This 3- to 5-day currriculum unit for secondary students centers around four possible directions for U.S. foreign policy during the 1990s. Designed as a culminating exercise at the end of the year or as an introductory activity to open the semester, this unit, and the possible futures it presents, should be thought of as a vehicle for guiding…

U.S. children who were of school age during World War II underwent a socialization process that led them to have great pride in their country, to believe in the moral certainty of U.S. victory, and to feel united in their participation on the homefront. Excerpts from letters of individuals who were school-aged during the War are used to illustrate…

This curriculum has been designed to provide high school students with an increased awareness of the importance of responsibility in their own lives and its place in contemporary society, and to encourage their capacity and inclination to deal with issues of responsibility wisely and effectively. Students are asked to examine and make decisions…

This book is a collection of essays on political education for democratic citizenship in higher education developed out of meetings over 5 years of a small group of faculty, administrators and students who gathered to discuss the way academia was educating young people for political responsibility. Following a foreword and an introduction by…

Although the humanistic and democratic practices in the Czech Republic secondary schools are currently insufficient due to the communist regime prior to 1989, a tradition exists in the Czech cultural background for humanity and democracy in education, and those values can be incorporated into the school environment again. The long term isolation…

This document consists on a 6-week curriculum unit designed to allow secondary students to actively explore issues associated with freedom of belief and expression. Throughout the curriculum students systematically examine the ways in which the legal and constitutional framework of our society directly embodies the norms of freedom of speech and…

This book examines the nature of power in the classroom, school system, and society. Power relations in schools reflect the larger societal forces and the interconnections of institutions. This book also analyzes the empowerment of teachers and students. It explores the process through which people develop more control over their lives and acquire…

Three books represent the recent work of leading U.S. proponents of critical approaches to pedagogy: "Life in Schools: An Introduction to Critical Pedagogy in the Foundations of Education," by Peter McLaren; "Freire for the Classroom: A Sourcebook for Liberatory Teaching," edited by Ira Shor; and "Teachers as…

The inherent political conflict between the professional decision-maker and citizen participation in those decisions is explored in the perceptions of city managers, planning directors, and school superintendents responding to a national mail poll. From the sample of 750 administrators, there were 406 (54 percent) returns, distributed almost…

The National Issues Forum model, a series of community based public discussions on key domestic issues, may be a partial solution to the "human gap" between growing complexity and a capacity to deal with it, by exemplifying "innovative learning." To engage in innovative learning, characterized by anticipation and participation,…

A suggested teaching strategy to teach about civil liberties is the fictional case study approach. Several examples are included to show how students can readily identify with and come to grips with issues and characters created for classroom use. (JR)

Post-Reformation societies and states that thought they had put religious wars behind them have been caught unawares by the vehemence of religious dissent that has exploded in their midst, sometimes literally, since the 1970s. I maintain that key Enlightenment propositions that established the means for peaceful religious co-existence seriously…

This book presents the ideas of the president of Boston University on how America can change course and restore traditional democratic values. The primary threat to American freedom comes not from foreign nations but from societal and individual attitudes of self indulgence, extravagance, and a declinging educational system. A return to…

Pursuant to a request from the Arizona State Board of Education, an interagency task force was formed in fall 1989 to examine the issue of values instruction in Arizona schools. This document begins with a summary of the resulting report, along with a list of suggested common core values, recommendations for development and implementation of a…

A broad survey of democratic political attitudes of United States and West German students was developed jointly by the Governmental Education Division of the Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia and the Bundeszentrale fur politische Bildung in Bonn. This survey sought to probe twelfth-year students' attitudes toward…