Popular educators are encountering students' past trauma and dealing with how to engage ethically with social issues through "difficult knowledge" (Britzman 1998). The force of their curriculum provides the education community the ability to learn from their social conditions and share in the difficult knowledge experienced among them.…

While antiracist, problem-posing, and culturally relevant curriculum are effective in teaching students how to deconstruct the world, in practice, social justice education often falls short of helping students reconstruct those instances. In response, researchers in this study implemented a social justice action project for high school students…

Recent examples of police brutality perpetrated against black bodies have called into question issues of class and race relations in the USA. State forms like schooling reconstitute social and racial inequities and allow the perpetuation of abuses. In this cultural moment, this essay turns to two texts by Roger Simon, "Teaching Against the…

This article argues that in divided societies, civic education fails to fulfill one of its most important social role: creating a more inclusive society that allows a democratic dialogue to flow across different ideological, religious, and cultural communities. This failure is grounded in two main reasons. First, civics teachers are socially and…

The author has been teaching a graduate course entitled Envisioning a Sustainable Society since 1996 that seeks to explore the possible dimensions of a transformation of people's way of life and their beliefs about humanity's relationship with the planet. Designed for future teachers, educational leaders, and counselors, the course focuses on the…

The Chinese Communist Party has invoked the Faure report as part of a large-scale learning initiative involving 61 cities and numerous streets, neighbourhoods and villages. By embracing western ideas and infusing them with Chinese characteristics, the Central School of the Communist Party has embarked on what looks increasingly like the 5th…

Contends that the problems approach is new to most teachers and is at odds with the dominant curricular trend that includes reliance on textbooks and content-oriented courses. Concludes that there is a formidable set of forces opposing the implementation of such a curriculum. (SLM)

Evidence suggests that curricular content and the educational process shape and are shaped by sociocultural factors. This article explores changing ideas concerning how schools should respond to the societal environment and points out that no educational approach is completely neutral. The author urges that school-society relations be regarded…

Reviews the history of social studies as an integrated, issue-centered field of study from its inception within the progressive movement to the present. Summarizes major curricular development projects within the issues-centered orientation and speculates on the decline of the problems approach in social studies education. (SLM)

This paper examines the rapid changes in technology that enables cloning of human embryos and explores the issues related to teaching students about the use of such technologies. STS adoption has made only minimal impact on mainline social studies curriculum, although the topic has been included in discussion for decades. The paper outlines five…

Written to emphasize the historical importance and continuing relevance of protest and reform in the United States, this teacher's guide offers new perspectives and approaches to the study and discussion of the populist, civil rights, and environmental movements in history and to protest in general. A timeline poster presents an overview of U.S.…

This kit provides a summary of a scholarly paper, discussion questions, and activities to promote constructive debate between scholars and ethnic and minority groups about the changing role of the neighborhood in American society. The materials focus on the Chicago area, but the issues and problems apply to any urban area. The paper traces the…

This book of essays explores the explicit and hidden curriculum of sexuality from kindergarten through college. The 15 interrelated essays challenge conventional assumptions regarding sexuality and the curriculum by applying non-traditional perspectives to traditionally unresolved problems while proposing specific curricular strategies and…

Contends that it is increasingly clear that schools must prepare students to be able to adapt to a changing world. Asserts that multicultural education is an intellectual concept that should focus on significant social issues. Maintains that effective multicultural education requires conceptual teaching methods. (CFR)

This study examines the effects of school contexts, individual differences, and motivational goals and benefits on current events knowledge. A review of the literature focuses on motivation study of goal theory and self-efficacy. The sample includes 798 students from nine high schools (grades 9-12) in diverse geographical locations and of various…