This handbook explores the issues-centered curriculum for social studies teaching and how student performance reflects an intellectual capacity to address public issues. The book is divided into 11 parts with essays to address specific aspects of the approach. The foreword, written by Shirley Engle, establishes a context for issues-based curriculum. Essays include: "Defining Issues-Centered Education" (Ronald W. Evans; Fred M. Newmann; David Warren Saxe); "Building a Rationale for Issues-Centered Education" (Anna S. Ochoa-Becker); "The Engle-Ochoa Decision Making Model for Citizenship Education" (Rodney F. Allen); "Using Issues in the Teaching of American History" (David Warren Saxe); "World History and Issues-Centered Instruction" (Richard E. Gross); "Issues-Centered Approaches to Teaching Geography Courses" (A. David Hill; Salvatore J. Natoli); "Issues-Centered Global Education" (Merry M. Merryfield; Connie S. White); "An Approach to Issues-Oriented Economic Education" (Beverly J. Armento; Francis W. Rushing; Wayne A. Cook); "Teaching Issues-Centered Anthropology, Sociology, and Psychology" (Jerry A. Ligon; George W. Chilcoat); "Issue-Centered Curricula and Instruction at the Middle Level" (Samuel Totten; Jon Pedersen); "An Issues-Centered Curriculum for High School Social Studies" (Ronald W. Evans; Jerry Brodkey); "Assessing Student Learning of an Issue-Oriented Curriculum" (Walter C. Parker); "International Social Studies: Alternative Futures" (James L. Barth); "International Relations/Foreign Policy Teaching Resources" (Mary E. Soley); "Domestic Economic Policy" (Ronald A. Banaszak); "Teaching about International Human Rights" (Nancy Flowers); and "Children's Rights" (Beverly C. Edmonds). An afterword is provided by James Shaver. (EH)