Murry Nelson

Some Possible Effects of World War II on the Social Studies Curriculum.

Abstract Conventional wisdom about curriculum holds that change occurs slowly after extensive design and planning that includes active participation of teachers. A survey of the professional literature, curriculum guides, textbook advertisements, and newspaper articles from the World War II era suggests that, under some conditions, change can be imposed and occur rapidly. Textbooks on air power reached the market quickly for new courses, offerings in German declined dramatically, and courses in preflight, radio, and electricity appeared. In social studies, geography and selected aspects of democratic heritage in United States history were emphasized at the expense of ancient history. Despite some calls for indoctrination of democracy as a faith, educational commissions stressed global awareness, international cooperation, and interdependence of nations as important goals for the social studies. Subsequent events beyond the chronological scope of this paper resulted in some regression in the decade after t...

Social Studies: Something Old, Something New, and All Borrowed.

Abstract This paper dicusses how four trends of New Social Studies 1) social sciences v. social studies, 2) inquiry, 3) ethnic and global perspectives, and 4) attention to the future have historical roots, even if those roots are largely unknown to social studies educators. By examining some of these foundations of social studies and sources or data, we can improve our field. The history of the social studies can serve as a guidepost for decision making in the future of the field.

The Development of the Rugg Social Studies Materials

Abstract The Social Studies materials of Harold O. Rugg were developed and refined over a seventeen year period from 1921–1938 by Rugg and his team of teachers and graduate students at Teachers College, Columbia. The materials were unique in being (1) the first nationally developed and published social studies materials, (2) the first specific junior high social studies materials, (3) the first curriculum materials to compile date from a diverse team of experts—teachers, social scientists, educators, curriculum specialists, psychologists. The materials reflected Ruggs concern for training students to be decision makers in a changing society, and still compare favorably with many social studies series.

The emergence of basketball as an American national pastime: from a popular participant sport to a spectacle of nationhood.

Invented in the USA in 1891, basketball immediately proved a popular pastime among those who played the game but it did not initially rank in the estimation of most American observers as a national pastime. By the twenty-first century, however, basketball had become acclaimed by the media and fans as one of a trio of team sports that stood as national pastimes, alongside baseball and American football. Promoters of basketball have since its invention promoted it as worthy of national pastime status but for much of the first century of its existence it did not quite meet that threshold. Beloved in certain regions and among certain groups, widely played but not as widely watched, basketball remained until the last quarter of the twentieth century outside of the boundaries that denoted national pastime status to most observers in the USA. Beginning in that era, however, a confluence of forces catapulted the game into national pastime status, a new eminence in American popular culture underscored by the debut of Michael Jordan and the ‘Dream Team’ at the 1992 Olympics.

A Citation Analysis of the Handbook of Research on Social Studies Teaching and Learning

Abstract This study evaluated the characteristics of the knowledge included in The Handbook of Research on Social Studies Teaching and Learning with a view toward better understanding the sources of the discourse and the epistemology of the field. The method used was citation analysis. Tallies were computed for the most frequently cited authors, single pieces of scholarship, and journal citations. We found that the field largely relies upon its own scholarship, rather than drawing upon the social sciences for its knowledge base. We also found that new approaches to research focusing on critical, multicultural, and gender-based perspectives have not been widely incorporated into the research base. Overall, it Was concluded that the field appears to remain unclear regarding its purpose(s), traditional in its view regarding knowledge construction, and inward looking in its attempt to develop its knowledge base.

Emma Willard: Pioneer in Social Studies Education.

Abstract The work of Emma Willard was carried on in the 19th century, but is important to social studies today for many reasons. Willard held an integrated view of social science education and her textbooks, which were highly successful, reflect that. Emma Willard was one of the first women in the field of teacher education and she trained many young women in the Troy Female Seminary. Willards interests were in geographic education, and citizenship education, as well as history, views more typical of the 1960s than of the 1860s.

First Efforts toward a National Curriculum: The Committee of Ten's Report on History, Civil Government, and Political Economy.

The Committee on History, Civil Government and Political Economy was one of ten subcommittees of the larger Committee of Ten formed by the National Education Association in 1892 to address the school curriculum. This article examines the report of the smaller committee, its members and its impact then and since. Parallels to actions in the 1990s are drawn to illustrate the continued timeliness of this report.

Teaching Young Children about the Law.

Abstract Here is practical help for teachers who are eager to respond to the need for law-related education.