The document contains a collection of 13 articles on the problems and challenges facing social studies educators in the 1980s. The objective is to offer the classroom teacher direction for evaluating the rationale and content of social studies education. Chapter one defines the purpose and nature of social studies. Chapter two discusses the importance of citizenship education as a role of social studies, while social studies' contribution to the humanistic experience is examined in Chapter three. Chapters four through eight consider the range of knowledge and understanding in the social studies, including history, geography, cultural pluralism, urbanization, and a global perspective, as well as law-related education and career education. Chapters nine and ten focus on basic and societal skills such as reading, writing, and decision making, while chapter eleven discusses values education as a major objective of the social studies. Chapter twelve examines the roles societal forces play in social education and the importance of educators' recognizing and understanding these forces. The final chapter discusses social studies teachers in relation to an unpredictable future and emphasizes the need for ongoing teacher education. (CK)

In the first edition of this book published in 1988, Shirley Engle and I offered a broader and more democratic curriculum as an alternative to the persistent back-to-the-basics rhetoric of the ‘70s and ‘80s. This curriculum urged attention to democratic practices and curricula in the school if we wanted to improve the quality of citizen participation and strengthen this democracy. School practices during that period reflected a much lower priority for social studies. Fewer social studies offerings, fewer credits required for graduation and in many cases, the job descriptions of social studies curriculum coordinators were transformed by changing their roles to general curriculum consultants. The mentality that prevailed in the nation’s schools was “back to the basics” and the basics never included or even considered the importance of heightening the education of citizens. We certainly agree that citizens must be able to read, write and calculate but these abilities are not sufficient for effective citizenship in a democracy. This version of the original work appears at a time when young citizens, teachers and schools find themselves deluged by a proliferation of curriculum standards and concomitant mandatory testing. In the ‘90s, virtually all subject areas including United States history, geography, economic and civics developed curriculum standards, many funded by the federal government. Subsequently, the National Council for the Social Studies issued the Social Studies Curriculum Standards that received no federal support. Accountability, captured in the No Child Left Behind Act passed by Congress, has become a powerful, political imperative that has a substantial and disturbing influence on the curriculum, teaching and learning in the first decade of the 21st century.

Provides a background to conceptual, theoretical and philosophical issues in multicultural education. This edition has been revised and reorganized, now containing two additional chapters. Much of the text has been rewritten to make it more consistent with current theory, research and terminology.

Author Dan Dillon presents an entertaining look back at the high school careers of St. Louis' Baby Boomers. Vol. 2 of "So, Where'd You Go to High School?" covers the 1950s through the 1980s and features lots of trivia, fun facts, local celebrities, and hundreds of photos.