Full Description
Social studies is a field in crisis. The crisis stems from a lack of understanding in the very foundation of social studies purpose in public education: civic education. Social studies theorists have not put forth a coherent method to teach civic education due to the public being unable to agree upon a general definition of civic education. This issue has disrupted the field since the early days. As educators sought to include civic education within public schools with a dedicated field, social studies evolved into a blending of history, social sciences, and civic education. Social studies' evolution never resolved the differences between the three. Instead of creating a unified field, the disciplines devalued social studies and thus any discipline associated with it. This book investigates the changing definitions and purposes ascribed to social studies in the United States through time. This result can be viewed through the rising tensions from culture wars as America's divisive politics fights to control the narrative of the disciplines within social studies.
Contents
Introduction: Social Studies is/are
Chapter One: Making History Part of the Curriculum
Chapter Two: What is Civic Education
Chapter Three: Combining History and Civic Education
Chapter Four: A Social Studies Curriculum65
Chapter Five: What Happened to History Education?
Chapter Six: Cold War Comes to Social Sciences
Chapter Seven: A New Set of Controversies
Chapter Eight: Creating a National Crisis
Chapter Nine: Standards to Address the National Crisis
Chapter Ten: The Realm of Accountability
Chapter Eleven: The Nation's Report Card
Appendix A: Chart of Major Social Studies Committees
Appendix B: Timeline of Social Studies Standards
Appendix C: NAEP Schedule
References
Endnotes
