases but in sentences and para-graphs; they share ideas that are not scripted orcontrolled, as in teacher-led recitation; they mustexplain themselves, ask questions, and responddirectly to comments of previous speakers.

Significant progress has been made recentlyin assessing students' persuasive writing on civic

issues (Newmann 1990), but there has beennothing comparable for oral discourse. If we aredestined in schools to get what we assess and notget what we do not assess (Resnick and Resnick1991), then we are unlikely, for the time being, toproduce students who can participate construc-tively in group discussions of public issues.

This chapter presents a guide for evaluatingstudents' performance in small group discussionsof public issues. It integrates the knowledge,skill, and value goals of social studies, is ground-ed in the theory and practice of teaching publicissues (Oliver and Shaver 1966/74), and isdesigned for convenient use by classroom teach-ers. Data collected with this tool could be usedfor improving instruction, for assessing individ-ual student achievement, or as part of larger scalesocial studies program evaluations. Field testingof the guide has been conducted with socialstudies students and teachers in middle schoolsand high schools.

Performance Criteria fora Public Issues Discussion

This scoring guide makes an attempt toidentify a set of valid criteria for evaluating theperformance of individual students during smallgroup discussion of a public issue. These criteriaare derived from the tradition of teaching publicissues dating back nearly three decades to theHarvard Social Studies Project, which empha-sized classroom discussion of controversial pub-lic issues (Oliver and Newmann 1967). The goalof discussion in this tradition is to engage stu-dents in substantive conversation that enableseach of them to make progress toward con-structing a thoughtful position on a question ofpublic policy. Although the emphasis of thisguide is on scoring the performance of individu-

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BOX AAssessing Discussion of Public Issues: Performance Criteria

SUBSTANTIVEStating and Identifying IssuesUsing Foundational KnowledgeElaborating Statements with Explanations,Reasons, or Evidence

Stipulating Claims or DefinitionsRecognizing Values or Value ConflictArguing by Analogy

PROCEDURALPositive (+)

Inviting Contributions from OthersAcknowledging the Statements of OthersChallenging the Accuracy, Logic,Relevance, or Clarity of StatementsSummarizing Points of Agreement andDisagreement

Negative (-)Irrelevant Distracting StatementsObstructive InterruptionMonopolizingPersonal Attack

als, those scores could be used collectively toassess the performance of groups as well.

An underlying assumption of the scoringscheme presented here is that students haveextensive opportunity to practice discussionbefore being assessed. Practice would consist ofboth whole-class, teacher-led discussions anddiscussions among small groups of students. Inthe context of these discussions, students wouldlearn the assessment criteria and work to improveboth their individual and group performance.Teachers would model the kinds of statementsimplied by the criteria and highlight them whendemonstrated by students. Eventually, small-group discussion of a public issue as a learningactivity would become indistinguishable from theassessment activity.

The discussion of a public issue has bothsubstantive and procedural dimensions. We wantstudents to know about the issue and to knowhow to discuss it productively with classmates.A good performance blends the two. The crite-ria in the scoring guide are therefore dividedinto two categories. The substantive criteria per-tain to students' understanding of the issue, andthe procedural criteria pertain to their ability toengage one another in conversation about it.These criteria are listed as Performance Criteria(Box A).

What follows is a brief description of eachcriterion with an example to illustrate it. Theexamples are drawn from a hypothetical discus-sion by high school students of a public policyissue on the national agenda as of this writing:

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Should homosexuals be allowed to serve in thearmed forces of the United States?

Substantive CriteriaStating and Identifying Issues. To satisfy

this criterion, a student must either state an issuenot yet raised in the discussion or identify anissue that has been implied. An issue is a matterof dispute or uncertainty posed as an unresolvedquestion. Public issue discussions revolve arounda central policy issue which often entails threesubordinate types of issues: ethical, definitional,and factual. If the policy issue has been statedprior to the discussion, repeating it would notsatisfy this criterion.

A policy issue is the overarching focus thatguides the entire discussion. The main purpose ofthe discussion is to work collaboratively towardresolution of the policy issue. It is a questionabout a matter of governance that requires collec-tive decision making in an arena of citizenshipand subsequent action to advance the decision. Itcan be local, regional, national, or international inscope. In our example the policy issue is: Shouldhomosexuals be allowed to serve in the armedservices of the United States?

Discussions of public policy issues usuallyinvolve subordinate ethical, factual, and defini-tional issues. Productive dialogue cannot occurif students jump mindlessly from one aspect ofan issue to another. In the process of resolvingthe broader policy issue, it is necessary, deliber-ately and systematically, to consider other issuesembedded within it. An ethical issue poses a

question of right or wrong. It asks for a valuejudgment of what ought to be. A definitionalissue poses a question about the meaning of aterm. It serves to clarify ambiguity. A factualissue poses a question regarding what is or was.It asks for a claim that can be verified withevidence. The diagram in Box B presents a tax-onomy for discussion of public issues:

EthicalIssue

The three dialogue excerpts below provideexamples, respectively, of 1. an ethical, 2. a def-initional, and 3. a factual issue being stated:

1Aretha: People really seem to disagree stronglyII about whether gays should serve in the mili-

tary.Bob: There have always been gay soldiers and

sailors, but most of them have kept quietabout it.

Cleo: The question is not whether homosexualshave secretly served in the past. That's not anissue. Everyone agrees they have. The ques-tion is whether it is fair to exclude someonefrom military service based on sexual orienta-tion. Do gays have a right to serve theircountry? (ethical)

3Aretha: Homosexuals might undermine thelb morale of the fighting force. Their deviant

behavior could be upsetting to the majority ofthose serving.

Bob: What do you mean by deviant behavior?(definitional issue) Does deviant mean con-duct merely different from what most peopledo, or does it have to be harmful to others?

TAretha: Being near people of the same sex withki an amorous attraction to you makes many

heterosexuals uncomfortable. If homosexuals

want to join the armed services, they shouldchange their behavior first.

Cleo: Can they? I don't know if it's possible.Is sexual orientation learned or biological?(factual issue) I think we have to resolve thatquestion before we can determine what kindof behavior to expect of people

Using Foundational Knowledge. To satisfythis criterion, a student must demonstrate under-standing of significant ideas relevant to the issueunder discussion. The ideas would be key facts orconcepts from pertinent disciplines. The under-standing expressed would be deep rather thanshallow and free of obvious inaccuracies or mis-conceptions. Both of the following statementsbelow present an example of using foundationalknowledge:1Aretha: If the policy toward homosexuals in the

II military is changed, there will be problemswith the Uniform Code of Military Justice,which is a separate set of laws that appliesonly to those in the armed forces. Severalparts of the code would have to be adjusted ifthe ban is lifted, like who you can live with, orwhat you can do while on duty or wearing auniform, or who you can claim as dependents.

Bob: Not all groups have the same protectionlb under current federal law. Congress intended

the civil rights acts to protect people fromdiscrimination based on race, religion, gen-der, or national origin, but not on sexualorientation

Elaborating Statements with Explanations,Reasons, or Evidence. To satisfy this criterion, astudent would have to make a claim and providea basis of support for it. The claim might bea position on an issue, or a relevant ethical judg-ment, or a statement of fact. A position on anissue would be supported with an explanation;an ethical judgment would be supported by rea-sons; and a factual claim would be verified withevidence. The three dialogue excerpts below pro-vide examples of supporting a claim with 1. anexplanation, 2. reasons, and 3. evidence:1Aretha: We have been reading and talkingII about this issue for two days. Is anybody ready

to take a stand?Bob: I think the present policy should continue.

Gays should be banned. I have been thinkingabout what was said about equal rights, and

301 291

about the good records of homosexuals whohave served with distinction. But, for severalreasons, I don't think the ban should be lifted.A majority of those currently serving believethe change would lower morale. Many saythey will quit the service if gays are allowed.Some prominent military leaders, includingGeneral Schwartzkopf, believe that admittinggays will undermine the primary mission ofthe armed forcesreadiness to fight. Andthere is the point about invading privacy(explaining a position on the policy issue).

9Aretha: Will the presence of homosexuals1U violate the privacy rights of heterosexuals?Bob: Not if men and women live in separate

barracks.Cleo: Separating people by gender would not

ensure privacy. People are packed very tightlyin army barracks and on naval ships. In theshower or in the sleeping quarters of a subma-rine there is little privacy. Men or women, evenif separated by gender, would still be exposedto the unwelcome glances of gays or lesbians.

Aretha: I think admitting homosexuals wouldviolate the privacy rights of heterosexuals.There is no grouping possible to protect pri-vacymen with men, women with women,men with women, even gays with gays.When you join the military, you are entitledto a reasonable expectation of privacy. Noone should be placed in circumstances wherethey are the unwilling object of someone'ssexual attention (supporting an ethicaljudgment with reasons).

ezAretha: If the ban on gays is lifted, there willg.11 be more sexual misconduct in the armed

forces.Bob: Do homosexuals commit sexual assaults

more than heterosexuals?Cleo: Not according to a recent Pentagon study

cited last month in the federal district courtdecision from California that we read. Therate of such offenses is higher for heterosexu-als than homosexuals in the armed services.Furthermore, look at what the Tailhook scan-dal suggests about male sailors sexuallyharassing females. The evidence we have doesnot support the claim that gays in the militarywill cause an increase in sexual misconduct(supporting a factual claim with evidence).Stipulating Claims or Definitions. To satis-

fy this criterion, a student must stipulate a reso-lution to an ethical, definitional or factual issue.Stipulation means offering a tentative answer tobe accepted at least temporarily in order to movethe discussion forward. Stipulations are usuallyoffered when there is no consensus on an issueand the information necessary for resolution isnot readily available. To prevent the discussionfrom getting bogged down and for the sake ofargument, a statement can be stipulated to seewhere it leads. The three dialogue excerpts belowpresent examples, respectively, of stipulating1. an ethical claim, 2. the definition of a term,and 3. a factual statement:lAretha: Several times equal rights have been1 mentioned. We keep asking whether hetero-

sexuals and homosexuals should have thesame rights.

Bob: Let's assume, for the time being, that peo-ple are entitled to be treated equally regard-less of sexual orientation (stipulating anethical claim).

DAretha: The President and others have argued1U that restrictions from the armed forces should

be based on conduct. He says it should bewhat you do, not who you are.

Bob: What is conduct and what is not? Wouldtelling someone you are gay be conduct?Would reading a gay magazine?

Cleo: This is difficult. I have trouble distinguish-ing between thought, expression, and conduct.

Aretha: Let's say that conduct means expressedbehavior. It can be spoken or other kindsof action, but it can't be merely thoughts orfeelings. Also, let's agree for our discussionthat conduct refers to behavior while on mil-itary duty or while off duty but in uniform(stipulating a definition).

7Aretha: Some people are worried that the mil-d itary will be overwhelmed by homosexuals,

that they will take over and change the cul-ture of the armed forces.

Bob: That fear exaggerates the number of homo-sexuals in society.

Cleo: How many are there? I keep hearing that10% of the population is homosexual.

Bob: That figure is based on the Kinseystudies of nearly half a century ago. Morerecent studies indicate a much lower percent-age. Time magazine reports that a better esti-mate is well under 5%. For purposes of our

213,C, 2

discussion, let's assume that between 2% and4% of the population is homosexual (stipu-lating a fact).

Cleo: O.K., if we use that figure, how does itaffect our thinking about the policy issue?

Recognizing Values or Value Conflict.To satisfy this criterion, a student must identifya core democratic value that has emerged in thediscussion or a clash between two or more suchvalues. Core democratic values are concepts thatrepresent the ethical beliefs underlying a demo-cratic society, for example: religious liberty, freeexpression, equality, fair procedure, propertyrights, diversity, limited government, or majorityrule. These values serve as criteria when citizensmake judgments about matters of public con-cern. Although generally held in common, theyare sometimes a source of conflict. The maindispute over policy issues often arises from dif-ferences in meaning that people attach to thesevalues or from differences in the priorityattached to them.The two dialogue excerpts thatfollow illustrate, respectively, 1. recognition ofa democratic value, and 2. identification of avalue conflict:lAretha: Our main purpose for having military

11 forces is to defend the country from enemies.The issue of the ban on gays should be decid-ed according to its effect on this mission.What effect does the ban have on the readi-ness of the armed forces to fight?

Bob: You seem to be saying that the decidingfactor should be national security (recogniz-ing a value)

9Aretha: This issue requires us to chooseh between values.Bob: Which values?Cleo: On the one hand we value equality which

means all citizens should have an equalopportunity to serve their country. We alsobelieve in privacy as a basic liberty whichmeans people have a right to control informa-tion about themselves. These two values seemto clash over the issue of homosexuals in themilitary. We have to decide which of thesevalues should have priority in this case (iden-tifying a value conflict).

Arguing by Analogy. To satisfy this criterion,a student must draw a parallel between the issueunder discussion and a similar case. An analogy

should be more than a fleeting hint of similarity.The likeness must be rationallyelaborated. Analogies are often made to establishor challenge the consistency of an ethical argu-ment. The dialogue excerpt below illustrates thistype of analogical reasoning:Aretha: Maybe gays should be banned from the

military for their own protection. If they serveopenly, they might become the victims of vio-lent attacks from those who are prejudicedagainst them.

Bob: That sounds like a "heckler's veto" to me. Itgives violent bigots control over public policy.Those who threaten to harm the innocentshould should be excluded, not their victims.

Cleo: That reminds me of President Truman'spolicy of racial integration of the armedforces. There were many prejudiced whiteswho did not want blacks to serve with them.Some threatened to do them harm. If it'sright to ban gays because some dislike theirsexual orientation, then it would have beenright to segregate blacks because some hatedtheir race (analogy).

Procedural Criteria (Positive)Inviting Contributions from Others. To

satisfy this criterion, a student would have toelicit the thinking of a classmate. The purpose ofthe invitation would be to draw someone elseinto the discussion and to broaden participation.The invitation validates the worth of everyone'scontribution to the discussion. The followingdialogue excerpt illustrates such an invitation toparticipate:Aretha: We have been discussing this issue for a

long time. I am still trying to make up mymind. I'm not sure yet where I stand. I knowthat Bob supports keeping the current banand that Cleo thinks it should be lifted. Bothof them have presented their reasons, andthey know why they disagree. We haven'theard from you yet, Dawn. Do you agree withBob or Cleo (invitation)?

Acknowledging the Statements of Others.To satisfy this criterion, a student must respondto a statement made by another student in a waythat builds a consecutive interchange betweenthem. The reply should be responsive to thestatement and indicate that the student under-stood it and thought about it. The following dia-logue excerpt illustrates this type of response:

3 0 3293

Aretha: If I were homosexual, I wouldn't want tobe part of an organization where I wasn't wel-come.

Bob: That is your personal attitude, Aretha, buthow do you think your feelings about rejec-tion pertain to the policy decision to be madehere (acknowledgement and response).

Challenging the Accuracy, Logic, Rele-vance, or Clarity of Statements. To satisfy thiscriterion, a student must respond to the state-ment of another student by respectfully suggest-ing that it is inaccurate, illogical, irrelevant, orunclear. The nature of the challenge should bestated and an invitation to respond to it shouldbe extended. In the example below, the challengeis directed at the logic of a statement:Aretha: Some people support the ban out of fear

of AIDS. Frankly, I am sympathetic. The rateof AIDS among homosexuals is higher thanamong heterosexuals.

Bob: You have a good point. If gays are excluded,AIDS is less likely to spread in the armedforces.

Cleo: Yes, but it's possible to protect men andwomen in the service from AIDS withoutbanning homosexuals. Blood testing woulddo it. We could exclude those who test HIVpositive, whatever their sexual orientation.It doesn't follow that the the ban on gays isnecessary to prevent the spread of AIDS inthe armed forces (logical challenge).

Summarizing Points of Agreement andDisagreement. To satisfy this criterion, a stu-dent would have to present at least a partial sum-mary of points discussed and their disposition inthe discussion so far. The summary clarifieswhere the discussion has been and sets the stagefor it to move forward. The dialogue excerptbelow illustrates this type of summary:Aretha: This can get very confusing. I'm not sure

what I believe any more. There are so manyissues and there is so much disagreement.

Bob: For some time now we have been grapplingwith an ethical issue: Is it fair to treat homo-sexuals differently than heterosexuals? Weagreed that it is an issue involving the value ofequality We also agreed that the value of pri-vacy seems to conflict with the value of equal-ity, and that we might have to choose betweenthem to resolve this issue. We also agreed thateveryone has an equal right to serve the coun-

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try. The consensus broke down, however,when Aretha said that national securityshould take precedence over equal rightsbecause without it there will be no protectionof anyone's rights. We have not yet resolvedwhether or not gays in the military pose athreat to national security (summary).

Procedural Criteria (Negative)Irrelevant Distracting Statements. This

criterion would be met if a student made a state-ment that obviously did not pertain to the issueand tended to derail the discussion. It could bedeliberately or inadvertently distracting. Thetwo examples below illustrate such statements:lAretha: The real problem with the military isII the volunteer army. Do you think there

should be a draft?2Bob: Could we talk about something that isn't

so boring, like where people are partying afterthe game?

Obstructive Interruption. This criterion ismet when a student cuts off what another stu-dent has started to say, preventing the statementfrom being completed and interfering with theprogress of the discussion. Only obstructiveinterruptions that rudely seize the floor foroneself apply here. Some interruptions, madecongenially, might be attempts to get a personto be more relevant or brief and would be con-structive. An obstructive interruption is readilyapparent when it occurs, so no exampleis provided here to illustrate.

Monopolizing. This criterion is met whenone student repeatedly dominates the discussionwith the effect of preventing others from con-tributing. It would not be the result of a singlestatement but rather a pattern of overpoweringothers by not yielding the floor. It becomes evi-dent when one student does a conspicuouslydisproportionate share of the talking. Quieterstudents consequently withdraw or show reluc-tance to speak because they have been intimidat-ed by a more vocal student. No example ofmonopolizing is provided, because it is bestdetected through direct observation and is diffi-cult to capture in a transcript.

Personal Attack. This criterion is met whena student offensively criticizes another student.This type of personal assault or insult should be

3U

BOX CAssessing Discussion of Public Issues: Scoring Rubric

The overarching consideration in scoring is the degree to which a student's contribution to the conversation clarifies the poli-cy issue being considered and helps the group make progress toward resolution. Three elements of performance focus the assess-ment: whether or not the student has a. presented accurate knowledge related to the policy issue, b. employed skills for stating andpursuing related issues, and c. engaged others in constructive dialogue. A student's contribution to the conversation receives oneof five scores:

UNSATISFACTORY (1 )The student has failed to express any relevantfoundational knowledge and has neither stat-ed nor elaborated on any issues.

MINIMAL (2)The student has stated a relevant factual,ethical, or definitional issue as a question orhas accurately expressed relevant foundationalknowledge pertaining to an issue raised bysomeone else.

ADEQUATE (3)The student has accurately expressed relevantfoundational knowledge pertaining to an

issue raised during the discussion and haspursued an issue by making a statement andelaborating the statement with an explana-tion, reasons, or evidence.

EFFECTIVE (4)The student has accurately expressed relevantfoundational knowledge pertaining to anissue raised during the discussion, pursuedan issue with at least one elaborated state-ment and, in a civil manner, has built upona statement made by someone else orthoughtfully challenged its accuracy, clarity,relevance, or logic.

EXEMPLARY (5)The student has accurately expressed relevantfoundational knowledge pertaining to anissue raised during the discussion, pursuedan issue with an elaborated statement, andhas used stipulation, valuing, or analogy toadvance the discussion. In addition, the stu-dent has engaged others in the discussion byinviting their comments or acknowledgingtheir contributions. Further, the student hasbuilt upon a statement made by someone elseor thoughtfully challenged its accuracy, clari-ty, relevance, or logic.

distinguished from a legitimate challenge tosomeone's argument. The personal attack is abu-sive and is likely to hurt the feelings of the per-son targeted. Two examples follow:Aretha: Bob, you said you were worried about

government promoting a homosexual life-style, that it threatens the stability of familylife. That is a stupid idea! There is no suchthing as a homosexual lifestyle. They have asmany different lifestyles as heterosexuals. I'msick of your ignorant stereotypes!

Bob: Dawn, you hardly say anything, and whenlb you do it doesn't make much sense.

Assessing Students' PerformanceThe performance of a student can be evaluat-

ed while directly observing a small group discus-sion or afterward if the discussion is recorded.When direct observation is used, a trained scorersilently observes the discussion and recordsimpressions at the close of the discussion. Whenthe discussion is videotaped, a trained scorerrecords impressions after viewing the videotape.During the videotaping, the teacher need not bepresent and the discussion need not take place inthe regular classroom. Because students can betrained to record videotapes of their discussions,

and the teacher can work with the rest of theclass while one or more small group discussionsare being recorded, the videotape method mightprove more practical (and accurate) than directobservation.

Whether the discussion is directly observedor videotaped, the number of students participat-ing should be small enough to provide sufficientopportunity for all members of the group toexpress their thinking. A group of 5-7 students isrecommended, with the discussion lastingapproximately 20 minutes. The amount of timemight be shorter for elementary students orlonger for high school students. Before startingthe discussion, students would be presented withthe policy issue in the context of a case study. Forexample, the policy issue of gays in the militarycould be raised by studying the case of KeithMeinhold, a homosexual naval officer who filedsuit in federal court challenging his dismissalfrom the Navy. The case, which serves as aprompt, could be presented through print, orally,on video, or in some combination of the threemedia. Students would be given ample time toassimilate the facts of the case and organize theirthoughts about the issue it poses before discus-sion starts. The case might be presented a shorttime before the scored discussion or, if more

2505

Box DAssessing Discussion of Public Issues: Scoring Sheet

Enter a student's name and then make a check mark () to indicate the student's score.

Student

UNSATISFACTORY (1) MINIMAL (2) ADEQUATE (3) EFFECTIVE (4) EXEMPLARY (5)

Student

UNSATISFACTORY (1) MINIMAL (2) ADEQUATE (3) EFFECTIVE (4) EXEMPLARY (5)

preparation time is appropriate, students mightbe given one or more days to prepare.

Whether through direct observation or analy-sis of a videotape, the Scoring Rubric (Box C) isused to determine a rating for the performance ofeach student as a discussion participant. On theScoring Sheet (Box D), a rater enters a score foreach student using the five-point scale presentedin the rubric: 1 = Unsatisfactory, 2 = Minimal,3 = Adequate, 4 = Effective, and 5 = Exemplary.The scoring rubric presented is intended for highschool students. The standards of performancecould be appropriately lowered for younger stu-dents while maintaining both the performancecriteria and the five-point rating scale.

Training would be required before a ratercould use the Scoring Rubric (Box C) with con-fidence. The training would begin with an intro-duction to the Performance Criteria (Box A)and their definitions as presented in the preced-ing section of this scoring guide. After raters areclear about the meaning of each criterion, theyare introduced to the Scoring Rubric (Box C).

Once acquainted with the PerformanceCriteria (Box A) and Scoring Rubric (Box C),raters being trained are ready to view an actualvideotape of a student discussion. Two viewingswill be necessary at first; one to get oriented to thediscussion topic and the students, and a second toattend carefully to the performance of each stu-dent. Following the second viewing, raters record a

score for each student on the Scoring Sheet (BoxD). When determining their ratings, raters shouldappeal to the descriptors for performances charac-terized as Unsatisfactory, Minimal, Adequate,Effective, or Exemplary as presented in theScoring Rubric (Box C). When raters disagreeabout a rating, they should refer to these descrip-tors again in an effort to resolve the disagreement.

Reliability. Additional videotapes should beused as needed for raters to reach agreement intheir ratings. To help work toward agreement, oneor more videotapes, previously rated by experts,could be used to present prototypical perfor-mances for the four ratings. As an additionaltraining aid, the generic descriptions for eachrating presented in the Scoring Rubric (Box C)could be elaborated to include specific examplesof things students might say when discussing aparticular policy issue.

Agreement among raters is critical for estab-lishing reliability. Are the ratings consistentamong scorers? Is the rating given by oneteacher the same as that given by another? Theanswers to these questions must be "yes" if we areto have confidence that the ratings are reliable.Teachers must be able to report to students, par-ents, and the public that these ratings are notarbitrary claims based merely on subjectivewhims. Scores of various teachers should beperiodically compared and the degree of agree-ment should be examined.

296' 3 6

There are various ways to establish reliability.One recommended here is to determine the per-centage of agreement among raters by simply cal-culating the percentage of students who receivethe same score from various scorers. There wouldbe a minimum of two raters, and an expectationthat they would agree at least three-fourths of thetime. Beyond this reliability standard of 75%agreement, we might add the requirement thatwhen raters do disagree, most of the time (per-haps 75%), the disagreement is no more than onepoint on the four-point rating scale. Once theseor other standards of reliability have been met,the training of the raters is complete.

Having been trained, raters are ready to evalu-ate student performance. Individual teachers whohave been trained could use the Scoring Sheet(Box D) to assess the performance of their ownstudents. Once a teacher's ratings are establishedas reliable, it becomes unnecessary to have a sec-ond rater for discussions scored by that teacher.

For larger scale program assessments, wheresmall groups are sampled from the classes of sev-eral different teachers, possibly from differentschools, three raters would be desirable toenhance reliability. Each rater scores each studentindependently. If all three ratings were the same,the common rating would be entered (for exam-ple, ratings of 2, 2, and 2 would be scored as 2).If two ratings were the same and the third ratingdiscrepant by only one point, the discrepant rat-ing would be eliminated (for example, ratings of1, 1, and 2 would be scored as 1). If there wereratings of three consecutive points, the middlerating would be entered (for example, ratings of2, 3, and 4 would be scored as 3). The onlyremaining possibility would be three differentratings separated by more than two points. Inthat case, the midpoint between the highest andlowest rating would be entered.

Students, teachers, evaluators, and researchersare encouraged to use the authentic assessmenttools presented in this guide to promote robustand civil discussion of public issues by youngpeople.

ReferencesBarber, Benjamin R. "Public Talk and Civic Action:

Education for Participation in a Strong Democracy. "Social Education 53 (October 1989): 355-370.

Newmann, Fred M. " A Test of Higher OrderThinking in Social Studies: Persuasive Writing onConstitutional Issues Using the NAEP Approach."

Social Education 54 (October 1990): 369-373.. "The Assessment of Discourse in Social Studies."

In Toward a New Science of Educational Testing and

Assessment, edited by Harold Berlak et al. Albany,N.Y.: SUNY press, 1992.

Oliver, Donald W., and Fred M. Newmann. TakingA Stand A Guide to Clear Discussion of Public Issues.

Middletown, Conn.: Xerox Corporation/AmericanEducation Publications, 1967.

Oliver, Donald W., and James P. Shaver. Teaching PublicIssues in the High School. Logan, Utah: Utah State

University Press, 1974 (originally published in 1966).Parker, Walter C. "Participatory Citizenship: Civics in

the Strong Sense." Social Education 53 (October1989): 353-354.

Resnick, Lauren B. and Daniel P. Resnick "Assessingthe Thinking Curriculum: New Tools for Educa-tional Reform." In Changing Assessments: Alternative

Views of Aptitude, Achievement, and Instruction, edit-

ed by Bernard R. Gifford and Mary C. O'Connor.Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1991.

3967

Parl e: IleacIntroduction bq Nano Fichtman On

er lio

1part Nine of the Handbook on Teaching SocialIssues focuses on teacher education andsupervision. The two chapters in this sec-tion explore the initial preparation of issues-centered teachers as well as the supervisionof practicing issues-centered teachers.

Chapter 32 explores the question, "How canteacher educators best prepare issues-centeredteachers?" by providing an overview of currentteacher education practices at institutions of high-er education. Three areas are discussed: generaleducation coursework, professional educationcoursework, and field-based experiences. Throughanalysis of prospective teacher experiences in thesethree areas, three recommendations are made forteacher educators: 1. that they join with arts andscience faculty to move large lecture survey cours-es in the social sciences toward courses that focuson major social problems pursued in depth, 2. thatthey augment the pedagogical practices of currentsocial studies methods courses with the discussionof literature and case studies, and 3. that theymake a commitment to locate and develop issues-centered field experiences for prospective teachers.

In contrast to the focus on initial teacher edu-cation in Chapter 32, Chapter 33 turns to thedevelopment of practicing teachers, exploring thequestion, "How can supervisors best serve prac-ticing teachers who use issues-centered instruc-tion?" Jerich argues for issues-centered teachersto take charge of their professional growth byconducting self-analysis of their teaching withthe aid of the supervisor. This can be accom-plished when clinical supervision (characterizedby collegiality and equal control of agendabetween teacher and supervisor) replaces bureau-cratic supervision. Jerich describes the clinicalsupervision process in depth and offers bothteachers and teacher educators a new perspective

a ervisio

on professional development.The reader can explore both key components of

teacher education and supervision in this section:initial teacher preparation and continuing teachereducation. While the issues surrounding prospec-tive teacher education and practicing teachereducation are sufficiently numerous for each tomerit its own chapter, the separation is an artificialdichotomy. In addition to examining prospectiveteacher education and practicing teacher education,it is important to consider the benefits of prospec-tive and practicing teacher collaboration. Hence,after reading the two chapters in this section ofthe Handbook, I invite the reader to ponder thequestion: "How can we bring together prospectiveteachers, practicing teachers, and teacher educatorsto discuss, provide, and continually improveissues-centered instruction for all children?"

This question may be answered through theformation of partnerships. Chapter 32 suggeststhat partnerships be formed between college ofeducation faculty and arts and science faculty tofocus on major social problems. Chapter 33 sug-gests that the supervisor and practicing teacherbecome partners in the supervision process.Perhaps what is most needed, however, is thedevelopment of a strong, overarching school-uni-versity collaborative partnership.

School-university partnerships involve prac-ticing teachers, university faculty, and undergrad-uate students teaching and researching togetherto co-develop and examine curricular changes inpublic schools and teacher education programs.Establishing a school-university collaboration thatcenters on providing issues-centered instruction ata particular school site may help social studiesteacher educators and those involved in the educa-tion of social studies teachers implement the recom-mendations made in this section of the Handbook

308

AN SSUES-CENTERED TEACHER EDUCATIONbn Nanc Fichtman Dana

11

ssues-centered education incorporates ateaching approach that emphasizes reflectiveand critical thinking during the study ofissues. The approach does not intend toframe definitive "right answers" but under-scores the need for students to become more

thoughtful. An issues-centered approachengages students in the critical examination ofsocial practices as they study the social implica-tions of persistent issues. This chapter reportsdata from a survey of social studies teacher edu-cators concerning how they prepare teachers inthe issues-centered approach, and identifiessome problems and possibilities inherent in suchpreparation. It also builds a case for an issues-centered teacher education that underscores theneed for teachers to become more reflectiveabout their beliefs regarding social studies teach-ing and learning. Similar to the goals of issues-centered instruction, an issues-centered teachereducation creates opportunities for preserviceteachers to engage in critical examination ofsocial practices alongside educational practicesand their social implications.

Issues-Centered Teacher EducationPrograms

To gain insight into the present scope ofissues-centered teacher education, I conductedan informal written survey of members of theIssues-Centered Special Interest Group (SIG)of the National Council for the Social Studies.A questionnaire asked each of the 55 SIG mem-bers to identify issues-centered courses forelementary, middle, and high school preserviceteachers in the following areas: 1. general edu-cation coursework; 2. social studies course prepa-ration; 3. specialized methods coursework;4. other education coursework; and 5. field-

based experiences. Respondents were also asked:In what ways are preservice elementary, mid-

dle, and high school teachers engaged withcritical examination of social issues and prac-tices throughout their coursework?

What issues-centered literature (text/readings)do you use/recommend in your course?

Responses to the survey were limited, withinformation received from only teacher educatorsat Florida State University, Penn StateUniversity, Rutgers University, San Diego StateUniversity, Stanford University, University ofNew Orleans, University of Washington, andUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison. Additionally,one response was from a high school teacher andanother was unidentified.

The table on page 300 summarizes informa-tion about issues-centered courses requiredof preservice teachers at the responding universi-ties. Because Stanford did not cite specific courseofferings, it is not included. Its fifth-year teachereducation program prepares high school teach-ers. While its program is not issues-centered,many of Stanford's education courses and semi-nars treat problems and issues.

The table reveals commonalities among vari-ous universities' programs and, thus, insights intothe preparation of issues-centered teachers. Afterresearching the literature on issues-centeredinstruction, the structure of universities, andteacher education, I found three general areas, asthey relate to the preparation of issues-centeredsocial studies teachers, worthy of discussion: gen-eral education coursework, professional educa-tion coursework, and field-based experiences.

General Education CourseworkAll but two of the surveyed institutions note

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some type of issues-centered experience catego-rized as general education coursework. The liter-ature discloses that a majority of general educa-tion courses are introductory or survey courses,are quite large in number, and are delivered in alecture hall. Common (1993, 9) noted:

Large classes and lecturing now replace,especially at the undergraduate level, semi-nars and Socratic conversation as the insti-tutions' ideas of best practice. It is difficultto argue that a professor standing at a podi-um with a microphone around her neck andtelling a class of six hundred about the caus-es of the American War of Independence isa scholarly act.... Teaching at the universityis linked so much to lecturing that buildingdesigns incorporate large lecture halls asstandard institutional issue.

In order to meet general education require-ments (such as courses in the social sciences)for the purposes of subject-matter preparation,preservice social studies teachers may completemany courses that do not model issues-centeredinstruction. Griffin (1992, 13-14) wrote:

The present writer has been unable to findanyone who will say flatly, "The subject-matter preparation of history teachers neednot be guided by a conception of what his-tory teachers are supposed to do with sub-ject-matter." That there is at least some pre-sumptive connection seems so obvious thatone is somewhat diffident about saying it.Yet the casual fashion in which departmentsof education "farm out" students to subject-matter specialists, and the absence fromeducational literature of any but the mostperfunctory allusions to how teacher-con-trolled subject matter is supposed to func-tion within the experience of children,forces the conclusions that few institutionshave taken the question seriously.

The issues-centered teacher educator mustnot casually send preservice teachers to otherdepartments for subject-matter preparation.Designers of teacher education programs mustlook critically at what is occurring in othercoursework, and perhaps join together with fac-ulty across the university to help develop issues-centered courses in the social sciences for preser-

vice teachers. Engle and Ochoa (1988, 129)wrote of the social studies curriculum, "If surveycourses are to exist at all, they must include majorsocial problems pursued in depth." Surely, thesame must be true for the social studies teachereducation curriculum.

To address this issue, it may be imperativethat those committed to creating an issues-cen-tered teacher education program form partner-ships with arts and sciences professors.Mehlinger (1981, 259) discussed the gulf thathas existed historically between those who teachcourses associated with the academic disciplinesand those responsible for courses in professionaleducation:

The separation between Arts and Scienceprofessors and School of Education profes-sors that marks the preservice training ofteachers is also rather typical of in-serviceand continuing education of teachers leadingto advanced degrees. The exception occurswhen a college or university has received agrant from a private or government founda-tion to conduct a teacher institute. Then,cooperation between Arts and Science andEducation professors tends to be the rulerather than the exception. It appears that wecooperate if we are bribed to do so. Withouta financial incentive to tear down the institu-tional barriers, we prefer our isolation.

Historically, such partnerships are the resultof outside incentives. One such example mightbe in tenure and promotion criteria. The basis ofthe success of professors, particularly at largeresearch institutions, for example, is more com-monly based on their research and writing thantheir teaching. If innovation in teaching werevalued as highly as innovation in research, artsand sciences professors and education professorsmight be more likely to collaborate to developoutstanding teaching models and courses, inparticular, the reconceptualization of existinglarge lecture courses to incorporate the analysisof major social problems.

Professional Education CourseworkAs the survey data indicates, of the three

coursework categories related to professionaleducationsocial studies course preparation,specialized methods coursework, and othereducation courseworkthe issues-centered

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approach is more dominant in social studiesmethods coursework. The survey question con-cerning the critical examination of social issuesand practices in methods coursework presentedmany insights. For discussion's sake, the respons-es are categorized into prefatory knowledge,engagement and exploration, and teaching.

Prefatory knowledge contains activities thatintroduce preservice teachers to the notion ofissues-centered instruction. Respondents sharedsuch examples as simply defining social issuesand viewing various steps and models for devel-oping and dealing with issues in the classroom.These activities build preservice teachers' basicknowledge, and provide readiness for engagementand exploration, the category that drew the largestnumber of activities within the survey. Throughsuch activities as Socratic seminars, debates,panel discussions, simulations, group work, andclassroom discussion, preservice teachers exam-ine and explore social issues. Responses thatrelate to teaching inform about preservice teach-ers' planning and presentation of instruction,such as identifying issues for a particular unit,designing the unit, and developing activities fordealing with identified issues.

Preservice teachers who are exploring issues-centered instruction are advised to read works bythe leaders in the field, including Nelson,Carlson, Palonsky, Saxe, Evans, Engle, Shaver,Stanley, Aronowitz, Giroux, Apple, Oliver,Shaver, Hunt, Metcalf, Massialas, Cox, Fenton,Chapin, Gross, Ochoa, Lockwood, Harris, andZola. To prepare for the study of issues that mayemerge from student exploration, issues-centeredteacher educators must expand their collection ofkey readings and literature to assist with class-room issues analysis.

Adler (1991, 79) recommended the use of lit-erature in social studies methods classes to helpteacher educators solve the pedagogical problemthat faces them, which is:

finding the stimuli which will open studentsto asking questions, to taking new perspec-tives, to examining alternatives. This prob-lem of teacher education is the problem ofliberal education generally: how can weemancipate students from mindlessness;how can we free them for the difficult taskof making choices.

Adler has required Arthur Miller's drama The

302

Crucible (1953) and Chinua Achebe's novelThings Fall Apart (1959) in her social studiesmethods courses. According to Adler, the issuesraised in these novelsindividual freedom,law and authority, and social conscienceare rel-evant to a consideration of citizenship in ademocracy (The Crucible) and confronting endur-ing questions about what it means to live in asocial world (Things Fall Apart). Adler (1991, 81)asserted that such literature:

can be used to raise questions concerningmoral commitment and ethical action. Mostsocial studies textbooks convey seeminglyobjective facts, with little sense of personalchoices or decisions. The personal, emotive,empathetic response to literary works canfacilitate the discussion of ethical and polit-ical issues as they relate to issues and topicsin social studies. Students can thus be showna perspective on social studies knowledgeand curriculum which includes questions ofwhat is right and good, and why. Such ques-tions can be brought to bear, as well, onissues of teaching and schooling.

Teacher educators can help their studentsfurther explore issues of teaching and schoolingin methods classes through the case-studymethod, an instructional technique in which theprofessor presents in narrative form the majoringredients of a problematic teaching situationand preservice teachers engage in problemsolving (Kowalski, Weaver, and Henson, 1990).Doyle (1990) and Shulman (1987) were amongnoted scholars who advocated the infusion of thecase study method into preservice teacher educa-tion coursework. As teacher educators recog-nized that teaching is a complex, situation-specific, and dilemma-ridden endeavor, interestin this method resurfaced. According toWassermann (1993, xiii), "cases are not intendedto present the 'unhappy' faces of teaching; theyare meant to provide pictures of life in schools,raising issues that beg for enlightened andinformed examination." The case-study methodis consistent with issues-centered instruction, asteacher educators may use cases to raise issuescentral to the teaching of social studies, conse-quently leading preservice teachers in the criticalexamination of educational practices and theirsocial implications.

Recently published texts contain appropriate

3

cases, e.g., Shulman and Mesa-Bains (1990),Kowalski, Weaver, and Henson (1990),Wassermann (1993), and Silverman, Welty, andLyons (1992). "The Case of Joan Martin,Marilyn Coe, and Warren Groves" (Silverman etal. 1992, 60) is such an example; it tells the storyof a child named Donald who has been main-streamed into a regular classroom for social stud-ies instruction. In the text of the case, DonaldGarcia is described as:

a 9-year-old, (who) had spent two years inthe self-contained LD class. He was an onlychild, living with his mother and father. . . .

The Committee on Special Educationreport noted that Donald's mother, whosenative language was Spanish, spoke Englishwith some difficulty. Donald understoodbut did not speak Spanish.

Conflict arises in this case when Donald doespoorly on social studies quizzes and the class-room teacher, the special education teacher, andthe elementary school principal hold differentviews regarding the role of mainstreaming andDonald's performance in the regular classroom.Preservice teachers may examine these issues inrelation to this case: social studies instruction forspecial needs students, mainstreaming, assess-ment of social studies learning, dealing withdiversity, and the practice of labeling children.(See Dana and Floyd 1993, 1994 for further dis-cussion of this case within methods instruction.)

Cases provide the context from which issuesmay emerge as preservice teachers study eachproblematic situation. Saxe (1994, 111) discussedthe use of issues in the teaching of social studiesas "something spontaneous; that is, issues can anddo emerge when children are studying or dis-cussing or making observations about a particu-lar phenomenon." Saxe differentiated betweenissues raised by children and issues raised byadults, and teacher educators are wise to keep thisdifference in mind, remembering that issues theyraise may not be fully understood or have value topreservice teachers. During case study discus-sions, preservice teachers may raise issues theyfeel are key, which may differ from a specific issuethe teacher educator had in mind for explorationand discussion. To ensure the exploration ofissues important to preservice teachers, teachereducators may supplement commercially pre-pared case-study discussion with discussion of

cases written by the preservice teachers them-selves, possibly from a field experience coupledwith the methods class.

Field-Based ExperiencesField experience is a critical component of the

learning-to-teach process. For example, Guytonand McIntyre (1990, 514-34) reported that manyteachersgraduates of teacher education pro-gramsremarked that field experiences are the{{most beneficial segments of the teacher educa-tion program." Even though field-based experi-ences may be a key component in the educationof the issues-centered teacher, the survey dataindicated that few field experiences were issues-centered. Two universities did not identify anyfield-based experience as issues-centered. Of thesix remaining institutions, two indicated issues-centered field-based programs were "sometimes"offered, and one institution noted that only onestudent each semester was placed in an issues-centered classroom.

Issues-centered field experiences may notnow be a featured component of preserviceissues-centered teacher preparation becauseteacher educators may not have identified exem-plary issues-centered social studies teachers.As institutions confront the logistical difficultiesof placing preservice teachers in the field, theymay not overtly seek issues-centered teachers ascooperating teachers. Rather, if preservice teach-ers are placed with issues-centered teachers, itoccurs by chance. To maximize the influence ofan issues-centered field experience, seekingexemplary issues-centered teachers must becomea priority of teacher educators.

Of course, there may be an even simplerexplanation for the limited use of issues-centered field experiencea sufficient number ofexemplary issues-centered teachers with which toplace preservice teachers may not exist. If this isthe case, the teacher educator and school person-nel can collaborate to focus on issues-centeredinstruction within the field experience. For exam-ple, the practicing/cooperating teacher may iden-

what topic the preservice teacher should coverduring the placement. The preservice teacher,with help from the university supervisor, thenidentifies issues related to that particular topicand designs and implements lessons and activitiesfor analyzing these issues. In this way preserviceteachers are approaching the expected curriculumin a way consistent with issues-centered instruc-

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tion. An added bonus to this plan is that preser-vice teachers may help practicing teachers under-stand and begin to use issues-centered instructionthemselves. If interest in issues-centered instruc-tion begins to surface in the cooperating schools,teacher educators can offer to provide in-serviceprogramming on issues-centered instruction.

Action Plan for Issues-CenteredTeacher Educators

Within this chapter we have explored threecomponents of an issues-centered teacher educa-tiongeneral education coursework, profession-al education coursework, and field-based experi-ences. Recommended actions that teacher educa-tors may take to enhance successful preparationof preservice teachers in issues-centered instruc-tion are 1. joining with arts and sciences facultyto move large lecture survey courses in the socialsciences toward courses that focus on major socialproblems pursued in depth, 2. augmenting cur-rent social studies methods courses' pedagogicalpractices with the discussion of literature andcase studies, and 3. making a commitment toensure issues-centered field experiences.

While these actions are central to providingan issues-centered teacher education, a muchlarger issue looms. Each institution surveyednoted in some way that, although issues-centeredcoursework was offered, the courses did not existindependently as issues-centered. The courseswere issues-centered depending upon who wasteaching them. Thus, the creation and implemen-tation of an issues-centered teacher educationprogram composed of issues-centered courses, nomatter how well planned or envisioned, most like-ly will not occur until the faculty and instructorsfor those courses are committed to issues-cen-tered instruction. Issues-centered social studiesteacher educators, therefore, have a responsibilityto help all educators understand and implementissues-centered instruction, whether it be by shar-ing course syllabi with colleagues or writing arti-cles about issues-centered instruction for otherteacher educators. It is in such actions that thepromise of issues-centered teacher education lies.

ReferencesAchebe, C. Things Fall Apart. New York: Random

House, 1959.Adler, S. "Forming a Critical Pedagogy in the Social

Studies Methods Class: The Use of Imaginative

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Literature." In Issues and Practices in Inquiry-OrientedTeacher Education, edited by B. R. Tabachnich and K.Zeichner, 77-90. London: Farmer Press, 1991.

Christensen, J. C., and L. S. Tafel, ed. 'Diversity in Today's

Classroom: Teacher Education's Challenge."Action in

Teacher Education 12, no. 3 (1990): v.

Common, D. L. "Toward the Creation of anEducational Culture and the Restructuring ofAmerican Universities." Paper presented at the annualmeeting of the American Educational ResearchAssociation, Atlanta, Georgia, February 1993.

Dana, N. F., and D. M. Floyd. "Preparing PreserviceTeachers for the Multicultural Classroom: A Reporton the Case Study Approach." Paper presented atthe annual meeting of the Association of TeacherEducators conference, Los Angeles, California,February 1993.

Dana, N. F., and D. M. Floyd. "When Teacher EducatorsCollaboratively Reflect on Their Practices: A CaseStudy on Teaching Cases." Paper presented at theannual meeting of the Association of Teacher Educa-tors conference, Atlanta, Georgia, February 1994.

Doyle, W. "Case Methods in the Education ofTeachers." Teacher Education Quarterly 17, no. 1

(1990): 7-15.Engle, S., and A. Ochoa. Education for Democratic

Citizenship. New York: Teachers College Press, 1988.Grant, C. A., and W. G. Secada. "Preparing Teachers

for Diversity." In Handbook of Research on Teacher

Education, edited by W. R. Houston, 33-40.New York: Macmillan, 1990.

Griffin, A. F. A Philosophical Approach to the Subject-

Matter Preparation of Teachers of History.1942.

Reprint, Washington, D.C.: National Council forthe Social Studies, 1992.

Guyton, E., and D. J. McIntyre. "Student Teaching andSchool Experiences." In Handbook of Research on

Teacher Education, edited by W. R. Houston, 514-34.New York Macmillan, 1990.

Howey, K. R., and N. L. Zimpher. Profiles of Preservice

Teacher Education. Albany: State University of NewYork Press, 1989.

Kowalski, T. J., R A. Weaver, and K. T. Henson. CaseStudies on Teaching. New York: Longman, 1990.

Mehlinger, H., and 0. L. Davis Jr., eds. The SocialStudies. Eightieth Yearbook of the National Society for

the Study of Education. Part II. Chicago, Ill.:University of Chicago Press, 1981.

Miller, A. The Crucible. New York: Bantam Books, 1952.Robards, S. "President's Message."Action in Teacher

Education 12, no. 3 (1990):Saxe, D. W. Social Studies for the Elementary Teacher.

Boston: Allyn-Bacon, 1994.

Shulman, L. S. "Toward a Pedagogy of Cases: A Visionfor Teacher Education" Audiocassette recording ofspeech by author. Reston, Va.: Association of TeacherEducators, 1987.

Shulman, J., and Mesa-Bains, ed. Teaching DiverseStudents: Cases and Commentaries. San Francisco:

Far West Laboratory, 1990.Silverman, R., W. M. Welty, and S. Lyon. Case Studies

for Teacher Problem Solving. New York McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1992.

Wassermann, S. Getting Down to Cases: Learning toTeach with Case Studies. New York Teachers CollegePress, 1993.

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3i

SUP RVISION FOR TEACHER GROWTH INREF ECTIVE, ISSUES-CENTERED TEACHING- PRACTICEbh He eth F. Jelich

0enfleeedcteidvefotresachdienngts etnoceonugraaggeesinththee skill

neededanalysis and discussion of issues. Its

principles include identifying a problem,developing hypotheses, testing hypotheses,developing conclusions, applying conclu-

sions to new data, facilitating an open classroomdiscussion, incorporating empathy and accep-tance, and establishing and maintaining rapportwith students. To maximize the potential ofreflective teaching for issues-centered instructionrequires appropriate forms of supervision. Just asreflective teaching can be enhanced by supervi-sion that is designed to promote a thoughtful,well-informed classroom, it can be obstructedby certain kinds of hierarchical and excessivelyprogrammatic supervision.

The supervision of teaching practice should bestructured to provide opportunities for teachersto reflect upon their teaching, its relationship tolearner needs and its contribution to long-termteacher growth. To further these objectives, bothteachers and administrators need to address somefundamental questions. These include: Whatcombination of supervisory practice, teachergrowth and teacher evaluation is likely to promotesignificant and meaningful learning in the reflec-tive, issues-centered classroom? To what extent doschool leaders view the reflective, issues-centeredclassroom as central to a school's mission, curricu-lum and essential learning outcomes? And whatdoes the research on the subject indicate are thebest approaches to supervision and evaluation?

Darling-Hammond and Sclan (1992) takea position against bureaucratic supervision, as ameans for the development of teachers. Accord-ing to them, "evaluation is an ongoing set ofexperiences in which teachers examine their ownand each others' work, determine its effective-

ness, and explore alternative strategies." (8)Similarly, Gitlin and Price (1992) advocate anempowerment approach that they call "horizon-tal evaluation." This approach asks teachers toexplore their insights on how alternative teachingpractices may contribute to the reshaping andimprovement of their teaching, and to examinethe differences between what they plan for andwhat really happens in the classroom.

In what ways can supervising a teacherchange instructional practice? Grimmett, Rostadand Ford (1992) argue that the ways in whichsupervisors try to bring about change in instruc-tion can either produce a cataclysmic effect ona teacher's morale or produce a collaborative cul-ture. In the former case, a teacher often feelsoverwhelmed by high expectations and becomeshighly dependent upon and/or resistant to thesupervisor. In the latter, a teacher experiencesa sense of professional empowerment and thesupervisor is seen as an orchestrator enabling theteacher to lead students into "new knowledge,skills, behavior and dispositions." (186). Accord-ing to Grimmett, Rostad and Ford, teacherdevelopment can take place in an environment ofcollegiality in which a teacher can reflectivelytransform the classroom experience.

One mode of supervision that is generally rec-ognized in the field to be effective is known as clin-ical supervision, as formulated by Goldhammer(1969) and Cogan (1973). Sergiovanni and Starratt(1973), and Sergiovanni (1985) suggest that clini-cal supervision should have a broad conceptualbasis. They treat reflection as a central characteris-tic of successful supervisory practice, a positionstrongly endorsed by Goldhammer and Cogan(Goldhammer, Anderson and Krajewski 1980).In a setting characterized by this form of supervi-sion, the analysis of instruction incorporates sup-

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portive methods that are congruent with howteachers develop and refine their teaching. Holland(1989) suggests that this mode of supervision maybe used for evaluative purposes only if it is cast interms of "formative teacher evaluation." Of course,no implementation of one mode of supervisioncontrasted to another escapes criticism (Garman,Glickman, Hunter, and Haggerson 1987). Properlyunderstood and used conceptually, however, clinicalsupervision provides an avenue for teacher growth,positive reflection on teacher practices, and creativity inthe evaluative process.

McGreal (1983) has also argued that success-ful teacher evaluation is closely linked to clinicalsupervision. In the 1993 American EducationalResearch Association Instructional SupervisionSpecial Interest Group Keynote Address,McGreal argued as well that summative evalua-tion for teachers should be eliminated andreplaced with formative evaluation (1993).

Clinical supervision is more than profession-al supervision, which incorporates a collegialrelationship among professionals, with teachersworking together in an open fashion. It is alsomore than instructional supervision, which isbased on a work setting that focuses on improv-ing instruction and curriculum. Clinical supervi-sion embodies both professional supervision andinstructional supervision, and is seen as beingdevelopmentally based. Characteristics of clini-cal supervision include collegiality, equal controlof agenda between teacher and supervisor, anobjective data base for reflective self-analysisabout one's teaching, as opposed to the subjec-tive expression of opinions, and strategies forthe improvement of instruction that are based onthe misinterpretation of data. The phases ofclinical supervision (pre-conferencing, data col-lection of teaching, analysis of data from lesson,post-conferencing) are occasions for interactionbetween teachers and supervisors aimed atimproving instruction.

Clinical supervision includes:Identifying the reflective, issues-centeredteacher's concerns about instruction.

Translating the teacher's concerns intoobservable behaviors.

Identifying procedures for improvingthe teacher's instruction.

Assisting the teacher in setting self-improve-ment goals for instruction.

Providing the teacher with feedback, using

objective observational data for instruction.Eliciting the teacher's inferences, opinionsand feelings about instruction.

Encouraging the teacher to consideralternative lesson objectives and methodsfor instruction.2

For teachers, beginning or experienced, clini-cal supervision may be disquieting in the begin-ning stages of the supervisory process if all thatthey want the supervisor to do is to directly tellthem what the good and bad features were abouttheir teaching. If the supervisor falls victim tothis procedure, then the teacher successfullyshifts the entire responsibility for the teaching actto the supervisor. Teachers must develop the dis-position of taking ownership and conductingself-analysis of their teaching with the aid of thesupervisor to realize teacher growth over time.This is especially true for beginning teachers.

Bureaucratic supervision needs to be replacedby clinical supervision, through which theteacher and supervisor work together to estab-lish goals, consider alternatives, and establishmutually decided upon strategies for teachergrowth (Jerich 1989). Direct supervision strate-gies should be replaced with collaborative andnon-directive supervisory strategies in whichteachers and supervisors interact with eachother.3 I would suggest that for clinical supervi-sion to be considered effective, supervision mustultimately help teachers reach the goal of engag-ing their students in high cognitive studentinitiated learningwhere students freely attachshort- and long-term significance and meaning-fulness to their learning.

The typical classroom situation at presentposes major problems for the reflective teacher(Anrig and Lapointe 1989; Prawat 1993; Raths,Harmin and Simon 1986). The research of Berryand Ginsberg (1990) discovered that all toooften classrooms are dominated by prescribedinstructional models, strategies, and skills forteaching that emphasize techniques known as"direct instruction." Additionally, Berry andGinsberg (1990, 169) state:

The challenge for the future, according tosome scholars, is to transform the typicalclassroom, with a single teacher lecturing tolarge numbers of students who are requiredto do seatwork and use "dumbed-down"textbooks, to new classrooms, with teams of

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teachers helping students make complexconstruction of knowledge. In these newclassrooms, students would be expected toorganize and monitor their own learningand engage in collaborative and situationalspecific learning activities.4

Schmuck and Schmuck (1990), in theiranalysis of democratic participation in small-town schools, observed more than 50 classes and"soared to heights of delight in some and sank todepths of disappointment in others." (16) Theyremarked that they saw some classes that wereexciting, captivating and quite imaginative. Also,they remarked

We were disappointed, however, more oftenthan we were delighted. Like other educa-tor writers, we witnessed, in 80% of theclasses, what Ned Flanders in 1970 calledthe rule of two thirds; two thirds of class-room talk is teacher's talk, and two thirds ofthat is unidirectional lecturing...With ourexperience we would modify Flanders'means to the rule of three fourths. Theclasses were typically teacher centered; wesaw teachers standing in front lecturing torows of students, with only occasional stu-dent talk as a response to teacher questions(Schmuck and Schmuck, 1990, 17).

Dispositions and InstructionAs a point of departure for the examination of

these questions, let us hypothesize, for example,that the use of the Hunter model for lesson plan-ning and instruction to evaluate the reflective,issues-centered teacher (Hunter and Russell,1981) represents the established instructionaland evaluation procedure for a school system.According to this approach, the teacher wouldbegin each class period by announcing the objec-tives for the lesson. Primarily, a lecture-basedteaching approach would be used following theseven basic steps for instruction as outlined byHunter. According to the expectations estab-lished by this school system, the teacher wouldanswer student questions and continue with thelecture/discussion format.

Let us hypothesize also that reflective, issues-centered instruction, for example, the Value-Conflict model of instruction (Hunt and Metcalf,1968), represents an established format for teach-

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ing social studies in a school system. According tothis approach, the majority of class time would bespent on discussions, gaming situations, anddebates among the students. During the debates,perhaps, the students who held strong beliefsabout a certain viewpoint would be asked todefend a different position encouraging them toconsider new viewpoints and values that were dif-ferent from their current beliefs. Students wouldbe engaged in reflective learning geared towardsocial problem solving. The teacher's role wouldbe to act as a mediator and initiator with the dis-position that no teacher judgments or statementswould influence the students' attitudes toward acertain answer. A major goal of the teacher, per-haps, would be to develop a student who couldlook at the various facts presented by a problemand reach some answer by rational thought.

Can a mental picture be created to constructwhat the reflective, issues-centered teacher andstudents would have experienced, that is, seeingtwo different worlds of teaching and learning,if they had witnessed the instructional ebb andflow over time for these two types of classes? Dosome teaching approaches work better with cer-tain kinds of content? What kind of classroommicroculture would exist in each case? Wouldstudent essays derived from non-reflective,issues-centered instruction contain a high levelof citation of facts and particulars, but lack anoverall sense of reflection, integrative thought,and creativity? Would student essays derivedfrom reflective, issues-centered instructiondemonstrate the use of integrative thought andcreative expression throughout the essays? Towhat extent would the two groups of students beable to hypothesize an array of solutions to aproblem set forth in the examination? Wouldthere be any substantial difference in the level ofreflection and inquiry in the essays between thetwo groups of students? Would there be any sub-stantial differences in learning outcomesachieved by the two groups of students?

In our hypothetical setting, would the reflec-tive, issues-centered teacher be able to infuseappropriate knowledge bases to structure andexecute various teaching repertoires for the class?In contrast, what kind of knowledge bases wouldthe non-reflective, issues-centered teacher use?Could a teacher attribute the use of these types ofknowledge bases to the experience of supervisoryconferences? More importantly, can a teachermake necessary changes in units of instruction as

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a result of supervisory input? Can the quality ofa supervision program make an "imprint" on ateacher to a degree that it translates into effectiveteaching and influences the sense students haveof a positive learning environment in the class-room?

Strategies for Supervising theReflective, Issues-Centered Teacher

In view of the above concerns, effective super-visors (instructional leaders) should possess aprofessional disposition for using clinical super-vision to improve teaching, as well as strategiesfor supervising the reflective, issues-centeredteacher for the improvement of instruction(Garman 1990; Murphy 1990; Rallis 1990).

Supervisory DispositionsAs defined by Katz and Raths (1985), the

term "disposition" is used "to designate actionsand characterize their frequency, for example,asking higher level questions, rewarding approx-imations, guiding classroom discussions, encour-aging students' creativity, and planning worth-while experiences in the classroom." (303) Forexample, effective supervisors might havea disposition toward helping teachers to self-analyze their teaching if they make use of thisstrategy on frequent occasions in several con-texts. The context for this disposition mightoccur during consultation, for example, during apre-conference or post-conference.

The goals for supervisory treatments ought toinclude what Darling-Hammond and Sclan(1992) viewed as an ongoing set of experienceswhere teachers take control of the examinationprocess, and where dispositions are strengthened.What supervisory methods best ensure that thereflective, issues-centered teacher will have a dis-position to go on learning after having contactwith a supervisor? It is helpful if supervisorsregard teachers as clients, not as subordinates.Issues-centered and reflective teaching andsupervision should go hand-in-hand.

If Hunter's supervision model is used, forexample, the focus of supervision becomes undif-ferentiated (Garman and Hazi 1988). The frameof reference is exclusively the supervisor's.Negative reinforcement dominates the interac-tions of the conference. A checklist approach toidentify the good and bad things that happen inthe classroom dominates the focus of the class-room observation analysis. If this approach is

used to interact with reflective, issues-centeredteachers, they may be overwhelmed by the num-ber of suggestions. Reflective, issues-centeredteachers, for example, might have the feeling thatthey can never improve to the degree implied bythe criticism and that the conference gives themno grounds for improving. The idea of confirm-ing that teachers either taught extremely well orthat they failed represents a form of bureaucraticsupervision which has for its purpose a certainkind of quality control. The agenda is determinedby the administrator.

In contrast, clinical supervision requires theopposite approach. First, clinical supervision isnot seen as using a "Laundry List" of superviso-ry techniques in which the supervisor points toall the good and bad acts that occurred in thechronological order of a lesson. Clinical supervi-sion is collegial; the reflective, issues-centeredteacher and supervisor can work together toestablish goals, develop evaluation and consideralternatives. It is based on data rather than opin-ion or impressions. Data are interpreted in termsof theory or the wisdom of the profession. Theteacher takes ownership of problems with opencommunication.

Second, clinical supervision is more than a"checklist" approach for evaluating instructionfollowed by supervisors in dealings with teach-ers. Supervisors should be able to distinguish thedifference between using a checklist and work-ing developmentally with teachers to improveteaching. A checklist-style instrument is notwell suited to the representation of subtle envi-ronmental factors in teaching and learning. Itcannot distinguish between who is dominatingthe conversation or whether the conversation isdirected toward the goal of teacher improvementor simply a meandering dialogue with no dis-cernible purpose. If the supervisors are too pre-scriptive in their dealings with teachers, especial-ly reflective, issues-centered teachers, they mayfeel intimidated and be resistant to divulgingimportant concerns. Also, little teacher self-analysis takes place if supervisors simply identi-fy crucial issues for teachers and tell them whatto do to remedy these concerns.

Third, a reflective, issues-centered teacher'sprior dispositions toward supervision for improv-ing teaching may be so strong that they mayadversely impact the very nature of the goals forclinical supervision. A major point is that allhumans, students and teachers, grow most when

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they control their own learning. Reflective teach-ers facilitate this in students, and reflective super-visors facilitate it in teachers. Collaborative effortbetween educational leaders and the reflective,issues-centered teacher is needed to promote theuse of clinical supervision instead of the use ofinterventionism for the improvement of instruc-tion. Reflective, issues-centered teachers shouldnot be subjected to supervisor experiences that"dumb down" the work of teaching and learning.

Fourth, the mode of supervision plays a directrole in the success of teaching and learning.Instructional leaders must use clinical supervi-sion to guide reflective, issues-centered teachersthrough the developmental stages for teaching.5To be effective, supervisors must be flexible andwilling to allow teachers the freedom to set thecourse of conferences and be prepared to followany number of these possible courses dependingon where reflective, issues-centered teachers wishto go with the discussion. Also, there is a need forclear direction known to both the supervisor andteacher throughout the supervisory process. Thisis especially important for reflective, issues-cen-tered teachers. Effective supervisors clearlydemonstrate the ability to remain nondirective innature and yet are flexible in providing collabora-tive opportunities for teachers to reconsiderimportant phases of their teaching that may havebeen overlooked during the conference.

Any individual who is placed in the positionof serving as an instructional supervisor must beable to distinguish the differences between non-clinical and clinical supervision (Sergiovanni1992; Smyth 1988). Those individuals who areable to identify and incorporate dispositionstoward clinical supervision into their roles assupervisors will be better able to conduct clinical-based conferences with the reflective, issues-cen-tered teacher for the improvement of instruction.

Supervisory StrategiesThe most important aspects of supervision of

the reflective, issues-centered teacher during thepre-conference phases of clinical supervisioninclude

the atmosphere of the conferencethe specification of teacher concernsobserving behaviordrawing up strategiesgoal setting and establishing a timeline

For the post conference phases of clinical

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supervision, salient features includesupervisor preparationthe presentation of datateacher self-analysis of datarelating post-conference conclusions to con-cerns identified in the pre-conference

the promotion of continued growth

Pre-Conference PhaseLet us consider five central features of the

pre-conference phase of clinical supervision.Atmosphere of the conference. An open colle-gial atmosphere between the supervisor and the

reflective, issues-centered teacher is essential forthe facilitation of maximum teacher growth.There is a delicate balance between supervisorcontrol and teacher control of the pre- and post-conferences. If the supervisor appears "wishy-washy" in the eyes of the reflective, issues-centered teacher, the teacher may question thesupervisor's effectiveness and may attempt toguide the discussion away from "dangerous" con-cerns (that need to be addressed) toward "safer"concerns (that the teacher feels will not jeopar-dize his/her summative evaluation). There mighteven be instances where the teacher does notknow what the supervisor expects and the con-ference degenerates into a situation wherethe teacher rambles on without purpose and thesupervisor adopts the role of confidant. If, on theother hand, the supervisor is too "heavy-handed"in his/her dealings with teachers, especiallyreflective, issues-centered teachers, they may feelintimidated and be reluctant to divulge impor-tant concerns. Also, little teacher self-analysistakes place if the supervisor identifies the crucialissues for the teacher and tells him/her whatto do to remedy these concerns.

The supervisor might also adopt the postureof the "distant professional" in which he/she saysvery little and writes a great deal. It is obvious tothe reflective, issues-centered teacher that thistype of supervisor is uninvolved and does not havea genuine interest in his/her welfare. Other waysin which this type of supervisor can distance him-self/herself from the teacher are: a. adjusting thefurniture in such a way as to place the supervisorbehind the desk to leave no doubt as to who is theauthority figure and who is not; b. positioninghis/her seat so that he/she faces away from theteacher (and hence closes himself/herself to amore personal style of interaction); 4. exhibiting a"closed" body posture thus resulting in further

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distancing himself/herself from the teacher; andd. using a rushed/annoyed tone of voice and fre-quently uttering short phrases (such as '11h-huh' or'O.K.') while the teacher is speaking and thus giv-ing the appearance that the supervisor wishes theteacher to "get on with it" so the conference canend. In addition, a supervisor who is uncomfort-able when dealing with teachers or who makes asuperficial attempt at congeniality or warmth willdo little in the way of convincing the reflective,issues-centered teacher that he/she sincerely caresabout his/her growth as a person or professional.6

The specification of teacher concerns.lb Specification of concerns by the reflective,issues-centered teacher fosters self-analysis. Italso provides the framework for future discus-sions in the remainder of the pre-conference andthe subsequent post-conference. The impor-tance of clearly specifying these concerns cannotbe over emphasized. If they are absent in thepre-conference, subsequent discussions lackfocus and the supervisor does not know what tolook for during the observation phase of thesupervisory cycle. These concerns should be pos-sible to deal with in the here-and-now ratherthan left for consideration in the vague future.It is not appropriate for the supervisor to solicitmore than a few concerns during the pre-confer-ence. Since it is impossible to simultaneouslygive each the attention it deserves, none will beadequately resolved. In addition, addressingmore than two or three concerns at once maycause the reflective, issues-centered teacher tofeel overwhelmed.

There is often confusion on the part of bothteacher and supervisor concerning lessongoals/objectives and teacher concerns. Teachersoften simply state their concerns in terms of whataspects of student performance they wish toaddress rather than focusing on aspects of theirown performance in relationship to the signifi-cance level of classroom instructional tasks linkedto student learning outcomes. Unfortunately, thesupervisor all too often accepts only teacher cen-tered concerns, and does not dig deeper to uncov-er the appropriate student-centered concerns.This unwillingness to "dig" for student concernsbased on the significance of the instructional taskssometimes results in the supervisor being satisfiedwhen a teacher indicates he/she is totally satisfiedwith his/her performance and cannot come upwith any student concerns at all. This smug atti-

tude is a problem in itself and is often not dealtwith by strategic questioning by the supervisor.All that is usually necessary in these instances ofabsent or inappropriate teacher concerns is thatthe supervisor listen closely to what the teacher issaying and, when necessary, guide the teacher'sefforts (by strategic probing and follow-up ques-tions) in directions that are believed to be fruitful.Once the teacher has identified these concerns,the supervisor must mirror them back to theteacher to make sure that both parties have a clearidea of what is being scrutinized.

710bservable behaviors. If the supervisor doesJnot know what to look for during the observa-tion phase, it is unlikely that he or she will be ableto gather the necessary data to address the previ-ously-identified teacher and student concerns.The identification of specific behaviors and dis-positions are often missing entirely or mistaken-ly left to the post-conference (when it is too late).

//Strategies. The successful identification ofliappropriate strategies (by the teacher) to dealwith the identified concern(s) depends on thesuccess of the previous step in the pre-confer-ence. If the formulation of strategies is left to thepost-conference (or neglected entirely), therewill be no hypothesis to test during the observa-tion and post-conference phases other than theaccuracy of the teacher's assessment of the prob-lem. What is needed is a clearly formulated planto address teacher concerns before the observa-tion takes place so that the efficacy of the plancan be evaluated during the post-conference. Inthis way, the reflective, issues-centered teachernot only gets objective observational data fromthe supervisor as to the validity of his/her con-cerns, but also sees how his/her efforts to addressthese concerns (through positive actions) maysucceed or fail. Furthermore, if the supervisor(rather than the teacher) takes on the burden ofdevising possible strategies to address teacherconcerns, the teacher will not take ownership ofthe strategies, and any success or failure will beperceived as due to the efforts of the supervisorand not the teacher. Also, if the teacher devisesthe plan, the chances are that he/she will bemore enthusiastic in its implementation, and thelikelihood for success is greater. Too often, whenthe teacher is unable to devise a strategy, thesupervisor steps in with his/her own ideas andshortcircuits the entire process.

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E Goal setting and establishing a timeline.aTeacher /supervisor confusion over exactly whatconstitutes an appropriate goal/timeline is oftenencountered in this crucial culminating step ofthe preconference phase. As was the case in the"identification of teacher concerns phase" bothparties sometimes do not distinguish betweenwhat the students are expected to do (learningoutcomes) and what the teacher is expected to do(goals to be used to remedy teacher concerns).Supervisor reactions to stated teacher goals/time-lines range from unquestioning acceptance of anyand all goals to the overly prescriptive behavior ofthe supervisor telling the teacher exactly what isto be done and when it must be accomplished.Both extremes are at odds with the spirit of clin-ical supervision. The "unquestioning acceptance"approach does not provide for the developmentof teacher self-analysis skills because "Anythingis O.K. as long as the teacher came up with it." Inaddition, it will not allow the teacher to benefitfrom the supervisor's experience with otherteachers in similar situations. The "overly-pre-scriptive" approach is similarly at odds withteacher self-analysis because (as was the case dur-ing the strategy generating phase) the supervisordoes all the work and the teacher has no voice in,and hence little ownership of, the decisions beingmade and the eventual outcome.

Post-conference phaseLet us consider five central features of the

post-conference phase of clinical supervision.1Superyisor preparation. Although the mosteffective style of clinical supervision is nondirec-

tive in nature, this does not imply a lack of prepa-ration on the part of the supervisor. In order to beeffective, the supervisor must not only be flexibleand willing to allow the reflective, issues-centeredteacher the freedom to set the course of the post-conference, but he/she must also be prepared tofollow any number of possible courses dependingon where the teacher wishes to go with the discus-sion. This preparation must include the gatheringof objective data, instruments and systems as wellas the organization of quantitative and qualitativedata to present an impartial picture of what tran-spired during the lesson being considered. If thisdata is not available or not presented in a meaning-fill manner at the appropriate time, the only "fuel"left for the post-conference discussion is opinionand speculation. As stated earlier, there is a needfor clear direction (known to both the supervisor

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and teacher) throughout the supervisory process.If preparation was lacking in an earlier phase, sub-sequent stages will suffer because they are built ona weak foundation and lack the necessary focus.

9 The presentation of data. Effective progressLo toward the resolution of teacher concerns inthe post-conference depends not only on thepresence of objective data but on the type of dataused and when it is introduced. Certain types ofdata are more appropriate than others whenaddressing certain teacher concerns. For example,Flanders's Interaction Analysis might still beappropriate for addressing concerns such as thequantity of teacher-talk versus student-talk orhow often the teacher follows student responseswith praise, but it would not be an appropriateindicator of which students were participating ina discussion or of the cognitive level and appro-priateness of the types of questions asked by thereflective, issues-centered teacher. Jadallah'sreflective teaching observation instrument is anexcellent tool for collecting this type of data?Acheson and Gall (1992) also describe severalsuitable ways to collect observation data for theclassroom. In keeping with the spirit of selfanaly-sis, the prudent supervisor will introduce appro-priate types of quantitative and/or qualitativebased data at appropriate times during the post-conference. Presenting the data too early will cir-cumvent efforts by the supervisor to have theteacher express how he/she felt about the lesson.Presenting the data too late will only result infrustration and wasted time because there isnothing (other than opinion and speculation) onwhich to base the analysis.

Teacher self-analysis of data. A common ques-tion asked by teachers during the post-confer-

ence is: "How did I do?" At this juncture, it isimportant for the supervisor to reserve commentand redirect the question back to the teacher in apsychoanalyst-like fashion: "How do you thinkyou did?" If the supervisor was to give a positiveor negative assessment at this time, the teacherwould most likely disregard any objective datathat followed and adopt the assessment of thesupervisor as his/her own. This is antithetical tothe entire process of self-analysis which thesupervisor hopes to instill in the reflective, issues-centered teacher. It will not develop the powersof unbiased introspection the reflective, issues-centered teacher will need when he/she finds

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himself/herself in the field without immediateaccess to the judgments of a supervisor. Thesupervisor as facilitator should also resist thetemptation to interpret the observational datahe/she has gathered when presenting it to thereflective, issues-centered teacher. This is theresponsibility of the reflective, issues-centeredteacher. For true selfanalysis to occur, the datamust not only be objective but must be presentedin a value-free manner as well. The data shouldspeak for itself, and any conclusions drawn by thereflective, issues-centered teacher should be solelybased on this data and not on how the teacherfeels the supervisor has interpreted the data.

Relating post-conference conclusions to con -Tcerns identified in the pre-conference.As was the case during the pre-conference, thesuccess of the current step relies on successfulcompletion of previous steps. Usually problems inthis phase are of the "all or nothing" variety. If thesupervisor and teacher neglected to identify anyconcerns during the pre-conference, any conclu-sions that might be drawn during the post-con-ference are not anchored to any previously identi-fied needs (or strategies devised to meet theseneeds) and hence there is no continuity betweenpre- and post-conferences. Although some mightargue that all is not lost if the identification ofteacher concerns is left to the post-conference,doing so is akin to closing the barn door after thehorse has escaped: It is too late to intervene anddevise appropriate strategies (at least for the cur-rent cycle), since the observation phase hasalready been completed. If, on the other hand, toomany concerns have been identified during thepre-conference, the reflective, issues-centeredteacher will not only be overwhelmed with theamount of data presented, but it will be very dif-ficult for the supervisor to collect and organizesuch a plethora of information. Since conferencetime is often limited, it is unrealistic to think thatanything but a cursory treatment is possible whentrying to analyze more than two or three issuesduring supervisory consultation.

2, Continued growth. When the "long view" ofthe clinical supervision process is taken, each

cycle of pre-conference, observation, and post-conference represents one step in the continuinggrowth of the reflective, issues-centered teacherrather than an end in itself It is the responsibili-ty of the supervisor to realize this fact and pro-

mote continued growth in the teacher in prepa-ration for the next supervisory cycle as well aslater stages of the teacher's professional career.Although it is always more desirable to have thereflective, issues-centered teacher provide ideasfor his or her future growth, the supervisorshould have a reservoir of such suggestions avail-able in the event the reflective, issues-centeredteacher is unable to generate any of his or herown. Too often, the supervisor is either satisfiedwith the lack of such ideas from the teacher, or istoo eager to accept "safe" goals which the teacherknows will not jeopardize his/her perceived sta-tus with the supervisor and are easy to accom-plish. If the supervisor is an attentive listener anda skilled classroom observer he/she can often useguiding and follow-up questions to assist thereflective, issues-centered teacher in devisinglong-term goals that are acceptable to both par-ties and worthy of future discussion.

Concluding RemarksThe most important indicators of success in

the clinical supervision process include: a. estab-lishing a collegial atmosphere which is conduciveto the formation and sustenance of a healthyworking relationship between supervisors andreflective, issues-centered teachers throughout thesupervisory cycle; b. assisting reflective, issues-centered teachers in clearly specifying concernsin an appropriate forum before the classroomobservation takes place; and c. encouraging self-analysis by reflective, issues-centered teachers ofobjective observational data as well as assessmentof their concerns and appropriate short- andlong-term strategies to address these concerns.These goals can be accomplished if the supervisorstrikes a delicate balance in the narrow regionbetween the two extremes of no supervisory con-trol, on one hand, and being overly prescriptiveon the other, by taking charge without beingassertive, and by being open and flexible withoutallowing the reflective, issues-centered teacher todominate the process.

The supervisor should maintain a reflectiveposture to provide opportunities for reflective,issues-centered teachers to discuss their teachingstyles without directing prescriptive solutions toconcerns about their teaching performance. This"mirror effect" establishes a cooperative atmos-phere where reflective, issues-centered teacherscan freely express their feelings and concerns abouthow students can maximize their opportunities for

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learning in- and outside of the classroom. In clin-ical supervision, reflective, issues-centered teachersmake judgments and evaluations, thus developingtheir ability to do self-assessment rather thandepending upon prescriptive learning provided bythe supervisor. Hence, in conjunction with a "mir-ror effect," the supervisor serves as a facilitator in aguided discovery process that fosters self-analysisby the reflective, issues-centered teacher.

Pre-conferences should be viewed as theopportunity to reinforce the reflective, issues-centered teacher's understandings about teachingmodels, instructional approaches and studentlearning. The post-conference plays a critical rolein the supervision of the reflective, issues-cen-tered teacher. The post-conference curricularcomponent is inextricably linked to the pre-con-ference curricular component in clinical supervi-sion. A post-conference is not a simple case ofproviding feedback. It is much more than that.The clinical post-conference takes on the role ofproviding a composite picture of the reflective,issues-centered teacher's performance with thegoal of further defining or redefining his or herteaching with a view to maximizing studentlearning. Post-conferences should be viewed asbeing cumulative episodes that aid reflective,issues-centered teachers to experience where theyhave been and where they are going in terms ofteaching social issues.

ReferencesAcheson, K., and Gall, M. Techniques in the Clinical

Supervision of Teachers: Preservice and Inservice

Applications (3rd ed.). New York Longman, 1992.Anrig. G. R., and Lapointe, A. E. 'What We Know

About What Students Don't Know." EducationalLeadership 47, no. 3 (1989), 4-10.

Berry, B., and Ginsberg, R. "Effective Schools,Teachers, and Principals: Today's Evidence,Tomorrow's Prospects." In B. Mitchell & L.Cunningham, eds., Educational Leadership andChanging Contexts of Families, Communities, and

Schools. Eighty-ninth Yearbook of the National Society

for the Study of Education, 1990: 155-183.

Blumberg, A. Supervisors and Teachers: A Private ColdWar (2nd ed.). Berkeley, CA: McCutchan, 1980.

Cogan, M. Clinical Supervision. Boston, MA:Houghton Mifflin, 1973.

Darling-Hammond, L. & Sclan, E. "Policy and Super-vision," In C. Glickman, ed., Supervision in Transition,

1992 Yearbook of the Association for Supervision and

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Curriculum Development, 1992: 7-29.Engle, S. H. and Ochoa, A. Education for Democratic

Citizenship. New York Teachers College Press, 1988.Garman, N. "Theories Embedded in the Events of

Clinical Supervision: A Hermeneutic Approach."Journal of Curriculum and Supervision. 5, no. 3(1990): 201-13.

Garman, N. and Hazi, M. "Teachers Ask Is There Lifeafter Madeline Hunter?" Phi Delta Kappan. 69, no. 9(1988): 669-72.

Garman, N., Glickman, C., Hunter, M., andHaggerson, N. "Conflicting Conceptions of ClinicalSupervision and the Enhancement of ProfessionalGrowth and Renewal: Point and Counterpoint."Journal of Curriculum and Supervision. 2, no. 2 (1987):152-177.

Gitlin, A., and Price, K. 'Teacher Empowerment andthe Development of Voice." In C. Glickman, ed.,Supervision in Transition. 1992 Yearbook of theAssociation for Supervision and CurriculumDevelopment, 1992: 61-74.

Glickman, C. Supervision of Instruction: A Development

Approach. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1985.Goldhammer, R., Anderson, R., and Krajewski, R.

Clinical Supervision: Special Methods for the

Supervision of Teachers (2nd ed.). New York Holt,Rinehart and Winston, 1980.

Goldhammer, R. Clinical Supervision: Special Methods forthe Supervision of Teachers. New York Rinehart &Winston, 1969.

Grimmett, P. P., Rostad, P. O., and Ford, B."TheTransformation of Supervision." In C.Glickman, ed., Supervision in Transition. 1992Yearbook of the Association for Supervision andCurriculum Development, 1992: 185-202.

Holland, P "Implicit Assumptions about theSupervisory Conference: A Review and Analysis ofLiterature. " Journal of Curriculum and Supervision 4,no. 4 (1989): 362-79.

Hunt, M., and Metcalf, L. Teaching High Social Studies(2nd Ed.) New York Harper and Row, 1968.

Hunter, M., and Russell, D. "Planning for EffectiveInstruction: Lesson Design." In Increasing yourTeaching Effectiveness. Palo Alto, CA: The LearningInstitute, 1981.

Jerich, K. F. "Evaluating the Use of Clinical Supervisionduring pre- and post- Conferences Associated withMicroteaching Practice in Teacher Education."Action in Teacher Education,11, no. 4 (1989) 24-32.

Katz, L., and Raths, J. "Dispositions as Goals forTeacher Education." Teaching and Teacher Education1, no. 4 (1985): 301-307.

McGreal, T "Teacher-directed Evaluation of Teaching:

An Empirical Perspective." Paper presented at themeeting of the American Educational ResearchAssociation, Atlanta, GA, April 1993.

McGreal, T Successful Teacher Evaluation. Alexandria,

VA: Association for Supervision and CurriculumDevelopment, 1983.

Murphy, J. "Preparing School Administrators for theTwenty-first Century: The Reform Agenda." InB. Mitchell and L. Cunningham, eds., EducationalLeadership and Changing Contexts of Families,

Communities, and Schools. Eighty-ninth Yearbook ofthe National Society for the Study of Education,1990: 232-251.

Prawat, R. S. "The Value of Ideas: Problems versusPossibilities in Learning." Educational Researcher22,no. 6 (1993): 5-16.

Rallis, S. F. "Professional Teachers and RestructuredSchools: Leadership Challenges." In B. Mitchell andL. Cunningham, eds., Educational Leadership andChanging Contexts of Families, Communities, and

Schools. Eighty-ninth Yearbook of the NationalSociety for the Study of Education, 1990: 184-209.

Raths, L. E., Hamlin, M., and Simon, S. Values andTeaching: Working with Values in the Classroom.

Columbus: Merrill, 1986.Schmuck, P., and Schmuck, R. "Democratic

Participation in Small-town Schools."EducationalResearcher 19, no. 8 (1990): 14-20.

Sergiovanni, T "Landscapes, Mindscapes, andReflective Practice in Supervision. " Journal ofCurriculum and Supervision 1, no. 1 (1985): 5-17.

Sergiovanni, T J. "Moral Authority and theRegeneration of Supervision." In C. Glickman, ed.,Supervision in Transition. 1992 Yearbook of theAssociation for Supervision and CurriculumDevelopment, 1992: 203-214.

Sergiovanni, T and Starratt, R. Emerging Patterns ofSupervision: Human Perspectives. New York McGrawHill, 1973.

Smyth, J. (1988). "A 'Critical' Perspective for ClinicalSupervision. " Journal of Curriculum and Supervision 3,

no. 2 (1988): 136-56.

1 For a detailed explanation of bureaucratic supervi-sion, see the 1992 Yearbook of the Association forSupervision and Curriculum Development.

2 See Acheson and Gall, Techniques in the ClinicalSupervision of Teachers (1992), for complete definitionsand descriptions of supervisory strategies.

3 For a detailed explanation of these supervisorystrategies, see Glickman's Supervision of Instruction:A Developmental Approach (1985).

4 Taken from Devancy and Sykes, Making the Case for

Professionalism."

5 See Fuller's work on The Stages of Teacher Concerns.

6 For a more detailed explanation, see Blumberg'sSupervisors and Teachers: A Private Cold War (1980).

7 See Engle & Ochoa (1988), Education forDemocratic Citizenship for a detailed explanation ofJadallah's observation instrument.

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Parl EllIntroduction bq James Barth

rieledp iSS1Bs-Vlefed Edicalio

Educational reconstructionists, led byGeorge Counts and Theodore Brame ld,held that the schools could lead societytoward a better future. It was not that thefuture was pre-determined but rather thathelping others to know what the future

should be like would contribute to achieving thatfuture. Viewing reconstructionism from the1990s, some sixty years since George Countsasked: "Dare the schools build a new socialorder?", there is a sense of naivite about recon-structionists and their Utopian fervor. Who todaywould suggest that America's schools could leadus toward a better societal life? The faith we oncehad, not so long ago, in our public schools hasfaded and in its place is a growing sense of doubtthat our schools can even minimally meetthe challenges of today, let alone of the future.

Notwithstanding this, many of us continue topursue curricular reform and new visions for thesocial studies. It is difficult to imagine anythingmore relevant to the quality of our lives than aneducation designed to help us deal with the in-evitable conundrums and challenges of a futureburdened with a continuing explosion of bothknowledge and technology.

In this section devoted to future-orientedsocial studies education, Wilma Longstreetdelves into the alternative futures of social stud-ies in American education. The disintegration ofour values and of the concepts that once struc-tured our interactions with each other are dis-cussed in terms of the current social studies pro-gram and its inadequacies. Alternative curriculaare proposed as ways of increasing the relevanceand effectiveness of schooling.

James Barth explores the development ofsocial studies as a world-wide movement. Thearray of purposes each nation associates with the

social studies presents us with a spectrum ofalternatives representative, on the one hand, ofwhere the field has been and, on the other, of thefield's potential future directions. Most repre-sentative of all is the internationalization of thesocial studies and, by inference, a progressivemovement toward international citizenship.

The efforts of Longstreet and Barth are thevery embodiment of the hope that many of usstill hold for education. While it is true that cyn-icism and discouragement have become embed-ded in our educational thinking, it is equally truethat cynicism presupposes idealism, and discour-agement turns quickly into encouragement witheven the faintest hint of success. These two chap-ters are dedicated to the ideals we hold and theencouragement we feel for the future of socialstudies education.

RNATIVE FUTURES AND THE SOCIAL STUDIESS. Longstreet

0.1 lternative futures are at the heart of issues-centered social studies education. Everytime we make a decision about an eco-nomic, political, or social issue, we are alsomaking a judgment, consciously or other-wise, about the future course of our soci-

ety. There are, however, so many issues, so manyjudgments to be made, so many uncertainties toconfrontand so little reflection on our partsabout the future and the alternatives it poses forusthat we are hardly cogent in our decisionmaking. We seem to veer mindlessly first in onedirection, then in another.

While we continue to study primarily histo-ry in the social studies classroom, in the realworld of politics we rarely use historical studiesto deal logically with current issues of gover-nance or to plan our national futures. We appearto have difficulty in making rational connections(where they do exist) between history, the reali-ties of daily life, and the futures that loom ahead.Memorizing the salient dates of the Civil War orunderstanding the crucial place of the MonroeDoctrine in our relations with Latin Americancountries have had limited transfer value for ourstudents and their performances as citizens.There is significant distance between knowingabout the events and relationships of our histor-ical roots and engaging in the kind of decisionmaking that is at the heart of any form ofdemocracyand that ought to be at the heartof the social studies, as Shirley H. Engle (1960)noted decades ago.

The ground-covering way we pursue thestudy of history has contributed little to thedevelopment of decision-making skills amongthe population. Indeed, judging from our votingrecord, it may even be a cause of the detachmentand apathy that many in our society feel toward

the issues of the day and our collective, civicfutures. There are, of course, other probablecauses for our increasing reluctance to engagecivically. We are a people brought up on televi-sion and sitcom problems that have clear begin-nings, highly stimulating middles, and neatendings. No matter how complex a problem maybe, it is usually resolved happily in less thanan hour. We are a people that have come to readless, and despite a tremendous increase in theinformation available to us, we appear boredwith it all and unwilling to use it in our decisionmaking. We have, on the whole, come to be apa-thetic toward, and even angry with, the workingsof our democratic republic. Our newspaperscontinually berate Congress for engaging inextended discussions about the federal budget,social programs, defense, or whatever the currentconundrum happens to be, as they and we, theirreaders, complain about too much talk and toolittle action. Scorn is heaped on our legislatorsfor being too talkative and apparently unable tobring closure to the nation's problems. Nevermind that democracy is about building, oftenslowly and painfully, compromises that cansomehow take most of us and our needs intoaccount. One cannot help but wonder what thenewspapers of today would have written aboutthe long discussions that went on during themaking of the Constitution and its troubledacceptance by the states. We appear to havetaken the position that long, indecisive discus-sions even about significant, complex issues areindicative of national weakness and failure.

Our reluctance to be engaged by issues createsthe conditions for a self-fulfilling prophecy Wedo not expect our individual participation tomake a difference in the way the future unfolds,therefore, we do not participate, and we do not

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make a difference. The challenge for social studieseducators is to turn this situation around byfocusing the attention of young people on key,often controversial, issues and by helping them todevelop attitudes, skills, and conceptual insightsconducive to wise decision making about theircivic lives, i.e., about decisions which inevitablyaffect their individual and collective futures.

This chapter will explore potential curricularrevisions of the social studies in terms of an issue-centered, futures orientation. In particular, thefollowing topics will be pursued:1. the nature of decision making in a democra-

cy and in an era of persistent, continuallyaccelerating change;

2. the adequacy of traditional school subjects(history, the social sciences, and the liberalarts) to serve as the foundation for dealingwith current issues and future planning;

3. the role of issues in preparing for the futureand the persistence of democracy; and

4. the future-oriented, issues-centered curriculum.

The Nature of Decision Makingin a Democracy

In everyday language we allow connotativeterms to float unclearly among their variousmeanings. We often use such terms in our edu-cational jargon. For instance, the term problemsolving may be used in one discourse to refer tothe finding of solutions to mathematical prob-lems and in another discourse to dealing withunpredictable, poorly defined social situations,requiring public relations skills and considerableflexibility. The important point to note here isthat this widely used term can represent signifi-cantly different skills, attitudes, and conceptualunderstandings. To say that we want our stu-dents to be problem solvers is not by itself suffi-cient guidance for curricular revision.

The term decision making poses similardifficulties. Decision making in the context ofa scientific discipline involves deciding aboutspecific parameters, i.e., stipulating the definitionof terms, determining the specific methods ofinvestigation, limiting the problem to manage-able proportions, and so forth. Decision makingwithin democratic citizenship means trying tounderstand the complexities and ambiguities thatproblems typically exhibit as well as learning tomake decisions in the face of confusion anduncertainty. It means being able to be tentativeand willing to modify decisions as new circum-

stances develop while remaining civicallyinvolved and active. There is, in other words, aunique nature to the decision making of citizensinvolved in the workings of democracy that issomewhat obscured by the wide-ranging conno-tations associated with the term. Ongoing tenta-tiveness and the continual revision of what oughtnot to be more than provisional conclusions areessential components to the citizen's decision-making behavior. To be willing to decide despitethe ambiguity and seemingly endless debates sur-rounding a problem, and subsequently to be will-ing to change one's mind are behaviors that lieat the very core of what it means to participatein a democracy and the planning for its future.

The Adequacy of TraditionalDisciplines in Futures Planning

Early in the twentieth century, the sociologistThomas Jesse Jones proposed redirecting theschool study of history toward studies that wouldcontribute directly to the development of goodcitizens and the betterment of human life(Kliebard 1987; U.S. Bureau of Education 1913).Jones introduced into the school's curriculum theterm, "social studies," which continues to be usedtoday. However, as 0. L. Davis Jr. (1992, 20)noted, "The social studies never overthrew schoolhistory from the curriculum." We have persistedin our pursuit of factually based history as wit-nessed most recently in the California socialstudies framework (California Department ofEducation 1987), which increased the breadthand depth of studies in history, geography, andthe social sciences, and in the NationalCommission on Social Studies in the Schools(1989) report, which recommended three years ofin-depth studies in world and U.S. history andgeography for high school students. Judging fromthe report, the Commission considered the studyof current problems and issues as having onlyperipheral importance.

The idea that the experiences of our past, asrecounted through history, could contribute toimproved decision making in the present hassteadily lost validity. Once a reasonable basisexisted for expecting the patterns of past experi-ences to presage current and future patterns.What we induce from history, we induce on thebasis of expecting history to, in some way, repeatitself. The fact is we are confronting changesof such magnitude that the inductive uses of his-tory to inform us about present and future behav-

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for are increasingly irrelevant and indefensible.Even Dewey's (Kliebard 1992) conception ofschool history as a source of perspective andmoral guidance for the present is of questionableviability.

The past may have some role in helping us tounderstand the future, but hardly in the way or tothe degree that once was true. In the past, majorsocietal changes in our beliefs, goals, visions, andbehaviors were associated with the generationalpassage of power. The term generation gap haslong stood for the differences among generationsarising from the propensity of younger people tocriticize and evaluate the power brokers of theirown day, usually their elders, and from theinevitable "distinctiveness of events" (Bingham1991), which occurs even when the basic modal-ities of living have hardly changed. Generationgap is reflective of a passage from the old order tothe new order, which, nevertheless, remains quitesimilar to the old order in most of its structures.In the course of the twentieth century, the gener-ation gap has continued to be a phenomenon ofsocietal life, but its role in cultural upheavals,which have been the central experience of thetwentieth century, has diminished considerably.As Alfred North Whitehead (1967) noted in1929, we can no longer assume "that each gener-ation will live in an environment substantiallysimilar to that of the preceding generation."

We are confronted with more than a culturalgap between generations. Ours is an age domi-

nated by intragenerational disjunctures.----Significant and quite numerous differ-

ences in our way of life arise within the

span of a single generation. Raging technologicalrevolution has brought us to intragenerationaldisjuncture, wherein the upbringing of our child-hood is largely inoperative for the judgments wemust make in our adult lives; and the environ-ments we took for granted as children have beenso modified that the assumptions we persist inhaving about themassumptions garnered fromthe experiences of our early yearscan misleadand confound the decisions we must take asadults and as citizens (Longstreet and Shane1993). Persistent, intragenerational disjunctureshave fundamentally altered the potentiality ofchildhood so that childhood no longer offers us a"natural" base from which to view and judgethe directions of our lifelong, social existence. Weare repeatedly confronted with issues the likes ofwhich have never before challenged humankindand most certainly were not factors in the devel-opment of our early belief systems.

This century has witnessed a disintegration notso much of our values but rather of our ability tosustain them. We still acknowledge such basic pre-cepts as doing unto others as we would have themdo unto us and honoring our mothers and fathers,but we hardly know how to translate these maximsto apply them to our new realities. For example, ifan egg fertilized in vitro (i.e., a "test-tube" egg)were terminated, would that be the equivalentof abortion? What are the ethics involved in hav-ing a child for the purpose of transplanting oneof its organs to another human being? Whatdoes honoring one's father and mother meanto the child who has had several stepfathers andrarely sees his or her biological father?

)An Example of Intragenerational Disjunctureresident Harry S Truman probablybelonged to the first generation ofAmericans to have fully experiencedintragenerational disjuncture. Hewas born in 1884 well before auto-

mobiles, jet airplanes, motion pictures, radios,air conditioners, and television sets hadbecome culturally ubiquitous and embedded inthe very structure of our daily lives; he died in1972 when all of these and more had becomeentrenched aspects of our daily lives. Therehad been little in the first 16 years of youngTruman's life and education that in any wayprepared him for the drastic changes and trau-

matic decisions he would face in his lifetime.Truman's most momentous decision, whetherto drop an atomic bomb during World War IIthat would surely kill thousands of Japanesecivilians, was taken with precious little under-standing, even among the experts of the day, ofradiation poisoning and its long-term fallout(McCullough 1992). What could the study ofhistory have told Truman about global villages,nuclear weapons, or artificial intelligence as hegrew up in Independence, Missouri, in the1880s and 1890s when none of these wereeven glimmers in the historian's firmament?

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The public arena is full of talk about how torestore traditional values to society and return ouryouth to a sense of responsibility. However,restoration of values is really not the question.Clearly, we still share a fundamental core ofbeliefs about what is right, for otherwise thewidespread discomfort about not living up to ourvalues, expressed repeatedly in our mass media,would hardly be a factor in our public discourse.Nor could any form of democracy survive withoutits members having a shared core of beliefs. It isthe pursuit of our values through essentially newand unforeseen circumstances and the often inap-propriate match between value(s) and circum-stance(s) that results in a sense of continuing frus-tration. The study of history as most of us haveencountered it in schooldoes little to contributeto our understanding of issues and circumstancesliterally unimaginable in the past.

Hardison (1989) has suggested that we arecurrently experiencing the disappearance of con-cepts we once took for granted, e.g., nature, real-ity, and even humanity. Certainly, nature in termsof quarks, lightning speeds, and surrealisticvisions of Earth from outer space is a profoundlydifferent experience from the one so idealizedby Rousseau in the 1700s and Wordsworth inthe 1800s. Increasingly, media control our per-ceptions of reality, and the distinction betweenreality and virtual reality is becoming progres-sively more difficult for us to make.

Our conception of the social studies hasbecome uncomfortably caught between the tradi-tional duties of the cultural conservator involvedin transmitting the accumulated wisdom of ourpast to the young and the growing urgency toprepare them to cope with an uncertain, quite dif-ferent, highly complex, and not very distantfuture. Unlike in any other period in human his-tory the study of the past is of limited relevanceand questionable usefulness to today's youth inhelping them to prepare for their futures. It pro-vides important data about how problems weresolved but not necessarily about how to solvetoday's problems. The challenge that faces thoseof us who qualify as "elders" is to transform ourknowledge and experience into a curriculum bothrelevant and useful to a generation whose lives arelikely to be profoundly different from our own.They will have to contend not only with the gen-eration gap but with intragenerational disjunc-tures. In terms of schooling, the challenge is oneof transfer, i.e., of having what is studied in school

apply to what is experienced civically outside ofschool. Judging from the public's low participa-tion in elections and apparent lack of understand-ing about the workings of a democratic republic(Bennett 1988; Ravitch and Finn 1987), history,as we have traditionally experienced it, is neces-sary but not sufficient for the task.

From time to time in the twentieth century,the study of the social sciences has been seen asproviding us with a different and more adequatefilter than that of history. In 1937 Edgar Wesleyequated the social sciences with the social stud-ies (Wesley and Wronski 1958). In the 1960s theNew Social Studies, largely supported by federalgrants, undertook to engage social studies stu-dents in the social sciences as though they werescientists out in the field (Senesch 1965; Bruner1974). Though the federally funded projectswere well financed and largely run by social sci-ence experts, little remains in today's curriculumof those efforts.

Nevertheless, the social sciences provide animportant source of theoretical knowledge aboutour human ways of behaving and our forms ofgovernance (Fraenkel 1973). Their efforts toapproach human behavior from a scientific per-spective have led to the valuable accumulation ofscientifically configured data collected as objec-tively as possible. As input for civic decisionmaking, objective data is extraordinarily useful.Learning to achieve objective data as scientistswould give students an understanding of thedesirability of a value-free environment as well asexpertise in behaving with objectivity

There are, however, drawbacks. Objectivitymeans, to quote the American Heritage Diction-ary, that the data collected is "uninfluenced byemotion, surmise, or personal prejudice." A cur-riculum centered on achieving skills in objectiv-ity and social scientific methodology is clearlyinappropriate for the achievement of objectivesrelated to good citizenship and the subjectivevaluing that goes with it. Being a good socialscientist requires skills that may be only periph-erally related to those needed to be a good citi-zen. The decision making of the social scientistis essentially different from the decision makingof a citizen in a democracy. A quarter of a cen-tury ago, Shirley H. Engle (1970, 778) made thepoint that

To make the social sciences the sole basis ofcitizenship education is to place values and the

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valuing process outside the pale of social edu-cation, since the social sciences are value free.

In terms of the challenges likely to confrontyoungsters in their not-too-distant future, mak-ing value judgments about issues that often haveno clear resolution and embody multiple valueconflicts must be at the crux of what is studiedin the social studies. Like history, the socialsciences offer us resources for making decisions,but they help us only indirectly to learn theprocesses and attitudes of democratic decisionmaking.

Intragenerational disjunctures require us toreconceptualize the purposes of schooling ingeneral and the social studies in particular. Theenculturation process that occurs naturally andpowerfully in our youngest years, that embeds inus our cultural membership and plants ideas thatguide us throughout life, has also come to be theprocess that most diminishes our ability to eval-uate the quality and desirability of change occur-ring around us. We become encapsulated, i.e., ourability to reason reflectively about the majorissues of our times is dominated by "an uncon-scious 'gut-level' adherence to an interlockingfabric of ideas, ideals, beliefs, values, assumptions,and modes of thought that have been implantedby cultural forces" (Zais 1976, 218). The encul-turative processes establish in us a multiplicity ofunconscious cultural mind-sets that impede ourability to go beyond the traditional limits of a sit-uation or problem. Enculturation and the subse-quent cultural encapsulation of adulthood restrictour ability to think beyond the traditional limitsset by the society of our childhoodlimits com-municated to us by parents who could not possi-bly have known the numbers and kinds of chal-lenges that we would face as adults. The crisis invalues so often sung in newspapers and journalstoday is largely a crisis between our early encul-turation and the array of decisions confrontingus, both personal and societal, for which we havealmost no preparation. Enculturation allowed tocontinue its own "natural" course of developmentdirectly impedes our ability to deal with theinevitable crises of intragenerational disjunctures,and with the decisions we must make about thedirection and nature of our collective futures.The school's curriculum must embody ways ofhelping young people to confront essentially newissues in terms that help them to move beyondthe limits of their own cultural perspectives.

Studying Issuesin the Study of Futures

Engle and Ochoa (1988) considered the usesof humanities in social education. As with thesocial sciences, they found the humanities to bevaluable resources for citizenship education butinadequate to the task. The humanities "seek toilluminate the meaning of life" (56), while allow-ing subjectivity and value judgments to influencetheir decisions. However, in their view, takenalone, the humanities "are a mixture of thebizarre as well as the substantial" (60). Engle andOchoa believed that the social sciences and thehumanities must be viewed as symbioticresources that, when taken together, can provide"future citizens with compelling insights intosocial issues" (56). The study of issues offers away of linking the many different kinds ofinsights and understandings acquired from for-mal structures of knowledge with the numerous,emotion-filled, value-laden civic decisions thatrepeatedly confront us.

While the social sciences operationalizedefinitions and converge on specifics, thehumanities deal broadly not only with the issuesbut with the human emotions and subjectivereactions that so often complicate the resolutionof issues. The humanities can explore new waysof connecting human experience and newapproaches to the future. They push at the edgesof the possible and help us intuit what we maylater discover or invent.

While the traditional social studies programmight support the study of future-orientedissues from time to time, it does so at the risk ofdistorting the study of the disciplines. What isimportant to understand about a curriculumemphasizing disciplines is that each discipline,whether it be history, or economics, or geogra-phy, possesses a structure based on a unique setof concepts, facts, generalizations, and processesthat must be learned in their uniqueness(Morrisett 1967; Broek 1965) or else the disci-pline is not really being studied. In the tradi-tional social studies curriculum, the study ofissues could be considered a distracter from thestudy of disciplines, which, after all, "will be onthe test!" In reality, the disciplines serve as dis-tracters interfering with students learning howto engage actively and effectively as citizens of ademocracy.

Of course, not all issues are of equal worth interms of preparation for democratic citizenship.

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Studies about the future can be and often havebeen undertaken in terms of broadly conceivedtopics without a controversial component. Forexample, a set of scenarios may be utilized to rep-resent, in a neutral fashion, daily life in the year2045. The view embedded in this kind of curric-ular approach is that the future is part of theinevitable cultural drift of society; it is, therefore,in our best interest to understand and prepare forour most likely futures. This seeming neutralitytoward the future often leads students to acceptthe future as though its progression wereinevitable rather than a result of the choices madeas people and their society traverse a series ofcontroversial issues.

Among the guidelines for issues-centerededucation put forth by Engle and Ochoa (1988)is that topics or episodes that are not proble-matic should not be included in the curriculum.This is a crucial curricular position. Learning todeal with hotly contested issues is at the very coreof whatever capacity youngsters may develop indirecting their own futures as citizens of ademocracy

Furthermore, students must experience activeinvolvement in a wide variety of controversialissues. As John Dewey often noted, no one expe-rience, no one issue can, by itself, be consideredof greatest value to education; it is only in termsof what an issue moves toward or into that wecan judge its value. To quote Dewey (1938, 87),we need

to select those things within the range ofexisting experience that have the promiseand potentiality of presenting new prob-lems which by stimulating new ways ofobservation and judgment will expand thearea of further experience.

Dewey believed that if the young rarelyencountered controversy in their studies, theywould have a fixed and static conception of theideas involved and would probably not under-stand how they function in the social milieu.I would further suggest that if the young do notdeal with controversial issues of significance forthe future directions of society, they are likely tohave a conception of the future statically mired inthe experiences of their own childhood; they will,in other words, conceive of solutions to the con-troversies of their futures as though their futureswere their past. This is, after all, what we adults

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are doing today as we increasingly and ineffectu-ally demand a return to traditional values and tothe traditional family unit. We are caught in theenculturation of our past.

Future-Oriented,Issues-Centered Curriculum

There are several ways of approaching thedevelopment of future-oriented curricula. One,discussed above, involves a neutral overview oflikely futures. The future is neither good nor bad,acceptable nor unacceptable, but merely on itsway, and we must prepare our young for what itwill bring. The RAND Corporation and theFutures Society often issue reports of this ilk.For instance, we might find among their reportsthat the business office of the future will be in ourhome, or that distance education will becomea significant component of undergraduateinstruction, or that virtual reality will be a signif-icant part of on-the-job training. Alvin Toffler'strilogy (1970, 1980, 1990) dealing with thefuture also makes predictions of this kind. As anexample, Toffler (1990) states:

If large numbers can participate in a mass-appeal game show like Jeopardy with a com-puter tallying their responses, it doesn't taketoo much imagination to see how similartechnology could be adapted to politicalpolling or collective decision-makingandpolitical organizing of a new kind.

It is a matter-of-fact discussion of future direc-tions rooted in our present experience. WhileToffler recognizes the social tensions likely to arise,he does not reflect much on how citizens mightcontrol and redirect their futures. The future iscaught in cultural drift and is going to happen.

The Neutral Approach in CurriculumIn this neutral approach to futures studies, the

futures curriculum is typically based on tradition-al research methodologies linked to scenarioactivities. The scenario itself is used as a tool toexplore possible futures in an objective fashion.A range of scenarios involving the major activi-ties of society ensures an adequate scope of study.Issues, when dealt with, are rooted in this milieuof objectivity. A Delphi technique, which involvessurveying expert opinions, may be employed as away of deciding upon the most likely of scenar-ios; discussions might follow along the lines of

what must be done to best prepare for the future.Students may engage in trends analysis, whichinvestigates, usually in terms of demographicsand economics, series of related events and theirlikely persistence in the future. Students maylearn how to conduct linear projections involvingdescriptive data about current circumstances.They may also undertake cross-impact analyses, inwhich they pursue the interrelationships of mul-tiple changes and the impact each would have onthe other(s). Another widely used methodologythat students may pursue is environmental scan-ning, which involves a continual scanning of sys-temic, worldwide events in order to ascertain thedevelopment of new, possibly unexpected trends.

Certainly a futures unit (or even several units)based on research studies or a combination ofscenario and research studies could be insertedinto the traditional social studies curriculum. Incomparison to other current curricular activities,this would be a somewhat innovative approach.However, little would really change. The objec-tivity of the scientific disciplines would beexchanged for a value-free albeit topical approachto the study of the future. The kinds of perplex-ing and often frustrating decisions confrontingcitizens as well as their need to decide, whileremaining tentative and open to other possibili-ties, would hardly be developed in this neutralapproach to the study of the future.

The Controversial Approachin a Futures Curriculum

A controversial approach to futures studiesoffers greater potential for developing moreinvolved and competent citizens. As Engle andOchoa (1988, 105) noted, the study of controver-sial social issues contributes to the "counterso-cialization" of children, enabling them to faceissues in an open and creative fashion.

The circumstances that have led to intragen-erational disjuncture require the schools to par-ticipate in the enculturative process in a differentway and from an essentially new perspective.The schools must see themselves as contributorsto the unencapsulation of adulthood, i.e., to giv-ing adults greater control over their early cultur-al development. Instilling a neutral perspectiveof the future does not correspond to the realcircumstances of democratic citizenship in eithertoday's or tomorrow's world. It also does notchallenge the values and beliefs acquired inchildhood.

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The educational conundrum we must faceis how to contend with the enculturative processso that schooling can contribute to a coherentsociety while not embedding traditions in young-ster's minds that interfere with their ability toconfront their civic problems and participate inthe direction of their futures. How do we redirectenculturation from a process that fixes beliefs andcloses the mind to one that opens the mind tothoughtfulness about not only the past but thecomplex issues of the future? Asking the questionfrom another vantage point, how do we encultur-ate the willingness to reflect upon new ideas andnew ways of doing things while maintaining arespect for the great insights of our past? How dowe build those inner intellectual, emotional, andattitudinal resources that can help children to seebeyond their immediate cultural circumstances?How do we make active participation in thedecision-making processes of our democracy afundamental result of the school's curriculum?

It is clear that a controversial approach toissues, especially those concerning the futuredirections of society, is a necessary revision totoday's social studies curriculum. Children mustconsider changing what adults of today may bequite satisfied with; and they must deal withissues that adults might prefer to ignore.Children must become "transformative intellec-tuals" (Giroux and McLaren 1986), i.e., capableof taking an active role in recasting the valuesand experiences of their heritage into new, albeitstill democratic, forms of governance and sociallife so as to better suit a future we adults canhardly conceive.

The tools of future-oriented studies discussedabove as typical components of a neutralapproach (the scenario, trends analysis, crossimpact analysis, etc.) are equally important to thecontroversial approach. However, instead of thesetools being used to describe the likely faces oftomorrow, they would be employed in helpingstudents to resolve controversial issues. Forexample, multiple models of the future could bedeveloped for the purpose of comparing andevaluating their likely outcomes. Students couldbe encouraged to take positions and defend themutilizing scenarios and the research tools.

The Core of the Futures CurriculumIn reconceptualizing the social studies cur-

riculum, regardless of whether we pursue a neu-tral or controversial approach, we must respond

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to the question: What knowledge is most usefulfor helping citizens of a democracy deal withissues and give direction to the future? As educa-tors, we must know that the scope of issues dealtwith responds adequately to this question. Atleast six areas of societal endeavor appear mostrelevant to our future directions and respond tothis key curricular question:

1. communication and information handling2. uncertainties3. values development4. democratic citizenship5. inquiries; and6. futures (Longstreet 1979).Each of the areas holds the potential for help-

ing people to deal more competently with theissues confronting them and with the culturalencapsulation that tends to limit their ability toconfront new issues and to develop new valuesystems.

1 Communication and information handlingII would involve studying the impact of media onthe meaning and understanding that we hold ofan issue (McLuhan 1964). It is a subject thatwould need to be pursued K-12 and beyond.It would help students to examine for each issuehow they came to know about the issue, whateffects the communication of the issue has hadupon their views, and what questions must bepursued if a reasonably broad and fair presenta-tion of the issue is to be achieved. Developingcommunication literacy is especially importantfor redirecting the enculturative process from oneleading to cultural encapsulation to one buildingindependence of thought. Establishing commu-nication and information handling as a compo-nent of the social studies recognizes the need forpeople to understand and exercise control overthe production, uses, and dissemination of infor-mation. Video literacy is hardly considered in thecurrent curriculum even though it is widely rec-ognized that our perceptions of the issues are inmany ways controlled by the media.

Uncertainties would involve issues related tolb change and the continuing explosion ofknowledge and technology. History and great lit-erary works contain many examples of humani-ty's struggles both against and within uncertain-ty. An exploration of likely future uncertaintieswould form a significant base of study. Evolution,progress and democracy are among the ideas replete

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with uncertainty and, as a correlate, with contro-versy. Ideas such as these form fulcrums aroundwhich major issues would be organized. Specificissues under 'progress' might include: Einstein'sgeneral theory of relativity and the upheaval thatit has brought to our understanding of time andof the nature of the universe; the continuing fail-ure to find adequate storage for nuclear wasteand its possible repercussions for our way of life;the hypothetical but not improbable decline inreading and the parallel rise in other means ofcommunicating information. Studying the mul-tiple possibilities in outcomes and repercussionsand dealing with the kinds of decisions thatmight have to be made despite uncertainty wouldcomprise the real content of this subject.

Values development would have little to dowith the traditional passing on of values from

one generation to the next. Rather, it wouldinvolve students in the active formation of theirown values as individuals and as citizens of ademocracy. The process of value formation asa school study is viewed as being analytical,critically evaluative, moving toward generalityfrom a fundamentally subjective base and neces-sarily controversial.

A series of questions would serve to organizethe subject as well as to ensure an in-depth explo-ration of values. Among these would be: What isuseful about having values? Should individuallybased or societally based values take precedence?Are all values culturally relative or are some val-ues absolute and culture free? How should we goabout establishing new values? absolute values?What comprises a good life? What do I mostvalue about my future life?

// Democratic citizenship would deal with theif rise and evolution of U.S. democracy andinclude comparative studies with other democra-cies around the world and other forms of gover-nance. In many ways, this would be similar to theever-present course in civics that most studentscurrently take. Emphasis, however, would beplaced on the development of decision-makingskills related to the exercise of democratic citizen-ship. These involve making decisions in the midstof conflicting values, being willing to confrontcomplexity rather than settling for simplistic solu-tions, working toward long-term goals as well asshort-term objectives, making tentative albeitfirm judgments while remaining willing to revise

judgments in the light of new input, and beingknowledgeable about the realities of the politicalprocess. This area of study would be closely linkedto values development because the content wouldstress political phenomena, governance structures,and the activities of citizens, all of which are heav-ily value-oriented. In the last years of high school,the social science disciplines could be offered tostudents for elective study, a considerable reversalof what usually occurs now when the social stud-ies curriculum offers a problems course or partic-ipation in a civic experience in the twelfth gradewhile concentrating on the disciplines (in partic-ular, history) in the lower grades.

Democratic citizenship would also includeactive participation in the workings of local andpossibly federal government along with studies ofsignificant current issues of governance. As rec-ommended by Engle and Ochoa (1988), a fullyear, one-day per week citizenship internshipdirected toward some socially useful enterprisewould serve as the culmination of students' activeinvolvement.

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Inquiries would involve the study of diverseresearch methodologies ranging from classical

scientific inquiry to humanistic modes of inquiryto new, paradigm-breaking forms such as are nowdeveloping in the science of Chaos, as these areneeded in confronting a variety of controversialissues. It would include, when appropriate, thefuture-oriented research methodologies dis-cussed above. Both quantitative and qualitativeforms of inquiry would be studied from kinder-garten through the last grade of high school in aneffort to increase students' abilities to deal inde-pendently with the significant issues of theirtimes by researching the issues they believe arecentral to their understanding of what is involvedin making a decision.

6Futures, as a component of the social studiescurriculum, would serve as the linking "hub"

for the other five components because it wouldutilize the processes, attitudes, and skills learnedin these to develop scenarios of likely futures.Research tools such as environmental scanningand trends analysis would be drawn from thesubject of inquiries; analyses pursued in valuesdevelopment and insights into the nature ofdemocracy derived from studies in democraticcitizenship would contribute to the quality ofjudgments made in laying out desirable futures;

uncertainties, of course, would contribute to stu-dents' abilities to envision multiple possibilities;and communication and information handlingwould provide the expressive skills needed in thedevelopment of scenarios. With regard to the lat-ter point, scenarios could be presented, utilizingthe video camera, the computer, written forms, ora combination of these.

The scenarios would be of several typesranging from linear projections based on quanti-tative data to more fanciful predictions of an ideallife. In students' earlier years, scenarios would bebuilt around small, concrete experiences subjectto improvement or change. For example, a sce-nario could be developed around ways of improv-ing the neighborhood or the components of anideal school. Subsequently, more advancedfutures studies would become involved in com-plex plans such as the achievement of a pollu-tion-free urban environment or colonizing otherplanets in our galaxy.

The radical changes we have been throughand those still confronting us require educationalactivismi.e., an aggressive effort to fundamen-tally change how we educate. The various revi-sions of curriculum discussed here are barelymore than a beginning effort. The future and theexploration of civic issues have long been dis-cussed in our educational literature and, for themost part, ignored by the schools. It is time for usto move beyond.

ReferencesBennett, W. J. "American Education: Making It Work."

The Chronicle of Higher Education (May 4, 1988):

29-41.Bingham, M. "A History Based Social Studies

Curriculum." Paper presented at the annual confer-ence of the National Council for the Social Studies,Washington D.C., November 1991.

Broth, J. 0. M. Geography: Its Scope and Spirit.Columbus, Ohio: Charles E. Merrill, 1965.

Bruner, J. S. "Man: A Course of Study." Social StudiesCurriculum Project. Cambridge, MA: EducationalServices, 1974.

California Department of Education. History-SocialScience Framework Sacramento, Calif: Departmentof Education, 1987.

Davis, 0.L., Jr. "'Your Mother Wears Army Shoes!' TheSilly Debate between School History and the SocialStudies." In Citizenship as Social Studies Education.

Bulletin 4. Munster, Ind.: National Council for the

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Social Studies Special Interest GroupFoundationsof the Social Studies, 1992.

Dewey, J. Experience and Education. New York TeachersCollege Press, 1938.

Engle, Shirley H. "Decision Making: The Heart ofSocial Studies Instruction." Social Education24(November 1960): 301-4, 306.

Engle, S. H. The Future of Social Studies Education andNCSS." Social Education 34 (1970): 778-81, 793.

Engle, S. H., and A. S. Ochoa. Education for DemocraticCitizenship: Decision-Making in the Social Studies.

New York Teachers College Press, 1988.Fraenkel, Jack R. Helping Students Think and Value.

Englewood Cliffs, NJ.: Prentice Hall, 1973.Giroux, H. A., and R McLaren. "Teacher Education

and the Politics of Engagement: The Case forDemocratic Schooling." Harvard Educational Journal56(1986): 213-38.

Haas, J. The Era of the New Social Studies. Boulder, CO:

ERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies/SocialScience Education, 1977.

Hardison, 0. B., Jr. Disappearing through the Skylight.

Culture and Technology in the Twentieth Century.New York Viking, 1989.

Kliebard, H. M. The Struggle for the American Curric-ulum: 1893-1958. New York Routledge, 1987.

Kliebard, H.M. Forging the American Curriculum:Essays in Curriculum History and Theory. New YorkRoutledge, 1992.

Longstreet, W. S. "Open EducationA Coming toTerms with Uncertainty." In Lifelong Learning: AHuman Agenda, edited by N. V. Overly. Alexandria,Va.: Association for Supervision and CurriculumDevelopment, 1979.

Longstreet, W., and H. Shane. Curriculum for a NewMillennium. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1993.

McCullough, David. Truman. New York Simon andSchuster, 1992.

McLuhan, M. Understanding Media. New YorkBantam, 1964.

Morrisett, I., ed. Concepts and Structures in the NewSocial Science Curricula. New York Holt, Rinehartand Winston, 1967.

National Commission on Social Studies in the Schools.Charting a Course: Social Studies for the 21st Century.

Washington D. C.: National Council for the SocialStudies, 1989.

Ravitch, D., and C. Finn. What Do Our 17 Year-OldsKnow? New York Harper and Row, 1987.

Senesch, L. Our Working World Chicago: Science

Research Associates, 1969.

Toffier, A. Future Shock New York Random House, 1970.Toffier, A The Third Wave Toronto: William Morrow, 1980.

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Toffler, A. Powershifi: Knowledge, Wealth, and Violence at

the Edge of the 21st Century. New York BantamBooks, 1990.

U.S. Department of Education. 'Preliminary Statementsby Chairmen of Committees of the Commission ofthe National Education Association on theReorganization of Secondary Education." Washington,

D.C.: US. Bureau of Education Bulletin no. 41,1913.Wesley, E.B., and S. P Wronski. Teaching the Social Studies:

Theory and Practice. Boston: D. C. Heath, 1958.

Whitehead, A. N. The Aims ofEducation and Other Essays.

1929. Reprint, New York The Free Press, 1967.Zais, R S. Curriculum: Principles and Foundations.

New York Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1976.

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LTERNATIVE FUTURESTERNATIONAL SOCIAL STUDIES

s L. Barth

lmost forty years ago as a new social stud-ies teacher, I considered my field as onlyan extension of the American experienceand thus exclusively an American cre-ation. International social studiesletalone a concept of alternative futures

was completely unheard of and, for me, severaldecades in my future. I had no knowledge thatcountries in Europe, Africa, and Asia wereadopting social studies and also struggling withthe field's definitions, purposes, aims, and goals.But then why should I have known about thestruggle? After all, social studies was just someturn-of-the-century reform of U. S. citizenshipeducation, discussed in theory but not practicedin my school.

Now in the 1990s, social studies as a schoolsubject has become a recognized field worldwide.This, however, is not to say that all countries haveadopted social studies as their citizenship educa-tion programs, nor have those same countriesnecessarily chosen the U. S. vision proclaimed bythe National Council for the Social Studies(NCSS 1994). The field has become a majorinternational citizenship educational reformmovement. If the past forty years are any sugges-tion, the twenty-first century will witness manyalternative futures for citizenship education asthe social studies movement continues to gaininternational momentum. A place to start imag-ining such futures is by noting future visions ofselected countries around the world in light ofsocial studies' past.

Alternative Visions of Social StudiesWhile purposes attributed to the social stud-

ies vary from nation to nation, there does appearto be an underlying, unifying theme capturedwell by Wesley and Wronski (1973): The objec-

tive of the social studies is to prepare students forintelligent membership in society. "It is important tonote, however, that Wesley and Wronski's isindeed an American perspective. South Korea'svision of preparing students for "intelligentmembership" is different:

The tendency is one in which the socialstudies courses give students politicalknowledge and not the political attitudes ofdemocratic citizens ... the most importantpurpose of political education in schools hasbeen to maintain the stability of the existingpolitical system. (Chung 1994, 3)

On the other hand, in the West Africancountry of The Gambia, progress, peace, andprosperity are the aims that constitute the basisfor their schools' social studies course:

To implant certain ideals and moral valuesin the minds of the young has always beenamong the many reasons for teaching socialstudies. This is an essential part of educa-tion. (Ministry of Education, Youth, Sports,and Culture 1980, 1)

A Nigerian vision would see social studies as:

the investigation of human activity. It stud-ies man at home, at work, at worship, inpolitics, at play, in the village, in the nation,everywhere engaged in his busy programmeof living. (DuBey 1980, 1)

In addition to intelligent membership, prepa-ration for democracy has been a persistent char-acteristic of the social studies, as NCSS (1994,vii) declared in its statement of purpose:

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The primary purpose of social studies is tohelp young people develop the ability tomake informed and reasoned decisions forthe public good as citizens of a culturallydiverse, democratic society in an interde-pendent world.

For many U.S. educators, but not necessarilyfor Nigerians, Gambians, and South Koreans,"the most important original intent of [socialstudies] education" is "teaching for democraticlife" (Rolheiser and Glickman 1995, 196).Japanese educators may have a slightly differentvision that would suggest cultivation of a demo-cratic and peaceful nation but yet:

The primary objective of social studies is toprovide pupils with an understanding ofsociety, and to support their desirable atti-tudes by establishing a firm foundation forcorrect moral decisions. (Nagai 1983, 66)

The Tanzanians have a slightly differentvision. The aims of social studies are:

To equip learners with knowledge, skillsand attitudes for tackling societal problems.To develop a Tanzanian culture that perpet-uates the national heritage, individual free-dom, responsibility, tolerance and paysrespect to elders. To develop in each citizenan enquiring and open mind clear of biasand prejudice, and a Ujamaa or socialistoutlook, particularly the principles of equal-ity and brotherhood which entail a sense ofindividual and collective responsibility in allareas of activity. (Ministry of Education1984, 2-3)

In speaking about social studies in Europe,Hooghoff (1994, 5) suggested that:

citizenship does not imply a narrow, exclu-sivist Eurocentric perspective ... learning tobe a responsible European citizen mustinvolve an appreciation and respect forother cultures and societies. ... A goodEuropean citizen is a good world citizen.

Did Wesley and Wronski really get it right?In one sense, yes, but only because "intelligentmembership in society" can be interpreted ineach country to support desirable attitudes

toward its traditions and future goals. Countriesdo, in fact, have objectives for social studies thatexpress a wide range of differing visions, all ofwhich benefit from intelligent participation insociety.

Is There an InternationalSocial Studies?

To even think about alternative futures, onemust first conceive the variety of different defin-itions, aims, and purposes that have guided dif-fering visions of social studies. Is there even aninternational vision of social studies? Must thatvision be linked to a promotion of capitalism anddemocracy? Alternatively, is social studies alwayslinked with some vision of citizenship educationas a developed intelligent membership in society?Examining the path social studies took as ittransformed from a national to an internationalfield might help to answer these questions. But athoughtful response to these questions mightstart with inspecting differing visions of socialstudies among Americans, Gambians, Nigerians,South Koreans, Japanese, Tanzanians, Euro-peans, and Zimbabweans. That inspection sug-gests that social studies is not necessarily linkedto a concept of capitalism or democracy but isusually conceived as some form of citizenshipeducation.

The National Council for the Social Studies,an organization founded in 1921 in the UnitedStates, provides an international assembly foreducators from around the world. The assemblysets forth a guiding vision as a standard on teach-ing and learning that emphasizes integrated andinterdisciplinary curriculum:

[Social studies] when taught well, is drawnnot only from its most ... foundational dis-ciplines but also from the arts and humani-ties, mathematics and science, currentevents and students' own interests andexperiences. (NCSS 1994, 159)

This vision of integration, of course, has longbeen established as basic to the development of asocial studies program, and is commonly fol-lowed throughout countries that have adoptedsocial studies. For example, in Lesotho:

The integrated approach is a more naturalmethod of learning ... children do not gen-erally think in terms of subjects until they

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become conditioned to doing so. In any casetheir natural interests and the personalproblems they solve from day to day cutacross various subject areas and there is noreason why our methods of teaching shouldnot take this into account ... especiallywhen they are in harmony with the inte-grated approach which is the basis of SocialStudies teaching. (Ministry of Education,Sports and Culture 1981, 2)

The Japanese, on the other hand, adopted anintegrated social studies as part of the democrati-zation process required by the Allied occupationforces:

Social Studies became a school subject in1947 through the enforcement regulationsof the School Education Law. ... An inte-grated social studies curriculum based onthe American pattern was introduced in thehope that it would contribute to the democ-ratization of Japan. (Nagai 1983, 61)

Another standard set forth by NCSS'sInternational Assembly involves the develop-ment of values:

When taught well, social studies engagesstudents in the difficult process of con-fronting ethical and value-based dilemmas,and encourages students to speculate, thinkcritically, and make personal and civic deci-sions based on information from multipleperspectives. (NCSS 1994, 159)

These standards of teaching and learningtend to find support in many social studies syl-labi, national curricula, and teacher handbooks inthose countries that have adopted social studies.For instance, in Zambia the NCSS vision onteaching and learning would sound like this:"[Social studies] aims at inculcating upon themind of the learner useful social values such associal interaction, decision making and extrapo-lation" (Ministry of Education 1983, iv).

Social Studies' Historical RouteIt would be fair to say that the social studies

movement promoting integration probablybegan at a most inappropriate time, particularlyfor those who conceived of organizing scientificinquiry into discrete disciplinary fields. During

the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries,the growth and development of the social sciencemovement into disciplinary fields was in fullforce; even history for some became a science.Soon after the Civil War, the potential of thesocial sciences was realized through an emphasison scientific investigation, with the promise ofemerging, discrete academic disciplines. History,not yet assigned to the humanities, along withnew fields of economics, psychology, sociology,anthropology, and other branches of science,were to capture the imagination of scholars anduniversity liberal arts faculties with a particularattitude toward knowledge that became thefoundation for twentieth-century scholarship.

Today, arguably, there is a trend towardintegrating disciplinary fields, especially in thesciences, whereas earlier in the century educatorswere struggling to identify new fields. At thesame time that the social sciences were attempt-ing to identify their own academic boundaries,the social studies attempted a "counterrevolu-tion," structured on integrating the social sci-ences, history, and, for some, the humanities.The social science and history community didnot eagerly receive the idea of social studies as anintegrated subject to be taught in schools (Earth1992, 34). In a modern world where academicreputations are established on research in disci-plinary fields, a school subject such as socialstudies, which calls for a broadly conceived inte-gration of the social sciences and humanities,runs against a popular intellectual trend.

The fragmenting of knowledge into eversmaller bites within discrete disciplines ratherthan the integration of knowledge, which hasoccurred during the past hundred years in theUnited States, has not been lost on the interna-tional community. Though social studies as aschool subject has substantially spread through-out the world, the notion of an integrated schoolsocial studies curriculum could be perceived asbeing out of step, surely not in harmony with thetimes. Admittedly, some elementary classroomsfeature an integrated social studies (illustratedabove by the Japanese and Zambians), but, inmost cases, secondary social studies remains trueto the twentieth-century preference for separatesubjects that derive their content from disci-plinary fields. An interesting speculation mightbe, Will the twentieth-century preference forseparate subjects based on disciplinary fieldscontinue, or will the social studies notion of inte-

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grated content around significant social-personalproblems emerge?

The argument in the United States wentbeyond integration versus separate subjects. TheProgressive Movement championed U.S. reformby favoring a perfected democracy that dependedupon an educated citizenry who understood howthe political system should work. Education wasthe wayand social studies was the answerto how the citizens would learn their responsibil-ities (Brady 1994, 25).

An earlier social movement called Populismlaid a different foundation for the social studies.The Populists imagined a citizenship educationthat would question the very structure of thepolitical system, believing that, given the politi-cal and economic system that existed, democra-cy would never function for the benefit of thepeople. So it was that social studies emerged notonly as counter to the social science movementbut also upon the horns of two movements,Populist and Progressive, both calling forreform, yet in conflict with each other over whatchanges were needed.

To further complicate the birth of social stud-ies, social scientists who had thoughts about thedissemination of their knowledge conceived socialstudies as a direct conduit, perhaps a handmaid-en. Social studies was conceived as that mecha-nism by which the citizens would learn abouttheir societyas perceived by the social scientists(Saxe 1991, 2-3). From the social scientists' pointof view, schools would feature a social studies thatwas not integrated but was compartmentalizedinto discrete social sciences and history. If atti-tudes of the social scientists were not sufficient tocreate a stillborn integrated social studies, thenfactor in the conflict over Populist and Progressivereform. Be sure to include a lack of consensuson definitions, purposes, aims, and goals, and forteaching social studies.

If Americans could not articulate a coherentnotion of the field and were thought to be out ofstep with intellectual twentieth-century trendsto create discrete social science fields, then is itlittle wonder that those outside the UnitedStates found the field hard to understand?Notwithstanding arguments against the devel-opment of social studies, a vision of the socialstudies field as an alternative to other forms ofcitizenship education did, in fact, emerge inmany countries by the latter part of the twenti-eth century.

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Social Studies as the Heritageof a Nation

Obviously social studies has survived, thoughit has not necessarily overcome the problems ofperception and application that have plagued thefield since its inception. In the United Statessocial studies is clearly intended to reinforce itsparticular heritage of democracy. But, in fact, thesocial studies field is the heritage of a nation, asillustrated by how other countries view it. Forexample, in Sierra Leone social studies is:

structured around the student and spirals outfrom the family and the local community.Beyond the national level the structure furtherincludes the international community andrelated issues. (Institute of Education n.d., 1)

Sudan takes the reinforcement of the Islamicfaith as the purpose of social studies. The SovietUnion maintained social studies as the way toreinforce communist ideology. Social studies inJapan, in its early phase of development, was per-ceived as a reinforcement of traditional moralvalues. Tanzania adopted social studies as oneway to promote socialism. South Korean socialstudies aims at encouraging anticommunism butnot necessarily democracy. Germany aims atdeveloping a democratic tradition, yet "a goodEuropean citizen is a good world citizen." Inshort, the field is assigned a purpose in eachcountry. It could be reinforcing democracy, com-munism, the Islamic faith, precolonial traditions,or the persona of a ruling dictatoras is the casein Malawi and some West African countriesbut, in most cases, the attempt is to create anational identity, preserve traditions, and pro-mote social cohesion. In essence, social studies isperceived as nation building. How that nationbuilding is conceived depends upon the country'spriorities. Tucker (1981, 318) stated:

Issues that cause social studies to be devel-opmental are: (1) different nations orregions have different reasons for teachingsocial studies; (2) social studies more thanother school subjects influences and isinfluenced by the social, political and eco-nomic values and institutions of society.

There is an American social studies, but thenthere is also a Spanish social studies, a Russiansocial studies, a Namibian social studies, a

Nigerian social studies, a South Korean socialstudies, a German social studies, and as manyother differing forms of social studies as there arecountries that have adopted the field as their cit-izenship education.

Organizing an InternationalSocial Studies

Though there has been some discussionabout creating an international social studiesassociation, as yet most international activitieshave been sponsored by regional or nationalsocial studies organizations. The 1990s broughtinternational social studies conferences, thefourth to be held in Australia in 1997, and theInternational Association for Children's Socialand Economic Education, based in Englandsince 1994. This professional organizationencourages global membership. Internationalpublications, such as the International Journal ofSocial Education sponsored by the IndianaCouncil for the Social Studies and Ball StateUniversity, are further evidence of the interna-tionalizing of social studies. One could also pointto numerous regional organizations such as theNational Institute of Curriculum Development(The Netherlands) and the African Social andEnvironmental Studies Programme (Nairobi,Kenya) and unilateral programs that haveencouraged social studies educators to visit othercountriesAmerican Fulbright grants andawards, United States Information Agency(USIA) programs, and Japan's Keizai KohoCenter fellowships. In fact, countries and corpo-rations sponsor a variety of exchange programsthat internationalize the field. Why this interest?What is it about social studies that has attractedinternational attention?

What Explains the Attractionof Social Studies?

Explaining the widening influence of thesocial studies movement is complex, but two fac-tors undoubtedly present themselves. One relatesto the purpose of social studies and the otherrelates to the impact of a historical event.

Social Studies in a RapidlyChanging World

Whether "preparing students for intelligentmembership in society" (Wesley and Wronski1973, 42) or "to provide students with the skillsand knowledge required to cope with the con-

temporary world" (Becker and Mehlinger 1968,10), social studies is a simple but attractivethought for many modern countries that facerapid change and also profess a preference for oneor more of the following beliefs: freedom ofthought, expression of religion, a tolerance andcompassion for others, a sense of community, anacceptance of pluralism, and the encouragementof individualism. How can a country that experi-ences rapid change also effectively profess one orall of these preferences? One response has beento educate students to become thoughtful citi-zens. For example, in Nigeria:

social studies ... is expected to inculcate andstrengthen in the child basic socializing andhumanizing responsibilities through thechild's acquisition of fundamental concepts,understandings, values, attitudes and socialskills necessary to live in society. (Eheazu1986, 21)

Nagai (1983, 64) described the Japanese viewof citizenship: "In Japan being a good citizenmeans being a democratic and world-mindedcitizen with a relevant, deep traditional identity."

Preparation for intelligent membership insociety must account for rapid change because theconsequences of change affect a citizen's qualityof life. For some, change is what social studies isall abouthelping citizens control their lives ina rapidly changing world. John Cogan (1994,338) asked, 'What kinds of knowledge and skillsare needed to help us cope with and managechange rather than having it direct us?" If changehappens very rapidly, as in any highly developedtechnological society, then change can be dislo-cating. Rapid change is unsettling and can leadto unhappiness, fractured families, identitycrises, unemployment, drug abuse, crime, worldwars, economic depression, crises, and chaos.Contemporary Russia, the late Yugoslavia, Iraq,and numerous countries in Africa and the MiddleEast come to mind. Cogan (1994, 338) summa-rized the argument: "These are difficult timesfor the global community. The changes takingplace in Russia are a microcosm of those takingplace across the planet."

Viewed through a Japanese perspective,change might foster "some undesirable tenden-cies to anti- or non-social attitudes ... such as agrowing concern with self as compared to thegroup, the company, and the nation" (Nagai,

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1983, 63), which in Japan might encourage aban-donment of traditional values, discipline, and amoral code of behavior. A social studies unitissued by the African Social Studies Programme,speaking for seventeen African countries, put itthis way:

Changes take place all the time all aroundus, although they may be small and imper-ceptible. As many planned changes areassociated with progress, people should giveproposed changes a chance to succeed ...but when there arises the need to change,such changes must be carefully explained inorder to be acceptable to the people.(African Social Studies Programme, 34)

The arguments urge that the study of changeought to be a continuous part of the school cur-riculum, that the subject matter taught in thecurriculum should be selected and integrated insuch a way that students identify persistent socialproblems they must consider carefully through-out their lifetimes. Tamakloe (1988, 61) fromGhana elaborated:

Social studies requires that knowledge belooked upon as a unit and that all disciplinesmust contribute to man's understanding. ...Integration enables the pupil, at the earlystages of school life, to look at knowledge ina holistic manner. ... Integration facilitates,for the young student, the analysis anddescription of contemporary problems.

The social sciences, humanities, and otherrelevant disciplines would provide the content.The curriculum, however, should focus on acountry's traditions and skills, those that mighthelp a citizen function effectively in society, thuscontinuing the process of self-realization andnation building. The philosophy of Liberiansocial studies education is:

to be truly Liberian, should flow from theLiberian Cultural Heritagebeliefs, cus-toms, folklores, arts, crafts, and literature ...new needs and priorities. ... Our teachershave therefore to instill these nobler senti-ments. (Ministry of Education, R. L. 1979, 3)

The social studies curriculum was not only toemphasize traditions, social problems, skills, and

decision-making processes, but was to be devel-opmental. For example, social studies curriculumin the State of Kuwait plays a major role indeveloping the responsible citizen. The curricu-lum, grades four through twelve, covers majorbranches of social studies starting with thecommunity, developing the state of Kuwait, GulfStates, Arab countries, Islamic countries, and theworld (Karam 1993, 1). The Department ofCurriculum Development and Evaluation(1990, 12) in Botswana cited a practical exampleof this way of thinking:

Our Social Studies programme is organizedbased on the educational theory of learningwhich we call expanding horizons, or some-times expanding environments. The theoryis that as children grow, their view of theworld or environment grows and expands aswell. Also their capabilities develop, and inconsequence they can do different things atdifferent Standard levels. So, expandinghorizons means that children are able tohandle more complex and demanding tasksas they grow older and as they proceedthrough the [social studies] curriculum.

The original notion of a school curriculumfounded on a vision of a changing, interdepen-dent, and problem-laden society in crisisrequired some systematic rational thoughtprocess that would be learned in a general edu-cation course, i.e., social studies. As change andcomplexity increase in the life of an individual,social studies, which directly proposes to preparecitizens in a formal school setting for intelligentmembership in society, becomes an attractivealternative. Educators who introduced socialstudies to seventeen African countries at the his-toric 1968 Mombasa Conference summarizedthe role of social studies in these words:

African schools will tend to be used in adeliberate way as instruments of socialchange. The main functions of the school inthis process will be both to facilitate accep-tance of change and to foster the notion thatindividuals have some control over theirenvironment; schools should, therefore,encourage an inquiring attitude to changerather than passive acceptance. (Report of aConference of Africa Educators, 6-7)

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World War II and Social Studiesas Nation Building

The second factor influencing the interna-tionalizing of the social studies movement was theSecond World War. The social studies movementgathered momentum after the war. Defeatedenemy countries, along with recently freed colo-nial countries, became fertile ground for socialstudies. The United States, defeated enemies, andex-colonial countries had at least one thing incommonthey were all attempting to form, ifnot new countries, then at least national identitiesthat would fit their growth and developmentin the twentieth century (Barth 1994, 11). Obidaand Kobiowu (1988, 49) suggested that:

The introduction of social studies into theNigerian school curriculum should beunderstood as part of a general response tothe problems of independence, unificationand development.

The fact that countries have common inter-ests in establishing unique identities did notmean that there was agreement on what socialstudies was, or what the curriculum ought to be.It just meant that a concept of social studies asnation building, distinct from other programs ofcitizenship education, was evolving. ProfessorKajuba (1994, 70), past Vice-Chancellor ofMakerere University in Uganda, discussed nationbuilding:

Education, particularly citizenship educa-tion, has a big role in the process of nation-building and development. ... It is throughthis constant search for the "ideal of man"that Social Studies education will con-tribute most significantly to national inte-gration and nation-building.

The move from colony to independent newcountry became a significant event. The socialstudies approach to citizenship educationoffered an alternative to the colonial model. TheUnited States, along with other excolonial coun-tries, was attempting to imagine educational sys-tems that were supportive of their unique tradi-tions. As colonies, they were required to emulatethe education system of their colonizers.Whatever educational system existed frompreschool through higher education, it was cal-culated to create colonial citizens who respected

the traditions of their masters and ignored theirown. Sir Seretse Khama (1970), Botswana's firstpresident, spoke for all ex-colonial countries andlaid a foundation for the introduction of socialstudies:

We were made to believe that we had nopast to speak of, no history to boast of. Thepast, so far as we were concerned, was just ablank and nothing more. ... We shouldwrite our own history books, to prove thatwe did have a past; and that it was a past thatwas just as worth writing and learning aboutas any other. We must do this for the simplereason that a nation without a past is a lostnation, and a people without a past is a peo-ple without a soul.

The social studies approach was flexibleenough to offer each new nation the opportunityto abandon colonial traditions, developing itsown program for citizenship education.Botswana is an example:

Botswana Social Studies is different fromSocial Studies in any other country in theworld. Each country that has adopted SocialStudies has its own Social Studies curricu-lum and materials, because each country issomewhat different from, as well as similarto, all other countries. Admittedly this is abit confusing to some people because theyexpect, as they do in math and science, thesame subject and content being taught in allcountries. The content of Botswana's SocialStudies conforms to the experience ofBotswana's people. That doesn't mean wedon't study comparative culture or that wedon't recognize our responsibilities as globalcitizens; but in fact, we do have our ownparticular program designed to develop ournation, and that is the reason our citizenshipeducation is called Botswana Social Studies.(Department of Curriculum Developmentand Evaluation 1990, 10)

Preparing Citizens for NationBuilding through Social Studies

Citizenship education in many developingcountries has evolved through three phases:1. traditional society, 2. colonial period, and3. the social studies approach to citizenship edu-

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cation. Senior Inspector of Social Studies,C. M. Mgagula (1988, 2), of the Kingdom ofSwaziland, explained citizenship in phase one,traditional society:

Social Studies is not an entirely new field ofstudy in the Swazi society. As long asSwazis existed, their children have alwayswanted to learn. The Swazi way of learningwas very similar to the [social studies] thatwe use today. Young people were groomedfor adult citizen roles in the Swazi societyand those roles enabled them to becomeuseful members of the Swazi society. Thelocal environment and community wereused as learning vehicles.

In the first phase, much like most societiesthroughout the world, the entire educationalapproach aimed at producing an effective mem-ber of society. That society was meant to shapeand mold a good citizen who would, in turn,enjoy the best social, economic, and politicalachievements of that society. In other words,education was a communal achievement wherethe village raised the child and there was littlethought of individual academic achievement.Citizenship training in the traditional society wasan integration of all the history, culture, values,and beliefs of the family, community, and ethnicgroup. Initiation into adult responsibilities was acommunal achievement where the good citizen'sgoal was to fit into the traditional society

In some traditional societies, during thecolonial period the community elders lost theright to instruct and initiate. During the colonialperiod, phase two, citizenship education becamea national, formal education that prepared the"native" for an obligation beyond the family,village, ethnic group, and nation. The obligationwas to the colonial empire, because colonialcitizenship was not nation building but empirebuilding. Under this citizenship system, the his-tory government, and economic system of thecolonizer was to be honored, as was individualacademic achievement. The fact that the contentdid not reflect the colony was ignored. Mgagula(1988, 12) also explained the second phase, thecolonial period:

In the beginning of the twentieth centurymissionaries established schools inSwaziland with the express purpose of

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enabling the Swazis to read the Bible. Withthe progress of time, the methods and con-tent of the curriculum tended to alienatethe child from the oral and cultural heritageof his society. History and Geography wereEurocentric in that they emphasized heroicdeeds of European statesmen and women.Pupils were exposed to concepts which hadvery little relevance to the needs of theSwazi Nation. Little was drawn fromthe immediate familiar environment of thechild. Also the Swazi pupils knew very lit-tle about the pioneers of the Swazi nation.The curriculum in Geography and Historywas not consistent with Swazi expectationsand background.

When independence had been achieved afterthe Second World War, the social studiesapproach, the third phase, appeared. In the thirdphase in many countries, social studies was mod-eled after the phase-one traditional approach togood citizenship in that local, regional, andnational history, culture, and values were inte-grated and honored as worthy subjects. In brief,the field became internationalized because itsintegrated social studies curriculum permitteda people to honor their traditions by requiringstudents in their elementary schools to studytheir village, their ethnic group, their history asa country, all of which was not examined duringthe colonial period. The concept of social studiesbecame for many countries the educationalreform that freed them finally from foreigncolonial traditions that were calculated to denythem their identity. Mgagula (1988, 2) explainedwhy social studies was adopted for citizenshipeducation in phase three:

When Swaziland regained her indepen-dence in 1968, the Swazi nation started todemand radical changes in the entire [citi-zenship] education system, especially tomake the curriculum relevant to the post-independence situation.

There probably is no mystery as to why socialstudies spread rapidly after World War II,because it evolved at a time when countries wereattempting to find an identity, preserve tradi-tions, and respond to new needs and priorities.Social studies evolved from the recommendationof a professional teachers organization at the

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turn of the century to a world movement eightyyears later.

Is an International Vision of SocialStudies Possible?

Every country that has adopted social studiesis an example of an alternative future because notwo programs are exactly alike. Thus, any visionof the field must account for the fact that socialstudies is likely to continue to be the heritage ofa nation. Cogan (1982, 9) may be right"Theworld today can best be understood as a singular,albeit complex system." Is an international visionof social studies possible or desirable? At present,there is no international vision of social studies,simply because social studies is "country specif-ic." However, that does not preclude that citi-zenship education programs across countriescould not agree on some of the following ideasin their social studies curricula:

that social studies includes an integrated cur-riculum and is developmental in the sensethat social studies understandings are basedupon the mental development of studentsin the form of expanding environment scopeand sequence;

that the content in the form of concepts andgeneralizations is derived from the socialsciences, humanities, and other appropriatefields, with some notion of nation buildingand preparing students for intelligentmembership in society;

that the curriculum of social studies is intend-ed to be a country's school citizenship edu-cation program. The program is flexible inthe sense that definitions, purposes, aims,and goals may be "country specific."However, the content will normally explorea range of citizenship identities, local,regional, national, and international.

The field is not necessarily linked in countrieswith the study of social problems and issues orwith a reflective inquiry thought process. In short,almost all programs attempt to create identity,preserve traditions, and promote social cohesion.

Must a social studies vision be linked to democ-racy? In many countries it is, but there are anumber of instances where social studies is a cit-izenship education curriculum in a dictatorship.Also, it is not unusual for new countries thathave identified with democracy to adopt socialstudies and continue to support social studies

even though the country may revert to anauthoritarian government. The reverse is alsotrue, where a dictatorship has rejected socialstudies on the grounds that the field is linked todemocracy and inquiry.

What might be alternative future visions ofinternational social studies? The field, given itsgeneral purpose to develop intelligent citizen-ship, continues to be, in spite of serious problemsof application, a good idea. The same reasoningthat would explain the growth of social studiesfrom a modest beginning after the turn of thecentury to an international movement would jus-tify the thought that social studies will continueto evolve as an international field. As countriesbecome less isolated and more interactive with aworld community, the social studies thatembraces globalism should prosper. An interna-tional social studies organization could well be aconsequence of that sense of world community.The NCSS has now laid a foundation for peri-odic international meetings. Already, inquiriesabout future international meetings have comefrom social studies educators in such countries asIndia, Spain, The Netherlands, West Indies,Canada, Ethiopia, and from countries that havenot adopted social studies. In short, the fieldchanges as the interaction between peoplechanges. There are those who would claim thatthe twenty-first century will differ from thetwentieth century because the emphasis will beon integrating knowledge, a new century thatplaces a priority on interpretation and meaning.This is not to suggest that winning new knowl-edge, the priority of the twentieth century, willnot continue to be important, but it is to suggestthat what will become a priority will not be theidentification of discrete disciplines but problemsand issues. In short, the social studies model ofintegration of the social sciences and humanitiesfocusing on problems and issues will be muchcloser to how content must be organized forfuture instruction and less concerned withboundaries between disciplines. As integrationbecomes a popular theme in the twenty-firstcentury, the social studies, instead of being out ofstep and harmony with the twentieth century,will not only be in harmony but will take a lead-ership position as an illustration of a century-oldintegrated curriculum.

Social studies is likely to be a more attractivefield, if not a better idea, in the twenty-first cen-tury. The field may very well capture the citizen-

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ship education programs of most countries in theworld, particularly if the curriculum emphasizesidentity, change, problems and issues, global andfuture concepts, all of which may be in harmonywith needs and interests of the new century.A curriculum such as social studies, which wasconceived in part to account for change in a soci-ety, will become increasingly important as tech-nology and other forces bring about more rapidchange. As countries continue to develop andevolve, the internationalizing of social studieswill become more significant. Country-specificsocial studies evolving through an internationaldialogue is the future of citizenship education.

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National Council for the Social Studies. Expectations ofExcellence: Curriculum Standards for Social Studies.

NCSS Bulletin 89. Washington, D.C.: NationalCouncil for the Social Studies, 1994.

National Council for the Social Studies Task Force onScope and Sequence. 'in Search of a Scope andSequence for Social Studies." Social Education 48,no. 4 (April 1984): 249-62.

Obidi, S. S., and S. V. Kobiowu. "The Origin andGrowth of Social Studies in Primary Schools inNigeria, 1959-1986."African Social Studies Forum 2,no. 1 (March 1988): 45-59.

Remy, R. International Education in a Global Age. NCSSBulletin 47. Washington, D.C: National Council forthe Social Studies, 1975.

Report of a Conference of African Educators EDC andCREDO on Social Studies. Mombasa, Kenya,19-30 August 1968.

Rolheiser, C., and C. D. Glickman. "Teaching for aDemocratic Life." The Educational Forum 59, no. 2(Winter 1995): 196-206.

Saxe, D. W. Social Studies in Schools. Albany, N.Y.:

State University of New York Press, 1991.Tamakloe, E. K. "Research as a Starting Point toward a

Rational Teacher Education Programme forEffective Social Studies Teaching in Ghana."AfricanSocial Studies Forum 2, no. 1 (March 1988): 59-68.

Tucker, J. L., et al. "Teacher Education in SocialStudies." UNESCO Handbook for the Teaching of

Social Studies, edited by H. D. Mehlinger, 298-320.London: Croom Helm, Ltd., 1981.

Wesley, E.B., and S. P. Wronski. Teaching Secondary

Social Studies in a World Society. 6th ed. Lexington,

Mass.: D. C. Heath and Co., 1973.

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Part Elevei: Materials andIntroduction ba William H. Fernehes

The range of resources for issues-centerededucation in the social studies is very broadindeed. The resources in this section of theHandbook reflect an orientation emphasizingthe relationship of issues education to thepublic good, which is more often than not

mediated by the development, implementationand ongoing critique of public policy. Balance wasdesired in the selection of issues by including pol-icy concerns in the domestic and international/global spheres, as well as those which transcendsuch divisions (such as Race, Gender and Class,as well as Science, Technology and Society).

Chapter authors were asked to select the12-15 most outstanding instructional resourcesavailable to educators for the design, planningand implementation of issues-centered socialstudies programs. Criteria for selection of theannotated resources included the following: theannotated resources should 1. be applicable to abroad cross-section of the student population;2. provide actual material for student and teacheruse in the classroom; 3. be readily available inprint or accessible from major libraries if out ofprint; 4. offer versatile applications in a variety ofclassroom settings; 5. contain a multiculturalemphasis in content if possible; 6. embody highquality instructional design; and 7. have applica-bility that is not time-bound to the present. Inlarge part, the resources in this section meet all ofthese criteria, thus representing an excellent start-ing point for the development of issues-centeredsocial studies curriculum planning and instruction.

Given limitations of space, additional resourcesminus annotations have been listed at the conclusionof each chapter which warrant further explora-tion.The resources section contains three divisions.The chapters on domestic economic policy, govern-ment policy-making and international affairs and for-

Reso fces

eign policy emphasize study of issues where the roleof U.S. policy-making is central. The chapters onglobal development, international human rights anddomesticlinternational children's issues place policy-making within an international dimension, whereintergovernmental and international organizations areprominent. The final two chapters on race, genderand class and science, technology and society tran-scend geopolitical divisions, providing perspectiveson issues-centered study that are critical for theunderstanding of contemporary society and the in-depth study of policy-making in multiple contexts.

General Resources and MaterialsAnnual Editions. (Discipline-based anthologies of

issues-centered controversy, updated every twoyears). Guilford, CT: Dushkin Publishing Co.

Close Up Foundation. (annual). Current Issues: CriticalIssues Confronting the Nation and the World

Arlington, VA: Close Up Foundation.Contemporary World Issues. Series published by ABC-

Clio, Santa Barbara, CA.Kidron, M. and R. Segal. The New State of the World

Atlas (rev. ed.). New York: Touchstone, 1993.National Issues Forum in the Classroom. Issues

Handbooks. (published annually). Dubuque, IA:Kendall-Hunt Publishing Co.

Opposing Viewpoints Series. (Pro-con contemporaryand historical issues books and pamphlets).San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press.

Oliver, D. W., and E M. Newmann. Public Awes Series (rev.

ed). Boulder CO: Social Science Education Consortium.

Public Issues Network Newsletter (annual). Boulder, CO:

Social Science Education Consortium.Social Issues Resources Series. Available in printed volumes

by topic or on CD-ROM. Boca Raton FL: SocialIssues Resources Series, Inc.

Taking Sides. (Pro-con books on issues of social contro-versy). Guilford, CT: Dushkin Publishing Co.

THE RY AND PRACTICEOF SUES-CENTERED EDUCATIONbq Will in R. Fernekes

orks on the theory and practice of issues-centered education in the social studiesproliferated in the period from 1950 to1975. Characterized by strong emphaseson the theory and practice of reflectiveinquiry, decision-making, and the critical

examination of core values, beliefs, institutionsand behaviors in U. S. society, a substantial bodyof literature emerged to reorient social studieseducation towards the study of social issues andpublic policy at all levels of schooling (see Huntand Metcalf, Newmann, Newmann and Oliver,Oliver and Shaver, and Taba, et al). This perspec-tive was prominent in the theory and practice ofthe "new social studies" from 1960 to 1975, whenmethods texts, curriculum project publicationsand many classroom instructional materialsfocused on issues-centered approaches withinexisting social studies courses, or as core elementsof new curricula. For example, the HarvardSocial Studies Project pamphlets in AmericanHistory employed the jurisprudential approachof Oliver, Shaver and Newmann as their keyorganizing principle, while textbooks in a varietyof subject areas, such as world history, civics andgovernment, and economics utilized issues-centered themes to organize content.

Since the late 1970s, publications on the the-ory and practice of issues-centered social studieseducation have been sporadic. Engle and Ochoa'sEducation for Democratic Citizenship is the onlywork since the mid-to-late 1970s to articulate acomprehensive rationale placing issues study atthe center of social studies education, offering asharp contrast to the neo-conservative orientationarticulated by advocates of a history-geography-civics approach to social education such as DianeRavitch, Chester Finn, William Bennett, and theBradley Commission on History in the Schools.

Concurrent with the neo-conservative critique ofsocial studies education there emerged a body ofliterature highlighting critical curriculum theoryand its application to schooling practices. A majoreducational philosopher cited by critical curricu-lum theorists such as Michael Apple and HenryGiroux is Paolo Freire, whose pedagogicalapproach to empowering learners is discussedcomprehensively in the Shor and Freire volume.The implications of Freire's liberation pedagogycontrast sharply with neo-conservative recom-mendations for both curriculum and instruction,because Freire's ideas emphasize linkages betweenthe experiences of learners and social issuesillustrating inequities in wealth, status and powerin late twentieth century capitalism.

An interesting development, virtually simul-taneous with the neo-conservative reaction tosocial studies education and the development ofcritical curriculum theory, is the renewed inter-est in issues-centered social studies representedby the National Issues Forum in the Classroomprogram, the Lockwood and Harris work onethical issues in U. S. History, and the specialissue of The Social Studies on Issues-CenteredEducation. These works blend concise discus-sions of theory with systematic explanations ofinstructional practices geared to engaging stu-dents in issues-centered learning within theexisting social studies curriculum. They harkenback to the pathbreaking work of authors fromthe period 1950-1975, while attempting to showthe centrality of issues-centered learning fortoday's students and teachers.

ResourcesEngle, Shirley H. and Anna S. Ochoa. Education for

Democratic Citizenship: Decision Making in the Social

Studies. NY: Teachers College Press, 1988.

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Following in the spirit of Hunt and Metcalf,Oliver and Shaver, and Newmann and Oliver,Engle and Ochoa accept Myrdal's "AmericanCreed" as a beginning core for study of essentialdemocratic ideals. They argue citizenship mustbe focused on cultivating citizens who "have thefacility to make intelligent political judgmentsrelated to controversial issues in our society" (5).Social studies education's primary purpose isthus to educate citizens through dialogue aboutthe nature of society and the common good, inthe process helping children and youth to"acquire the knowledge and intellectual skillsneeded to keep the discussion open to enable theyoung citizen to participate in the process ofimproving the society" (8).

The authors argue that both socializing andcountersocializing influences require emphasis ineducational settings, with the former being pre-dominant in the early grades (K-5 or 6) and thelatter in the higher grades (6 or 7-12).

Countersocialization educates students toimprove their rational thought processes with theaim of becoming effective social critics and polit-ical problem-solvers. Social studies programswhich emphasize socialization (reinforcing exist-ing cultural norms) fail to move beyond their con-serving tendencies and thus minimize reformingtendencies. In contrast, Engle and Ochoa arguethat the only way everyone in a democracy can beoffered their deserved opportunities to develophuman potential is through cultivation of criticalskepticism about truth claims, refinement ofproblem-solving skills, and in-depth considera-tion of issues emphasizing active student deci-sion-making. Democratic habits and attitudesshould prevail in the classroom at all grades, butdeveloping critical reasoning processes must takeprecedence by early adolescence so that indepen-dent, reflective reasoning is fostered regularly.

Engle and Ochoa's work provides a veryhelpful update on the work begun by earlieradvocates of reflective thought and issues-cen-tered curricula.

In Chapter 8, a detailed framework for amodel curriculum based upon their philosophi-cal premises is offered, while Chapters 9 and 10contain strategies for curriculum implementa-tion and reflective teaching practices. Very note-worthy is the inclusion in Chapter 11 of con-crete suggestions for assessment focused onalternatives to the ubiquitous paper and penciltest. The assessment strategies are consistent

with the authors' emphasis on individual andgroup decision-making, student-centered dis-cussion, and developing divergent thinkingprocesses. The appendix provides a uniqueteacher evaluation instrument that reorients thesupervision process towards the behaviors andattitudes the authors believe are paramount ina reflective educator. Through the questions itposes, this instrument has important potentialto refocus teacher evaluation by peers, studentsor superiors on long-term professional growthand should be carefully examined for possibleapplication in school settings.

Offering a comprehensive justification ofsocial studies as issues-centered education, with astrong focus on reflective decision-making as thecore of social studies curriculum and instructionEngle and Ochoa's work effectively blends ele-ments from many earlier works into a coherentprogram for K-12 classrooms.

Evans, Ronald W., ed. "Defining Issues-Centered SocialStudies Education." Special Section in The SocialStudies, Vol. 83, No. 3 (May/June 1992): 93-119.Evans has assembled an introductory essay,

five articles, and a resource list that updates thestatus of issues-centered education in socialstudies. Evans begins the special section with anoverview of efforts to define issues-centered edu-cation. The articles range from Shaver's discus-sion of rationales for issues-centered social studiesto instructional strategy pieces with specificguidelines for classroom instruction. Among thelatter are Oliver, Newmann and Singleton's pieceon public issues discussion and Brandhorst's casestudy illustrating how to infuse issues in the socialstudies curriculum, employing the Engle andOchoa reflective thought model with foreign pol-icy concerns. This compendium helps teachersand supervisors examine the historic continuity ofissues-centered approaches in the social studiesliterature, and argues forcefully for their place-ment at the center of social studies curriculumand instruction. Available from Heldref Publica-tions, 1319 Eighteenth Street, NW, WashingtonDC 20036-1802. Single copy cost: $7.50.

Hunt, Maurice P. and Lawrence E. Metcalf. TeachingHigh School Social Studies: Problems in Reflective

Thinking and Social Understanding. 2d ed. New YorkHarper and Row, 1968.This book is regularly cited in most issues-

centered social studies literature that has

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appeared since its initial publication in 1955.Hunt and Metcalf's advocacy of reflectivethought as the core of democratic citizenship is atheme appearing in the work of Oliver andShaver (1966), and most notably in that of Engleand Ochoa (1988). Building upon Dewey, Huntand Metcalf argue that the reflective reconstruc-tion of beliefs helps young people clarify and pre-serve the central ideals of democratic life.Reflective thought is engendered when studentsare offered opportunities for the critical examina-tion of "closed areas" in civic life, defined as areaswhere conflicts between core values and beliefsand actual behaviors are illuminated in classroominstruction. Through the study of such closedareas (for example, issues related to gender orien-tation, race and other controversies in society),students encounter cognitive dissonance, pre-senting teachers and students with situationswhere deliberation using a hypothetical reason-ing model drawn from the social sciences cancontribute potential solutions to social problems.

Part I provides a comprehensive discussion ofthe philosophical and psychological foundationsof reflective teaching, while Parts II and III pre-sent detailed examinations of how to teach con-cepts and generalizations, how to employ valueanalysis and value clarification strategies, thereflective teaching of history, and the central roleof discussion in reflective teaching methodology.

Part IV includes application of reflectivethought strategies to "problematic areas of cul-ture" in the social studies, and should be updatedbased upon societal trends of the past 25 years.Despite its age, this book's discussion of the coreelements of reflective thought makes it essentialreading for anyone seeking to implement issues-centered education in the social studies.

Lockwood, Allan and David Harris. Reasoning With

Democratic Values: Ethical Decision-Making in United

States History. New York Teachers College Press, 1985.

This curriculum emphasizes the promotionof social responsibility among students, andincludes an instructor's manual and two volumesof case studies drawn from United StatesHistory. The curriculum rationale, programgoals, and suggested instructional approaches arediscussed in the Instructor's Manual, whileVolumes I and II contain the historical case stud-ies and accompanying student analysis questions.

Similar to Oliver and Shaver, Newmann andOliver, and Engle and Ochoa, the authors stress

study of core democratic values (life, liberty,property, equality and others) but note that studyof core values doesn't preclude conflict or honestdebate about the courses of citizen action.

Rational thought is proposed as a prerequisiteto taking citizen obligations, rights and respon-sibilities seriously and to acting responsibly aftercareful consideration of the ethical dimensionsof problems. Relying heavily on Kohlberg'shierarachy of cognitive-moral development, theauthors advocate systematic discussion of ethi-cal problems to improve the quality of studentreasoning.

Values analysis is the core instructionalapproach framing each case study, and the authorsemploy a creative "question and answer" approachin the instructor's manual to justify their choice ofvalues analysis and components of moral educa-tion as their preferred instructional approach.

Values clarification is deemed inadequate dueto its reliance on ethical relativism, while U.S.History is defended as the context for study ofethical problems given the persistence of ethicaldilemmas from the period of colonization to thepresent and the centrality of value conflict in thedevelopment of government policy.

The many strengths of this volume includeits systematic approach to instructional activi-ties. Four activities are used with each case study:seeking historical understanding, reviewing factsof the case, analyzing ethical issues, and express-ing your reasoning. The authors emphasize thatall are integral to the development of improvedreasoning. The Instructor's Manual also includessample lesson designs for teaching specificethical case studies, with detailed and well-writ-ten discussion formats and careful analyses ofdiffering instructional strategies: large and smallgroup discussions, written dialogues, recordeddialogues, and sociodramas.

Teachers employing this curriculum caneasily adapt all or part of it within courses inU. S. History, moral education, policy studies,and other subject matter areas (language arts, forexample). The suggestions for guiding teacher-led discussions in the Instructor's Manual arehelpful, but the sections on grading and evalua-tion and program evaluation are superficial, lack-ing effective strategies for evaluating the qualityof discussion contributions and student writing.

Massialas, Byron G., Nancy F. Sprague, and Joseph B.

Hurst. Social Issues Through Inquiry: Coping In An Age of

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Crises. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1975.

The authors believe that the schools mustundertake the role of creatively examining andreconstructing the culture of the United States.Building upon the work of Hunt and Metcalf,Oliver and Shaver, and advocates of an educa-tion that is responsive to patterns of socialchange (such as Kenneth Boulding), Massialas,Sprague and Hurst believe the goal of citizen-ship education is to engage students in the con-tinuous examination of societal ideals and beliefthrough active inquiry . and effective politicalparticipation. They advocate classroom inquiryinto social problems that provides support foropen-ended discussions and investigations ofsocietal issues, placing the critical examinationof values at the center of inquiry. Ultimately, theauthors contend that students should emergefrom their social studies education with a betterunderstanding of human behavior, values andfeelings based upon the discovery, testing anduse of valid concepts and generalizations in thehumanities and social sciences. Extensive analy-sis of instructional approaches is included inChapters 2 through 6, where the teacher role inthe inquiry classroom is contrasted with teacherroles in classrooms emphasizing "expository"and "opining" approaches. Many examplesdrawn from classroom interaction between stu-dents and teachers illustrate inquiry strategies,contrasting with strategies emphasizing exposi-tion and opining.

A major strength is the inclusion in Chapters7 through 10 of assessment strategies for issues-centered instruction, containing the techniquesand results from one of the few comprehensivestudies of social issues instruction in social stud-ies. Analyses of both teacher behaviors and stu-dent attitudes towards social issues instructionare included, along with recommendations forthe improvement of inquiry approaches to socialissues instruction. The final chapter offers sug-gestions for the further development of a "socialissues through inquiry" orientation to social stud-ies, highlighting needs for improved teacher edu-cation (both pre-service and in-service), instruc-tional materials development and more aggres-sive advocacy of inquiry-based approaches toeducational policymakers. This work is a valuablesource for teachers and supervisors who want tobetter implement and assess inquiry approachesto issues-centered education in social studies.

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National Issues Forum in the Classroom. Public PolicyInstitute Handbook,1993. Dayton Ohio: NationalIssues Forums in the Classroom, 1993.For ordering information contact: Dr. Jon Rye

Kinghorn, National Issues Forums in the Classroom,100 Commons Road, Dayton OH 45459-2777.Phone: 1-800-433-7834.

This comprehensive handbook for the devel-opment of public issues discussion in the schoolsand citizen deliberation in community forums isemployed as a training manual for participants inthe summer institutes on the National IssuesForum program co-sponsored by the KetteringFoundation and the National Council for theSocial Studies. The handbook is divided intoeleven "sessions" (sections) correlated with thesummer public issues institute teacher trainingprograms. Session 1 provides a rationale forbroad-based citizen participation in deliberationabout public issues, drawing upon polling andfocus group research concerning why the publicin the U. S. has a low rate of participation inpolitical life. This session also contains a conciseoverview of the forms of deliberation and theskills involved in becoming a more active andknowledgeable member of the public, as well as aprecise discussion of the relationship betweensocial studies goals and the knowledge, skills andattitudes promoted in the NIF approach. Session2 establishes the differing dimensions of politicalactivity, emphasizing that not all political behav-ior must be adversarial, competitive or "win-lose"in orientation. It includes activities focusing onhow students can examine a broader perspectiveon public issues geared to developing meaningfulsolutions in the public interest.

Sessions 3, 4, and 6 include hands-on activi-ties for development by students and educators ofkey components in the NIF approach: largegroup forums, issue analysis, and small groupforums. High quality student handouts areprovided, with clear instructions and excellentexamples drawn from classroom practice.

Session 7 offers a very incisive summary ofhow the NIF approach relates to the achievementof citizenship goals in a deliberative democracy.Student objectives are clearly identified and theirrelationship to developing public deliberationskills and expanding the general knowledge ofstudents is articulated systematically.

Session 8 contains sample lesson activitiesrelated to specific issues in the NIF series, whilesessions 9 and 10 focus on assessment strategies

and how to help students author their own issuesbook, respectively. The assessment strategies arewell-designed and comprehensive, focusing onevaluation of deliberative discussion, writingactivities and other forms of "authentic" assess-ment. The suggestions on how to author an issuebook are intriguing and provide a substantialextension activity for students who are well-grounded in the processes of issue analysis anddeliberative discussion.

The handbook concludes with an interestingset of handouts consisting of excerpts about theimportance of public deliberation in a democra-cy, with authors ranging from Pericles to ThomasJefferson and Eleanor Roosevelt. The weak pointof the text is session 5, which seeks to have youngpeople gain ownership of the process of learninghow to deliberate by "naming and claiming"elements of the approach introduced in sessionsone through four. To be convincing, this sessionrequires more concrete examples to demonstratehow this process works in the classroom.

The NIF approach builds upon the earlierefforts in deliberative discussion of public issuesintroduced by Oliver and Shaver, Newmann andOliver and others in this chapter. Heavily focusedon practical steps to achieve skill in public delib-eration, it is a high quality resource for theteacher who wants to implement diverse ratio-nales for issues-centered education. Educatorswho desire information about the complete NIFclassroom program, including the yearly issuesbooks and related audiovisual materials, shouldcontact Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co., 4050Westmark Drive, P. 0. Box 1840, Dubuque Iowa52004-1840 (Phone: 1-800-228-0810.)

Newmann, Fred J. and Donald W. Oliver. ClarifyingPublic Controversy: An Approach to Teaching Social

Studies. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1970.This volume emerged from the Harvard

Social Studies Project and related work in theAEP Public Issues Series. Continuing in thetradition of Oliver and Shaver's earlier volume,Teaching Public Issues in the High School,Newmann and Oliver strongly advocate supply-ing students with an analytic scheme and diverseviewpoints that they may use to clarify conflict-ing value commitments in a democratic society.Closely connected to the detailed study of valueconflict are the authors' commitments to helpingstudents develop well-reasoned justifications oftheir positions that can be defended in public.

At the same time, Newmann and Oliver notethat all justifications by students or adults onpositions related to issues of public controversymust withstand the tests of rational inquiry, andthat public policy disputes, whether they bebased upon value conflicts, discord regarding fac-tual claims, or disagreements over definitionalissues, must be subject to these rational tests.

Drawing from Gunnar Myrdal's "AmericanCreed," the authors posit the core values in theCreed as sufficiently broad to encompass diver-gent political, economic and socio-cultural per-spectives in the United States. Simultaneously,they view individual human dignity as the foun-dation value for all others in the Creed, the main-tenance of which is the fundamental goal of alldemocratic societies. By educating students toimprove their abilities to engage in rational dis-cussion of public controversy, educators shouldbe able to help students develop a style of publicjustification for positions reflecting their individ-uality, rather than simply asking students to copythe teacher's position on a value-based conflict.Use of this "jurisprudential approach" shouldhelp people "develop convictions based on firmergrounds than were formerly available" (30) whileavoiding indoctrination of students by theauthority figure of the classroom teacher.Newmann and Oliver provide excellent examplesof discussion processes drawn from their experi-ence with the AEP Public Issues Series.

Classroom excerpts are analyzed in detail andsuggestions for leading discussions related tovalue conflicts, factual disputes and definitionalissues are clearly explained. Chapters fourthrough eight provide examples of key valuecommitments and conflicts from illustrativecases in the Public Issues Series. Few otherbooks dealing with instructional methodologyprovide such detailed and thoughtful discussionsof the problems in teaching about value conflict.

Chapters 9 and 10 address problems faced inimplementing the jurisprudential approach andhow to teach discussion skills. The section onclassroom techniques and evaluating studentcompetence in chapter 9 has excellent ideas forclassroom application, again utilizing detailedexamples from actual classroom practice. Note-worthy are the clear criteria for establishingrationality of an argument, a core concern of theauthors and a central tenet of the jurisprudentialapproach. While chapter 10 offers useful sugges-tions for teaching discussion skills, the recom-

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mended techniques lack the detail provided inTaba et al. also reviewed in this section.

For anyone seeking to gain a comprehensiveunderstanding of issues-centered education, thisvolume is a must. Its rationale and discussion ofthe problems and prospects in the study of pub-lic issues remain a central contribution to thefield of social studies education.

Oliver, Donald W. and James P. Shaver. Teaching PublicIssues in the High School. Boston: Houghton MifflinCompany, 1966; Logan: Utah State UniversityPress, 1974.Originating from work begun in the 1950s at

the Harvard Social Studies Project, Oliver andShaver's volume provides a comprehensive expla-nation and justification of the jurisprudentialrationale for teaching social studies in theschools. Focusing on perennial issues of publicpolicy, jurisprudential teaching requires thatteachers and students address ethical, legal, factu-al and definitional questions about legitimatesolutions to public policy issues, both historic andcontemporary. Oliver and Shaver view the funda-mental purpose of American society as theattempt "to promote the dignity and worth ofeach individual who lives in the society" (10).This premise connects to the need to defend andpromote real human freedom to make choicesabout competing solutions to ethical dilemmasand public policy options. The authors maintainthat in a pluralistic society, 1. the maintenance ofhuman dignity and individual freedom can there-fore only exist when diverse groups recognizethat some problems require everyone to addressthem; 2. members of all societal subgroups sharea set of value commitments and a normativevocabulary that serve as a framework to deal withcommon problems; and 3. this normative frame-work includes procedures for mediation of inter-personal and intergroup conflict.

The curricular content and instructionalstrategies emphasize the in-depth study of publicissues laden with value conflicts. Oliver andShaver draw upon Gunnar Myrdal's "AmericanCreed" for the identification of core democraticvalues, and they recognize the need for students toaddress conflicts between competing values in thecreed (i. e., liberty and equality). While retainingcommitments to the maintenance of human dig-nity as a primordinate societal value, studentsrequire education in how to resolve value conflictsthrough rational deliberation.

The book is divided into three parts. PartOne contains the intellectual rationale summa-rized previously, as well as a discussion of alter-native approaches to value conflict. Part Twodevelops a conceptual framework for the teach-ing of value conflict and how specific analyticconcepts can be linked to perennial public issues.Part Three provides very detailed considerationof how to select and organize problem units, dis-cussion methods and problems, assessment ofstudent competence (both with paper and penciltests and content analysis of discussions), andimplications for reform of social studies curricu-lum and instruction using the jurisprudentialapproach. A lengthy appendix includes detaileddiscussion of the research results from theHarvard Social Studies Project work at in ajunior high school in suburban Boston, wheremany of the author's core ideas for curriculumand instruction were implemented, evaluated andmodified over a four-year period.

Oliver and Shaver's volume remains the start-ing point for anyone considering the use of thejurisprudential approach in the social studies.The philosophical rationale is compelling whilethe analyses of strategies for instruction andassessment, particularly those about discussion,offer many important insights later extendedby Newmann and Oliver in ClarOling PublicControversy (1970).

Shor, Ira and Paulo Freire.A PedagogyforLiberation:Dialogues on Transforming Education. South Hadley:Bergin and Garvey Publishers, Inc., 1987.Shor and Freire have created a volume that

is unique in design and content. Consisting ofedited conversations over a two-year span, theauthors address "pedagogy for liberation" as amultifaceted endeavor. "Liberation" pedagogy isteaching that helps students to develop the criti-cal sensibilities to challenge the official curricu-lum, and by implication the societal status quothat perpetuates inequities of wealth, status andpower. For the authors, all inquiry is embeddedin political and historical contexts that define thesocial relations of the classroom.

Teacher-dominated instruction ignoring thelived experiences of students can not be liberato-ry education. In its place, Shor and Freire viewthe experiences of the students as essentialknowledge open to investigation because studentexperience has been shaped by the larger histor-ical and social forces of modern capitalism.

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Thus, liberatory education seeks to reinvent andreconstruct society as students learn how to cri-tique social experience and "illuminate reality"by linking subject matter content to its econom-ic and social class origins.

The authors advocate careful analysis of stu-dent sociocultural backgrounds, which impliesdetailed study of students' classroom discourse.Liberatory pedagogy requires that teachersunderstand the language of their students,engaging them in study of problems that estab-lish relationships between core concepts in asubject matter field (social sciences, languagearts) and the lived experiences of the students inthe class. Teacher authoritarianism is rejected ascontradictory in spirit and purpose to workingwith the students to interpret reality. At thesame time, liberatory pedagogues retain justifi-able authority in the classroom because theyhave substantial knowledge and expertise indesigning educational experiences which facili-tate student critical reflection about society

Discussion is the preferred core instructionalstrategy Freire claims "Dialogue is a momentwhere humans meet to reflect on their reality asthey make and remake it" (98), implying that theteacher and students engage in a journey with a"permanent tension in the relation betweenauthority and liberty" (102). Discussion isdirected by the teacher, but the parameters aredefined by the interests, experiences and motiva-tion of the students, linked to the conceptsintroduced and explained by the teacher as thedialogue proceeds.

Most importantly, the authors contend thatschooling is only one context among many in thestruggle for social transformation. Networks ofliberatory pedagogues are necessary to linkteachers in schools with educators in unions,social movements, community centers, and othersites. Both authors recognize that substantivesocial change can't be the sole responsibility ofmass public schooling, because the efforts tomake education "liberatory" face strong resis-tance, often embedded in the cultural back-grounds of students and the efforts by conserva-tive policy-makers to limit widespread access tohigher education.

This volume's significance rests in its justifi-cation of linking all subject matter knowledge toissues that are meaningful to the lived experi-ences of the students, with the aim of educatingstudents as effective social critics who can take

action to transform society. By assisting studentsto become more effective critics of their ownlived experiences, and gradually of their ownsociety, the authors believe the patterns of classconflict and socioeconomic inequality reflected inthe selection and organization of knowledge inschools can be altered, and a more just societycreated. The chapters on methods (4, 6, and 7)lack the detailed analyses offered in other vol-umes cited in this section, but the strengths ofthe conversations concerning rationale, studentand teacher characteristics, and classroom envi-ronment (Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 5) merit seriousinvestigation.

Taba, Hilda, Mary C. Durkin, Jack R Fraenkel, andAnthony H. McNaughton. A Teacher's Handbook to

Elementary Social Studies: An Inductive Approach.

Reading. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1971.This volume presents a thorough conceptual

structure and philosophical rationale for theorganization of the elementary social studiesprogram based upon the work of Hilda Taba.Completed after Taba's death, the book is one ofthe very few social studies handbooks placingissues at the center of the elementary social stud-ies curriculum.

Core concepts and main and organizing ideasare the basis for the development and organiza-tion of knowledge in this program. Employinga spiral structure, the authors divide all instruc-tional objectives into the areas of 1. thinking,2. knowledge, and 3. attitudes, feelings, andvalues. Grade level instructional objectives arelinked by the periodic reintroduction of keyconcepts, and main and organizing ideas.Specific facts are subordinate to the key conceptsand main and organizing ideas used to structurethe spiral from grades one through eight, anddepth rather than breadth study characterizes theprogram. The authors note that by encounteringa main and organizing idea at different gradelevels, key concepts such as interdependencebecome "more abstract, more complex and morepowerful"(37). Facilitating development ofincreasing conceptual complexity for the growingchild is the use of comparison and contrast incontent section. As an example, the interdepen-dence of humans and the physicallsocial environ-ment is studied by examining diverse casesaround the world, ranging across both historicaland contemporary time dimensions. In doing so,flexibility of curricular organization is enhanced

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and reintroduction of the concept at increasinglevels of complexity is facilitated.

The greatest strength of this book rests inChapters 4 through 8, where detailed and well-defined examples of these topics are found:selection and organization of learning activities,teaching strategies and procedures, the key roleof questioning, the development of skills andevaluation of student progress. Chapters 5 and 6contain some of the best discussions of teachingstrategies and questioning in the social studiesliterature. Relevant examples are linked to pre-cise suggestions for the improvement of studentreasoning and the development of independentstudent thought, emphasizing an inductiveapproach. This volume also includes a thoroughdiscussion of how to evaluate student progress,with usable exercises, procedures and materialsthat are easily adaptable to a variety of class-room settings.

Although designed for the elementary andmiddle grades, much of this volume is clearlyapplicable to any level of social studies education.It is a very useful alternative to the traditional"expanding environments" approach employed inmany elementary level social studies programs.

Additional ResourcesBerman, Sheldon and Phyllis La Farge, editors.

Promising Practices in Teaching Social Responsibility.

Albany: State University of New York Press, 1993.Fraenkel, Jack. Helping Students Think and Value.

Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1973.Freire, Paolo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed New York

Continuum, 1970.Hyman, Ronald T Improving Discussion Leadership.

New York Teachers College Press, 1980.Lee, John. Teaching Social Studies in the Elementary

School. New York Free Press, 1974.Massialas, Byron G. and Fred Cox. Inquiry in Social

Studies. New York McGraw-Hill, 1966.

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GOVERNMENT POLICY-MAKING RESOURCESbq Jame H Dalq

Arbetman, Lee P. , Edward T McMahon, and EdwardL. O'Brien. Street Law. A Course in Practical Law.Fifth Edition. A Publication of the NationalInstitute for Citizen Education in the Law. WestPublishing Company, St. Paul, Minnesota. 1994, 647pp. $24.96 softcover, $28.96 hardcover.This is the fifth edition of the popular text

first published in 1975. The objective remainsthe same: to address law in everyday life.Strategies include role playing, mock trials, arbi-tration hearings, and simulations. The lessonsprovide knowledge and skills for analyzing, eval-uating and resolving legal conflicts. This editionfeatures new text and problems dealing withgangs, guns and substance abuse as well as inter-national law. Designed as the text for a lawcourse, lessons are easily infused into classesexamining policy-making or law enforcement.Effective use requires competence in interactivestrategies including the skillful use of outsideresource persons. S

Brady, Sheila, Carolyn Pereira, and Diana Hess. ItsYours: The Bill of Rights. Steck-Vaughn, Austin,

Texas. 1993, 111 pp. $7.50.The eight units on U.S. Government and the

Bill of Rights in this book include the origins ofrights, expression, religion, privacy, equal protectionand civic participation. Each lesson integrates avariety of strategies including cooperative learning,role play, simulations and case studies. Designed tomeet the needs of students studying English as aSecond Language, the simply written text developshigher order thinking skills as students increaseEnglish language proficiency. The book would bevaluable in U.S. History, Civics or law classes, andfor any students with below average reading skills.I/M S

Croddy, Marshall, ed. Streets, the Courts, and theCommunity. Constitutional Rights Foundation,Chicago, Illinois. 1992, 63 pp. $17.50.The ten lessons in this book examine the

juvenile justice system, civil and criminal law, andconflict management. The step by step instruc-tor's procedures facilitate effective use of theinteractive strategies used to promote interestand participation. The book is designed for at-risk or special needs students, but will be effectivewhen infused into existing courses where theobjectives include helping students to understandhow criminal and justice systems work. I/M S

Croddy, Marshall, and Coral Suter, Of Codes and Crowns.The Development of Law. Constitutional Rights

Foundation, Los Angeles, CA. 1992, 65 pp. $6.50.Teachers of World History and World

Civilization courses seeking to analyze rules andlaws in different regions will find this book valu-able. The interdisciplinary approach has studentsusing various methods of investigation, includingthose from archeology and anthropology. Stu-dents examine conflicts and problems of ancientcivilizations both in establishing and setting lim-its on legal authority. Interactive strategiesencourage students to reflect on how social andcultural influences pivotal to ancient and diversesettings continue to influence current societies.Many lessons need multiple class sessions, andrequire attention to time management. S

Eyes on the Prize. PBS, available through Social StudiesSchool Service, Culver City, CA., 1987, 60 min.each. Set 1 (1954-65) videocassettes-$119.95PF150VAP4 or laserdiscs-$129.95 PF150L-AP4;Set 2 (1965-85) videocassettes-$99.95 PF170V-AP4or laserdiscs-$149.95.Two sets of 10 videocassettes (or 7 laserdiscs)

Keys: P=Primary, I/M=Intermediate/Middle Grades, S=Secondary

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cover the struggle for equality and justice duringthe years 1954-85. Textbook events become realas the news footage and interviews bring power-ful personal perspectives to major issues of today.These packages are valuable as supplements forU.S. history and for law courses. ) /M S

Gallagher, Arlene F. Living Together Under the Law. AnElementary Education Law Guide. Prepared by theLaw, Youth and Citizenship Program of the NewYork State Bar Association and the New York StateEducation Department. New York State BarAssociation, Albany, NY. 1988., 162 pp. $8.00.This is a useful resource for teachers in the

elementary school. The book provides lessonsand activities in which students analyze theirown behavior and that of others while develop-ing tolerance of differences. The ten themes thatare examined include: laws are essential; thenature of change; settling disputes; and the rela-tionship between the values and the laws of asociety. Each of the themes includes motivation-al and learning activities. The easy to use casestudies, simulations, and conflict resolutionactivities can be used within existing elementarysocial studies classes, or integrated with languagearts/reading programs. P/I/M

Goldman, Roger, Linda Riekes, and Sharon Slane,Teaching About the Bill of Rights in Elementary and

Middle School Classrooms. A Resource Guide for

Lawyers, Law Students and Classroom Teachers.

Phi Alpha Delta Public Service Center, Bethesda,MD 1991, 112 pp. $10.00.Lessons on the Bill of Rights and the

Fourteenth Amendment are presented in thisbook with a focus on rights and responsibilities.Case studies are used by the authors to examineissues relating to sports, gender and discrimina-tion in both school and community settings.Included are useful strategies for effectivelyusing resource persons in designing and pre-senting lessons, for preparing mock courtroomsimulations and for analyzing case studies. Thebook supplements existing K-8 social studiesmaterials. P/I/M

Hiraoka, Leona, and Ken Masugi.Japanese-AmericanInternment: The Bill of Rights in Crisis, Portfolio#N61. Jackdaw/Golden Owl Publishing, Amawalk,NY. 1994, 14 documents, timeline and 6 essays.$27.95, with study guide $35.00.Teachers familiar with Jackdaws will welcome

this new portfolio of primary source materials inwhich the extraordinary challenge to the consti-tutional system of checks and balances in athreatening and dangerous time is explored.Racism and cultural diversity can be effectivelyaddressed as well as the consequences of preju-dice and discrimination. The material is easilyinfused into U.S. History or World Historycourses and can be used for case studies, fordebates and as the basis of role plays. S

Isaac, Katherine. Civics for Democracy. A Journey for

Teachers and Students. A Project of The Center forStudy of Responsive Law and Essential Information.Essential Books, Wash. DC, 1992, 390 pp. $17.50.One glance at the table of contents quickly

reveals why this book is an indispensibleresource. The first Section presents profiles ofcitizen action activities involving studentsthroughout the country. A history of citizenmovements is followed by a review of socialchange brought about by citizen activists in manyfields including Civil Rights, Labor, andWomen's Rights. Useful for that alone, Isaac'sbook then provides a focus on the "how to" of cit-izen action with techniques for individual andgroup participation. Activities to engage studentsin using the described strategies and skills are fol-lowed by an extensive resource list. S

Keller, Clair W. and Denny L. Schillings, eds. TeachingAbout the Constitution. (National Council for the Social

Studies Bulletin No. 80) Washington, DC. NationalCouncil for the Social Studies, 1987, 122pp. $9.95.In the five chapters of this book the editors

present a list of teaching activities involving ananalysis of the Constitution. Interactive strate-gies are suggested for examining topics thatinclude the consequences of ratification forAfrican Americans and for women. Selectedcourt cases are analyzed. The lessons would beeffective and easy to infuse into any study of theConstitution. S

Laughlin, Margaret A., H. Michael Hartoonian andNorris M. Sanders, eds. From Information to Decision

Making. New Challenges for Effective Citizenship.

(National Council for the Social Studies BulletinNo. 83). Washington, DC.: National Council for theSocial Studies, 1989, 115 pp. $11.95.The editors have prepared 12 chapters by

various authors designed to help teachers to dealeffectively with the explosion of information

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characteristic of current times. Primarily forteachers, the book provides strategies and lessonseasy to use in both elementary and secondaryclasses. Guidelines for integrating the computer,databases and mathematics in problem solvingand decision making will be appreciated byteachers seeking to actively engage students instudying issues concerning citizenship. I/M S

McMahon, Edward T., and Judith A. Zimmer, NationalInstitute for Citizen Education in the Law, andTerence W. Modglin and Jean F. O'Neil, NationalCrime Prevention Council. Teens, Crime and theCommunity. Education and Action for Safer Schools and

Neighborhoods. West Publishing Company, St. Paul,Minnesota. 1992, 201 pp. $14.96.This book is a timely resource that confronts

students with issues relating to crime and crimeprevention. Topics include gang violence, rape,sexual harassment, handgun use, and child andsubstance abuse. Problem-solving and decision-making activities make use of case studies, roleplays, and community resource persons toencourage students to examine facts, statisticsand conflicting views. Community projects pro-vide research and service opportunities. Thelessons can be infused into U.S. History, Civics,Law or government classes. I/M S

We the People. The Constitutional Rights Foundation,

Chicago, IL 60605. 1991 Reprinted by Department ofEducation Grant #S123A00058., 1991, 70 pp. $12.50.This book includes fifteen lessons that exam-

ine law and citizenship. Suggestions for teachersprovide clear guidelines for actively involving stu-dents in a variety of activities including designingand conducting surveys, peer teaching, examiningcase studies and simulating court proceedings.Procedures helpful in using controversial materi-als and topics are provided and include establish-ing rules for dealing with controversy, identifyingthe nature of the disagreements, and guidelinesfor organizing ideas. Topics include lawmakingand special interest groups, regulations and thepower of government, juvenile law, and policeprocedures. The book is designed for infusioninto Civics, Law and U.S. History classes. l/M S

With Liberty and Justice for All. The Story of the Bill of

Rights. The Center for Civic Education, Calabasas,CA 1992, 197 pp. $6.00.This book presents fifteen lessons that exam-

ine both the historical developments leading tothe Bill of Rights and an analysis of the currentnature of those rights. Particularly useful arelessons dealing with the expansion of constitu-tional protections focusing on the experiences ofAfrican Americans. First Amendment freedomsand due process of law are well covered. Criticalthinking skills are refined through exercises pre-sented throughout each of the lessons. Thelessons can be easily integrated into current U.S.History, World History or Civics classes. I/M S

Additional resources:

Video cassettes/videodiscs:ABC News Interactive's Powers of the U.S. Government

Videodisc Series. Prentice Hall School Division,Upper Saddle River, NJ. Powers of the President,Powers of Congress, Powers of the Supreme Court.$495 each, $1185 for all three. l/M S

Point of View 2.0: An Overview of U.S. History Struggles

for Justice Videodisc (Vol.1); Struggles for Justice

Videodisc (Vol. 2), $195 each. l/M S

A Cause for Celebration. Insight Media, NY, NY. 1991,17 min. $189. Video showing students addressingsexism, racism and classism. S

American Voices: 200 Years of Speaking Out. National

Archives, available through Social Studies SchoolService, Culver City, CA. 1989, ZF308V-AP4. 29min. $65. Primary source materials dealing withpetitions to the government. S

Kids and Crime. Films for the Humanities and Sciences,

Princeton, NJ. 1994, 28 min. $89.95Donahue "talk show" featuring 15-year-olds

talking about their criminal activity. S

We the People. Insight Media, NY NY 1992, 23 min. $129.

Video of student perspectives on the stereo-typing of Native Americans. S

Other booksHarrison, Maureen and Steve Gilbert (Eds.) Landmark

Decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court. Excellent Books,

available from Social Studies School Service, CulverCity, CA., 1991, EXB100AP4. $45.50Set of three books covering background, opin-

ions and legal terms surrounding important cases. STakaki, Ronald.A Different Mirror: A History of

Multicultural America. Little, Brown, New York

3798 0

1993. 508pp, $27.95.Examines diverse experiences with American

constitutional and legal systems. S

The Bill of Rights. More Than Mere Parchment. Law,

Youth and Citizenship Program of the New YorkState Bar Association and the New York StateEducation Department, New York State BarAssociation, Albany, New York. 1991. 136 pp.Useful information and activities for integrat-

ing into any course addressing our fundamentalfreedoms. S

When Justice Is Up to You. Celebrating America's Guarantee

of Trial By Jury. Association of Trial Lawyers ofAmerica, National Institute for Citizen Action in theLaw, and DC Street Law Project. Association ofTrial Lawyers of America, Washington, DC. 1992.104 pp.Excellent information on juries, historical as

well as current, with simulation activities. S

Working Together: Lessons in Justice. Law-Related Lessons

for Teaching the U.S. Constitution. ConstitutionalRights Foundation, Chicago, 1994, 54pp.Effective and easy-to-infuse lessons focused

on the concept of Justice. I/M S

Zimmer, Judith A. We Can Work It Out! Problem Solvingthrough Mediation. National Institute for CitizenEducation in the Law and the National CrimePrevention Council. Social Studies School Service,Culver City, California, 1993. 132 pp. $40.Indispensable strategies for conflict resolution

in the class, the school and beyond. I/M S

Computer software:Creating the U.S. Constitution. Educational Archives.

Available through Zenger Media, Culver City, CA.

Apple 5.25" disc, IBM 5.25" disc or IBM 3.5" disc, $65.

Useful program for analyzing and designingthe Constitution. I/M S

Simulations:Johnson, Cicilia and Ann McMahon. We the People.

Social Studies School Service, Culver City, CA. $35.Simulation of the Constitutional Conven-

tion. I/M S

Police Patrok A Simulation for the Classroom. Constitutional

Rights Foundation, Los Angeles, CA. $17.50.Excellent activity for use with local police

persons. S

Primary source materials:The Constitution. Evolution of a Government. National

Archives and SIRS, Inc., Boca Raton, Florida. $40.00Excellent collection of primary source docu-

ments relating the development and interpreta-tion of the Constitution. I/M S

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31 INTETEAbq Mar

NATIONAL RELATIONS/FOREIGN POLICYNINO RESOURCES

E. Soleq

After The Cold War: The U.S. Role in Europe's Transition,

A project of the Center for Foreign PolicyDevelopment, Brown University, Box 1948,Providence, RI, 02912; (401) 863-3155. Copyright1993, 103 pages, $8.00. Permission is granted toduplicate for classroom use.After the World War: The U.S. Role in Europe's

Transition is one of ten reproducible curriculumunits developed by the 21st Century EducationProject at Brown University. Major conceptsinclude: isolationism; internationalism; commu-nism; fascism; containment; the Cold War;national and regional security; revolution; eco-nomic integration; and change. The educationalgoal is to "introduce students to the historicalantecedents, current issues, and deeply felt valuesthat have entered into the national debate onU.S. policy toward Europe" (page iii).

The unit is divided into student text (threebackground readings, descriptions of four U.S.foreign policy options, and a summary reading onEurope's uncertain future), a ten-day lesson planand student activities, supplementary documentsfor the teacher, and suggested readings. Theunit's greatest strengths include well developedand clearly written readings, the use of a widevariety of presentation formats (cartoons, quotes,charts and graphs, pictures and maps), studentactivities that promote analysis of differing per-spectives and values, and engaging decision-making activities. It does an excellent job in bothpresenting various U.S. foreign policy optionstoward Europe and helping students understandthe perspectives and values in each.

The activities rely heavily on students' read-ing abilities. While the materials are well written,they are conceptually dense and teachers willneed to make special efforts to clarify major ideasand define terminology.

High SchoolRichard K. Betts, editor. Conflict After the Cold War:

Arguments on Causes of War and Peace. Macmillan

Publishing Company, 866 Third Avenue, New York,NY, 10022. Copyright 1994, 519 pages, $29.00.Conflict After the Cold War is a college text. It

is designed to help students sort out the maindebates about whether war is likely to remain amajor problem in international life. The collec-tion of writing presents contrasting argumentsabout the future of the post-Cold War world andputs them in philosophical and historical context.

A sample of the thirty-nine topics and theirauthors includes: "The End of History?" byFrancis Fukuyama; "Perpetual Peace," byImmanuel Kant; "Liberalism and World Politics"by Michael Doyle; "The Spread of NuclearWeapons: More May Be Better" by KennethWaltz; "Islamic Fundamentalism" by GrahamFuller; and "America's Changing StrategicInterest" by Samuel Huntington.

This book provides a overview of the majorideas needed to teach about war and peace. Itsstrengths include the diversity of perspectivespresented and the compilation of both historicand current essays which influence the develop-ment of theory and practice today. The onlydrawback is the level of difficulty and sophistica-tion. Still, it is recommended for anyone prepar-ing to teach a course in current world affairs.

Teacher Education, UndergraduateAdrian Chan and the staff of the Soviet Union and

Eastern Europe Project and the Western EuropeProject. When Iron Crumbles: Berlin and the Wall.

Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE), Stanford University,Littlefield Center, Room 14, 300 Lasuen St.,Stanford, CA 94305-5013; (415) 725-1480 or 723-

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1114. Copyright 1991, 13 pages, $29.95. Permissionis given to educators to reproduce copies of studenthandouts for classroom use. A twenty-minute videotape is also available at a cost of $19.95.When Iron Crumbles is only one of the many

curriculum units developed by SPICE. In allcases, the compatible relationship betweenStanford's scholars and educators makes forexceptionally high-quality instructional materi-als. The interdisciplinary nature of the publica-tions also adds to their appeal.

Major concepts and themes include: the his-torical context of World War II, the division ofGermany, and the building of the Berlin Wall;the Cold War; conflicts over differing political,social and economic ideologies; and the signifi-cance of the fall of the Berlin Wall and Germanunification. Instructional strategies includeactivities to develop mapping, writing, and par-ticipation skills; learning how to use a variety ofprimary sources; analysis skills through the useof Germany and the Berlin War as a case study;journal assignments; and a unique teachingstrategy entitled "readers' theater." Using roleplays, students create and perform scripts thatinvolve important events and multiple voices.Comprehensive instructions are given for usingreaders' theater, as well as many other instruc-tional strategies. Additional special featuresinclude: maps, pictures and cartoons; homeworkassignments and evaluation techniques; refer-ences for student handouts; and a glossary andbibliography. Each of the seven lessons can beintegrated separately into the curriculum whereappropriate or the unit can be taught in itsentirety.

High School and UndergraduateCharles Chatfield, editor. Magazine of History,

"Peacemaking in American History." Organizationof American Historians, Vol. 8, No. 3, Spring 1994.OAH Magazine of History, 112 N. Bryan Street,Bloomington, IN, 47408-4199; (812) 855-7311.Copyright 1994, 96 pages, $5.00. Permission isgranted to duplicate for classroom use."Peacemaking in American History" contains

five concise well-written essays, a supplement forthe 1995 National History Day topic entitledConflict and Compromise, five lesson plans withstudent handouts, and information on three dif-ferent teaching resources. The piece provides apractical, yet intellectually stimulating primer foranyone beginning to teach about peace.

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The essays cover such topics as: Alternativesto War in History; Peace as a Reform Move-ment; The Domestic Side of Foreign Policy;Peace and Women's Issues in U.S. History; andPeace History: The Field and the Sources. Eachessay provides major and minor historical con-cepts, a sample of different perspectives on theevents and conditions at the time, and a bibliog-raphy of books and other resources to expandone's understanding of the topic.

The lesson plans are titled: Quakers andIndians in Colonial America; Opposition to theMexican War of 1946; The League of Nationsand U.S. World Roles; Nonviolence in the CivilRights Movement; and Conscientious Objectionto the Vietnam War. The essays and lessons areappropriate for middle, high school, and under-graduate courses. While these materials areintended especially for U.S. history teachers, theywould make an important contribution to anyinternational relations/U.S. foreign policy course.

The overarching perspective put forth in thepublication is the value of teaching about peaceand efforts to make peace in American history.The idea of resolving conflicts without resort toviolence is a value to study and possibly evenpromote. On the surface, who could object toteaching about peace? Still, without careful plan-ning and thought, students (and teachers) couldbe caught in a simplistic debate with the just useof force on the one hand, and the pacifistapproach on the other. The issues are extremelycomplex and should be explored in an open andreflective manner. Teaching about peace is con-troversial.

Middle and High School,and UndergraduateJames E. Davis and James S. Eckenrod, Instructional

Design Associates, and the United States Instituteof Peace, developers. Managing World Conflict:

A Resource Unit for High Schools. United States

Institute of Peace, 1550 M Street, NW, Suite 700,Washington, DC, 20005; (202) 429-3844.Copyright 1994, 110 pages, free. Permission isgranted to duplicate for classroom use.Managing World Conflict contains seven

lessons (with a total of 74 pages of student hand-outs) for teaching about the causes of interna-tional and intra-state conflict and the approach-es to peace. It is designed for use with highschool social studies and language arts classes,especially those interested in participating in the

3

Institute-sponsored National Peace EssayContest. Selected features of the unit include: asimulation on an international whaling commis-sion conference; activities to diagnose conflictsand explore successful and thus-far failed effortsto make peace; uses of literature for learningabout the personal impact of war; writing assign-ments to promote the development of strongessays; and the examination of political cartoonsfrom around the world to enhance students' abil-ities to recognize and understand a variety of per-spectives. The case studies include: Haiti; Sudan;Former Yugoslavia; Korean Peninsula; Tajikistan;and the Middle East. The Unit also containsa glossary, resource bibliography, resource list,and clear and concise overviews of each lesson.

The greatest strength of the unit is that itfocuses in-depth on two major ideas (the causesof conflict and the approaches to peace) in waysthat present the complexities of the issues, whileat the same time providing practical teachingstrategies to help students "unpack" the manycomponents of war and peace. All student activ-ities have built-in assessment tools and a varietyof instructional methods are employed. Thegreatest weakness is time. While lessons can beused separately and infused into existing curricu-lum where appropriate, the best approach is toteach the entire unit, which could take fromapproximately 12 to 20 days.

Middle and High SchoolJonathan Fore and Heidi Hursh, Global Studies for

the 90s. Co-published by the Center for TeachingInternational Relations (CTIR), Graduate School ofInternational Studies, University of Denver, Denver,CO, 80208-0269, (303) 871-3106 and the SocialScience Education Consortium, 3300 MitchellLane, Suite 240, Boulder, CO, 80301-2272; (303)492-8154. Distributed by CTIR. Copyright 1993,149 pages, $26.95. Permission is granted to duplicatefor classroom use.CTIR has developed and published supple-

mental curriculum materials for preschoolthrough adult groups since 1968. This bookemphasizes selected global issues that draw uponhistory, as well as all the social science disciplines,and provides a context for studying such pressingpost-Cold War issues such as democratization,the environment, economic interdependence,and development.

The book contains ten units; each includes1-3 lessons (an introduction, student objectives,

class time needed, materials, and procedures)student handouts, and additional resources. Unitscould be integrated separately into the curriculumor used sequentially as a global studies course.

The book's greatest strengths include the pre-sentation of significant world issues in ways thatmiddle and high school students can compre-hend. The resources for students and activityideas promote active learning and higher orderthinking. Many of them actually sound like fun!There are numerous handouts and, with studentsworking in groups, there are great opportunitiesfor cooperation. Charts, graphs, maps, and time-lines are common features.

As is the case when teaching any current issue,teachers need to take the initiative to constantlyupdate the information presented in this book.A wide variety of news sources and perspectivesmust be sought and the teaching strategies willrequire modification to one's particular classroomsituation. While summarizing activities areincluded, few specific evaluation criteria or instru-ments are provided to assess students' work.

High SchoolGreat Decisions 1995 and Great Decisions 1995 Activity

Book by the Foreign Policy Association, 729 SeventhAvenue, New York, NY, 10019; (212) 764-4050 or1-800-628-5754. Copyright Foreign PolicyAssociation. Great Decisions 1995, 96 Pages, $11.00.Great Decisions 1995 Activity Book, 40 Pages, $11.95.

Permission is not granted to duplicate Great Decisions1995. Permission is granted to duplicate the GreatDecisions 1995 Activity Book.

Available each January, the Great Decisionsbriefing book analyzes eight vital U.S. foreignpolicy issues. Each 10-12 page article providesbackground (including historical context), policyoptions for the U.S., recommended readings,discussion questions, and pictures, charts, graphs,maps, and cartoons. Topics for Great Decisions1995 include: Russia and Its Neighbors; NuclearProliferation; United Nations at 50; GlobalFinance; China, Taiwan, Hong Kong; Immigra-tion; and Democratization. A world map isprovided.

The strengths of Great Decisions are the time-liness and balanced presentation of the topics, aswell as the well-written synthesis of the majorquestions and issues to be discussed. While someparts of the articles may be conceptually denseand therefore difficult for students to understandwithout additional background, the wide range

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of global issues and geographic regions coveredmake for a solid course in current internationalaffairs. Graphs, charts, pictures, political car-toons and quotes can contribute to students'abilities to comprehend the current and complexU.S. foreign policy issues presented. Anotherstrong point is the Activity Book. For each topic,it contains activity instructions (major questions,article summary, activity overviews, objectives,materials, time required, and procedures), stu-dent handouts, and glossaries.

High School and UndergraduateKaren Heller. U.S. Response - The Making of U.S. Foreign

Policy: A Simulation. Close Up Publishing, 44 CanalCenter Plaza, Alexandria, VA, 22314; (1- 800 -765-3131). Copyright 1990, $21.95 includes the three-day simulation with Teacher's Guide, role cards,team cards and situation cards.Accommodating up to 30 high school partic-

ipants, students formulate foreign policy inresponse to one of six crisis situations (drug traf-ficking, global pollution, hostage crisis, nucleardisarmament, and territorial aggression). Stu-dents role-play in teams the perspectives of U.S.government officials, ambassadors to the U.S.from the countries involved in the situation, andjournalists. Instruction emphasizes the abilities tounderstand multiple perspectives, analyze con-flicting facts, values, needs, and objectives, andmake decisions. Major concepts include: nation-al interests (security interests, economic interests,and ideological interests); geopolitics; andnational resolve.

Given that the simulation is relatively simpleand straightforward, its greatest use is as anawareness building activity. While the crisis situ-ations are fictitious, they are fashioned after rec-ognizable events in the past, are interesting, andcontain major issues involved in U.S. foreign pol-icy decision-making.

However, these same strengths constitute aweakness. Since a simulation is not reality, and inreality foreign policy is a far more complex anddifficult process than depicted here, it is up to theteacher to conduct extensive debriefing. Forexample, only three types of actors are includedin the simulation (U.S. government officials,ambassadors to the U.S. and journalists). In real-ity, foreign policy decision-making involves manyothers, such as members of the business commu-nity, lobbyists, educators, public interest groups,and bi-lateral, multi-lateral, and international

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organizations. This simulation is an excellentintroductory activity to a unit on U.S. foreignpolicy decision-making.

Middle and High SchoolMary Lord and Martha L. McCoy, editors. In Harm's

Way: When Should We Risk American Lives in World

Conflicts?. A joint publication of the Study CircleResource Center and ACCESS: A SecurityInformation Service. Study Circles Resource Center,PO Box 203, Pomfret, CT, 06258; (203) 928-2616.Copyright 1994, 29 pages plus four one-pageACCESS Resource Briefs, $5.00. Permission isgranted to duplicate for classroom use.In Harm's Way is designed primarily for adult

discussion groups known as study circles.However, the booklet is of such high quality thatit is recommended for use in middle and highschool classrooms. The format can be adapted eas-ily. What makes this piece so special is the timeli-ness and timelessness of the question: Whenshould we risk American lives in world conflicts?This is a central public policy issue that is at theheart of U.S. foreign policy decision making.

The booklet contains four major questions,each with accompanying readings (includingdifferent perspectives or positions), discussionquestions, and bibliography. Question one focus-es on the ethical and value questions that arisewhen a nation considers military action. It asks,"Are there reasonable grounds for using militaryforce?" The next two questions are: "Whenshould we place American lives in harm's way?"and "Current cases: Are these conflicts our busi-ness?" The four case studies presented allowstudents an opportunity to test the principlesand ideas that emerged in the previous sessionsagainst real-life situations. The four cases,(Bosnia, Haiti, Korean Peninsula, and Somalia)are excellent examples because each has a differ-ent level of military involvement and risk, andeach involves a different set of U.S. goals. AnACCESS Resource Brief is provided for each ofthe conflicts. Question four asks, "Who isresponsible for dealing with conflicts around theglobe?" The purpose of this session is to broad-en the conversation to include the larger world.

A strength of the booklet and format is thatthe cases used to "test" students' views can bechanged or updated as new international andintra-state conflicts arise. The only drawback toIn Harm's Way is the absence of student learningobjectives, student activities, and assessment

tools. However, there are many good decisionmaking models available and most, if not all,could be used with these materials.

Middle and High SchoolMerry Merryfield and Richard C. Remy, editors.

Teaching About International Conflict and Peace.

Albany: State University of New York Press, 1995.The initial goal of this project was to develop

a practical resource for undergraduate and grad-uate pre-service social studies methods courses.However, the final product has turned out to beso much more: an extremely valuable resource forany social studies educator who thinks criticallyabout what is important to teach, what valuesand assumptions these selections represent, andwhat teaching methods are most compatible.

The book is divided into two major sections:"Linking Content, Methods, and EducationalGoals," and "Essays in International ConflictManagement and Peace." The first section exam-ines how to connect international conflict andpeace content to teaching methodologies andalso to the education goals and outcomes identi-fied as the most essential knowledge and skills ofa unit. A case study, which provides a model ofthe process of creating, implementing, andassessing a unit of instruction, demonstrates thestep-by-step process of planning and teaching.

The second section includes seven essays oninternational conflict and peace concepts. They are:Building Peace: A Global Learning Process; TheUse and Control of Military Power; Diplomacy,Negotiation, and Peaceful Settlement, EconomicCooperation; Human Rights in InternationalPerspectives, Self-Determination; and ResolvingConflict Over the Global Environment. Alsoincluded is a list of resource organizations, chapterglossaries, and a bibliography.

Undergraduate and GraduateTeacher EducationRichard Shultz, Roy Godson and Ted Greenwood,

editors. Security Studies for the 1990s. Brassey's: a

Maxwell Macmillan Publishing Company. Ordersto Brassey's Order Dept., Macmillan Publishing Co.,100 Front Street, Box 500, Riverside, NJ, 08075.Copyright 1993. 423 Pages, $50 hardback.This book was written to "provide instructors

and curriculum planners of security studies pro-grams with a model curriculum and modelcourses that address traditional shortcomingsand take account of the dramatic changes in the

contemporary international environment" (page1). Where many scholars, educators, and practi-tioners in international relations view peace andworld order studies as an idealistic approach thatseeks to replace conflict in the international sys-tem with cooperation, negotiation, and peacefulchange, the major conception put forth in thisvolume is that, even with the end of the ColdWar, security studies (national, international,and regional security) will continue to beextremely important.

The book contains twelve chapters, each oneon a different aspect of security studies. The for-mat for each chapter is unique, beginning with atwenty to twenty-five page essay on the topic bya leading scholar (examples of the topics include:Causes, Conduct, and Termination of War; TheDefense Decision-Making Process; NuclearWeapons: Doctrine, Proliferation, and ArmsControl; Low-Intensity Conflict; MultilateralCollective Security Arrangements; and Environ-ment and Security); there follow a syllabus iden-tifying concepts and readings and one to threediscussion pieces carefully critiquing the author'sassumptions and decisions on what to include.

The greatest strength of this book is the con-cise presentation of past and present thinkingabout the field of security studies. One canacquire a solid overview (and recognize the manydifferent perspectives) simply by reading thetwelve essays. While these are very complex top-ics not generally covered in any depth until thegraduate level, resources of this kind can assistteachers in their own understanding of interna-tional relations and promote more careful consid-eration about the development of their own cur-riculum and the major concepts they will teach.

Undergraduate and GraduateTeacher EducationDaniel C. Thomas and Michael T Klare, editors,

Peace and World Order Studies: A Curriculum Guide.

Five College Program in Peace and World Security

Studies. Fifth Edition published by Westview Press,Inc., 5500 Central Avenue, Boulder, CO, 80301;Copyright Westview Press 1989, 666 Pages, $17.95paperback.The fifth edition of the Peace and World Order

Studies Curriculum Guide presents eleven essayson "perspectives on the curricular agenda" andninety-three undergraduate course syllabi.Recognizing the dynamic nature of the fields ofpeace and world order studies, the essays and syl-

3 6145s

labi for the Guide represent many different per-spectives regarding the content to be taught aswell as the diverse value orientations that exist.The ninety-three syllabi were selected from over1,000 submitted for review. The list of authorsfor the essays, as well as the syllabi, reads like aWho's Who of peace and world order studies(Elise Boulding, Betty Reardon, Chad Alger,Joseph Nye, Anthony Lake, and Gene Sharp aresome examples).

Few other resources provide equivalentbreadth as well as depth on the current thinkingin teaching about these topics. While it wouldbe a rare high school that could devote an entiresemester to a course on "social movements andrevolution," the Guide provides a much neededtool for one's own professional growth. In addi-tion to the reading lists provided for each ofthe ninety-three syllabi, the illumination of theconcepts in each course is a very useful road mapfor teachers who require understanding of thelarger picture before selecting ideas and simpli-fying them for student use. The Guide is notsuitable for high school students.

The eleven essays include such topics as: dif-fering approaches to peace studies; the researchagenda; the evolution of peace studies; pedagog-ical issues and the interdisciplinary challenge ofthe field. Selected course syllabi include: intro-ductions to peace and world order studies; globalsecurity, arms control, and disarmament; worldpolitical economy and economic justice; humanrights and social justice; regional conflicts; con-flict resolution; ecological balance; women andworld order; religious and ethical perspectives;literary and media perspectives; and world ordereducation and teacher training.

356 30 7

DO ESTIC ECONOMIC POLICYba Ronal R. Banaszah

De Koster, Katie, and Bruno Leone, eds. Poverty:Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego: Greenhaven Press,

1994. $17.95 hardcover (order number 066-2), $9.95paperback (order number 065-4).Recently revised, this book contains up-

to-date comments of experts with differingopinions about the causes of and solutions topoverty, including the benefits and detriments ofgovernment policies. The many pro and constatements by experts encourage debate, analysisof arguments and other critical thinking skillswhich are detailed in a brief teacher guide. Thisbook is useful for any high school course dealingwith the issue of poverty, especially governmentand economics.

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Federal ReserveSystem. Kansas City MO: Federal Reserve Bank ofKansas City 1994. Available free, one per school.These four videos and print lessons describe

the operation of the Federal Reserve System. Thethird video challenges students to make policydecisions. After students decide, the materialsgive answers from past and present FederalReserve leaders. Lesson 10 involves students in agame that deals with distinguishing between factsand myths. This publication is useful primarily forhigh school economics and government classes.

Kourilsky, Marilyn. Kindereconomy. New York NationalCouncil on Economic Education, 1989. $19.95.This teacher resource manual contains a

series of lessons that lead primary level studentsto understand the working of our economythrough reflection on their everyday experiences.These activities do not deal with policy, but dohelp students experience the economy and theconsequences of economic decisions. The lessonsare well-described, easily implemented and are

based on an experiential learning approach.

Kourilsky, Marilyn. Mini-Society: Experiencing Real-World Economics in the Elementary School Classroom.

Menlo Park, CA: Addison-Wesley PublishingCompany, 1983. $18.00.This simulation of an economic system in the

classroom is an experience-based approach toteaching about economic systems and basic eco-nomic concepts. Though it does not deal directlywith policy making and is challenging to imple-ment, it is an engaging simulation for middlelevel students.

National Issues Forum Institute Staff. The $4 TrillionDebt: Tough Choices about Soaring Federal Deficits.

Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt PublishingCompany, 1993. Student booklet costs $2.95 and theteacher guide costs $15.00.After an introductory essay, a pro/con presen-

tation of three policy options causes students toseek public policy that will solve or improve theproblem. The intent is to inform students aboutthe topic, but, more importantly, to teach them adeliberative process for dealing with controversialissues. This brief booklet does not overwhelmstudents and is useful in any high school coursedealing with the federal deficit. Additional titles,following the same format, are produced annual-ly and are listed later.

Schug, Mark, ed. Senior Economist. New York National

Council on Economic Education. Four issues peryear for $16.95.

Each issue of this periodical focuses on a con-temporary economic policy issue such as healthcare reform, free trade with Mexico, or immi-grants in the economy. A prominent economistwrites a background essay on each topic and

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three to five complete lesson plans that featureinvolvement activities and economic reasoningfollow. This newsletter is very current and usefulfor any high school course dealing with contem-porary economic issues.

Sid Meiers Railroad Tycoon Hunt Valley, MD: Microprose,

1993. $69.95 (often discounted at computer stores).This computer game is a powerful interactive

simulation involving a number of decisions. Thegoal is to build a large railroad network. Studentsmanage the railroad for forty or more years andcomputer generated reports detail the conse-quences of their decisions. This game is notdesigned for classroom instruction, but for indi-vidual use. There is no teacher guide. Yet it is veryintriguing and effective at sparking discussionswith middle school and high school studentsenrolled in U.S. or world history, economics orbusiness courses.

SimCity Orinda, CA: Maxis, 1993. Available at soft-ware stores. $39.95 (often available for less)In this computer simulation, students man-

age and build a city. They choose to manage oneof eight cities and make numerous policy deci-sions to improve living conditions. This game isa complex multi-tasking piece of software thatcalculates the results of interaction among manydecisions. SimCity can be used in virtually anysocial studies course from grades 6 through 12,but it was not designed for classroom instruc-tion. No teacher guide is provided, but the com-puter manual has sections on strategy and urbanplanning that are content rich.

The Wall Street Journal Classroom Edition Chicopee,

MA: Classroom Edition, The Wall Street Journal.This tabloid-sized newspaper is published

monthly, September through May and is avail-able in classroom sets of 30 copies for $150 (nineissues) or $90 (five issues). Also included is amonthly video of news stories on economicevents and posters with lesson plans. Articles aretaken from the Wall Street Journal and have itseditorial perspective, but are very timely. Theexcellent teacher guide provides a variety of activ-ities related to the stories. These include vocabu-lary, factual recall questions, thought provokingdiscussion questions, individual projects, cooper-ative learning activities and writing projects.

The teacher guide also has a matrix display-ing the curricular connections of each story to the

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content of business, economics, English, math,science, government and U.S. history courses.The reading level limits this periodical for usewith high school juniors or seniors.

Other ResourcesBalancing the Budget. Decisions, Decisions Computer

Simulation Series. Watertown, MA: Tom SnyderProductions, Inc., 1991.

Buchholz, Todd G. New Ideas from Dead Economists.New York Plume, 1990.

Cox, Carol G., and Alice M. Rivlin. UnderstandingEconomic Polity: A Citizen's Handbook. Washington,

D.C.: League of Women Voters of U. S., 1990.Heilbroner, Robert L. The Worldly Philosophers:

The Lives, Times and Ideas of the Great Economic

Thinkers. New York Touchstone, 1986.Leone, Bruce, ed. Capitalism: Opposing Viewpoints.

San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1986.MacNeil/Lehrer Economic Reports. The Deficit Game:

A High School Struggles to Balance the U.S. Budget.

Videocassette, simulation and guide. New YorkCambridge Studios, 1993.

National Issues Forum Institute Staff. The Poverty Puzzle:What Should Be Done to Help the Poor? Dubuque,

Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, 1993.The Health Care Cost Explosion: Why Its So Serious, What

Should Be Done. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/HuntPublishing Company, 1993.

Prescription for ProsIvrity: Four Paths to Eamomic Renewal

Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, 1992.

The Health Care Crisis: Containing Costs, ExpandingCoverage. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt PublishingCompany, 1992.

Remedies for Racial Inequality: Why Progress Has Stalled,

What Should Be Done. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/HuntPublishing Company, 1993.

Health Caiv for tlx Elda251: Mom! Dilemmas Mortal Choices

Dubuque, Iowa.. KendalVHunt Publishing Company, 1993.

Regaining the Competitive Edge: Are We Up to the Job?

Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt PublishingCompany, 1992.

O'Neill, Terry, and Karin Swisher, eds. Economics inAmerica

OpposingViewpoints. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1992.

Schumacher, E.F. Small Is Beautiful. Economics as if

People Mattered New York Perennial Library, 1989.Swartz, Thomas R., and Frank J. Bonello. Taking Sides:

Clashing Views on Controversial Economic Issues.

Guilford, CT: Dushkin Publishing, 1993.Wekesser, Carol, ed. Health Care in America: Opposing

Viewpoints. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1994.Wekesser, Carol, and Karen Swisher, eds. SocialJustic Was-

ingViewpoints. San Diego: Greenhaven Bess, 1990.

r

BIBL OGRAPHY ON SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGYAN SOCIETYhq Sa el Totten and Jon E. Pedersen

Cheek, D.W. (1992). Thinking Constructively aboutScience, Technology, and Society Education. Albany, NY:

State University of New York Press. 262pp (616.95).(Available from State University of New York Press,State University Plaza, Albany, NY 12246.)This volume synthesizes the major historical

and conceptual movements in Science, Techno-logy, and Society (STS) education. The majorfocus of the volume is on the current thinkingand research surrounding STS and the applica-tion of these ideas to STS curriculum develop-ment in science and social studies classrooms.This resource will be invaluable to educators whoare in the incipient stage of developing their ownphilosophy of using STS concepts and STS cur-riculum development. This is especially true ofChapter 5, which presents a conceptual frame-work for STS teaching and a constructivistframework for STS education. It concludes withan extensive and useful bibliography.

Hickman, Faith M., Patrick, John J., and Bybee, RodgerW. (1987). Science, Technology, Society: A Framework

for Curriculum Reform in Secondary School Science and

Social Studies. Boulder, CO: Social Science EducationConsortium, Inc.An excellent resource for teachers in grades

7-12 that provides an overview of the STS theo-ry, a discussion of decision making and cognitiveprocess skills that can be incorporated into STSstudies, and a discussion as to how teachers cancombine social studies and science in order tofashion an interdisciplinary approach in theclassroom.

Hocking, C., Barber, J., and Coonrod, J. (1990).AcidRain: Teacher's Guide. Berkeley, CA: Lawrence Hall

of Science GEMS Project. 159pp. (Available fromGEMS, Lawrence Hall of Science, University of

California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720.)Based on the STS model of incorporating

science, technology and key societal issues intoan integrated study, this booklet delineates howteachers in grades six through ten can imple-ment a unit on the subject of acid rain. In acogent and detailed fashion, the authors providean introduction to the unit, discuss the timeframe needed to conduct a thorough study, pro-vide explicit directions and discussions of theeight sessions that comprise the unit, suggestways of extending the unit further, and providea short but useful annotated resource list. In ahelpful section entitled "Behind the Scenes," theauthors provide a discussion about acids, bases,buffers, acid rain and the problems it causes, aswell as proposed solutions.

Hungerford, H.R., Litherland, R.A., Peyton, R.B.,Ramsey, J.M. and Volk, T.L. (1988). Investigatingand Evaluating Environmental Issues and Actions SkillDevelopment Modules. Champaign, IL: STIPESPublishing Co. 169pp. (Available from STIPESPublishing Co., 10-12 Chester St., Champaign, IL61820.)Subtitled "A Curriculum Development

Project Developed to Teach Students How toInvestigate and Evaluate Science-Related SocialIssues," this booklet is comprised of six learningmodules on key environmental issues for use withmiddle level and junior high school students.The titles of the six modules are: "EnvironmentalProblem Solving," "Getting Started on IssueInvestigation," "Using Surveys, Questionnaires,and Opinionnaires in Environmental Investiga-.tions," "Interpreting Data from Investigations,""Investigating an Environmental Issue," and"Environmental Action Strategies." Each moduleis comprised of an introduction, objectives, key

pieces of information (articles and essays) for thestudent, learning activities, and worksheets. Thisis one of the best environmental curriculum pro-grams available.

Lewis, B.A. (1991). The Kid's Guide to Social Action:

How to Solve the Social Problems You Choose

and Turn Creative Thinking into Positive Action.

Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing. 184pp($14.95). (Available from the National ScienceTeachers Association, 1742 Connecticut AvenueNW, Washington, DC 20009.)In this book the author discusses the skills

necessary to enable students and teachers to takeaction on science-technology-society issues.Lewis includes examples of projects that havebeen initiated by students as well as guides andmaterials for taking social action. The book iscomprised of five parts: I. "Life Beyond TheClassroom" examines successful projects andprovides insights as to how students can createsimilar projects in their own community; II."Power Skills" provides the teacher and studentswith the social action skills needed to accom-plish their projects; III. "Initiating Or ChangingLaws" examines the process of changing laws orinitiating new laws; IV. "Resources" provides thenames and addresses of important social actiongroups, agencies that award money and scholar-ships to students for social action, and booksthat provide insights about government, citizen-ship, the environment and problem solving; and,V. "Tools" provides blackline masters of peti-tions, proclamations, releases, and resolutions.This book is an excellent resource for teachersin teaching grades 5-12.

Pearson, J. V. (1988). Science, Technology, Society: Model

Lessons For Secondary Science Classes. Boulder, CO:

Social Science Education Consortium, Inc. 216pp.($17.95). (Available from the Social Science Education

Consortium, 855 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80302.)This resource has four main components.

Part one includes an introduction to Science,Technology, Society study and its importance.In part two, Pearson provides matrixes for use inplanning the lessons as well as a matrix of theteaching strategies used. Part three provides ten'introductory lessons that teachers can use tofocus students on STS matters in their classes.Part four outlines twenty-four more sophisticat-ed and complex lessons. This is an excellentresource for secondary (grades 7-12) science and

social studies teachers. What is particularly valu-able about this resource is that it provides themeans for teachers to move from basic lessons tothe more advanced.

Ramsey, J.M, Hungerford, H.R., and Volk, T.L. (1980).A Science-Technology-Society Case Study: Municipal

Waste. Champaign, IL: STIPES Publishing Co.129pp. (Available from STIPES Publishing Co.,10-12 Chester St., Champaign, IL 61820.)This volume, which was designed for use by

middle and secondary level students, is com-prised of three main sections: I. "Teacher Notes,"which clearly delineates the four main goals ofthe unit of study (1. Science Foundations, 2. IssueAwareness, 3. Issue Investigation, and 4. Citizen-ship Action) and provides direction for theteacher; II. "Student Materials and Activities";and a glossary. A major portion of Part II isdesigned so that the teacher can reproduce thehandouts (overviews of the issues, key articles,research questions, sample questionnaires andsurveys) for student use. The major strength ofthis resource is that it is structured to assiststudents to glean a solid base of knowledge, touse that knowledge for in-depth investigation,and then to take action by addressing the issue.

Mier, H.D. (1989) Chemical Education for PublicUnderstanding (CEPUP). Berkeley, CA: LawrenceHall of Science. (Note: This program consists oftwelve modules, and each module comes with writ-ten support material. Each is approximately 130pp.)(Available from Sargent-Welch Scientific Company,7300 North Linder Avenue, Skokie, IL 60077.)Chemical Education for Public Understand-

ing (CEPUP) is a curriculum project developedby the University of California at Berkeley'sLawrence Hall of Science emphasizing thedevelopment of students' understanding ofchemicals and chemical issues in society.Modules range from $145.00 to $225.00 andinclude topics such as "Chemical Survey andSolutions and Pollution," "Investigation GroundWater: Toxic Waste: A Teaching Simulation,""Plastics in Our Lives," "Chemicals in Foods:Additives," and "Investigating HazardousMaterials," among others. All are appropriate forgrades 6-9. CEPUP is an outstanding curricu-lum that provides students opportunities to doin-depth investigations on pertinent key envi-ronmental and social issues. This curriculum isunique in three major ways: 1. each module

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comes complete with all of the equipment andchemicals necessary for the experiments; 2. thewritten materials provide accurate and in-depthinformation, both of which are imperative if stu-dents are going to gain a deep understanding ofscientific concepts; and 3. it is interdisciplinaryin nature (combining political, social and scien-tific concepts and issues).

Thirunarayanan, M.O. (Ed.) (1992). Think and Act.Make an Impact! Handbook of Science, Technology and

Society. Volume II. STS in Action in the Classroom.

Tempe, AZ: STS Project-FEE. 323pp. (Availablefrom STS Project-FEE, Arizona State University,College of Education, Tempe, AZ 85287-0911).This volume is comprised of 33 lessons on an

eclectic array of topics, including but not limitedto the following: biodiversity, energy, hunger, lifescience, designing and using satellites, schoolgardens, earthquake waves, the cost of spaceexploration, key environmental issues (acid rain,air and water pollution, endangered species, thegreenhouse effect, the ozone hole), energy con-servation, social action, weather and the watercycle, and wind erosion. While a vast majorityof the lessons are geared to the middle level(various combinations of grades 5-8), there areothers that are aimed at grades K-6, 3-7, 4-6, 4-8, 6-12, 7-12. A unique quality of this curriculumis that it is informed by the actual experiences ofmiddle level educators who work with early ado-lescents on a daily basis; the curriculum wasexclusively written by middle level educators.

Yager, R.E. (Ed.) (1993). The Science, Technology, Society

Movement. Washington, D.C.: National ScienceTeachers Association. 177pp. (Available from NSTA,1742 Connecticut Ave., NW, Washington, D.C.20009.)This monograph, which constitutes volume

seven of the NSTA "What Research Says to theScience Teacher" series, is comprised of four mainparts and a total of twenty-three essays: Part I. WhatSTS Means; Part II. The Need for STS; Part III.STS in Broader Perspectives; and Part IV. Resultsof STS. Among the many fascinating essays hereinare: 'Teacher Strategies Used by Exemplary STSTeachers," "STS in Social Studies Research andPractice," "Coordination of STS and CommunityGoals," and "An Issue as an Organizer: A CaseStudy." This volume not only provides the theorybehind and the research-base for STS, but it alsoprovides practical suggestions for the teacher.

Yager, R.E. (Ed.) (1992). International Council ofAssociations For Science Education: ICASEYearbook, 1992, The Status of Science-Technology-

Society Reform Efforts Around the World Petersfield,

UK International Council of Associations forScience Education 138pp. ($9.95). (Availablethrough Dennis Chisman, International Councilof Associations for Science Education HonoraryTreasurer, Knapp Hill, South Harting, PetersfieldGU31 5LR, UK.)This yearbook is the effort of the top scholars

in Science, Technology, Society (STS) aroundthe world. This volume is particularly strong anduseful to teachers in that it provides a compre-hensive view of the STS process. More specifi-cally, it provides a definition and rationale forSTS, examples of STS initiatives, and an evalua-tion of STS efforts.

Programs:National Issues Forums in the Classroom

(100 Commons Rd., Dayton, OH 45459-2777)."National Issues Forums in the Classroom seeksto help students discover, through public discus-sion, their common ground on complex domesticissues. The program's goal is to enhance the qual-ity of civic life by expanding the opportunitiesfor students to discuss and be more informedabout specific public issues." The program pack-age includes issue books, a teacher's guide, animplementation guide, and an instructor outline.Among the topics germane to STS that have beenaddressed by the National Issues Forums are:"The Farm Crisis; Who's in Trouble, How toRespond," "Energy Options: Finding a Solutionto the Power Predicament," "Coping with AIDS:The Public Response to the Epidemic," and "TheEnvironment at Risk: Responding to GrowingDangers."

Other Pertinent Resources:Asimov, Isaac (1991).Asimovs Chronology of the World.

The History of the World from the Big Bang to Modern

Times. New York HarperCollins.Bender, David L., and Leone, Bruno (Eds.) Opposing

Viewpoints Series/Juniors. San Diego, CA:

Greenhaven Press.Among the volumes germane to STS at the

middle level in this series are: Pollution, AnimalRights, Endangered Species, The Environment,Forests, Garbage, Nuclear Power, Smoking, andToxic Wastes.Goldfarb, Theodore D. (1993). Taking Sides: Clashing

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372BEST COPY AVAILABLE

Views on Controversial Environmental Issues.

Guilford, CT: The Dushkin Publishing Group, Inc.Laughlin, Margaret A., Hartoonian, H. Michael, and

Sanders, Norris M. (Eds.) (1989). From Informationto Decision Making: New Challenges to Effective

Citizenship. Washington, D.C.: National Council forthe Social Studies.

Miller, J.D., Suchner, R. W., and Voelker, A. (1985).Citizenship in an Age of Science. Elmsford, NY:

Pergamon Press.Newton, David E. (1992). Science and Social Issues.

Portland, ME: J. Weston Walch.National Council for the Social Studies (1983).

Guidelines for Teaching Science-Related SocialIssues. Social Education, 47(4), 258-261.

Patrick, J. J., and Remy, R. C. (1984). Connecting Science,

Technology, and Society in the Education of Citizens.

Boulder, CO: ERIC Clearinghouse for SocialStudies/Science Education and Social ScienceEducation Consortium.

Tofller, A. (1980). The Third Wave. New YorkRandom House.

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MAPS FOR MULTICULTURALISMS:URCES FOR DIVERSE STUDENT POPULATIONS

Bernard Powers

Anthologies/Edited CollectionsAmerican Eyes, New Asian-American Short Stories for

Young Adults edited by Lori M. Carlson. New YorkHenry Holt and Company, (1994). ISBNO-8050-3544-3 J, H, AComing of age, the meaning of home and the

meaning of difference are themes in this collec-tion of short stories authored by Asian Americanwriters. "How can a home be safe and secure in ahomeland that is dangerous because it rejects youfor your difference, or because it invites you to belike everyone else? Is home the place that keepsthe ways of another, more ancient homeland, or isit where new replaces old?" These questions areposed by the editor to frame the elusive andchangeable significance of home to Asian Ameri-can young people. (xi) The close-to-the-bonequality of these voices speaking about beingAmerican in a country that is so ambivalent aboutdifference makes the collection "an Asian fire."

Bridges and Borders, Diversity in America. The editors of

Time Magazine New York Warner Books, 1994.ISBN 0-446-67131-2.J, H, AThis is an anthology of critical issues editori-

alized or featured in Time magazines for the pasteight decades. "Essays by writers such as ToniMorrison and Barbara Ehrenreich, news storiescovering major historical events and feature sto-ries on demographic trends" are part of this mul-ticultured compendium. Articles include,"Hunger Stalks the 'Hogan" from the 1940's,"The Meaning of Little Rock," from the 1950's,"Marching for Justice" in the 1960's and "Raid atWounded Knee" are typical of the issuesaddressed in this valuable resource.

Civics for Democracy, A Journey for Teachers and Students

Katherine Isaac Washington D.C.: Essential Books,

Keys: Er-Elementary, J=Junior High, HAISr-Secondary, A=Young Adult

1992. ISBN 0-936758-32-5 H, AThis issues oriented guide for student citizen

action is introduced by Ralph Nader andincludes an impressive list of reviewers from awide range of organizations involved in citizenaction including Greenpeace, Citizens ClearingHouse for Hazardous Waste, Disability RightsEducation and Defense Fund and Youth ServiceAmerica. The text is a well organized roadmap for student action projects that begins withhistories of the civil rights movement labormovement, women rights movements, consumermovement and environmental movement.Student activities, resource organizations andreferences are included.

Cool Salsa, Bilingual Poems on Growing Up Latino in theUnited States. Edited by Lori M. Carlson New YorkHenry Holt and Company ISBN 0-8050-3135-9 J,S, ASpeaking two languages and walking the

bridges between two cultures is part of the fabricof growing up Latino in the United States. Thiscollection of poems by first, second and thirdgeneration Latinos conveys the vibrancy ofLatino presence and heritage along with thepains of "struggling to survive." In two lan-guages, Spanish and English, topics such as dat-ing, finding respect, hot dogs, orange trees andthe future are explored and shared in traditionallyrical forms and in street language by thisimpressive group of poets.

A Different Mirror, A History of Multicultural America

Ronald Takaki. Boston: Little, Brown and Company,1993.ISBN 0-3116-83112-3 S, ARonald Takaki's book is a history of the inter-

action of select ethnic groups in American history.It is a very readable sharing of stories that encour-

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ages the readers "to see ourselves in a differentmirror." The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, PictureBrides, Gold Mountain and El Norte are some ofthe topics that feature in the narratives of JapaneseAmericans, Chinese Americans, Chicanas andChicanos, Native Americans, African Americans,Jewish Americans and Irish Americans. ThisRevisionist mural of history which includesclass and gender issues will be useful for both ele-mentary and secondary teachers who are interest-ed in deepening and reshaping their understand-ing of American History. The volume includessome pictures and extensive notes.

The Education Feminism Reader. Edited by Lynda Stonewith the assistance of Gail Masuchika Bo ldt. NewYork Rout ledge, (1994) ISBN 0-415-90793-4 AThis reader on feminism and education fea-

tures the theorizing of twenty-two well-knownscholars and researchers on the subjects of girls,women, schooling, sources of inequality, ways ofknowing and curricula in educational domains.The meaning of difference, separate spheres,critiques of white feminism, moral education,and the connections between multiculturalismand feminism are among the topics included inthis dense reader, which is organized in five sec-tions; I, Self and Identity; II, Education andSchooling; III, Knowledge Curriculum andInstructional Arrangements; IV, Teaching andPedagogy; and V, Diversity and Multiculturalism.Contributors speak from different racial, class,and ethnic perspectives.

Freedom's Children, Young Civil Rights Activists TellTheir Own Stories. Edited by Ellen Levine NewYork: Avon Books, (1993). ISBNO-380-72114-7J, HThe Civil rights movement of the 1950's and

1960's was an African American drive for free-dom that marshalled support from the youngpeople of southern communities. This book tellsthe stories of thirty young African Americanswho were children and teenagers during thehuman rights struggles of the 1950's and 60's.These young people were drawn into the civilrights movement by virtue of their parents'human rights activism. Many of them were in theinitial voter registration drives, protests andschool integration efforts. They were the youngpeople who sat in all white restaurants anddemanded to be served, who refused to give uptheir seats at the front of the bus, who integrated

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the public schools, and faced violence and death.The book includes a chronology of the civilrights movement, and information on the con-tributors' current lives.

Hearing us Out, Voices From the Gay and Lesbian

Community. Roger Sutton. New York Little Brownand Company, (1994). J, H, AThis book tells the stories of nineteen gay and

lesbian youth and adults. The stories that makeup the book, based on interviews and edited tran-scripts by the author, are answers to the question,"what does it mean to be gay?" The author'sintent was to address, through personal stories,the serious discrimination and critical healthconcerns that face gay and lesbian teens today.Humiliation, ostracism, AIDS, the military,gay parenting and an actively hostile adversary inthe religious right are among the specific issuesfacing the population of young people today."The voices in the book {should} help everyonesee the gay and lesbian community as a proudand diverse group of people with their own his-tory, stories and future."

Ordinary Americans, U S. History Through the Eyes of the

Everyday People. Edited by Linda Monk Alexandria,Va: Close Up Publishing, 1994. ISBN 0- 932765 -47-5 al, H, AThis anthology of readings is a collection of

200 first-person accounts of U. S. History featur-ing the voices of Native Americans, AfricanAmericans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Ameri-cans and European Americans describing notableand everyday events. For example, the section on"The Plantation South" includes " A Slave Child'sView of Plantation Life," by Jacob Stroyer, "ACruel Mistress," by Angelina Grimke Weld, and"Santa Claus Brought Me These New Clothes" byHarriet Jacobs. Among the other voices in thecompendium are those of a former slave, OlaudahEquiano, who describes the passage from Africa toAmerica, Jessie Lopez de la Cruz, who organizedher comrades in the fields for the UnitedFarmworkers, and Cheyenne tribeswoman, KatBighead. Complete references are included.

The Power in Our Hands, A Curriculum on the History ofWork and Workers in the United States. William

Bigelow and Norman Diamond. New YorkMonthly Review Press, 1988. S, AThis is a sixteen-lesson unit on the history of

work and organized labor in the United States.

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This teacher written curriculum encourages stu-dents to reflect on "their own power" and "abilityto remake society" (17) The lessons are organizedfor student participation through role play, simu-lation and imaginative writing that makes stu-dent's "lives become an 'additional text' within thelessons." Union maids, plant closings, racial con-flict and cooperation in tenant farming areamong the lesson topics included. Student hand-outs and suggested further reading are included.

Race Identity and Representation in Education. CameronMcCarthy and Warren Crichlow (Eds.) New YorkRout ledge, 1993. ISBN 0-415-90558 AThis recently published collection of articles

on multiculturalisms is suggested for teacherswho are reaching for theoretical perspectives thatclarify race, class, ethnic and gender issues/iden-tities in education institutions and classroomlife. One of the centerpieces of the collection isMcCarthy's essay entitled, "After the Canon:Knowledge and Ideological Representation inthe Multicultural Discourse on CurriculumReform." His critique and analysis of multicul-tural education is thorough, incisive and rich inexamples of curriculum and student life.Christine Sleeter, Elizabeth Ellsworth, MichaelApple, Cornet West and Fazal Rizvi are amongthe contributing authors. Notes and an Index areprovided.

Tales of Courage, Tales "Dreams: A Multictdtural Reader,

John Mundahl Menlo Park, CA: Addison Wesley,1993. ISBN 0-201-53962-4. J, H, A (Grades 5-12)This multicultural reader for students who

speak English as a second language tells storiesfrom many cultures including Mexican, PuertoRico, Native American, Jamaican, Laotian,Lebanese and African American. The reader isdivided into eight sections based on themes suchas "Tales of Prejudice," "Tales of Courage," "Talesof Triumph," and "Tales of Dreams." Selectionsinclude vocabulary study, and the author makesrecommendations for use the of the materialswith students. The book is indexed.

Teaching in the Multicultural Classroom, Freedom's Plow.

Theresa Perry and James W. Fraser (Editors). NewYork Roudedge, 1993.ISBN 0-415-90700-4. AIn the words of the editors, multicultural edu-

cation is the "fundamental question to beaddressed if schools are to be agents of democra-cy in an increasingly diverse United States. " The

book is divided into four parts that address fourmajor domains; theoretical contexts, voices fromteachers, perspectives on the new canon, andpower structures in schooling that support multi-culturalism writ large.

Unequal Sisters, A Mzdticultural Reader in US. Women's

History. Ellen Carol DuBois and Vicki L. Ruiz. NewYork Routledge, 1990. ISBN 0-415-90272-X H, AThis multicultural reader in women's history

provides both teachers and students with an arrayof narratives or stories that illuminate the differ-ences and connections in women's lives andexperiences across time and geographic space.It is centered in the Western United States wherethere was and is a "confluence of many culturesand races" including Native American, Mexican,Asian, Black, and European-American women.The volume explores issues of relations betweengroups of women, and the place of family, andpolitics, in the creation of a tentative narrative ofU.S. History. Selected bibliographies of African-American Women, Asian-American Women,Latinas and Native American Women areincluded in this work.

Books, Individually AuthoredChinese Women of America, A Pictorial History. Judy

Yung. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1986.ISBN 0-295-96358. J, H, AThis carefully researched and documented book

tells the stories and identifies central issuesin the lives of Chinese American women in theUnited States. The book is organized chronologi-cally into three central periods, 1834-1900, 1900-1945 and 1945-1985. Sexist images of ChineseAmerican women as exotic curios and racistdescriptions in popular media are identified in thiswell organized photographic history. Economicroles and discrimination, social reformers, mediaimages, education and intergenerational tensionare among the topics Yung documents.

A Day's Work. Eve Bunting. New York Clarion Books,1994 ISBN 0-395-67321-6 E

This beautifully illustrated book is about agrandson and his newly immigrated Mexicangrandfather who seek work at one of the dailylabor pick-up stations in Los Angeles. The con-text and content of the story address economicopportunity for day laborers, language barriers,and the sustaining value of integrity in work.Contains realistic illustrations.

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I Hadn't Meant To Tell You This. Jacqueline Woodson.New York Delacorte Press, (1994) ISBN 0 -385-32031-0 J, HInterracial friendship and class based discrim-

ination are subthemes in this short fictionalnovel about an adolescent girl who is being sex-ually abused by her father. The main character,Marie, an African-American, befriends Lena,who is from "the wrong side" of the river inChauncey, Ohio. Through the evolution of theirfriendship, Marie discovers that Lena, who liveswith her younger sister and her father, has beensexually abused for a number of years. Lena'spoignant self-hate, her protectiveness toward hersister and the pains of lossissues for youngwomen who experience abuseare sensitivelyhandled in this important book.

An Illustrated History of the Chinese in America.

Ruthanne Lum McCunn. San Francisco, CA:Design Enterprises of San Francisco, (1979) P. 0.Box 27677, SF CA 94127 Library of CongressCatalog Number, 79-50144. J, H, APhotographs, graphic illustrations, maps and

newspaper clippings are among the data sourcesused to depict the lives of Chinese-Americans inthe United States. Chapters in this illustratedhistory include "Angel Island," the west coastequivalent to Ellis Island, "Exclusion Laws,"New Immigration Laws," and the "Anti-ChineseMovement." While the bulk of materials andcommentary are oriented to San Francisco,which had the largest population of Chinese-Americans in the United States, there are repre-sentations of life in New York, Idaho, Wyomingand other communities. Ethnic discriminationand exclusion are major themes in this work.

My Brother Has AIDS. Deborah Davis. New York:

Atheneum Press, (1994) ISBNO-689-31922-3 J, HThis fictionalized account of a young adoles-

cent and her family experiencing the final stagesof AIDS with a much loved brother providesa clear eyed and compassionate picture of theemotional and logistic complexities posed bythe disease. Lacy's life is profoundly changed bythe return of her older brother, who has been inlaw practice in Colorado. Her father's ambiva-lence about her brother's sexuality coupled withhis guilt and sorrow, the logistic problems andpain associated with a young man's death fromAIDS, and the anger that Lacy feels about beinghelpless and deserted make this a particularly

significant book for a critical issues curriculum.

Night Flying Woman, An Ojibway Narrative. IgnatiaBroker. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press,(1983). ISBN 0-87351-167-0 J and SAs the introduction to this book proclaims,

"Night Flying Woman is a story in the traditionof the Ojibway people." (ix) It is also the storyof culture contact with strangers which altersthe ancient way of life. The tension and alien-ation from the land experienced by successivegenerations of Ojibway, known as Anishinabe intheir own language, is chronicled by an elderand story teller who lived in both urban andreservation communities. Accurate and detailedaccounts of the impact of the lumber industryon Ni-bo-wi-se-gwe and her family is a prima-ry focus of this narrative which also celebrates avalue system based on conservation of the landand ancient ways.

No Big Deal. Ellen Jaffe McClain. New York: LodestarBooks, 1994 ISBNO-525-67483-7 J, HThis fiction book written by a high school

teacher from Los Angeles is about a youngwoman named Janice Green and her social stud-ies teacher, Mr. Podovano, who is gay. Whenthe social studies teacher's sexual identity ismade public, he is made the target of homopho-bia. His car is vandalized, he is harassed at aschool dance and Janice's mother threatens tolobby for dismissal. Issues that face gay and les-bian teachers and the conflicts experienced bythose who accept and defend difference are thefocus of this fictional story of a divided schoolcommunity.

The Other Side, How Kids Live in a California Latino

Neighborhood Kathleen Krill. New York Lodestar,(1994). ISBN 0-525-67439-1 E, J (Middle School)This books portrays the lifestyle of three

young Mexican Americans who live close to theborder between the United States and Mexico ina community called Chula Vista. Bilingualism,language and culture maintenance, and adapta-tion are among the issues that face first genera-tion Americans such as Cynthia Guzman andFrancisco and Pedro Tapia. This book is richwith the photographs of David Hautzig, whodocuments significant locations in these youngpeoples' lives. Text includes vocabulary, suggest-ed readings and an index.

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This Little Light of Mine, The Life of Fannie Lou Hamm:

Kay Mills. New York Plume Books, (1993). ISBN0-452-27052-9 S, AThis biography of one of the most courageous

and significant freedom fighters in our country'shistory addresses race, class and gender issues inthe context of Hamer's campaign for votingrights. Hamer was an important voice at the1962 Democratic National Convention whereshe challenged the credentials committee, sayingthat if the Mississippi Freedom DemocraticParty challengers were not seated, "'I questionAmerica." Hamer was a founding member of theNational Women's Political Caucus where shevoiced her strong opinions on feminism, includ-ing, "If white women there think they have prob-lems, 'then they should be black and inMississippi for a spell.'" (276)

Thousand Pieces of Gold Ruthanne Lum McCunn.San Francisco: Design Enterprises of San Francisco,(1981) ISBN 0-932538007-X J, H, ALaLu Nathoy, a young Chinese woman who

was "raised in a peasant village ravaged by pover-ty and drought," sold into slavery by Bandits andshipped to America where she was auctionedoff to a saloon owner in Idaho is the subject ofthis biographical novel by McCunn, a Chinese-American writer. Racism and gender discrimi-nation interract in this story about an exception-al pioneer woman, also known as Polly Bemis,who came to Idaho as a virtual slave in a miningcamp, ran her own boarding house, homestead-ed twenty acres, and died at eighty on her farmin Idaho, having survived and thrived in a fron-tier environment.

Who Belongs Here? An American Story. Margy BurnsKnight Gardiner. Maine: Tilbury House, Publishers,(1993) ISBN 0-88448-110-7 EThis story is about a young Cambodian boy,

Nary, and his family, who flee from "the brutali-ty of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge" and come tothe U.S. in hopes of creating a better life. Forsome Americans, Nary is an unwanted alien, a"Gook," who should "Go back home where youbelong." This beautifully illustrated book pro-vides a simple and straightforward look at issuesof immigration and discrimination that confrontyoung people in schools. The ideas are complexand the language elegantly simple in this awardwinning book, which is dedicated to the E.S. L.teachers of Maine. An appendix provides vocab-

ulary notes. There is a separate activity guide.

Mixed Media"Fires in the Mirror" by Anna Deavere Smith

produced by Public Television Playhouse, Inc,(1993). Available through PBS Video. ISBN 0-793601001-X 1-80-344-3337 H, A

Anna Deavere Smith's one-woman play pre-sents compelling perspectives on urban racialand class conflict. The play, acted out in mono-logues, presents the views of various players inthe Crown Heights, Brooklyn racial turmoil.Smith assumes the personalities of thirty peoplewho were caught up in the demonstrationsfollowing the death of an African Americanchild who was killed in an auto accident, and thesubsequent slaying of a Hassidic rabbinicalstudent. The play eloquently communicates theintense emotion and complex opinions thatattend urban race relations.

"School Colors." (Video) Co-production by Center forInvestigative Reporting and Telesis International forPBS Frontline. Order through CIR, 568 HowardStreet, 5th floor, SF CA 94105-3008 For informa-tion call 415-543-1200 or 800-733-0015. H, SThis video production examines the state of

race and ethnic relations at Berkeley HighSchool in Berkeley, California. The controversialvideo focuses on how integration has worked atBerkeley High School in the last three decades.Faculty relationships with each other and withstudents, parent involvement, ethnic studies,student home life and ethnic group and inter-group relations are the focus of this video pro-duction filmed on site at the school.

'Through Innocent Eyes, Life in Poston ArizonaInternment Camp 1942-1943" (1990) Los Angeles:Keiro Services (P.O. Box 33819, L.A.,CA 90033-0819) ISBN 1-878385-00-3 E, SThis audio tape is a collection of poetry and

stories written by second generation Japanese-American students (Nisei) confined to intern-ment camps during World War II. The poignantstories and poems are read by third generation(Sansei) and fourth generation students (Yonsei)and are accompanied by a theme song composedfor this tape. The tape and accompanying guideare taken from a high school scrapbook projectthat resurfaced forty-five years after the intern-ment experience. They effectively speak to theimportance of carefully drawn context, the

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power of student voices in framing and commu-nicating about critical social issues, and the forceof imagination.

Periodical PublicationsTeaching Tolerance. Biannual publication of the Southern

Poverty Law Center 400 Washington Avenue.Montgomery, AL 36104. No charge to educatorsE, J, H, ADream Makers, Dream Breakers: The World of

Justice Thurgood Marshall by Carl T. Rowan, andSkipping Stones: A Multicultural Children'sQuarterly are a small sampling of resources forK-12 classrooms identified and described in thisbiannual publication. This classroom-orientedpublication has a small and impressive advisoryboard that includes Robert Coles, MaryHatwood Futrell, Maxine Green, Maya Lin, andMoyra Contreras. Gang violence, homelessness,interracial friendship and case studies of class-rooms and teachers are topics explored in theFall 1993 issue of this extraordinary publication.Teaching Tolerance is especially strong in resourcesfor elementary classrooms. It includes phonenumbers and addresses.

The Women's History Network News The quarterly

newsletter of The Women's History Network,7738 Bell Road, Windsor,CA 95492s E, J, H, AThere is a vast array of resources for critical

multicultural teaching featured in this news-letter and in the Network's catalogue. Scholarlybooks, biographies, exhibits such as "NuestrasMujeres, Hispanas in New Mexico, 1582-

1992," conferences and school based efforts tocreate curriculum change are regularly featuredin this teacher resource. Back issues on specialtopics are available and resource lists on "Black,Asian, Hispanic, and American Indian Women"are printed in "Women's History Resources"available through the catalog. This resource isparticularly strong in book recommendationsfor elementary classrooms and biographies.The project's commitment to multiculturalteaching is evident in the selections.

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GLO AL DEVELOPMENT /ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUESbq Jeffr q L. Brown

Balrm, Amy et al. Trash Conflicts: A Science and Social

Studies Curriculum on the Ethics of Disposal. Educators

for Social Responsibility, 23 Garden Street,Cambridge, MA 02138, 1993. 220 pages. $25.00.The content focus of this book is on solid

waste disposal, hazardous waste, and the issue ofenvironmental racism and classism. Curricularapplications include U.S. history, civics, geogra-phy, and interdisciplinary science and social stud-ies. Although this teacher resource book containslessons that focus on the student's immediate sur-roundings, it merits inclusion within this sectionas immensely helpful regarding basic issues ofglobal sustainability. Students investigate, calcu-late and role play numerous examples of complexdecision-making in which economic, environ-mental and equity values must be evaluated. Thesection on "Taking Action" is a textbook exampleof comprehensive and responsible strategic plan-ning and social action. Background readings andhandouts represent multiple perspectives and pro-vide adequate information for informed decision-making. Lessons may be selected and infused ortaught together as a semester course. This book'squality would have been enhanced if many of thehandouts had been re-typed instead of photo-copied.Recommended Level(s) for Use inClassroom Instruction: I/M

Brown, Jeffrey L., Paula Gotsch et al.A SustainableDevelopment Curriculum Framework for World History

and Cultures. Global Learning, Inc., 1018 StuyvesantAvenue, Union, NJ 07083, 1991. 272 pages. $20.00.The content focus of this book is the rela-

tionship between the environment, economic/social development and equity. Curricular appli-cations include world history/cultures/geogra-phy, global studies and international relations.

As noted by a reviewer for the magazineGreen Teacher, emphasis has been placed on con-ceptually-oriented teaching as opposed tochronologically-oriented history, and the twelvelessons are effective with students. Twelve infu-sion methods, e.g., "Replace the course text-book's framework with the Analytical Frame-work for Sustainable Development," are helpfulfor teachers planning to integrate global con-cepts within existing curricula. There is anextensive list of resources, an international col-lection of children's artwork, and suggestions forstudent participation beyond the classroom.Some significant resources that were omittedinclude the New Internationalist, Signs of Hope,and the Red Cross.Recommended Levens) for Use inClassroom Instruction: S,H

Byrnes, Ronald S. Exploring the Developing World: Life

in Africa and Latin America. Center for TeachingInternational Relations, University of Denver,Denver, CO 80208-0269, 1993. 137 pages, $26.95.The content focus of this book is the regions

and representative countries of Africa and LatinAmerica, set within a global context. Curricularapplications include regional studies, world his-tory, cultures or geography, and global studies.Multiple perspectives and counterstereotypingare fostered. A variety of countries is represent-ed, and important issues are addressed. Variedactivities, including role playing, engage studentsof differing academic abilities. Sufficient infor-mation allows substantive treatment of particu-lar topics, such as the role of women in Africansociety or population growth in Mexico City.Lessons have reader-friendly handouts, exten-sion activities and suggestions for evaluation.A lesson on UN Peacekeeping could have

Keys: PL-Primary, 1=Intermediate, M=Middle, S=Secondary, liAligh School

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included some conflict resolution substance.The survey of gender roles on p. 55 could use anadditional category of "equal," and studenthandout 3.23 on "Trying Times in Cuba" coulduse more background information.Recommended Level(s) for Use inClassroom Instruction: S, H

Crews, Kimberly A. and Patricia Canceler, eds.CONNECTIONS: Linking Population and theEnvironment. Population Reference Bureau, Inc.,1875 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 520,Washington, DC 20009-5728, 1991. Teacher'sGuide, 80 pages; Student Resource Book 96 pages.Teacher's kit $13 includes both books plus WorldPopulation Data Sheet and World EnvironmentData Sheer, additional Student Resources Books cost$8, but bulk rates are available.Four introductory and one concluding lesson

focus on a world overview of population andenvironmental concerns, while 8 lessons focus onAfrica, 5 on Asia and 4 on Latin America.Curricular applications include area, global, andpopulation studies. The extended newspaperarticles in the student book are varied and inter-esting and represent a unique source of primarysource materials written from "Third World"perspectives. Selected print and A/V resourcesare listed for each section. There is plentiful useof pictures, tables, graphs, maps, quotations andextension activities. The global problems, howev-er, receive so much more detail than do alterna-tive solutions that students may feel problem-solving is futile. It would be helpful if an explicitproblem-solving process were applied severaltimes in lessons. Individual lessons would bestrengthened if they included more ways thatNorth American students are connected to thespecific problem or world region through a local-global connection.Recommended Level(s) for Use inClassroom Instruction: I/M, S, H

Global Resources: Opposing Viewpoints Series. San Diego,

CA: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1991. 260 pages. $9.95.The contents of this work focus on the issues

of resource scarcity and conservation, the green-house effect, population and resource use, rainforests, and sustainable agriculture. Curricularapplications include global studies, geography,world and U.S. history. Six chapters organized bya key question, e.g., "Are global resources becom-ing more scarce?" each contain six essays by

major writers or organizations, e.g., Paul Ehrlichand the National Cattlemen's Association, there-by exposing students to excellent primaryresources and representative spokespersons onthis major issue. Each chapter contains a practi-cal critical thinking activity, such as distinguish-ing bias from reason. Although the six essays onany particular chapter question will provide avariety of views on that chapter's topic, eachviewpoint is paired with its opposite, e.g., thegreenhouse effect is real vs. exaggerated. Thispairing may have the unintended result of rein-forcing students' tendency toward either-orthinking. Three to five perspectives on any one ofthese issues would help students develop moresophisticated abilities in taking multiple perspec-tives.

Greenberg, Hazel Sara. Teaching about Global Issues:

Population, Health, Hunger, Culture, Environment.American Forum for Global Education, 120 WallStreet, Suite 2600, New York, NY 10005. 99 pages,$25.00.

This revision of lessons from earlier publica-tions by this organization contains one lessoneach for a global issues overview, population,culture, and economic development, and foureach on hunger and on the environment.Curricular applications include area and globalstudies, and world cultures. A sophisticated levelof analysis is applied to the causes of worldhunger, and options for social participation areoffered. The cultural strengths of the peoplestudied are noted despite their current hard-ships. Urban life is well represented to counterits omission in most textbooksespeciallyregarding Africa. Local-global connectionswith which students can identify are made. Thelayout is teacher-friendly, but the typeface ofstudent readings is small and uninviting. Thelessons on hunger tend to favor the scarcity issueas hunger's major cause instead of addressing themore politically difficult issue of distribution.The concluding activity may raise the ire ofAfricanists because of the inclusion of the exot-ic Pygmies. The second-hand descriptions byEuropean writers might have been replaced byfirst hand sources, such as Ibn Battuta.Recommended Levels) for Use inClassroom Instruction: I/M, S

Murphy, Carol E. What Have You Got to Lose? NewWorld Tropical Rainforests. SPICEStanford

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Program on International and Cross-CulturalEducation, Littlefield Center, Room 14, 300 LasuenSt., Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5013.128 pages, 24 slides with script, & a poster. Alsoavailable in Spanish. $44.95.The focus of this work is rainforest, biodiver-

sity, economic development, and prejudice reduc-tion. Curricular applications are interdisciplinary.This is a comprehensive unit, with scientificbackground and engaging interactive lessonsstructured to help teachers work with cooperativegroups. It contains complex decision-makingactivities, cultural bias and awareness lessons,examples of students' connections with the rain-forest, and an exploration of sophisticated poten-tial solutions to problems raised. Many lessonscontain very sophisticated reading levels andconcepts that make them appropriate for theupper middle grades and even secondary stu-dents, even though the author indicates thesematerials are for grades 3-8, while the 3-6 weektime frame may be a limitation for some.Recommended Levels for Use inClassroom Instruction: I/M, S

See Me, Share My World. Understanding the Third World

through Children's Art. Plan International USA, 155

Plan Way, Warwick RI 02886, 1989. 28 page TeachingGuide, 48 reproducible activity sheets, 8 color chil-

dren's drawings, 8 B&W photos & training video. $59.

Six themes of daily lifehome, food, educa-tion, health, work, funare explored on a "trip"to 6 countries: Colombia, Honduras, India,Indonesia, Sierra Leone and Thailand. Curricu-lar applications are multidisciplinary: social stud-ies, language arts, art, music, science, health, andphysical education. The original children's artfrom around the world invites elementary stu-dents into a counterpart's daily life while theactivities focus effectively on comparing similari-ties and differences and making personal connec-tions. Adequate teacher background is providedfor both the art work and its topic as well as theeconomic development issues addressed. Theproblem of traditional development terminologyis also addressed. The work unit counters thestereotype that poor people are lazy. A uniquefeature involves the possibility of leasing a largemuseum-quality display of children's art to tie inwith the two week unit. Teachers may want torestructure some of the individualistic learningactivities into small group cooperative learningformats.

Recommended Levels for Use inClassroom Instruction: P

Sheldon, Janet E. IMPACT! How Everything We DoAffects Everything And Everyone: EnvironmentalActivities With An International Perspective.Environmental Literacy Group, 33770 WoodlandDr., Evergreen, CO 80439, n.d. 133 pages.Content focus includes toxic waste on land

and sea, energy, vegetation, recycling, biodiversi-ty, and human diversity. Curricular applicationsinclude science, social studies, and language arts.To avoid scaring young children with the world'swoes, these materials emphasize students' mak-ing an active contribution to a solution to a prob-lem, and thus to a better world. Teachers do notneed extensive background knowledge in scienceor technology. A broad variety of fun activitieswill engage young children in active learning.Now that the Asceptic Packaging Council(NYC) is promoting recycling, the lesson oncomposite food wrappers is somewhat dated.Recommended Level(s) for Use inClassroom Instruction: P

Snow, Roberta and Richard Golden. Global WarmingActivities for High School Social Studies. Climate

Protection Institute, 5833 Balmoral Drive, Oakland,CA 94619, 1991. 32 pages. $9.85.The climate change focus includes its rela-

tionship to energy, deforestation and recyclingwastes. Curricular applications include econom-ics, geography, history, civics, internationalrelations, and global studies. The three-pagereview of the issue is clear and concise. Engagingactivities will motivate students of varying acad-emic abilities to feel they can do something aboutthis global issue. Some of the lessons could beused when studying the industrial revolution inU.S. or world history. The conflict resolutionconcept of win/win is applied in a game regard-ing the commons, and clear diagrams of "theproblem" are provided for presentation to stu-dents. Sample questionnaires would have beenuseful for the community survey. Insufficientbackground is provided in the lesson on ChicoMendes' murder in Brazil for students to makedecisions on much more than their initial biases.Recommended Level(s) for Use inClassroom Instruction: I/M, S

Snyder, Sarah. Teacher's Guide to World Resources:

Comprehensive Coursework on the Global Environment.

World Resources Institute, 1709 New York Avenue,N.W., Washington, DC 20006. 173 pages, $6.95.Three units focus on the environmental

impacts of automobiles, women, equity and sus-tainable development, and a comparison ofIndia's and China's sustainability issues.Curricular applications include geography, his-tory, and political science, as well as mathemat-ics and science. These units consciously link therelated topics of the environment and economicdevelopment. Each unit contains enough infor-mation to teach one to several classes on thetopic, although additional print and audiovisualresources are listed for further extension lessons.The data are current and comprehensive, andsignificant attention is given to possible solu-tions to problems. The first two units start withactivities involving U.S. or Canadian secondarystudents and the third unit begins with a brain-storm of what students already know, or thinkthey know, about India and China. Many tablesand graphs can be used with students of all read-ing levels, although many of the student readingmaterials are at a fairly high level and may be achallenge to some students. At the end of thethird unit, brief quotations from individuals oragencies from each country are included so stu-dents have access to some non-U.S. perspectives.This unit would have benefited from some liter-ary voices to provide a more human-centeredperspective on this highly analytical material.Recommended Level(s) for Use inClassroom Instruction: S, H

Tooke, Moyra, ed. EDIT #19: EARTH SUMMIT INREVIEW. Common Heritage Programme, 200Isabella Street, Suite 300, Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaK1S 1V7, 77 pages plus 5 B&W photographs. C$30.Twenty-four readings on the results of the

June 1992 Earth Summit include numerousenvironmental-development issues. Curricularapplications include global studies and interna-tional relations. Readings and discussion ques-tions provide primary source materials from theUN system, national governments, and newsmedia. They would be especially useful in aModel UN based on the Earth Summit.Multiple perspectives are provided, especiallyfrom Canadian and "Third World" viewpoints.The issue of poverty reduction receives strongemphasis within the context of sustainable devel-opment. Positive outcomes within a complexglobal system are included. Official documents

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and summaries, however, lack the human face ofhuman interest stories. The official U.S. positionsof the Bush Administration need updating. Theteacher may want to create more interactiveclassroom activities to use with these resources.Recommended Level(s) for Use inClassroom Instruction: S, H

Wasserman, Pamela and Andrea Doyle. EARTHMatters: Studies for Our Global Future. Zero Population

Growth, 1400 Sixteenth Street, N.W., Suite 320,Washington, DC 20036. $19.95. 176 pages.Topics include population dynamics, climate

change, air pollution, water resources, defores-tation, food and hunger, waste disposal, wildlifeendangerment, energy issues, rich and poor,population and economics, the world's women,finding solutions. Curricular applicationsinclude social studies, economics, global studies,and interdisciplinary studies. Informative three-page articles on each topic are followed by two tothree activities that should engage students,along with extension activities. A good mix ofglobal data and examples facilitates student-gen-erated comparisons. Answers are provided forworksheets. The common thread of populationconcerns connecting all lessons avoids specificpopulation control strategies. The challenge tothe "growth = good" assumption and the raisingof ethics within economics are succinct dooropeners for economics teachers. The "dilemma"cards in the ethics lesson, however, seem tootransparent. It would be more teacher-friendly ifsuch items as role cards and student instructionscould just be duplicated for student use.Recommended Level(s) for Use inClassroom Instruction: S

Additional Resources:The 1994 Information Please Environmental Almanac.

Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1994.Brown, Jeffrey L., Paula Gotsch et al. Sustaining the

Future: Activities for Environmental Education in USHistory. Global Learning, Inc., 1018 StuyvesantAvenue, Union, NJ 07083, 1995.

Brown, Lester R. et al. State of the World (Annual).New York W.W. Norton & Co., 1994.

Brown, Lester R. et al. Vital Signs 1994: The Trends ThatAre Shaping Our Future. New York W.W. Norton &Co., 1994.

Children and the Environment: The State of the

Environment-1990. UNICEF House, 3 UnitedNations Plaza, New York, NY 10017.

Choices: The Human Development Magazine. United

Nations Development Programme, One UnitedNations Plaza, New York, NY 10017.

Corson, Walter H. ed. The Global Ecology HandbookWhat You Can Do about the Environmental Crisis.

Boston: Beacon Press, 1990.Danant, Jo, ed. Who's Doing What? A Directory of U.S.

Organizations & Institutions Educating AboutDevelopment and Other Global Issues. American

Forum for Global Education, 120 Wall Street,Suite 2600, New York, NY 10005, 1991.

The Environmental Crisis: Opposing Viewpoints Series.

San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1991.The Environmental Data Book A Guide to Statistics on the

Environment and Development. Washington, DC:The World Bank, 1993.

Great Decisions (Annual Publication). Foreign Policy Associ-

ation, 729 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019.

Goudie, Andrew. The Human Impact on the NaturalEnvironment. Cambridge, MA: BlackwellPublishers, 1993.

Kennedy, Moorhead & Martha Keys. Death of aDissident: Simulation. American Forum for GlobalEducation, 120 Wall Street, Suite 2600, New York,NY 10005.

Kennedy, Moorhead & Martha Keys. Fire in the Forest:Simulation. American Forum for Global Education,120 Wall Street, Suite 2600, New York, NY 10005.

Lanier-Graham, Susan D. The Ecology of War:Environmental Impacts of Weaponry and Warfare.

New York Walker and Co., 1993.Luderer, William, ed. Making Global Connections in the

Middle School: Lessons on the Environment, Develop-

ment & Equity. Global Learning, Inc., 1018Stuyvesant Avenue, Union, NJ 07083, 1994.

Hunger 1992: Second Annual Report on the State of World

Hunger. Bread for the World Institute on Hunger &Development, 802 Rhode Island Avenue, NE,Washington, DC 20018, 1991.

Seager, Joni, ed. The State of the Earth Atlas. New York,

Simon & Schuster Inc., 1990.Simmons, I.G. Environmental History: A Concise Intro-

duction. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Publishers, 1993.The State of the World's Children (UNICEF's Annual

Report). New York Oxford University Press, 1994.Third World Resources: A Quarterly Review. Third World

Resources, 464 19th Street, Oakland, CA 94612-2297.

World Game Simulation. World Game Institute, 3508Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104.

World Resources 1994-95: A Guide to the Global Environ-

ment. New York Oxford University Press, 1994.

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'J 8

TEA HING ABOUT INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS:AN NNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHYbq Na q Flowers

There has recently been a burgeoning inter-est in the field of teaching about interna-tional human rights, as teachers recognizethat understanding human rights is essen-tial to world citizenship in the twenty-firstcentury.

Amnesty International Human Rights for ChildrenCommittee. Human Rights for Children, ACurriculum for Teaching Human Rights to Children

Aged 3-12. Alameda, CA: Hunter House, Inc.,Box 2914, Alameda, CA, 94501-0914, 1992.Written by a group of Amnesty International

educators, this resource book for teachers isstructured around ten fundamental principlesderived from the 1959 UN Declaration on theRights of the Child. Each principle is presentedwith a teaching strategy that interprets it forclassroom use and a series of activities that givelife and meaning to the strategy. These creativeactivities include a variety of subject areas (geog-raphy, mathematics, language arts, social studies,art, music, and physical education) and aredivided into three different developmental lev-els: the pre-school child, the primary child, andthe upper-elementary school child. Followingeach section is a useful annotated bibliographyof additional resources.

Claude, Richard Pierre, ed. Human Rights EducationHandbook Philadelphia: University of PennsylvaniaPress, 1994.This collection of essays draws together both

theoretical and practical insights on teachinghuman rights, as well as illuminating case studiesof on-going projects in Asia, Africa, LatinAmerica and Central and Western Europe.Although this book defines human rights educa-tion very broadly, including training for adults

such as police, military personnel, health profes-sionals and journalists, it also offers many usefulideas and teaching strategies for classroom teach-ers. Of particular interest are the chapters on pro-fessional training for teachers in human rights,which include classroom activities for all gradelevels, and on street law for teenagers.

Craig, Ann Armstrong. The Refugee Experience: Teaching

Guide. New York Women's Commission forRefugee Women and Children, 122 E. 42nd St.,New York, NY 10016, 1994.This packet, which includes a teaching

guide, maps, selected readings, and a video, pro-vides everything a teacher of intermediate orhigh school needs to teach a unit on refugees.The topics covered include how people becomerefugees, life in refugee camps, who cares forrefugees, repatriation, asylum, and the humanrights of refugees. Carefully balanced both polit-ically and geographically, the text focuses on afew specific areas as illustrations of a globalcrisis: Afghanistan, Cambodia, Mozambique.Activities include the examination of currentmedia, role playing, and community involve-ment. Also included are a directory of organiza-tions working on behalf of refugees and anannotated bibliography.

Donahue, David and Nancy Flowers. Uprooted, Refugeesand the United States. Alameda. CA: Hunter House,Inc., Box 2914, Alameda. CA, 94501-0914, 1994.Most people in the United States cannot dis-

tinguish between a refugee and an immigrant.Through classroom activities for many subjectareas (U.S. History, government, world history,geography, English, and art), this resource cur-riculum addresses the history of refugees in theU.S.A., international legal standards and prac-

9 P..)C..".)

tices, and current refugee issues. The final chapter,"Refugees in Your Community?" leads students toinvestigate their own towns and encourages com-munity service. The appendices contain usefulbibliographies and filmographies, a directory ofrefugee organizations, and the text of internation-al human rights declarations and conventions.

McQuoid-Mason, David, et al. Human Rights for All.Education towards a Rights Culture. St. Paul, MN:West Educational Publishing, 1994.A joint project between Lawyers for Human

Rights (South Africa) and the National Institutefor Citizen Education in the Law (USA), thisinnovative curriculum was initially written toprepare young South Africans for participationin democracy. The text has now been edited forpublication in the U.S.A., where the issues itaddresses are no less relevant. Students are askedto grapple with hard questions: how to createa new country and determine its bill of rights,how to balance national security against individ-ual liberties, and how to resolve conflicts non-violently, among others. Unlike many U.S. cur-riculums, which emphasize civil and politicalrights, Human Rights for All gives equal impor-tance to social and economic rights.

Merkling, Melissa and Patricia M. Mische, eds."Human Rights," Breakthrough 10 (winter/spring1989). New York: Global Education Associates, 475Riverside Drive, Suite 1848, New York, NY 10115.This issue of Breakthrough, the publication of

Global Education Associates, focuses on humanrights and reflects the organization's goal to"advance world peace and security, cooperativeeconomic development, human rights, and eco-logical sustainability" through education. Indi-vidual articles provide a history of human rights,an overview of human rights systems and docu-ments, examination of specific issues such aswomen's rights and economic rights, and a veryoriginal section on human rights and religions,with articles from members of different worldfaiths. Throughout the text are poetry and quota-tions from distinguished writers. Back issues ofthis volume are available.

Reardon, Betty. Educating for Human Dignity.Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1994.Drawing on her many years as a peace edu-

cator, Betty Reardon has compiled a sampler ofthe best lessons for teaching human rights and

dignity. Hers is the only book that takes a devel-opmental approach to the subject, with eachchapter discussing the social and developmentalpurposes for teaching human rights at a particu-lar age level; the activities that follow modelthose suggestions. The authors of the individuallessons provide a rich variety of styles and cre-ative ideas. One chapter offers lists of resourceagencies and curriculum materials.

Selby, David. Human Rights. Cambridge, England:Cambridge University Press, 1988.The strength of this text is its examination of

different conceptions of human rights and theconflicts that necessarily arise, such as betweenthe right to security and to liberty. Case studiesfrom East Timor, the former Soviet Union, LatinAmerica, Western Europe and North Americaserve to illustrate these conflicts. Althoughsomewhat dated, the book takes a more globalperspective than many U.S. publications, whichtend to define rights in terms of the U.S. Bill ofRights. The work of the UN and internationalhuman rights groups is also discussed. The bookcontains illustrations, an index, photographs, anda resource guide.

Shiman, David. Teaching Human Rights. Denver: CTIRPublications, University of Denver, 1993.This collection of classroom activities offers

innovative ways of teaching about some familiarthemes. Initial lessons introduce students to theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights andask them to compare its provisions with those inthe U.S. Bill of Rights and the African Charteron Human and People's Rights. Drawing onexamples from Chile, the People's Republic ofChina, Kenya, South Africa, and the formerSoviet Union, the activities encourage studentsto make cross-cultural comparisons and examinetheir own society and experiences. Students arecontinually challenged to think independentlyand to clarify their views on difficult topics:Are human rights truly universal, or are theysubject to cultural relativism? What is the rela-tion between political freedom and the quality oflife in a country? Teaching Human Rights hasbroad application across the curriculum, includ-ing a collection of poetry, a crossword puzzle,and a range of activities that require research andwritten expression well suited to many courses.

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Starkey, Hugh, ed. The Challenge of Human Rights Educa-

tion. London: Cassell Educational Limited, 1991.As one of its major purposes, the Council of

Europe strives to "uphold the principles of parlia-mentary democracy and human rights." Publishedby the Council, this compilation of essays providesthe most comprehensive overview available onteaching human rights. Its approach as well as itsauthorship, which includes both Canadian andU.S. educators, is international. Most chaptersfocus on what and how to teach in different levelsand institutional settings, as well as on specificissues such as multiculturalism, women's rights,and global studies. Many essays also contain sug-gestions for classroom activities. Also included isthe text of the Council's Recommendations onTeaching and Learning Human Rights andinsightful discussion on its implementation.

United Nations. ABC, Teaching Human Rights: PracticalActivities for Primary and Secondary Schools. New

York United Nations, 1989.For the teacher just beginning to teach

human rights, this booklet provides the idealstarting point. Available in English, French, andSpanish (the official languages of the UN), itsactivities and teaching strategies are intended tobe effective in any cultural setting and to coverthe spectrum of rights included in theInternational Bill of Rights. It offers a rationalefor teaching human rights and recommendsmethodologies that model fundamental conceptssuch as inclusiveness, equality, and tolerance ofdifferences. Sample activities for elementary agestudents stress respect for self and others; inter-mediate and secondary lessons deal with suchthemes as peace and the right to life, develop-ment and the environment, freedoms of con-science and expression, and discrimination basedon qualities such as race, gender, or disability.

Whalen, Lucille. Human Rights: a Reference Handbook.Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, Inc., 1990.The ideal resource for any course on human

rights, this handbook offers a history of humanrights in the twentieth century, biographicalsketches of human rights heroes, and thoroughlyannotated listings of human rights organizations,books, periodicals, and films, as well as electron-ic information sources such as computer net-works and databases. The final section providesthe texts of the most significant internationalhuman rights declarations and conventions,

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excluding, however, the Conventions on theRights of the Child and the Women's Conven-tion, which were ratified by the UN after thehandbook's publication date.

Literature and Personal NarrativesStories of individuals, from both fiction and

the testimony of witnesses, give immediacy,authenticity, and a human face to rights issues.Argueta, Manlio. One Day of Life. New York Vintage,

1983.

A lyrical first-person novel relating a day of bothterror and hope in the life of a Salvadoran peasantduring the civil war.

Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale. New YorkFaucett, 1986.Following a nuclear war, militant Christian funda-mentalists control society, including reproduction.

Burgos-Debray, Elisabeth. I Ri goberta Menchu: An

Indian Woman in Guatemala. New York Verso, 1990.Autobiography of the Nobel Peace Prize winner,a Guatemalan Indian who has struggled for herpeople's rights.

Cheng, Nien. Life and Death in Shanghai. New YorkViking Penguin, 1988.Despite persecution by the Red Guards and longimprisonment, Nien Cheng refused to collaboratewith the forces of violent change in her country.

Coetzee, J.M. Waiting for the Barbarians. New YorkPenguin, 1982.A modern parable by one of South Africa's finestwriters: the commander of a garrison at the edgeof "civilization" must weigh his duty against hishumanity.

Forche, Carolyn, ed. Against Forgetting: TwentiethCentury Poetry of Witness. New York W.W. Norton& Co., 1993.This splendid anthology serves as a compass of thehuman tragedies of the century, which are orga-nized by topics such as World War I, the Indo-Pakistani Wars, and African Repression andApartheid. Containing works from more than onehundred and forty poets from five continents, thecollection necessarily unites many cultures throughthe common experience of suffering.

Solzhenitsyn, Alexander. One Day in the Life of IvanDenisovitch. New York Penguin, 1977.Through the experience of a single prisoner in aSoviet gulag, Solzhenitsyn captures both the brutal-ity of the system and the dignity of the individual.

Wiesel, Elie. Night. New York Viking Penguin, 1982.The memoir of a young boy who survivesAuschwitz with his life but not his faith.

_ 38 7

CHILbq Bever

REN'S RIGHTSq C. Edmonds

Amnesty International Human Rights for ChildrenCommittee. Human Rights for Children: A Curriculum

for Teaching Human Rights to Children Ages 3 -12.

Alameda, California: Hunter House, 1992, 68pp.(Obtain from Hunter House, Inc., P.O. Box 2914,Alameda, CA 94501-0451 or Amnesty International).Human Rights for Children takes ten princi-

ples asserting the child's right to be protectedand provided for from an early United Nationsproclamation, the Declaration on the Rightsof the Child (1959) and develops activities toexplain them to the young child, the primarychild and the upper elementary child. For eachprinciple, the authors explain the meaning, offeractive teaching strategies (such as drawing, mea-suring, discussing, visiting, and group awarenessexercises), and suggest content areas, materials,activities and children's books to which theyrelate. The focus is on the child's general devel-opment: identity, toleration for others, familyand community awareness, providing curriculumfor pre-secondary education. The curriculum isimaginative, clearly organized and laid out, andappropriate for the grade levels suggested.In spite of the curriculum's emphasis on activelearning, the principles and the activities empha-size others protecting and providing for thechild, rather than children exercising rightsthemselves.

UNICEF-UK and Save the Children. TeachingAboutthe [United Nations] Convention on the Rights of the

Child (CRC). London: UNICEF, 1993. [Obtain fromUNICEF, UNICEF House, 3 United Nations Plaza,New York, New York 10017]. Teacher's Handbook,

40 pp.: (with the CRC text); Book 1, 54 pages:The Whole Child (the participation articles); Book 2,78 pp.: It's Our Right (the provision rights), andbook 3: Keep us Safe, 76 pp.: (the protection rights).

A thorough presentation of children's rights,geared for ages 8 13. The Teacher's Handbookoffers a clear explanation of the CRC and itsrights, the history of children's rights and twomind maps explaining how the rights are related.Emphasizing active learning, each booklet offersa variety of stories, activities, worksheets, picturesand cartoon sequences, to engage children inlearning about their own rights and to appreciatethe rights of all children. The content is multi-cultural and appeals to children with all levels ofskills, facilitating individual country studies andcurrent events investigations as well as anemphasis on global issues. The provision andprotection rights are rooted in real-world situa-tions, offering children a variety of action strate-gies which range from learning about problemsto writing letters and publicizing their con-cerns.A small drawback is that the book is writ-ten for schools in the United Kingdom, but thelessons are fully applicable in the USA.

Nurkse, Dennis and Kay Castelle. In the Spirit of Peace;A Global Introduction to Children's Rights. New York:

Defense for Children International, 1990, 64 pp.[Obtain through Defense for ChildrenInternational-USA, 30 Irving Place, 9th Floor,New York, New York 1003] The CRC is examinedthrough 23 principles (i.e., freedom from discrimina-tion, refugee children, juvenile justice, rehabilitativecare, protection of privacy).Each topic is a 5-10 paragraph (or cartoon

sequence) presentation of a children's rights vio-lation and the background of the country inwhich it occurred; a map is often included. Theauthors provide discussion questions and activi-ties for each story, as well as an unofficial sum-mary of articles of the CRC and its full text.Based on the New York Board of Regents' guide-

lines, the booklet is illustrated by young peopleand excellent for late middle school and highschool world history classes, civics and currentevents. The activities suggest investigation of theissues, examination of the community andthe world, and ways to take action on behalf ofchildren. The content is mature in nature, butpresented in such a way that students will appre-ciate that they have some control over their envi-ronment; it celebrates those who stand up forchildren's rights, and has several examples fromthe United States.

Children Hungeringfor Justice. Denver, Colorado: Centerfor Teaching International Relations, 1992.Three 20-page curricula are provided on the

topics of justice, street children, the right to food,the role of the United Nations and the Conven-tion on the Rights of the Child. The curriculumtreats the same themes with increasingly matureactivities and discussions for grades K-4, 5-8 and9-12. There is good teacher background infor-mation and grade-appropriate lessons, withcharts, diagrams and tables. Underwritten by theChurch World Service, the presentations avoidideology and facilitate teacher-student discus-sions about what is fair and just for the world'schildren. Teachers of Geography, World and U.S.history and Current Issues will appreciate thesepamphlets, which can be purchased separately.The resource is highly selective of children'srights, but in doing so, it is effective in clarifyingissues and possible solutions.

UNICEF, The State of the World's Children. New YorkOxford University Press, 1995.Offering a new edition each year, this sum-

mary is the basic source of information (facts andstatistics) for high school students or for teacherswho want to make up their own units on chil-dren's rights. Categories include literacy, poverty,health status, etc. Bill Fernekes and DavidShiman have suggested ways to use this resourcein a special section on the Rights of the Child forSocial Education (see below). The State of theWorld's Children is the only place where the mostrecent information can be obtained inexpensive-ly by U.S. teachers. For use in Geography, Worldand U.S. History and Current Issues classes.

Edmonds, Beverly C. and William R. Femekes, eds.,'The Rights of the Child," Social Education. v. 56,No. 4, ApriVMay, 1992.

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This special section of Social Education intro-duces and gives a history of the United NationsConvention on the Rights of the Child to U.S.teachers and provides a rationale for its inclusionin the curriculum. Lesson plans, suggestions forteachers, and information on the state of chil-dren's rights teaching around the world areincluded; the emphasis is on teaching World andU.S. History, Current Issues, and InternationalRelations. The articles by governmental andnon-governmental organization representativesabout the drafting of the document givean insider's look at the treaty's meaning andpotential for ameliorating the condition of chil-dren. The international teaching section is theweakest component since the convention hadjust been adopted by the U.N. when the specialsection was written. Since 1992, UNICEF andnon-governmental organizations have beeninstrumental in getting the Convention includ-ed in national and local curricula.

'The Rights of the Child." New York UNICEF, 1992.A strong, high school/ adult-oriented video

on the problems which the world's childrenface, beginning with the problem and endingwith UNICEF programs which have alleviatedtheir suffering. Footage from the five majorUN world areas is graphic and immediate.The framework for the video is the Conventionon the Rights of the Child, but UNICEF hascreated a fourth "P,""Prevention," which repre-sents its primary UN mandate. Issues of protec-tion and provision are stressed, nearly omittingthe child's rights of participation. The videolasts 23 minutes.

'The Universal Declaration of Human Rights,"(U.N.Department of Publications, United Nations, NewYork 10017)This video is narrated by young people and

concentrates on the rights of children eventhough the topic is general human rights. It isappropriate for grades 7 and 8 and high school,but once again, does not emphasize participatoryrights.

Edmonds, Beverly C. and William R. Fernekes.Contemporary World Issues: Children's Rights.

Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-Clio, 1996. 300 pages.ISBN 0-87436-764-6. $39.00.This reference book introduces readers to the

history and practice of children's rights in the

United States and internationally in theEnglish-speaking world. It is appropriate forreaders in secondary schools and higher educa-tion. The book includes a history of children'srights, a chronology of significant events intheir emergence, biographies of pathbreakers inchildren's rights and an extensive collection ofdocuments, statistics and summaries of U.S.Supreme Court decisions chronicling the devel-opment of children's rights in the twentiethcentury. Other chapters include a list of organi-zations that advocate children's rights and pub-lish materials on the contemporary status ofchildren. An extensive listing of print and non-print resources is provided, which includes manyInternet World Wide Web and Gopher siteson children's rights and related issues.

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ll ordbh James P. Shaver

THE PROSPECTS FORISSUES-CENTERED EDUCATION

To serve with Shirley Engle as a bookend fora collection of writings on issues-centerededucation is a special privilege. Shirley wassurely among the more articulate and vocaladvocates for a social studies curriculumbased on the examination of significant

social problems. He was without peer in hisunflagging passion for changing the curriculumfrom a predominantly unengaging survey ofoversimplified content to one that challengesstudents to become thoughtful, committed indi-viduals as they mature into their democraticcitizenship roles.

In writing the foreword to this handbook,Shirley was, as usual, on the mark in his assess-ment of the inert, unreflective nature of much ofwhat passes for social studies and in his appraisalof the inappropriateness of such instruction forcitizenship education. His call for teaching thataddresses the "uncertain and the controversial" in"a continued conversation between students andtheir mentors while they search together for bet-ter ways of doing things" set well the agenda forthis handbook, as well as for all of those con-cerned with citizenship education as an essentialobligation of public education.

But what are the prospects for widespreadchange from textbook coverage to issues-cen-tered instruction? The answer to that questionmust be framed in the context of another query:What circumstances maintain a social studiescurriculum that students too frequently see asirrelevant and uninteresting, and impede teach-ing that would more effectively enhance students'decision-making power?

Why the Scarcity ofIssues-Centered Teaching?

The paucity of issues-centered education isundoubtedly due to a number of factors, dis-cussed in greater detail elsewhere (Evans 1989;Gross 1989; Oliver and Shaver 1966/1974;Shaver 1989; also see Onosko 1991). First andforemost are the demands that issues-centeredinstruction places on teachers. Although theavailability of issues-structured materials makesan issues-centered curriculum more feasible,the heart of such an approach is the teacher's dis-course with his or her students. As Oliver andI (1966/1974) noted in regard to one variation ofissues-centered education, the jurisprudentialapproach, the teacher must be

open to the exploration of ideas, ... able tothink in other than categorical terms and totolerate the conflict of ideas and ideals, ...have a tentative-probabilistic view ofknowledge, ... [have] an intelligent, open,inquiring and imaginative mind ... , [value]positively [students'] ways of interpretingreality and approaching the solution ofproblems ... , [and] be willing to interactfreely with his [or her] students, acceptingtheir contributions as valuable and worth-while to build on. (p. 240)

In addition, an issues-oriented social studiesteacher must have an adequately broad base ofknowledge in history and the social sciences, asound understanding of the nature of values andtheir role in the creation and resolution of politi-cal-ethical controversies, and thorough compre-hension of the analytic skills that students needto learn to handle the language and factualvaguenesses and disagreements that foster con-

3 1

troversy and must be addressed for productivedecision-making.

Such a set of teacher characteristics is nosmall order, and will not result from a directiveby someone elsewhether a district curriculumcoordinator or a university professor in a meth-ods courseto teach from an issues/problemperspective. To what extent such teachers areborn or made is not clear. The answer is cloudedby the fact that prospective teachers have experi-enced so little issues-centered instruction intheir own K-12 schooling and at the higher-education level. That lack of practicing modelson which teachers can pattern issues-centeredteaching behavior is to some degree a functionof institutional constraints.

Schools are not in general innovative institu-tions, and teachers who want to use nontradi-tional patterns of teaching that might inducelively, even heated, classroom discussions oftendo not find a great deal of support. Principalstend to be concerned with maintaining an order-ly school that projects an image of stability to thecommunity; curricula that emphasize controver-sy and dialectic discourse are troublesome fromthat perspective. Moreover, in their hesitancyabout active student inquiry, principals typicallyare in accord with the communities their schoolsserve. Schools are expected to teach knowledgei.e., factsnot engage children, or even theyoung adults of high school age, in the discussionof controversial issues, past or present, especiallyif they might be led to question, or worse, chal-lenge, parental views. Issues-centered teachingfocused on contemporary issues is not the onlythreat. The consideration of issues in not-recentU.S. history might evoke negative communityreactions, especially if the discussions stimulatestudents to reflect on modern issues, such as theextent of present-day personal and societalresponsibility for the effects of slavery in earlyAmerica.

Not only principals, but teachers for the mostpart reflect the views of the local community, orthey would not have been hired in the first place.So, the new teacher eager to initiate issues-cen-tered teaching, or the experienced teacher whomight want to do so, may face a nonsupportive, ifnot antagonistic, peer culture. Other teachers willbe worried about textbook coverage; that the req-uisite chapters are read, discussed, and tested isoften considered more important than what thestudents learned or felt about the content area.

A teacher who doesn't attend to the traditionalcurriculum may be seen as ineffective, as well aspotentially involving his colleagues in communi-ty dissatisfaction.

In any event, content coverage is oftendeemed to be critical, because of the belief thatissues should not be discussed without first estab-lishing a solid base of information. From thatperspective, issue discussions are not seen asspringboards to learning, but as culminatingactivities. However, the discussions rarely occur,because surveying the prerequisite informationbase is so compellingly time-consuming, and theassumed need for the superficial coverage of sur-vey courses goes largely unquestioned. The studymaterial, textbooks for the most part, is informa-tion focused. Testing emphasizes getting the"correct" answer, stated in the textbook andknown by the teacher, to be repeated back by thestudent, not constructed through the student'sproblem-centered engagement with the content.

The constraining institutional culture is, ofcourse, usually congruent with the teacher's owneducational background. He or she is likely tohave had grades awarded for knowing content,not for being reflective about it, except within thea priori essay-exam parameters established arbi-trarily by a teacher/professor. Teacher educationcourses, too, tend to focus on how-to-do-it, ratherthan on analysis leading to decisions about whatto do; educational philosophy too often is some-thing to be studied, not something to be done.

In all fairness, however, the best efforts ofteacher educators to produce teachers who willengage students in learning to be thoughtfulcitizens, or in the construction rather than mem-orization of knowledge, often founder on thecommunity-school culture that prospectiveteachers so often encounter during practiceteaching and as neophyte professionals. Theylearn from their teaching colleagues not onlythe expectations in regard to textbook coverageand quiet classrooms, but that content can andshould be used for student control (e.g., assigningextra reading or papers to noisy or unpreparedstudents, or threatening an unruly class with atest) and that assignments are often best negoti-ated with the students so that neither they northe teacher is inundated with work. Little won-der that Goodlad (1983) found the generalemphasis on information recall in social studiesthat Shirley Engle lamented in his foreword.

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3 '12

What, Then, Are the Prospects? IIt is easy to sketch a gloomy picture of school-

ing when viewed through an issues-centered lens.Although valid in its general dimensions, thatportrayal should not be allowed to dictatedespondency about efforts to promote or conductissues-centered education. After reviewing theNational Science Foundation's studies of the sta-tus of social studies in the late 1970s, I, O.L.Davis, and Suzanne Helburn (1980) concludedthat, despite the evidence that pointed to socialstudies curricula dominated by textbook-basedrecitation, there were instances of exciting, evenbrilliant, teaching. Based on her review of theNSF studies, Hazel Hertzberg (1981) concludedthat although the basic picture sketched out byme, Davis, and Helburn, was correct, there wasevidence of more discussion of controversialissues than we had recognized.

Issues-centered education does happen, aseach of us can probably confirm by our experi-ences as parents or as professional visitors inschools. I think of my son's sociology teacher ina rural, conservative, northern Utah communityin the 1970s, who involved his classes in theconsideration of issues as controversial aswhether abortion should be an option availableto women. And, more recently, another sonstruggled with a world geography class thatinvolved largely the completion of worksheetsand map coloring, while the deployment of ourtroops in Desert Storm went unmentioned, onlyto move down the hallway the next semester to ateacher who saw world geography as a means tohelp students understand and reflect about prob-lems such as global conflict, acid rain, and thespread of AIDS.

In short, although there is little hope ofwidespread systemic change from the traditional,content-centered social studies curriculum to anissues-centered curriculum, that is not reason fortotal despair. As the NSF studies of curricularstatus, especially the case studies, made clear, theteacher is the key to what happens in the class-room. Whatever curricular decisions are made oravoided at the national, state, or school districtlevel, the teacher's day-by-day contacts with stu-dents determine the curriculum that they actual-ly experience. Individual teachers can and dodepart from the conventional curriculum, evenwithin discouraging, restrictive cultural contexts.And there are schools in which issues-centeredteaching is supported.

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The survey nature of textbooks is oftenlamented as a major dulling effect on social stud-ies instruction. As noted earlier, however, theteacher's orientation is much more importantthan the students' reading material. Teachersconscious of the possibilities can have issues-cen-tered discourse in their classes, even with con-ventional textbooks. Nothing in the material, forexample, stops a U.S. history teacher from posingfor his or her students the quandary of theincompatibility of the principles of the Declara-tion of Independence with the contemporaneousinstitution of slavery, as a sample item in theNational Standards for United States Historysuggests (National Center [1994], p. 75).

If the teacher deems that materials other thanthe textbook are needed, they can be located orconstructed. Most of the materials of theHarvard Project were selected from accessiblemedia, including the information for the casestudies we prepared. I have often told teacherswho cite the lack of materials as a barrier toissues-centered, especially public-issues, teachingnot to be overwhelmed by the task of develop-ing an entire issues-centered curriculum such asthat of the Harvard Project (which, as presentedin Oliver and Shaver 1966/1974, along with thediscussion of selection and arrangement issues,still provides an excellent model for incorporat-ing public issues within a conventional historycurriculum). The task becomes manageable ifapproached a unit at a time. A teacher whodevelops one new 4- to 6-week unit a year tosupplement or supplant the textbook, revisingeach as it is used, will in five to six years havebasically installed a new curriculum.

Fortunately, there is no longer a dearth ofissues-centered materials and assistance in theeducational literature as was the case in the 1960sand 1970s. Popular magazines, such as Newsweekand The Atlantic Monthly, have become evenmore issue oriented in recent years. Perhaps moreimportant, issues-oriented materials can befound in publishers' displays at professionalmeetings, including the updated Public IssuesSeries from the Harvard Project, published bythe Social Science Education Consortium.Another example, for those interested in issues-centered teaching in U.S. history, is the FordFoundation-sponsored American Social HistoryProject at the City University of New York. Theproject staff have been producing materials andpropagating teaching to encourage the examina-

tion of historical conflicts, especially at the levelof common people rather than political and mil-itary leaders (Quinn 1993).

Materials developed earlier should not beignored. For teachers interested in an explicationof public-issues-related analytic concepts andskills, and suggestions for teaching them, to sup-plement the Harvard Project conceptual struc-ture, many educational archives still contain theAnalysis of Public Issues Program materials thatI and Larkins (1973) developed in cooperationwith a team of teachers from Roy High School(Roy, UT). For teachers of history, theLockwood and Harris (1985a,b) materials forintroducing ethical issues in U.S. history will stillprovide excellent assistance in infiltrating thecurriculum, despite some shortcomings thatteachers should address (Shaver 1986).

Yet, once again it is crucial to keep in mindthat, when all is said and done, materials are notthe central consideration. As Oliver and I noted(1966/1974), "while appropriate materials will be ofassistance..., the essence ofjurisprudential teaching isthe nature of the discourse the teacher chooses to havewith his [or her] students," (239). Shirley Engle'srecounting in the foreword to this book of hisexperience in Frederick Paxon's History of theWest class at the University of Wisconsin in1936 illustrates the point well: It is the teacher'sattitude and orientation, and ability to translatethose into teaching behavior, that count.

For that reason, based on the reasonableassumption that teaching behavior is not totallygenetically determined or set by early adulthood,teacher educators have a potentially powerful rolein shaping the prospects for issues-centerededucation. They may be able to counter the pastexperiences of individual prospective and practic-ing teachers and help them to mitigate thepotentially stifling effects of a community-schoolculture not attuned to controversy as an appro-priate or essential instructional focus.

It is tempting to recommend that only thosewho possess the essential traits for issues-cen-tered teaching noted earlier be admitted toteacher education programs, but such a proposalwould be blatantly unrealistic. Similarly, to urge amassive effort by teacher educators to revolution-ize the institutional-cultural context of schoolingto facilitate, if not encourage, issues-centeredinstruction would be hopelessly utopian. Bothare, nevertheless, actions worth pursuing locallyby individuals in positions to encourage and

select teacher-education applicants and/or toinfluence the thinking and attitudes of schooladministrators, teachers, and parents and otherschool patrons.

A more modest approach could, however,yield substantial, even if not widespread, effectsin both arenas. It is the encouragement of philo-sophical thinking, that is, the explication andexamination of assumptions, their relationshipsand implications, by prospective and practicingteachers.

A prime proponent of problem-centeredteaching, John Dewey (1964b), no meanphilosopher himself, regarded educational phi-losophy as "ultimately the most significant phaseof philosophy" (p. 16). And Dewey did not con-ceive of such philosophy as an esoteric activitycarried out by academicians isolated on universi-ty campuses. He emphasized that philosophywas not just a subject to be studied prior tobecoming a teacher, but an activity in whichpracticing teachers and administrators shouldbe continuously engaged to "test and develop[ideas] in their actual work so that through theunion of theory and practice, the philosophy ofeducation will be a living, growing thing" (p. 16).Otherwise, Dewey cautioned, teaching notbased on a "well-thought-out philosophy" islikely to be "conducted blindly, under the controlof customs and traditions that have not beenexamined or in response to immediate socialpressures" (p. 17). Dewey's admonition over 50years ago is an accurate assessment of a majorattribute of current educationthoughtlessnessthat perpetuates textbook recitation and impedesissues-centered teaching.

Dewey's call for the intertwining of work andthought derives from his view of how thinkingand, consequently, learning, occur. It wouldbehoove teacher educators, prospective teachers,and practicing teachers interested in issues-centered teaching to read and then return occa-sionally to Dewey's works, especially How WeThink (1933) and Democracy and Education(1916/1961), and to contemplate their applica-bility not only to children but to adults.

Dewey was not only issues-centered (if anissue is, as seems logical, considered to be aproblem posed correctly), but a constructivist.He emphasized that learning occurs as eachindividual constructs his or her reality in theprocess of dealing with problemsquandaries,perplexities, dissonancesthat have personal

383

394

meaning. He noted that if schooling were not soscholasticfocused on "listening, reading, andthe reproduction of what is told and read"but,rather, based on situations like those that inter-est and engage children in their nonschool lives,we might counter the tendency for children,especially as they move through the grades, to be"so full of questions outside of school ... [but tohave a] conspicuous absence of display of curios-ity about the subject matter of school lessons"(1916/1961, p. 155). Indeed, rather than havingto force students to read textbooks and go toencyclopedias for writing assignments, withproblems as the basis for learning, Dewey sug-gested, there would then be a need for greaterstudent access to reading and other resources.

Dewey's call for active engagement in learn-ing applies to adults as well as children.Problems/issues-centered instruction is neededin teacher education as well as in public educa-tion, not only to provide teaching role modelsbut to stimulate critical thought about currentpractice and the rationale for issues-centeredinstruction. Lack of student interest in socialstudies is a concern faced by many prospectiveand practicing teachers. It is a real problembecause of its consequences for teacher well-being. If posed correctly, contemplation of thepossible reasons for lack of student interest canresult in the productive examination of assump-tions about the purposes of schooling and abouthow people learn, integral elements of a soundrationale from which to teach (e.g., Newmann1977; Shaver and Berlak 1968).

The engagement of prospective and practic-ing teachers in rationale-building has implica-tions not only for their willingness and abilityto teach from an issues stance within the infor-mation-centered school and community climate,but for their professional survival while doing so.Years ago (in 1977, to be exact), I was invited togive a luncheon address to the New MexicoCouncil for the Social Studies on the topic,"How to Deal with Controversial Issues in theClassroom Without Becoming Controversial inthe Community." My emphasis that day camefrom a deep continuing conviction that I havestated elsewhere (e.g., Shaver 1977; Shaver andStrong 1982), based on my earlier work withDonald Oliver (1966/1974). It is that the mostfundamental activity in which a teacher canengage is rationale-building, the continuingdevelopment of a sound philosophical founda-

384

tion for his or her teaching decisionsthat is,Dewey's philosophy of education. The philoso-phizing that goes into the development of acoherent, defensible rationale entails more thanexamining assumptions about how we learn.Other considerations, especially for issues-cen-tered social studies teachers, include the essenceof a democratic society and the implications forthe characterization of citizenship, including therole of pluralism, the nature of values, and theconsequent roles of both in societal conflict.

To be defensible, issues-centered teachingmust be based on more than the assertion thatcontroversy is good for its own sake or that itkeeps students interested, as important as the lat-ter is. The ability to articulate a well-foundedbasis for engaging students in the examination ofissues is crucial to garnering support from one'sfellow teachers and from administrators, parents,and the community. The importance of a careful-ly constructed rationale was verified for me per-sonally during the development of the Analysisof Public Issues Program as Larkins and I taughtas part of a team with our teacher-collaborators.The occasional inquiries by parents, who certain-ly were within their rights in questioning thechallenges we were providing their progeny, weredeflected by a principal who understood wellwhat we were doing and in conversations I hadwith parents in which we discussed the rationalefor our issues-centered curriculum. A carefullyjustified rationale is essential to teaching aboutcontroversy without becoming controversial.

ConclusionAs noted earlier, broad systemic change from

the traditional curriculum is not likely. However,the coincidental publication of standards for cur-ricula in social studies and related areas makesthis a propitious time for this handbook and forissues-centered education. Curriculum standardsfrom the National Council for the Social Studies(1994) would be expected to evince concern forissues, especially public issues, and they doindiscussing what social studies is and the applica-tion of knowledge, skills, and values as citizens(pp. 3-12), as well as in numerous examples ofclassroom activities to meet the standards. TheNational Standards for Civics and Government,developed by the Center for Civic Education(1994), also has a strong issues orientation. As isparticularly appropriate, the civics-governmentstandards are permeated with a focus on issues

that involve disagreements over basic democraticvalues and principles and, specifically, conflictsover rights (e.g., p. xii).

Not as expected, and therefore even moreencouraging, are the sections in the U.S. historyand world history standards (National Center[1994], 1994) on "historical issues-analysis anddecision-making," including "value-laden issues"in historical and contemporary contexts ([1994],pp. 31-33; 1994, pp. 32-34), and the occasionalinclusion of such issues in the examples of stu-dent achievement appropriate to the standards.For example, in the standard on racial and genderequity and civil liberties, the question is posed,"Was Eisenhower justified in sending troops toLittle Rock, Arkansas?" ([1994], p. 221).

Unfortunately, it is not clear what effects thestandards will have. Will, for example, theirimpacts on textbooks be sufficient to moderatethe stultifying content-survey curriculum? Thevocal opposition to the history standards frompersons such as Lynne Cheney, former head ofthe National Endowment for the Humanities,who see the U.S. history standards as "the sadand the bad," a too critical and gloomy portrayalof our heritage (Hancock and Biddle 1994), sug-gests that optimism about widespread effectsmay be premature.

In the meantime, the prospects for issues-centered education continue to rest with individ-ual teachers. This handbook should be aninvaluable source for those who want to under-stand the justifications for issues-centered edu-cation, consider its varying manifestations andits applications in different content areas, learnabout the resources available, and be helped tothink about the implementation of issues-cen-tered teaching practices. Readers will find thehandbook useful as a resource in the develop-ment of their own rationales, one to which theywill return on occasion in the "continuing recon-struction of experience" (Dewey 1964a, p. 434)that is crucial as the issues-centered teacher con-fronts the issues that underlie and arise from hisor her instructional decisions.

Those reflections and the resultant actions byindividual teachers are at the heart of the poten-tial for issues-centered education. In concludinga chapter in another handbook for educators(Shaver 1987), I noted that

the evidence as to the lack of student inter-est [in social studies] and the extent to

which the political knowledge, skill, andattitude goals of citizenship education arenot being achieved ... suggests that muchof what is being taught is inappropriate.What should be taught and how are criticaldecisions to be made specifically by individ-ual social studies teachers whose separatechoices have a collective impact of majorimportance to the society (p. 133).

It is in the accumulative power of individualteachers' decisions that the future of issues-cen-tered education lies. This handbook enhancesthe prospect for optimism about the outcome.

ReferencesCenter for Civic Education. National Standards for

Civics and Government. Calabasas, CA: CCE,August 19, 1994.

Dewey, John. How we Think: A Restatement of the

Relation of Reflective Thinking to the Educative Process.

Boston: D.C. Heath, 1933.Dewey, John. Democracy and Education: An Introduction

to the Philosophy of Education. New York Macmillan,

1961. (Original work published 1916)Dewey, John. "My Pedagogic C\reed." In John Dewey on

Education: Selected Writings, edited by Reginald D.

Archambault. New York Random House, 1964a.(Original work published 1897)

Dewey, John. "The Relation of Science and Philosophyas a Basis for Education." In John Dewey onEducation: Selected Writings, edited by Reginald D.

Archambault. New York Random House, 1964b.(Original work published 1938)

Evans, Ronald W. "A Dream Unrealized: A Brief Lookat the History of Issues-Centered Approaches." TheSocial Studies 80 (September/October 1989): 178184.

Goodlad, John I. A Place Called School: Prospects for the

Future. New York McGrawHill, 1983.Gross, Richard E. "Reasons for the Limited Acceptance

of the Problems Approach." The Social Studies 80(1989): 185186.

Hancock, LynNell and Nina A. Biddle. "Red, Whiteand Blue. Education: Conflict Over a New HistoryCurriculum." Newsweek (November 1994): 54.

Hertzberg, Hazel W. Social Studies Reform: 1880-1980.Boulder, CO: Social Science Education Consortium,1981.

Lockwood, Alan L. and David E. Harris. Reasoningwith Democratic Values: Ethical Problems in United

States History, Volume 1: 16071876. New YorkTeachers College Press, 1985a

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Lockwood, Alan L. and David E. Harris. Reasoningwith Democratic Values: Ethical Problems in United

States History, Volume 2: 1877 to the Present.

New York Teachers College Press, 1985b.National Center for History in the Schools. National

Standards for United States History: Exploring theAmerican Experience. Los Angeles: University ofCalifornia, Los Angeles, [1994].

National Center for History in the Schools. NationalStandards for World History: Exploring Paths to the

Present. Los Angeles: University of California,Los Angeles, 1994.

National Council for the Social Studies. Expectations ofExcellence: Curriculum Standards for Social Studies.

Washington, DC: NCSS, 1994.Newmann, Fred M. "Building a Rationale for Civic

Education." In Building Rationales for CitizenshipEducation, edited by James P. Shaver. Washington,DC: National Council for the Social Studies, 1977.

Oliver, Donald W and James P Shaver. Teaching Public

Issues in the High School. Logan, UT Utah State

University Press, 1974. (Original work published 1966)Onosko, Joseph J. "Barriers to the Promotion of Higher

Order Thinking." Theory and Research in Social

Education 19 (Fall 1991): 341-366.Quinn, Thomas. "History as Contested Turf: Teaching

the Story of America in a New Way." FordFoundation Report24 (1993): 22-25.

Shaver, James P. "The Task of Rationale-Building forCitizenship Education." In Building Rationales forCitizenship Education, edited by James P. Shaver.Washington, DC: National Council for the SocialStudies, 1977.

Shaver, James P. Review of Reasoning with DemocraticValues: Ethical Problems in United States History,

Volume 1: 1607-1876; Volume II: 1877 to thePresent, Instructor's Manual; by Alan L. Lockwoodand David E. Harris. Moral Education Forum 11(1986): 1116.

Shaver, James P "Implications from Research: WhatShould be Taught in Social Studies?" In Educators'Handbook A Research Perspective, edited by Virginia

RichardsonKoehler. New York Longman, 1987.Shaver, James P "Lessons From the Past: The Future of

an Issues-Centered Social Studies Curriculum." TheSocial Studies 80 (September/October 1989): 192-196.

Shaver, James P. and Harold Berlak. Democracy,

Pluralism, and the Social Studies: Readings and

Commentary. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1968.Shaver, James P., 0. L. Davis, Jr., and Suzanne W.

Helburn. "An Interpretive Report on the Status ofPrecollege Social Studies Education Based on ThreeNSF-Funded Studies." In What are the Needs in

Precollege Science, Mathematics, and Social Science

Education? Views fivm the Field Washington, DC:National Science Foundation (Publication SE80),1980.

Shaver, James P. and A. Guy Larkins. The Analysis of

Public Issues Program. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1973.

Shaver, James P. and William Strong. Facing ValueDecisions: Rationale-Building for Teachers. 2d ed.,

New York Teachers College Press, 1982.

386 30.2

Authors cited in bibliographic references inthe articles of this book are only included in thisindex if they are mentioned in the text of the arti-cle as well as in a citation. The references toauthors and their works that appear in theresource sections that comprise the final part ofthis book are not included in this index.

Absolute truth, 22Achebe, Chinua, 302Acheson, K., and Gall, M. 312Ada, A.F., 117Adams, Abigail, 235Adams, John, 90, 235Adler, Mortimer J., 10, 302Adolescents

social problems, 237Aesthetics, 79Africa (see also Global education, Global issues)

history, 136-137teachings, 16-17

Africa Outreach Program, 137African American students (see also

Multiculturalism), 31, 34, 104African Social and Environmental Studies

Programme (Kenya), 331-332Agency for Instructional Technology, 172Alquist, Alberta, 3Alger, Horatio, 156Alien and Sedition Acts, 135American Anthropological Association, 226American Association of University Women, 105American Civil Liberties Union, 33American Educational Research Association, 307American Federation of Teachers, 10-11American Forum of Global Education, 185American Fulbright grants, 331

398

American Historical Association, 14American Nazi Party, 60American Psychological Association, 220, 222, 226American Schools and the World Project, 34American Sociological Association, 220, 226AMIDEAST, 185Anderson, Charlotte C., 119Antheil, 268Anthropology

conventional study in schools, 221definition, 220-221issues-centered

instructional modelanalysis, 223-224application, 225clarification, 224classification, 224evaluation, 225Outreach Office, Smithsonian

Institution, 226reflection, 224selection and presentation, 223

interdisciplinary, 221resources, 226teacher education curriculum, 221

Anti-Defamation League, 58Apple, Michael W., 155, 302Aristarchus of Samos, 16Armento, Beverly J., Rushing, Francis W., and

Cook, Wayne A., 36nArmstrong, P.M., 33nAshworth, K.H., 223Asia (see also Global education, Global issues)

teachings, 16-17Assessment

course level, 285-286, 287curriculum planning

content selection, 282course and program planning, 281-282

issues, 280-281multiple objectives

higher-order thinking (HOT)abilities, 283

knowledge-in-use, 282public conflict issues, 283

definition, 280delivery standards, 278goals

targets for teaching and learning, 283history, 277-278methods

interviews, 277observation, 277paper and pencil techniques, 27

oral discourse assessmentassessment

direct observation, 295raters, 296-297reliability, 296-297scoring rubric, 295-296scoring sheet, 296videotaped observation, 295

criteriaassumptions, 290dimensions, 290procedural criteria, 291

negativeinterrupting, 294monopolizing, 294personal attack, 294

positivechallenging statements, 293-294inviting contributions, 293summarizing points, 294

substantive criteria, 291arguing by analogy, 293elaborating statements, 291-292recognizing values, 292-293stating and identifying issues, 290-291

stipulating claims or definitions, 292using foundational knowledge, 291

rationale, 289performance assessment

direct observation, 295exhibitions, 283-284portfolios, 283-284, 285scoring rubric, 286, 295-296videotaped observation, 295

politics, 277-278program level, 284-285, 286purposes, 276-277school reform, 278

388

standards, 127-128support for students, 278testing vs. assessment, 278-279

Austin, J. L., 76

KBackler, Alan, and Hanvey, Robert, 181Bacon, Francis, 16BaFa BaFa, 183Bain, L.L., 268Baker, Ella, 199Baldwin, James, 103Banks, James, 101-102, 107, 112Baranga, 183Barber, Benjamin, 59Bateson, Gregory, 19Baughman, J.E., 32Beane, James A., 238-239, 242Beard, Charles, 14, 20, 155Bell, Debbie, 241Bender, D.L., and Leone, B., 226Bennett, William J., 143Bensman, Jim, 189Berger, Peter 221Berman, Sheldon, 239Berry, B., and Ginsberg, R., 307Beveridge, Alfred, 137Bickmore, Kathy, 27, 36Bilal, Zakiyah, 240Biographies, 10Black Panthers, 184Blanchard, Amy, 242Blankenship, Glen, 34, 34nBloom, B.S., Davis, A., and Hess, R. 104Bloom, Howard, 143Bly, Nelly, 138Bogardus, Emory S., 183Bonello, F.J., 217-218Bonhoffer, Dietrich, 138Botswana Department of Curriculum Development

and Evaluation, 332Bottomore, TB., 15Bower, B., Lobdell, J., and Swenson, L., 93Boyer, Ernest, 177Branch Davidian, 95-96Bridges, David, 35Britannica Global Geography System (BGGS), 171, 173nBrodkey, Jerry, 8Broudy, R.A., 33Brown, Lester, 190Bulosan, Carlos, 103Butts, R. Freeman, 16

Campbell, Joseph, 17Career choices, 46Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development, 238Carnegie Foundation, 237Carretero, M., and Voss, James F., 36Center for Foreign Policy Development, 185Center for Teaching International Relations, 186Central Park East Secondary School, 106-107Cheney, Lynne, 385Cherryholmes, Cleo H., 75, 155Chief Seattle, 196Children's Defense Fund, 102Church World Service, 181, 186Cisneros, Sandra, 107Citizenship (see also Democracy)

constitutional principles, 32-33, 60definition, 6democratic principles, 6, 9-11, 27-28, 35, 52-

53, 143, 145-146, 149, 164education, 52-53, 66, 202, 205-206, 317-325, 330multiculturalism (see also Multiculturalism), 121participatory, 27, 30preparation, 6, 10, 317-325proactive, 9procedural ideals, 59public debate, 59-65reflective decision-making abilities, 9, 46, 50role, 9skills, 59

Civics and Government (see also Nationalism)citizenship

behavior, 206civic republicanism, 205conceptions, 207contractual, 205defining, 206education, 202, 205-206perspectives, 206

conflict and controversy, 200-201, 322conventional, 199-200, 207goals, 200human rights and trade, 203-205issues-centered

cooperative learning, 208-209inserting into conventional curriculum, 207lesson plan, 208rationale, 200topics

citizenship, 205-206civic culture, 202-203international issues, 203-204

400

political power, 203reflective deliberation, 206-207role of government, 202

national standards, 201Q-analysis, 206textbooks, 200

Clarity, 77Clark, K.B., and Clark, M.P., 102Classroom

climate, 11, 26, 31-32, 34-37, 63-65, 82community, 52criticism, 78discussion

agenda, 64background knowledge, 83concluding discussion, 86-87controversy, 83definition, 81disequilibration, 82disrespectful behavior, 82environment, 34format styles

council, 85fishbowl, 85debate, 85mock trial, 86panel discussion, 85Quaker, 85role playing debate, 85role playing for social values, 85-86simulation, 86Socratic, 85variations, 86

higher-level thinking, 84large-group, 85moderating, 82perennial puzzlers, 83reflection, 65roadblocks, 65rules, 82sensitivity, 64skills, 64small-group, 85social issues, 81-82stating the issue, 64student reaction to questions, 84subsequent courses of action, 87teacher's role (see Teachers' Roles)topics, 82transitions, 64-65wait time, 84

inquiry-based, 67-68, 73, 174Clinton, Bill, 76, 143, 184, 196

389

BEST COPY AVAILABLE

Cocurricular activities, 271-272Cogan, John, 306, 331, 335Cognitive ambiguity, 4Cohen, Elizabeth, 85Coles, Robert, 183College Board, 102

Commission on History, 19Columbus, Christopher, vi, vii, 149Commager, 154Commission on the Reorganization of Secondary

Education (1918), 265Common, D.L., 301Communication, 77-78Communicative competence, 78Community context, 4, 7Compartmentalized thinking, 19, 21Conflictual pedagogy, 27, 36-37Conover, P. J., and Searing, D.D., 205Consciousness, 2

conscientization, 2perspective consciousness, 2

Conservative educational reforms, 21Constitutional principles, 32-33Constructivism, 247-248Content (see also Curriculum)

challenging, 3selection, 4, 45-48

action, 46-47, 50availability of materials, 60depth of understanding, 47-48, 50importance, 60practicality, 47, 50reflection, 46, 50relevance, 45-46, 49-50, 60

social action, 49-50social issues, 9, 26-27, 33, 35-37, 44-50, 52, 59-65

Contextual understanding, 3Controversial questions and issues, 6, 27-30, 32, 35-

36, 48-50, 53, 59-65, 66-67, 83, 322, 381-82Conventional social studies, 6-8, 10-12, 14-15, 18-22,

26, 35, 44-45, 48, 53, 76, 188, 247-248, 254, 320-321, 330

Convergent and divergent questions, 173Cook, Wayne H., 36nCooperative inquiry, 51-52Copernican Revolution, 18Copernicus, 16, 18Copley, 266Coplin and O'Leary, 188Core knowledge, 126Cornwallis, 235Cortes, C.E., 113-114Cortes, C.E., and Fleming, D.B., 114

390

Cottrol, Robert 128Countersocialization, 9-10, 53Cox, Benjamin, 5, 29, 29n, 49, 66, 66n, 67-68, 302Crane, Stephen, 54Critical pedagogy, 75-79Critical thinking, 28-29, 124, 174Critics of dogmatic teaching, 16-17Culture

dominant, 66inconsistencies, 44problematic areas used for discussion, 48progressive reconstruction, 66role of schools, 66

Cummins, J., 112, 115, 117-118Curiosity of learners, 10Curriculum (see also Content, Issues-centered

education, Lesson plans and models)cases and simulations, 126core knowledge, 126hidden curriculum, 44-45infusion approach, 48interdisciplinary curriculum, 270-271issues-centered

controversial approach, 323future

communication and informationhandling, 324

democratic citizenship, 324-325futures, 325inquiries, 325uncertainties, 324values development, 324

neutral approachcross-impact analysis, 323Delphi technique, 322-323environmental scanning, 323linear projections, 323scenario, 322trends analysis, 323

reform, 123relevance, 46, 49-50structures, 3-5, 19, 54-56value-free, 10

Curti, Merle, 17

Dada movement, 267Darling-Hammond, L., and Sclan, E., 306, 309Darwin, Charles, 16, 18Daumier, 267Davidson, Donald, 79Davis, A., 104

Davis, Jr., 0.L., 318, 382Definitional issues

stipulation, 62use of authoritative source, 62

Democracy (see also Citizenship)apathy, 317-318Bill of Rights, 32, 59, 137, 143civic values and culture, 52, 55, 59civil liberties, 32-33, 60common good, 7decision-making, 318education, 15, 52expansion, 15liberal democracy, 143-144, 149models, 82participatory, 35pragmatism, 79principles, 6, 9-11, 35, 52-53, 164problem-solving, 317scholarly liberalism, 143-144value dilemmas, 60-62

Depth of understanding, 3, 47-48, 50Dewey, John, 5, 12, 20-21, 25, 28, 45, 53, 55, 75, 79,

146, 267-269, 319, 322, 383-84Dialectical thinking, 36, 124Dialogical reasoning, 123-124Diaz, S.L., Moll, L.C., and Mehan, H., 115, 117Dickens, Charles, 266Dillingham, C.K., Kelly, C.A., and Strauss, J., 271Discipline-based structure, 3Discussion (see Classroom)Disequilibration, 82Disinger, J.F., 190Dissent

knowledge and education, 16-18, 22political (tolerance), 32-33, 35

Dog, Mary Crow, 103, 107Dogmatism, 16-17Donnelly, J., 204Doonesbury, 122Dorros, Arthur, 231Doyle, W., 302DuBois, W.E.B., 105Dunn, Ross, 178Durkheim, Emile, 220

EEconomics

decision-makingcriteria, 213opportunity cost, 211-212production possibility analysis, 212

A.I. Ill 9

supply and demand analysis, 212definition, 211dimensions

objective, 212subjective, 212

issues-centeredculture of thinking, 214data, 214interdisciplinary, 214pedagogy, 214theoretical and empirical work, 214

lesson planage of students, 216-217outline, 215topics for discussion, 216-217

philosophiesfree market, 212managed market, 213radical, 213

Educationdemocratic, 15global (see Global education)nationalistic (see also Nationalism), 10, 17, 22,152new sociology, 75reconceptualist movement, 75

Educational Policies Commission (1938), 265, 271Ehman, Lee H., 31Elementary education

issues-centeredcoping and problem-solving skills, 230curriculum

selection of issues, 231lesson plan

American revolution, 233-235rationale, 230-231suitability, 230-231topics

primarycommunities, 232environment, 232homes, 231-232

upper elementarycultural change, 232-233local issues, 233revolution, 233slavery, 233

Emancipatory Rationality, 53Enculturation, 321, 323Engle, Shirley H., 53, 231, 282, 302, 317, 320, 380, 383Engle, Shirley H., and Ochoa, Anna S., 5, 7-10, 13,

48, 52-57, 256, 301-302, 321-323, 325English

issues-centered

391

communication of meaning, 266diversifying reading lists, 267doublespeak and propaganda, 265-266literature, 266

Eno la Gay Exhibit, 147Environmental issues

clarification of questions, 188conservationism vs. environmentalism, 191conventional curriculum, 188deep ecology, 190-191, 195-196ecological imperialism, 192environmentalism, 165ethics and values, 190identification of student assumptions, 188lesson plan

water pollution, 192-195natural rights, 190-191pace of change, 192policy impact, 165politics, 190resources for teachers, 189science

citizenship, 195role in environmental issues, 191-192

Sierra Club, 189-190supplement to regular classroom activities, 192sustainable development, 165, 190, 195value for students, 165value-laden information, 188-189

Erdrich, Louise, 107Essentialism, 11Ethics

ethical issues in education, 62-63foundation for relationships, 2universal principles, 34

European American students (see alsoMulticulturalism), 31, 34

Evans, Ronald W., 7-8, 13, 302Evans, Ronald W., and Brodkey, Jerry, 8

FFact-explanation issues

definition, 61supporting claims

common sense, 61personal observations, 61reference to authoritative source, 61-62

Feiner, S.F., 217Ferguson, P., 139Fillmore, L.W., and Valadez, C., 115Fine and performing arts

issues-centered

goals, 267painting, 267performing arts, 267-268photography, 267popular music, 268

Fish, Stanley, 143Fisher, Sydney, 18Flanders, Ned, 308, 312Fleming, D.B., 114Ford, B., 306Foreign languages

issues-centered, 268Foreign Policy Association, 186Foxfire, 108Frank, Anne, 241Freire, Paulo, 112, 117-118, 155French, W., 265Freud, Sigmund, 93Friedan, Betty 143Frost, Robert, 51Futures Society, 232

JGalilei, Galileo, 16Gall, M., 312Gandhi, Mahatma, 138Garcia, Jesus, and Pugh, Sharon L., 119Gardner, W., 138Garrison, William Lloyd, 54Geller, L.R., 271Generations

generation gap, 319intergenerational disjuncture, 319, 321, 323

Gentzler, Y.S., 269-270Geography

Activities and Readings in the Geography ofthe United States, 175, 175n, 176

efficacy vs. pessimism, 174fundamental themes, 172Geographic Inquiry into Global Issues (GIGI)

Project, 171-175global perspective, 172Global Studies in Geography Project, 33nGlobal Studies Project, 33ngraduate research, 167-168High School Geography Project (HSGP), 168-

169, 172, 175inquiry learning techniques, 168issues-based, 173-174local issues, 174Kashmir, 173school districting examples, 168-170

392 4 0 3

spatial aspects of issues, 167standards, 168, 172teachers' role, 172textbooks, 172value, 165

Giles, H.H., McCutchen, S.P., and Zechiel, A.N., 271Gilligan, C., 83Gingrich, Newt, 143Giroux, Henry, 20, 53, 75, 115, 155, 257, 302Gitlin, A., and Price, K., 306Glazer, Nathan, 123Global education

definition, 177-179electronic communication, 182, 187global interdependence, 181immigration, 179-180lesson plan, 179malnutrition, 180-181objectives

build foundation, 180develop perspective, 180-181link issues, 181-182plan authentic experiences, 182-183plan reflection time, 183-184

relevance to students, 182-183simulations, 183teachers' role

build skills, 178, 181-182develop global perspective, 178-179integrate interdisciplinary material, 178plan inquiry, 178provide historical context, 178select issues, 177

terrorism, 183Global issues (see also Social studies), 136, 166Global Thinking Project, 218Goals 2000, 108, 127Goldenson, A.R., 32-33Goldhammer, R., 306Goodlad, J.I., v, 265Gorbachev, Mikhail, 134Gorder, C., 103Gordon, Edmund, 123Government (see Civics and Government)Gray, RS., 221Great Books

Argument, 10-11Foundation, 10-11

Greenpeace, 202Grice, H.R, 77Grice's Cooperative Principle, 77Griffin, Alan, 5, 301Grimmett, P.P., Rostad, P.O., and Ford, B., 306

404

Gross, Richard E., 302Gross, Richard E., and Muessig, Robert H., 5Grove, R.H., 191Gudmundsdottir, S., 28Guinier, Lani, 143Guttman, A., 200Guyton, E., and McIntyre, DJ., 303

IiHabermas, Jurgen, 78-79Hackney, Sheldon, 143Hahn, Carole L., 8, 12Hamer, Fannie Lou, 107Hammurabi's Code, 132Hanvey, Robert, 181Hardison, Jr., 0.B., 320Harriet Tubman Elementary School, 108Harris, David, 287, 287n, 302Hartoonian, Michael, 8Harvard Social Studies Project, 29-30, 48, 59, 289, 382Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 266Hayes, L., 269Health (see Physical education and health)Heehs, Peter, 18Helburn, Suzanne, 382Hemingway, Ernest, 266Henson, K.T., 303Hernandez, F., 118Herrnstein, Richard J., and Murray, Charles, 143Hertz-Lazarowitz, R.A., 138Hertzberg, Hazel, 382Hess, R., 104Heterogeneous group organization, 243Hezbollah, 184Hidden curriculum, 44-45Higher order thinking (HOT), 29, 36, 136, 283Hill, A. David, 173Hilliard III, Asa, 123History

American historyabolition movement, 146agrarian movement, 51-52aim in teaching, 152American Revolution, 233-235Bleeding Kansas, 146civil rights movement, 199colonies, 16conventional, 142, 320critical approach

alternative historical voices, 153dialogue, 153implementation, 153

393

interdisciplinary, 154objectivity and emotion, 154

Declaration of Independence, 59, 143, 233-235democratic documents, 59, 143democratic principles, 149Fugitive Slave Law, 60, 126governmental authority, 135-136issues-oriented topics

gender and sexuality, 157ideology and social theory, 159-160imperialism, 158industry and technology, 158knowledge and power, 159labor and business, 157-158power, 158-159race and ethnicity, 155-156, 244-245

King Cotton, 146labor, 48Ludlow Massacre, 157Marshall Plan, 147-148nationalism, 152New Deal, 91, 135new left history, 154Pullman Strike, 135role of federal government, 135TeaPot Dome Scandal, 145Whiskey Rebellion, 135

conventional, 142, 144, 152, 320decision-making, 317democratic citizenship, 143-146, 317-319, 321, 325depth vs. breadth, 145goals in studying, 163governmental authority case study, 135-136historical perspective, 144-145, 317interdisciplinary, 163issues-centered

biographies, 137-138considerations, 144cooperative learning techniques

group investigation, 138-139jigsaw, 139structured controversy, 139

global issues, 136, 166local issues, 136preconditions, 144problem solving, 137procedure for students, 132-133resources for teaching, 138selection of issues, 136simulations, 138

New History, 130outcome-based education, 145preconditions to study of, 144

394

selection of topics, 155significance for students, 155social studies and history, 145-146, 152student participation

maturity, 142pessimism, 139reductionist thinking, 139

teacher's rolecurricular decision-making, 147-148, 150experiential learning, 147inquiry and skepticism, 148-149predetermined teacher-selected issues, 146structured approach, 135-136

traditional importance of, 19world history

Africa, 136-137Congress of Vienna, 138conventional, 161Holocaust, 137, 242Japan, 139new approaches

case studies, 162flashback organization, 162postholing, 161problems of humanity/continuingissues, 163

thematic organization, 162timeperiods, 162universal concepts, 162

Nuremburg Trials, 147Russia, 133-135two-year course, 161

Hitchen, Christopher, 136-137Hitler, Adolf, 138Ho Chi Minh, 90Hofstadter, Richard and Beatrice, 137Holland, P., 307Home economics

conventional, 269issues-centered

goals, 269-270Homer, 17Hooghoff, H., 328Hopper, Edward, 267Hughes, Langston, 241Hughes, Susan 240Humanities

issues-centereddemocratic citizenship, 321, 325problem-solving, 321social sciences, 321

Hunt, Maurice P., and Metcalf; Lawrence E., 5, 8,25, 44-45, 48-49, 155, 220, 255-256, 302

41 1'1 t.tx:,-

Hunter, M., 308-309Hurst, J.B., 26

Ichilov, Orit, 206Ideas

dynamic nature, 21Immigration, 47-48, 60-61Impartiality (see Teachers' Roles)Indiana Council for the Social Studies, 331Indiana Experiments in Inquiry 29Indigenous peoples, 69Indoctrination, 81Information technology and resources, 121-122, 182, 187Inquiry planning model, 173Inquiry process

classroomcharacteristics, 67

cooperative, 52extradisciplinary, 3reflective, 28-29, 46, 50, 53, 66-67, 146social studies, 66-68, 73, 77systematic, 26

Institute for Global Communications, 187Intercultural Press, 186International Association for Children's Social and

EconomicEducation, 331International social studies (see Social studies)Irgun, 184Irish Republican Army, 134Irvine, J., 102Issues-centered education (see also Assessment,

Content, Curriculum, Lesson plans and models,specific disciplines)

Teacher educationbenefits, 25-37climate, 26, 31-32, 34-37, 63-64cocurricular activities, 271-272content, 26-27, 255core knowledge, 126critical thinking, 124, 174criticisms, 10curricula, 3-5, 6, 30, 32, 44-50, 54-56, 317-325definition, 6, 25, 254-255definitional issues, 62democratic philosophy, 149differing experiences, 36effects, 28-30elements, 125ethical issues, 62-63fact explanation issues, 61-62

goals, 66-67, 238heterogeneous group organization, 243historical imperative, 14-24inquiry, 25-26, 66, 73interdisciplinary curriculum, 270-271IPSO (Issues, Position, Support, Outcome),124-125

jurisprudential approach, 26, 30, 59learning environment, 8lesson plans (see Lesson Plans and Models)objectives, 272pedagogy, 26-27, 35public issues model, 59-65qualities engendered in students, 238rationales, 6-12, 19, 25, 237reflective inquiry, 25, 28-29, 46, 50, 53, 66-67,73, 146

subject areas, 265teacher education programs, 300teachers' role, 272

Jackson, Andrew, 8, 90, 135James, William, 79Jefferies, Leonard, 143Jefferson, Thomas, 62, 144, 149, 235Johnson Administration, 90Johnson, D.S., Johnson, R.T., and Smith, K.A., 204Jones, Jim, 96Jones, Thomas Jesse, 318Jonestown Massacre, 95-96Journal writing, 87Joyce, Bruce R., 230Joyce, Bruce R., and Weilz, M., 12Jung, Carl, 93, 95

Kammen, Michael, 154Katz, L., and Raths, J., 309Kehoe, J., 33Keizai Koho Center, 331Kelly, C.A., 271Kelly, T.E., 81-82Kennedy, Paul, 136, 178Kepner, Tyler, 19Khama, Seretse, 333Kickbusch, Kenneth, 75King, Jr., Martin Luther, 136-137, 177, 199King, Larry, 143King, Rodney, 103Kingston, Maxine Hong, 103, 107

Klinzing, H.G., and Klinzing-Eurich, G., 84Kowalski, T.K., Weaver, R.A., and Henson, K.T., 303Krogh, S.L., 83Ku Klux Klan, 184Kuhn, Thomas, 189n

JLa Escuela Fratney, 108Lange, Dorothea, 267Language

definition, 76descriptionist view, 76extended language, 4statements, 76values, 76

Language-minority studentsacculturation, 113classroom climate, 113critical literacy, 117curriculum

frame of reference, 114perspective, 114-115social issues, 114, 117-118

definition, 111-112empowerment

strategies, 118-119issues-centered education, 112language development, 115lesson plan, 115-116personal interpretative phase, 117primary language in classroom, 115self-esteem, 113student performance, 44, 46, 113students' experiences, 112teachers' role, 112-113, 119

Lappe, Francis Moore, 181LaRue, Jr., Robert D., 182Lasch, Christopher, 59Laski, Harold, 19Leakey, Richard, and Lewin, R., 15, 22Lee, S., 101Leinhart, G., 133nLeming, James, 33Leone, B., 226Lesko, Nancy, 75Lessing, Doris, 19Lesson plans and models (see also Content, Curriculum)

acid rain, 273American revolution, 233-235Bosnia, 125cults, 96-97hate crimes, 58

396

High School Geography Project, 169immigration, 179issues-centered framework for grades 9-12

criticisms and potential problems, 262-263grade 9 (introduction), 260-261grade 12 (capstone course), 262overview, 260-261strengths, 262

language-minority students, 115-116Ponytail Lesson

definition phase, 71evidencing phase, 71exploration phase, 71generalization phase, 71-72hypothesis phase, 71inquiry process, 72orientation phase, 69

Social Studies Inquiry Model, 74unit plan

backbone, 89central issue definition, 90-91criteria for selection of issues

controversy, 91ease of research, 92importance, 91interest, 92

culminating projectsdefinition, 95student thinking, 95

ethical dimension, 92focus, 89-90grabber, 92-93instructional suggestions, 94issue-based unit, 91opening lessons, 93phrasing the issue, 92question approach, 90rationale, 89-90richly detailed source material, 94-95structure of curriculum

competing arguments, 93identification of sub-issues, 94key concepts, 93

traditional topical approach, 89-91Vietnam War example, 90

Sweeney-Parsons Controversial Social Issues Modelanalysis, 223-224application, 225classification, 224clarification, 224evaluation, 225reflection, 224selection and presentation, 223

40

Vietnam, 90water pollution, 192-195

Lewin, R., 15, 22Limbaugh, Rush 143Lincoln, Abraham, 9, 144Linden McKinley High School, 182Linton, Ralph, 181Lobdell, J., 93Locke, John, 149Lomotey, Kofi, and Staley, J., 104Long, S., and Long, R., 32Lowry, Lois, 241Lynd, Robert, 18

MMacdonald, J.B., 222Madison, James, 149Magnet schools, 105Mahopa, 138Malcolm X Academy, 108Manifest Destiny, 146, 192Marker, P.M., 110Marquez, Gabriel Garcia, 107Marshall, Thurgood, 202Martin Luther King, Jr., Academy, 108Mason, M., 28Massachusetts School Law (1647), 16Massialas, Byron G., 8, 36n, 302Massialas, Byron G., and Cox, Benjamin, 5, 29, 29n,

49, 66-68, 66n, 302Massialas, Byron G., Sprague, N.F., and Hurst, J.B., 26Mathematics (see Science and Mathematics)Mayer, F., 16McAlvin, D.W., 33nMcCutchen, S.P., 271McDonald, Forrest, 132McDonald, J., and Czerniak, C., 271McGreal, T., 307McIntosh, P., 107McIntyre, DJ., 303McKenna, Barbara, 127McLeod, A., 117McLuhan, Marshall, 122McWilliams, Wilson Cary, 52Mega-queries, 54Mehan, H., 115, 117Meinhold, Keith, 295Mershon Center, 186Metcalf, Lawrence, 5, 8, 25, 44-45, 48-49, 133n,

155, 220, 255-256, 302, 302Metzger, Devon J., and Marker, P.M., 110Mgagula, C.M., 334

Middle level educationconventional

junior high, 238subject-centered, 238, 242-243

heterogeneous group organization, 243issues-centered

curriculumtheoretical framework, 239

incorporation into conventional curriculumdrama, 241literature, 240-241music, 241oral history, 241

interdisciplinary, 241-243qualities engendered in students, 238selection of issues

involving students, 240issues of interest and importance,239-240

lesson planU.S. racism, 244-245

Mill, John Stuart, 149Miller, Arthur, 266, 270, 302Mills, C.W., 220Mobutu Sese Seko, 136Moll, L.C., 115, 117Molly Maguires, 184Mombasa Conference (1968), 332-333Morgan, J.P., 146Morris, Ann, 231Morrison, Toni, 102-103, 107Mother Jones, 202Muessig, Robert H., 5Multiculturalism (see also African-American

Students, Language-minority students)citizenship, 121class

American attitudes, 103American history, 104magnet schools, 105statistics, 103-104student performance, 35, 37, 104, 109tracking, 104-105, 122

classroom organizationcritical paradigm, 106interpretivist paradigm, 106rationalist-positivist paradigm, 106

definitions, 101examples, 107-108gender

student performance, 34, 37, 44, 78, 105, 109teachers, 105

global multiculturalism (see also Global

397

408

Education)definition, 122environmental concerns, 122teacher preparation, 128youth, 122

information technology and resources, 121-122,182, 187

issues-centered education, 121Los Angeles riots/rebellion, 103perspectives in the classroom, 3, 33-34, 37race

classroom discussion, 101-102demography of school, 101-102impact on education, 102inequality in education, 102resources, 103student performance, 37, 44-46, 49, 78,102, 109

tracking, 104-105, 122traditional studies, 102

teachinginsufficient preparation, 127-128suggestions, 107-108

Munch, Edvard, 267Murray, Charles, 143Myths, 17-18, 22

Nagai, J., 331Nash, Roderick F., 190-192National Association for Gifted Children, 243National Association for the Advancement of

Colored People, 199, 245National Commission on Social Studies in the

Schools, 21, 318National Council for Teachers of English, 265National Council for the Social Studies, 19, 21, 119,

208, 299, 327-329, 335, 384National Education and Standards Improvement

Council, 127National Education Association Commission on the

Social Studies, 14National Institute of Curriculum Development

(Netherlands), 331National Issues Forum, 208, 286National Middle School Association, 238, 243National Skills Standards Board, 127National standards, 127Nationalism

education, 10, 17, 22, 46, 152, 209, 330-331Natoli, Salvatore J., 167nNature of knowledge, 7, 13

390

Nature of learners, 7, 13Nature of society, 7, 13Nature of teachers, 7, 13Nelson, Jack L., 8, 256-257, 302Neo-nazis, 184New sociology of education, 75New York State Social Studies Review and

Development Committee, 123Newmann, Fred M., 5, 8, 36, 125-126, 282, 287nNewmann, Fred M., and Oliver, Donald W., 5, 91n, 94Nonverbal cues, 35Normative mode, 31North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), 123Nuremberg Trials, 147

0O'Leary, 188Oakes, Jeannie, 104Obida, S.S., 333Objectivity, 320Ochoa, Anna S., 5, 7-10, 13, 48, 52-57, 256, 301-302,

321-323, 325Ohlone School, 241Oliver, Donald W., 91n, 94, 302Oliver, Donald W., and Newmann, Fred M., 282Oliver, Donald W., and Shaver , James P., 5, 59-60,

155, 255-257, 282-283, 383-84Omi, M., and Winant H., 101Open classroom climate, 31-32, 34-37"Opining" classrooms, 26, 36Oregon Proficiency-Based Admissions Standards

System, 127Organization of American Historians, 138Outcome-based education, 145

Pacific Rim, 138Paine, Thomas, 235, 266Palestinian Liberation Organization, 184Palestinian-Israeli conflict, 27Parisi, Lynn S., and LaRue, Jr., Robert D., 182Parker, Walter, 36, 75Parsons, J.B., 223-225Paul, Richard, 123Paxson, Frederick, vii, viii, 383Peace Corps, 186Pearl Jam, 241Peirce, Charles Sanders, 79People for the American Way, 200Performing arts (see Fine and performing arts)Perry, Admiral, 9

Perspectivesconsciousness, 4multiple, 2, 35

Physical education and healthissues-centered, 268

Picasso, Pablo, 267Political behavior of students, 32Political socialization, 30, 32-33Political Tolerance Scale, 33, 33nPonytail Lesson

definition phase, 71evidencing phase, 71exploration phase, 71generalization phase, 71-72hypothesis phase, 71inquiry process, 72orientation phase, 69

Pope, Carl, 190Popkewitz, Thomas, 75Populism, 159, 330Power, 77Pragmatism, 79Price, K., 306Problem area

identification, 55orientation, 55, 57

Problematic questions and scenarios, 2, 4-5, 8, 10Productive issues-centered curriculum, 4Proficient performance

models, 4Progressivism, 159, 330Project ICONS, 186Psychology

definition, 222instructional model

analysis, 223-224application, 225clarification, 224classification, 224evaluation, 225reflection, 224selection and presentation, 223

issues-centered, 222resources, 226

Psychologically-safe environment, 4Public Issues Analysis Test, 30Public issues model, 59-65Pugh, Sharon L., 119Puritan work-ethic, 192

0Q-analysis, 206

4 1 0

Quadrivium, 16Questioning

definition, 55evidential, 55speculative, 55policy, 56value, 55-57

fiRace (see Multiculturalism)RaFa RaFa, 183Rainbow Coalition, 245Raths, J., 309Ravitch, Diane, 143Reagan, Ronald, 184Recitation (see Conventional social studies)Reconceptualist movement, 75Redirecting, 35Reflective decision-making abilities, 9, 25, 46, 50,

53, 66-67, 146Reilly, Kevin, 178Relativistic ideas, 2Religion

education, 16-17Richard-Amato, P.A., and Snow, M.A., 112Riesman, David, 267Rigid formalism, 14Riis, Jacob, 267The Road Game, 183Roberts' Rules of Order, 82Roberts, Francis, 123Robertson, Pat, 143Roby, T.W., 36, 83, 280nRoosevelt, Franklin D., 135Rorty, Richard, 79Rosen, Michael J., 231Rosenshine, B., 136Rosenthal, A.M., 204Rostad, P.O., 306Roth, Kathleen, 126Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, 320Rozak, Theodore, 191Rugg, Charles, 75Rugg, Harold 0., 5, 19, 255-256Rushing, Francis W., 36nRuskin, John, 20Russell, Bertrand, 18, 22

SSadker, Myra, and Sadker, David, 105Safety in schools, 46

399

Sagan, Carl, 143Salt-n-Pepa, 241Saxe, David W., 14, 302-303Scaffolding principle, 36Schlesinger, Jr., Arthur, 123Schmuck, P., and Schmuck, R., 308Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), 102Scholasticism, 17-18School context, 4, 7, 11Schuncke, G.M., and Krogh, S.L., 83Schwartzkopf, General, 291Science and Mathematics

constructivism, 247-248conventional, 247, 252issues-centered

examplesairport, 250recycling, 251roadsides, 251-252statistics, 250-251

goals, 247Science/Technology/Society approach

definition, 248goal, 248, 252school science vs. real science, 249steps, 248-249student empowerment, 249teachers' role, 248, 252

Sclan, E., 306, 309Searing, D.D., 205Seattle General Strike, 157Separatist curriculum, 19Sergiovanni, T.J., 306Sergiovanni, T.J., and Staratt R., 306Sharan, Sh lomo, 57, 139Sharan and Hertz-Lazarowitz, R.A., 138Shaver, James P., 5, 6-8, 13, 47, 59-60, 155, 255-

257, 292, 382, 384Shining Path, 184Shoemaker, Nancy, 17Shulman, Lee, 28, 302Sierra Club, 189-190Silko, Leslie Marmon, 107Simile II, 186Single-subject approaches, 18-19Skepticism, 9, 11, 19, 22, 53, 149Slater, Frances, 173-174Slavin, Robert, 57Smith, Gary, 181Smith, Hedrick, 134Smith, K.A., 204Smith, V.A., 33nSnow, M.A., 112

400

Social conflict, 75Social consensus, 75Social Issues Analysis Test (SLAT), 30, 30nSocial Science Education Consortium, (SSEC),

186, 382Social studies

conventional, 254, 259, 320-321, 330curriculum

controversial approach, 323future

communication and informationhandling, 324

democratic citizenship, 324-325futures, 325inquiries, 325uncertainties, 324values development, 324

neutral approachcross-impact analysis, 323delphi technique, 322-323environmental scanning, 323linear projections, 323scenario, 322trends analysis, 323

democratic citizenship, 317-320, 325enculturation, 321, 323historical development, 329-330human behavior, 320intergenerational disjuncture, 319, 321, 323international

alternative visions of social studies, 327-328, 335

decolonization, 333-334definition, 328democracy and democratization, 329, 335developing countries, 334development of values, 329goals, 331-332integration, 328-329interdisciplinary, 329-330nationalism, 330-331organizing, 331possibility, 335-336rationale, 331-332Second World War (impact), 333

issues-centeredalternative models

The American Problem, 255closed areas of culture, 255, 256Framework for the Curriculum, 256, 258General Problem Areas, 255-256, 257Social Education for Social

Transformation, 256-257, 259

American foreign policy model, 259controversial issues, 322curriculum, 257-258definition, 257democratic citizenship, 317-318framework for grades 9-12

criticisms and potential problems,262-263

grade 9 (introduction), 260-261grade 12 (capstone course), 262overview, 260-261strengths, 262

nationalism, 330-331objectivity, 320origins, 318

Social Studies Inquiry Model, 68-74lesson overview, 74

Social studies theory, 5Socialism, 159Socialization, 9-10Socio-economic status

differences in student learning, 35, 44Sociology

definition, 221instructional model

analysis, 223-224application, 225clarification, 224classification, 224evaluation, 225reflection, 224selection and presentation, 223

issues-centered, 222new sociology, 75resources, 226

Solzhenitsyn, Alexander, 177Sommers, Christina, 143Sons of Liberty, 184Southern Christian Leadership Conference, 199Southern Middle School, 242Southern Poverty Law Center, 108Sowell, Thomas, 143Sprague, N.F., 26Springboarding, 29, 46, 48, 55, 148Staley, J.,.104Stanford Program on International and Cross-

Cultural Education (SPICE), 186Stanford Social Education Project, 28, 29nStanley, William B., 75, 155, 302Stanley, William B., and Nelson, Jack L., 8, 256-257Staratt, R., 306Starpower, 183State of the Union address, 137

etq 9

Statehood, 138Steinbeck, John, 266Stern gang, 184Sting, 241Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 54Strauss, J., 271Stravianos, L.S., 178Structure of issues presented, 3Student grooming, 73Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee, 199Students' roles

dependable generalizations, 67-68participant and discoverer, 67

Sweeney-Parsons Controversial Social Issues Model,222-223, 225

Sweeney, J.A.C., and Parsons, J.B., 223, 225Swenson, L., 93Sylvester, Paul, 104Symbolic art and graphics, 4

Tailhook, 292Tamakloe, E.K., 332Tanner, D., 266Tanner, D., and Tanner, L., 271Teacher education

issues-centeredaction plan, 304field-based experiences

benefits, 303limited use, 303-304

general education courseworkintroductory courses, 301partnerships with arts, science

professors, 301subject matter preparation, 301

professional education courseworkcase study method, 302-303literature, 302prefatory knowledge, 302

programming at selected universities, 300Teachers' roles (see also individual disciplines)

authoritative, 11defensible partisanship, 49, 67devil's advocate, 83impartiality, 81-82interjection, 84language-minority students (see Language-minority students)leadership of discussion, 83mediator, 83moderator, 83

401

ownership of the answer, 82-83promotion of clarity, 77proponent, 83stewards of truth, 150supporting date, 84supportive, 11

Teachingpractice, 4reflective, 306strategies, 34supervision

bureaucratic, 306-307clinical

aspects, 307, 309classes, 307-308definition, 307teacher self-analysis, 307

Hunter model, 308-309indicators of success, 313-314leads to change in instructional practice, 306goals, 306post-conference stage

continued growth, 313presentation of data, 312relation to pre-conference stage, 313supervisor preparation, 312teacher self-analysis, 312-313

pre-conference stageatmosphere, 310-311goal setting and timeline, 311-312observable behaviors, 311specification of teacher concerns, 311strategies, 311

supervisory dispositionsdefinition, 309goals, 309mode, 310teachers', 309-310

supervisory strategies, 310Terkel, Studs, 102Textbooks

publishers, 53traditional, 8, 94values, 76

Theiss-Morse, Elizabeth, 206Thelen, Herbert, 57, 138Thomas, Clarence, 143Thoreau, 266Toepfer, Jr., Conrad F., 238Toffler, Alvin, 322Tolerance, 32-33, 35Torney-Purta, J. 36Truman, Harry S., 138, 147, 293, 319

402

Truth, Sojourner, 107Tucker, J.L., 330Twain, Mark, 266

N./

Underground Railroad, 126United Farmworkers of America, 202United Nations, 34, 186United States Constitution, 59, 137, 143, 192, 235, 263United States Information Agency (USIA), 331United States Institute of Peace (USIP), 187Units

conceptual, 3Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 34Upanishads, 16

Valadez, C., 115Value assumptions

identification, 56-57social, 76-77

Value issues, 62-63, 320Vars, G.F., 271Vocational subjects

conventional, 268issues-centered

goals, 268-269subjects, 269workers' education, 269

Voss, James F., 36Vygotsky, 117

Walker, Alice, 103Warren Commission Report, 146Washington Park High School, 52-53, 56Washington, George, 90, 235Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal, 29, 29nWe the People, 33, 33nWeathermen, 184Weber, Max, 220Weilz, M.,12Weiss, L., 105Wells, Ida B., 107Wesley, Edgar, 320Wesley, E.B., and Wronski, S.P., 327-328West, Cornel, 79, 102Western civilization, 15-16Whitehead, Alfred North, v, vi, 20-21, 319Whitson, Tony, 75

4. a

Wilen, W.W., and White, J., 35, 81Williams, Walter, 143Wilson, William Julius, 103Winant, H., 101Wineburg, S., and Wilson, S.M., 28, 138Wordsworth, William, 320World Bank, 187World Eagle, 181, 187World Game Institute, 187World Trade Center, bombing of, 183Worldwatch Institute, 181, 187Woyach, Robert, 181Wraga, 19Wright, G.S., 271Wright, Richard, 103, 107Wronski, S.P., 327-328

yYocum, M.J., 34

Zeichel, A.N., 271Zinn, Howard, 105, 154

403 414

Pors

Rodney F. Allen is Professor of Social StudiesEducation at Florida State University,Tallahassee.

Beverly J. Armento is Research Professor andChair of the Middle/Secondary Educationand Instructional Technology Department atGeorgia State University.

Patricia G. Avery is Associate Professor ofCurriculum and Instruction at the Universityof Minnesota.

James L. Barth is Professor of Social StudiesEducation in the Department of Curriculumand Instruction at Purdue University.

Ronald A. Banaszak is Director of YouthEducation Programs at the American BarAssociation, Chicago.

Jerry Brodkey teaches at Menlo-Atherton HighSchool, California.

Jeffrey L. Brown is Executive Director of GlobalLearning, Inc.

Cleo Cherryholmes is Professor of PoliticalScience at Michigan State University, EastLansing, Michigan.

George Chilcoat is Associate Professor ofElementary Education at Brigham YoungUniversity.

Wayne A. Cook is a high school teacher of eco-nomics and social studies in Fulton County,Georgia.

James K. Daly is an Associate Professor in theCollege of Education and Human Resources,Seton Hall University, South Orange, NewJersey.

Nancy Fichtman Dana is Assistant Professor ofEducation at Pennsylvania State UniversityUniversity Park, Pennsylvania.

Beverly C. Edmonds is an advisor to AmnestyInternational Children's Action Network.

Shirley Engle was a public school teacher, profes-sor and national leader of social studies formore than forty years. He inspired two gener-ations of social studies teachers to bring issuesinto American classrooms.

Ronald W. Evans is an Associate Professor in theSchool of Teacher Education at San DiegoState University.

Patrick Ferguson is Professor and Head of theDepartment of Secondary Education atArkansas Tech, Russellville, Arkansas.

William R. Fernekes is Supervisor of SocialStudies at Hunterdon Central Regional HighSchool, Flemington, New Jersey.

Stephen C. Fleury is Associate Dean in theSchool of Education at the State University ofNew York at Oswego.

Nancy Flowers is Curriculum Coordinator forAmnesty International USA.

4.t:

Stuart Foster is Assistant Professor of SocialScience Education at the University ofGeorgia, Athens.

Jesus Garcia is Professor of Social StudiesEducation at the University of Illinois atUrbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois.

James R. Giese is Executive Director of theSocial Science Educational Consortium,Boulder, CO

Richard E. Gross is Professor Emeritus ofEducation at Stanford University.

Carole L. Halm is Professor of Social StudiesEducation at Emory University.

David Harris is Social Studies EducationConsultant with Oakland Schools, Waterford,Michigan.

Hilda Hernandez is Associate Professor ofCurriculum and Instruction at CaliforniaState University, Chico.

A. David Hill is Professor of Geography at theUniversity of Colorado. He was the head ofthe Geography Inquiry into Global Issuesproject supported by the National ScienceFoundation.

Kenneth F. Jerich is Associate Professor ofCurriculum and Instruction in the College ofEducation at Illinois State University,Normal, Illinois.

Gloria Ladson-Billings is Associate Professor ofCurriculum and Instruction at the Universityof Wisconsin-Madison.

Jerry Ligon is a Professor in the Department ofInterdisciplinary Studies, National-LouisUniversity, St. Louis, Missouri.

Wilma Longstreet is Professor of Curriculumand Instruction at the University of NewOrleans.

Martha V. Lutz is a Research Associate at theScience Education Center of the University ofIowa.

Byron G. Massialas is Professor of Social ScienceEducation at Florida State University,Tallahassee.

Merry Merryfield is Associate Professor ofSocial Studies Education at Ohio StateUniversity, Columbus, Ohio.

Devon Metzger is Professor of Education atCalifornia State University, Chico.

Salvatore J. Natoli was Director of Publicationsat National Council for the Social Studiesprior to his retirement in 1993.

Jack L. Nelson is Professor of Education atRutgers University.

Fred M. Newmann is Professor of Curriculumand Instruction at the University ofWisconsin at Madison.

Anna S. Ochoa-Becker is Professor of Educationat Indiana University, Bloomington.

Joseph J. Onosko is Associate Professor ofEducation at the University of NewHampshire.

Walter C. Parker is an Associate Professor in theCollege of Education at the University ofWashington, Seattle.

Jeff Passe is an Associate Professor in theDepartment of Curriculum and Instruction atthe University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Jon Pedersen is Associate Professor ofCurriculum and Instruction at the Universityof Arkansas, Fayetteville.

Jane Bernard Powers is Associate Professor ofElementary Education at San Francisco StateUniversity

Sharon L. Pugh is Associate Professor ofLanguage Education in the School of Educa-tion, Indiana University, Bloomington.

Francis W. Rushing is Professor and Chair of theEconomics Department and Director of theCenter for Economic Education at GeorgiaState University, Atlanta.

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Stephen Sandell is Director of the HumphreyForum at the University of Minnesota.

David Warren Saxe is Associate Professor ofEducation at Pennsylvania State UniversityUniversity Park, Pennsylvania.

James P. Shaver is Dean of the School ofGraduate Studies and Professor of SecondaryEducation at Utah State University.

Adam Sheldon is a teacher at T. Aaron LevyMiddle School, Syracuse, and a doctoral can-didate at Syracuse University

Laurel R. Singleton is Associate Director of theSocial Science Educational Consortium,Boulder, Colorado.

Dorothy Skeel is Professor of Social StudiesEducation at Vanderbilt University

Elizabeth S. Smith is a graduate assistant in theDepartment of Political Science, University ofMinnesota.

Mary Soley is Deputy Director of ACCESS, aninternational affairs information service inWashington, DC.

John L. Sullivan is a Professor of Political Scienceat the University of Minnesota.

JoAnn Cutler Sweeney is Chair of the Depart-ment of Curriculum and Instruction in theCollege of Education at the University ofTexas at Austin.

Lee Swenson is Social Studies Department Chairat Aragon High School, San Mateo,California.

Josiah Tlou is Associate Professor of Curriculumand Instruction at Virginia Institute ofTechnology, Blacksburg, Virginia..

Samuel Totten is Professor of Curriculum andInstruction at the University of Arkansas,Fayetteville.

Connie S. White teaches social studies, globalhistory and government at Linden McKinleyHigh School, Columbus, Ohio.

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William G. Wraga is Assistant Professor in theDepartment of Educational Leadership at theUniversity of Georgia, Athens.

RobertYager is Professor of Science Education atthe University of Iowa.

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