Showing papers in "Theory and Research in Social Education in 1985"
TL;DR: This article analyzed student teachers' perspectives toward social studies education and found that they viewed social studies as a nonsubject, as human relations, as citizenship indoctrination, as school knowledge, as the integrative core of the elementary curriculum, and as education for social action.
Abstract: Student teachers' perspectives toward social studies education are analyzed in this paper. Sixteen elementary-level student teachers were selected at two university teacher education programs. One year's observations and interviews with the student teachers and their colleagues provided the data. The 16 participants held one or more of six perspectives. They viewed social studies as a nonsubject, as human relations, as citizenship indoctrination, as school knowledge, as the integrative core of the elementary curriculum, and as education for social action. A case study of a representative student illustrated the complexity of how perspectives develop. These findings suggested that official conceptions of social studies have little to do with student teachers' beliefs and actions in the classroom and that methods courses should address this discrepancy.
101 citations
TL;DR: The case of African-American cultural knowledge is discussed in this paper, where the authors discuss the history of African American cultural knowledge in Citizenship Education and the case of black cultural knowledge.
Abstract: (1985). Toward Emancipation in Citizenship Education: The Case of African-American Cultural Knowledge. Theory & Research in Social Education: Vol. 12, No. 4, pp. 1-23.
57 citations
TL;DR: This paper conducted a study on the development of economic reasoning by focusing on how young children think about economic problems and ideas and found that the nature of children's economic reasoning is supportive of cognitive development theory.
Abstract: This study was designed to extend earlier research on the development of economic reasoning by focusing on how young children think about economic problems and ideas. A total of 70 children from an urban preschool and two urban elementary schools participated in the study. They were interviewed using a structured interview protocol which presented questions and hypothetical problems about such economic concepts as scarcity, choice, opportunity cost, and monetary value. The participants' responses were divided into theoretical categories labelled unreflective reasoning and emerging reasoning and were examined for statistically significant differences. Using the unreflective and emerging classifications, the authors describe the participants' responses. The authors conclude that the nature of children's economic reasoning is supportive of cognitive development theory, that children's economic reasoning varies somewhat by personal experiences, and that the intermediate grades are an appropriate leve...
41 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine how social studies curriculum has been conceived, formed, and enacted, and suggest an alternative conception that integrates technical, social, and critical dimensions, and highlight the major features and limitations of each.
Abstract: In this interpretive essay review of social studies curriculum, the intent is to examine how social studies curriculum has been conceived, formed, and enacted. First, meanings and implications of social studies curriculum as technical project and as social process are explored. Justaposition of the dominant technical view with a social process alternative highlights the major features and limitations of each. Consideration is then given to the broader implications of prevailing conceptions and practice of curriculum, and an alternative conception is suggested that integrates technical, social, and critical dimensions.
28 citations
TL;DR: The authors found that students who took the course became more favorable toward global mindedness and world order, and became less favorable toward the nationcentric perspective, while the experimental group's attitude toward patriotism was unaffected.
Abstract: In 1981, NCSS adopted a resolution supporting the teaching of global education. In this study, pre and posttreatment standardized attitude scales were administered to graduate education students taking a course about global education, and to a suitable control group. Students who took the global education course became more favorable toward global mindedness and world order. They became less favorable toward the nationcentric perspective. The experimental group's attitude toward patriotism was unaffected.
26 citations
TL;DR: The authors argue that emancipation should be the guiding social ideal; social life should be understood largely in terms of such concepts as domination, autonomy, contradiction, and the social construction of knowledge; and teaching should emphasize the development of critical discourse.
Abstract: Radical writing in education suggests a) that emancipation should be the guiding social ideal; b) social life should be understood largely in terms of such concepts as domination, autonomy, contradiction, and the social construction of knowledge; and c) that teaching should emphasize the development of critical discourse. If potentially appealing aspects of these ideas are to be incorporated into social studies, research is needed to develop more specific social visions consistent with the value of emancipation, to determine what organizational changes must be made in schools, and to identify specific teaching practices that maximize the intellectual accomplishment and emotional rewards of critical inquiry.
26 citations
TL;DR: The relationship of citizenship to the social studies curriculum is explored in this article, where several well-known curricular designs for social studies are reviewed and the fundamental differences in their treatment of citizenship noted.
Abstract: The relationship of citizenship to the social studies curriculum is explored. Several well known curricular designs for the social studies are reviewed and the fundamental differences in their treatment of citizenship noted. It would appear that the development of knowledge about citizenship and the development of a curriculum for citizenship have become indistinguishable in the field of social studies education. There is need for a base of knowledge about citizenship independent of curriculum development, and the establishment of a scholarly discipline of citizenship is proposed.
19 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the effects of three levels of teacher enthusiasm on 3- and 4-year-old children's acquisition of four concepts were evaluated by a 3 × 2 × 2 ANOVA.
Abstract: This study tested the effects of three levels of teacher enthusiasm on 3- (n = 26) and 4- (n = 29) year-old children's acquisition of four concepts. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups (low, medium, high enthusiasm) by stratified randomization. The interactions of (a) age, (b)sex, and (c) age and sex with enthusiasm were examined, and informal observations concerning behavioral differences among treatment groups were made. Results of a 3 × 2 × 2 ANOVA indicated that there were no significant differences in achievement. Differences in behavior among the three treatment groups were reported by the teachers, with subjects taught at a high level of enthusiasm characterized as more attentive, interested, and responsive than subjects in the other two groups.
14 citations
TL;DR: The authors investigated the effects of value analysis discussion and of reading controversial news articles on students' political attitudes and reading comprehension, and found that students in the group that regularly discussed controversial issues using a value analysis approach showed gains on the measures of political confidence, political interest, and social integration, but not on Political Trust.
Abstract: This study investigated the effects of value analysis discussion and of reading controversial news articles on students' political attitudes and reading comprehension. Fifteen intact classes were selected randomly and assigned to one of three treatments; Value analysis of controversial issues, reading without analysis, and control, A cloze test and a political attitudes scale were used in a pretest/posttest design. Analysis of covariance demonstrated slight, but not statistically significant differences between groups on the reading test. Students in the group that regularly discussed controversial issues using a value analysis approach showed gains on the measures of Political Confidence, Political Interest, and Social Integration, but not on Political Trust.
12 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the effects of teachers' use of objectives during instruction, allocated learning time, students' entering achievement levels and absenteeism on achievement in a new social studies curriculum program were analyzed.
Abstract: The effects of teachers' use of objectives during instruction, allocated learning time, students' entering achievement levels and absenteeism on achievement in a new social studies curriculum program were analyzed. The sample included 168 students and 8 teachers from grades six through eight. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that entering achievement level and teacher use of objectives during instruction were statistically significant predictors of student achievement.
11 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyze the theory of reflective thought as presented in How We Think (1933) and identify and categorize the following variables: (1) behaviors which facilitate reflective thought; (2) outcomes of reflective thinking; (3) perceptions of problems/subject matter; (4) attitudes toward reflective thought, teacher characteristics and behaviors which may facilitate reflective thinking, and (5) problem/subject subject matter characteristics; and (6) setting characteristics.
Abstract: John Dewey's theory of reflective thought as presented in How We Think (1933) was analyzed. Forty-seven variables were identified and categorized as: (1) behaviors which facilitate reflective thought; (2) outcomes of reflective thought; (3) perceptions of problems/subject matter; (4) attitudes toward reflective thought; (5) teacher characteristics and behaviors which may facilitate reflective thought; (6) problem/subject matter characteristics; and (7) setting characteristics. Research implications were identified in relation to: (1) each category of variables; (2) cognitive and social psychological issues not addressed by Dewey; and (3) theoretical development. This research is part of a fundamental reconsideration of the profession's views of inquiry teaching and learning.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present recent research on concept learning: Implications for Social Education, and discuss the role of concept learning in the development of social education. But they do not discuss how to apply it in the real world.
Abstract: (1985). Recent Research on Concept Learning: Implications for Social Education. Theory & Research in Social Education: Vol. 12, No. 4, pp. 57-74.
TL;DR: The authors examined school and college/university faculty perceptions concerning what has happened to inquiry and identified some factors that might have influenced the implementation of inquiry as a curriculum innovation and found that inquiry strategies, for all their acclaim, were never widely implemented.
Abstract: This study examines school and college/university faculty perceptions concerning what has happened to inquiry and identifies some factors that might have influenced the implementation of inquiry as a curriculum innovation. The data presented on the perceptions of both groups indicate that inquiry strategies, for all their acclaim, were never widely implemented. There was a perceived problem with the availability of inquiry materials for classroom use and some concern about students' preparation and ability to use inquiry strategies. Teacher training programs appeared to be deficient in preparing teachers to use inquiry techniques.
TL;DR: In this paper, a summary of doctoral research activity in social studies education based on dissertation abstracts for the period, 1977 to mid-1982, is reported, based on a study conducted in 1983 for the ERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Science Education.
Abstract: This article reports a summary of doctoral research activity in social studies education based on dissertation abstracts for the period, 1977 to mid-1982. The report is based on a study conducted in 1983 for the ERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Science Education. From the abstracts of 394 dissertations the types of research, the productivity of graduate institutions, topics, and subject categories were tabulated. Results showed that descriptive studies dominated, northeastern universities produced the most doctorates, the largest portion were studies of curriculum materials, and the largest number concerned broad field or general social studies.
TL;DR: In this article, a teacher authority in the social studies classroom: Erosion of a Barren Ground is discussed, where the teacher authority is defined as the authority of the teacher over the teacher.
Abstract: (1985). Teacher Authority in the Social Studies Classroom: Erosion of a Barren Ground. Theory & Research in Social Education: Vol. 12, No. 4, pp. 25-38.
TL;DR: In this article, a critical analysis of current discourse about social studies curriculum-in-use demonstrates the continuing failure of such literature to interrogate the structures and beliefs behind surface meanings and values of social studies education in an advanced industrial society.
Abstract: Discourse about social studies education has been stimulated by recent published reports and by public interest in school improvement; however, the quality of that discourse has remained essentially apolitical thus diminishing opportunities for substantive change. Critical theory, recognizing the ideological dimension of schooling, illuminates the contradictions and tensions among the idealized goals of social studies education and the socializing functions of social studies classrooms. This paper, through a critical analysis of current discourse about social studies curriculum-in-use, demonstrates the continuing failure of such literature to interrogate the structures and beliefs behind surface meanings and values of social studies education in an advanced industrial society.
TL;DR: This paper identified two difficulties in the task of deriving metaphors from the humanities and applying them to the social sciences: the large number of alternative characteristics that may be available for transfer from any humanistic source, and the lack of understanding shown by receivers of metaphors.
Abstract: This paper identifies two difficulties in the task of deriving metaphors from the humanities and applying them to the social sciences: the large number of alternative characteristics that may be available for transfer from any humanistic source, and the lack of understanding shown by receivers of metaphors. To solve these difficulties, the notion of a deliberately designed metaphor is outlined. A case study of such a metaphor derived from drama and applied to a social studies lesson includes the text of a written review and a set of guidelines for the system of discourse and method of reporting. A conclusion relates the case study to the current research literature on humanistic metaphors in educational evaluation.