A task force was appointed by the Oregon Council for the Social Studies (OCSS) to study preschool/kindergarten through grade 3 social studies in Oregon and to make recommendations as to what OCSS could do to help improve social studies education. This report contains the findings and recommendations of the task force. A background statement based on a review of contemporary and historical developments in early childhood social studies education is presented. A section on demographic trends points out implications for social education. The findings from a survey of approximately 200 teachers and teachers-in-training and the results of data collected from 24 hour-long interviews with individual teachers are reviewed and a summary of the analyses is presented. The task force offered four recommendations based on its findings. First, undertake efforts to clarify the purpose and parameters of the social studies, such as: (1) finding reasons for teaching it; and (2) defining its boundaries. Second, design ways to propagate experiential teaching materials and strategies. In particular, join forces with a latent curriculum integration movement among teachers and weave into this hands-on instructional strategies. Third, lobby for specific conent changes to include the multicultural, the global, the heroic, as well as countervailing uninformed consumerism. Fourth, attend to: support systems; public awareness and teacher involvement; teacher preparation; and textbook adoption. Copies of the task force's survey form and interview schedule are included in separate appendices. (DB)