Consideration is given to who or what is to blame for the public's disillusionment about the value of education--politicians, the rebellious 1960s, the communications media, or education itself. The author suggests that public attitudes traditionally waver between extremes, and sees a reaffirmation of faith in education. (Editor/LBH)

The history and literature program described in this lesson plan uses research on broadsides to help students experience news as the American colonists heard it. Broadsides were notices written on disposable, single sheets of paper printed on one side only, intended to have an immediate impact on readers. During three 45-minute classes, students…

What do ninth grade students in the United States know about democracy and democratic principles? What attitudes do they have toward civic issues? What experiences have they had in democratic participation and how engaged do they expect to be in the political arena as adults? How do youth in the United States compare with their peers in other…

This report considers lessons learned from a multi-part research investigation into United States Agency for International Development's (USAID) civic education programming. To better understand how and under what conditions civic education contributes to the development of a more active and informed democratic citizenry, USAID initiated the study…

This book contends that diversity is often to be highly valued, but not always. It should be remembered that many forms of social and religious diversity are at odds with basic commitments to liberty, equality, and civic ideals. The book argues that liberalism has an important but neglected civic dimension, and liberal democrats must take care to…

This National Council for History Education (NCHE) Occasional Paper presents the text of a speech given by Roger Mudd, a former network news correspondent and now a correspondent for the History Channel, to NCHE members. He spoke of his regard for the profession of teaching, and of the difficulty of being a teacher and the respect for teachers…

This essay traces the liberal to conservative changes in U.S. political attitudes and the effect these changes had on progressive and essentialist theories of education from the 1940s to the present. Focus is on the role Arthur Bestor played in these developments. Bestor was a leader of the anti-progressive movement during the 1950s and the most…

A citizen of a democratic country should possess certain attitudes, skills, and knowledge to understand and participate in the process of political decision-making. A discussion on citizenship education must start with defining the concepts that are being used. The paper defines citizenship, democracy, and civil society; describes the four…

In February 2001 the Center for Civic Education conducted the first survey of alumni from the "We the People... The Citizen and the Constitution" program. Three Hundred forty-one alumni, who were eligible to vote in November 2000, participated. Voting and other forms of political engagement formed the core of the study. Since respondents…

Standards for teaching, learning, and assessing civics or democratic citizenship should emphasize two centrally important concepts: (1) constitutionalism; and (2) human rights. If students in schools and citizens in the polity fail to know, value, and act in terms of these concepts, then their prospects for building and maintaining liberal…

This publication contains journal essays and book chapters (from publications of the National Council of Teachers of English) which address trends and issues in elementary language arts education. The following articles appear in the publication's first section, "Writing and a Move to New Literacies": (1) "Sacred Cows: Questioning…

This book explores the relation of state practices and educational knowledge to changes in culture and economics among nations. The 14 articles in the volume are organized around 4 themes: (1) conventional notions of the state that emphasize institutional structures and stability are inadequate for the task of assessing change in education; (2) an…

Asking, Under what conditions and in what circumstances is student activism and protest likely to occur? What situational factors produce differing responses from students?'' this paper reports on the scope and intensity of university student unrest between 1964 and 1969 in 17 countries. (Author/JM)

While testing for the effects that a college course in the politics of race had upon students' attitudes toward blacks, study also provides indirect evidence for substantiating several conditions under which course content is influential for changing political attitudes or behavior. (RJ)

The revision of the standard accounts of the development of education in this country casts grave doubts on the benign motives of our educational leaders and reformers. This article is an example of such revisions. (Editor)