Describes how one first-grade teacher makes democracy happen in her classroom. Describes the teacher's role in setting up and supporting a democratic classroom where students and teacher work together to make decisions about the learning that goes on in the class, and in determining a supportive physical environment with materials available to all…

Neo-liberal and neo-conservative groups have become allies committed to redefining our ideas about democracy, equality, and the common good. This article examines how moral and biological arguments are being used to justify conservative policies in education and the larger society. Alternative progressive models are advocated. (26 references) (MLH)

The basic premise of the common-school movement survives today: A well-functioning democratic society requires a well-educated citizenry. Public schools should not try to convert children to beliefs and values that contradict parental teachings; however, schools are responsible for letting kids know such values exist. (MLH)

Offers the author's reflections on how and why she adjusted her limited implementation of whole language teaching by integrating literature and writing, using novels that reflect issues of significance to students, having students write for real audiences, and creating democracy in the classroom where students think, discuss, and act critically on…

Explores the central pragmatist and feminist philosophical assumption that knowers cannot be separated from what is known, that there is a dialectical relationship between social beings and ideas. Argues for embracing pluralistic and democratic commitments on epistemological and moral grounds. (KS)

Sponsored by West Chester University and the local League of Women Voters, the Kids Around Town Program is helping some Pennsylvania elementary school children develop responsible citizenship by involving them in community service activities. Students select a public policy issue affecting them. This issue serves as a springboard for study and…

Connects contemporary communitarian ideas to the agenda of the 19th-century populist movement. The populist educational agenda (the agrarian revolt and Farmers' Alliance) provides historical examples of the implementation of communitarian educational theory. The populist movement as an example of communitarianism highlights an instance of a…

School and community renewal calls for a moral democratic concept of leadership based on principles and practices of caring, trust, social justice, and collaborative inquiry. This concept can best be served by merging teacher and administrator preparation programs. Efforts of an eight-year Educational and Community Change Project in Tucson,…

Addresses the shortcomings of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) position statement "Fostering Civic Virtue: Character Education in the Social Studies." Challenges the work of the NCSS Task Force on Character Education in the Social Studies on four concerns: (1) necessity and timeliness; (2) generality and specificity;…

Too many student governments have agendas focused on social, volunteer, and fund-raising activities, not broader civic responsibilities. In student governments with responsibility for addressing school-community issues, participants may lack needed skills and habits of mind. The importance of advisers, due process, democratic selection, and…

Describes how socio-politcal changes have affected civic education in Chinese Mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau in the post-World War II era. Analyzes the elements of nationalistic and democratic education in the formal curriculum. (CMK)

Examines a late nineteenth-century Milwaukee (Wisconsin) publication for children and young people as a reflection of German-American middle-class culture of the time, showing how the spirit of the 1848 revolution and the experience of the American Civil War shaped German-American intellectuals and how the ideals of freedom and equality dominated…

Discusses the reconceptualization of democratic values in a technological society focusing on how technology affects the understanding of these values. Addresses new applications of civic dispositions in a technological society. Focuses on practicing civic virtue in a high-tech world, including using technological tools to enhance instruction.…

Alberta's charter-school legislation responds to certain needs of both liberal and republican ideologies. Alberta's experiment indicates that parents are not very dissatisfied with their local schools. Few minority children are attracted, and charter performance has not been stellar. Schools are chosen for their value systems. (Contains 31…

Describes a middle school unit on the European theatre in World War II that combines seventh-grade social studies and language arts objectives. Traces steps in students' growth toward active engagement, sharing representative samples of their work. Demonstrates how a curriculum can help students see the world differently and act accordingly. (EV)