Project CATS (Center for Alternative Teaching Strategies), a series of workshops which focused on process as a product in itself and the importance of affective education, is described in this paper. The target population was originally 70 fourth- through seventh-grade teachers of the Oak Park, Michigan, school district, that is, all language arts…

A significant problem with inquiry teaching is that too much emphasis is placed on inquiry as a logical, scientific, and rational way of knowing. Feelings and mood are rarely dealt with except in rather off-handed remarks about intuitive leaps and creative encounters. Few consider what a model of inquiry based on mood and feeling might look like.…

An analysis of factors contributing to socio-civic deterioration suggests a framework for emphasis in social studies instruction that teachers may use to take a positive step toward the improvement and maintenance of civilized society. These factors include social rigidity rather than change; overreach and overexpansion leading to exhaustion of…

This paper introduces a note of caution about oversubscribing to rational game theory models of analysis at the expense of humanistic inquiry. Although game theory provides a useful tool for the explanation of rational alternatives in given social situations, it should not replace humanistic inquiry. "Good" decision-making in game theory usually…

The authors describe a one-quarter, undergraduate teacher education experience that involved a high level of personal freedom and synergy in an attempt to develop humanistic teachers. Twenty-three juniors and seniors were involved in the program, which took the form of an unstructured block of courses in mathematics, science, and social studies.…

The need for investigating, developing, and implementing affective social studies education programs in the classroom is stressed in this paper. Some issues are raised about moral reasoning and values analysis and their relationship to what may be termed affective social studies education. Educators currently place a heavy emphasis on the…

The politics of the behavioral modification approach to educational evaluation are examined in this position paper. In recent years the science of behavior modification has become an established political doctrine in professional education. Behavioral objectives, behavior change, performance criteria, and competency-based instruction are just a…

This paper probes the structure of several different sets of "affective" early childhood materials. "Affective materials" are defined as those that ask children to look into their own personalities, to consider personal reaction to subject matter, or to consider the reactions of others in a set of circumstances. Four sets of commercially…

This paper reports the scope of minicourse offerings in Kansas secondary social studies classes. The more course options provided students, the greater the humanistic potential of the school program. During the 1974-75 school year, the vast majority of Kansas high schools continued to offer traditional one- or two-semester long courses. United…

Methods for integrating Christian values into social studies education in Catholic schools are examined. First, the four areas in which learning takes place are discussed: the psychomotor, the cognitive which includes interpretive and analytical skills, the intellectual, and the attitudinal. Next, the author presents four values which should be…

Social studies educators should refrain from using computer-assisted instruction as much as possible; instead, they should create a program that reveals the hard facts of a computerized society and its dangers to civil liberties and human dignity. Past examples of the standardizing effects of technology reach as far back as the printing press.…

Twelve learning activities are presented for children in kindergarten through grade three to help develop skills of valuing, decision making, interpersonal relationships, and spatial awareness. Knowledge and skills in these areas will enable children to understand and effectively communicate with people of different cultures and lifestyles, and to…

The history of the United States is one of the contradictory traditions of human rights and intolerance. Although human rights, diversity, and dissidence are inherent concepts in our constitution and in the Supreme Court system, this tendency has been invariably accompanied by intolerant uses of power. The Salem witchcraft trials, the Alien and…