Winner of the 2018 Exemplary Research in Social Studies Award presented by the National Council for the Social Studies Many social studies teachers report feeling apprehensive about discussing potentially volatile topics in the classroom, because they fear that administrators and parents might accuse them of attempting to indoctrinate their students. Wayne Journell tackles the controversial nature of teaching politics, addressing commonly raised concerns such as how to frame divisive political issues, whether teachers should disclose their personal political beliefs to students, and how to handle political topics that become intertwined with socially sensitive topics such as race, gender, and religion. Journell discusses how classrooms can become spaces for tolerant political discourse in an increasingly politically polarized American society. In order to explore this, Journell analyzes data that include studies of high school civics/government teachers during the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections and how they integrated television programs, technology, and social media into their teaching. The book also includes a three-year study of preservice middle and secondary social studies teachers' political knowledge and a content analysis of CNN Student News.

This book shows parents the communication skills they need to teach their children to govern themselves. With the proper family environment and understanding of childhood behaviors homes can become happier.

WINNER 2016 Grawemeyer Award in Education Helping students develop their ability to deliberate political questions is an essential component of democratic education, but introducing political issues into the classroom is pedagogically challenging and raises ethical dilemmas for teachers. Diana E. Hess and Paula McAvoy argue that teachers will make better professional judgments about these issues if they aim toward creating "political classrooms," which engage students in deliberations about questions that ask, "How should we live together?" Based on the findings from a large, mixed-method study about discussions of political issues within high school classrooms, The Political Classroom presents in-depth and engaging cases of teacher practice. Paying particular attention to how political polarization and social inequality affect classroom dynamics, Hess and McAvoy promote a coherent plan for providing students with a nonpartisan political education and for improving the quality of classroom deliberations.

In Teaching America, more than 20 leading thinkers sound the alarm over a crisis in citizenship--and lay out a powerful agenda for reform. The book's unprecedented roster of authors includes Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Senator Jon Kyl, Senator Bob Graham, Secretary Rod Paige, Alan Dershowitz, Juan Williams, Glenn Reynolds, Michael Kazin, Frederick Hess, Andrew Rotherham, Mike Feinberg, Seth Andrew, Mark Bauerlein and more. Their message: To remain America, our country has to give its kids a civic identity, an understanding of our constitutional system, and some appreciation of the amazing achievements of American self-government. But we are failing. Young Americans know little about the Bill of Rights, the democratic process, or the civil rights movement. Three of every four high school seniors aren't proficient in civics, nine of ten can't cut it in U.S. history, and the problem is only aggravated by universities' disregard for civic education. Such civic illiteracy weakens our common culture, disenfranchises would-be voters, and helps poison our politics.

England's school system performs below its potential and can improve significantly. This white paper outlines action designed to: tackle the weaknesses in the system; strengthen the status of teachers and teaching; reinforce the standards set by the curriculum and qualifications; give schools back the freedom to determine their own development; make schools more accountable to parents, and help them to learn more quickly and systematically from good practice elsewhere; narrow the gap in attainment between rich and poor. The quality of teachers and teaching is the most important factor in determining how well children do. The Government will continue to raise the quality of new entrants to the profession, reform initial teacher training, develop a network of "teaching schools" to lead training and development, and reduce the bureaucratic burden on schools. Teachers will be given more powers to control bad behaviour. The National Curriculum will be reviewed, specifying a tighter model of knowledge of core subjects so that the Curriculum becomes a benchmark against which school can be judged. Schools will be given more freedom and autonomy, the Academies programme extended and parents will be able to set up "Free Schools" to meet parent demand. Accountability for pupil performance is critical, and much more information will be available to aid understanding of a school's performance. School improvement will be the responsibility of schools, not central government. Funding of schools needs to be fairer and more transparent, and there will be a Pupil Premium to target resources on the most deprived pupils.