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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 10 page paper discussing the importance of including social studies in elementary education. One of the goals of social studies education has been to lead students to the point that they can be both critical and reflective thinkers, but that focus traditionally has been only marginally at the junior high school level and has been reserved primarily for high school and college. Studies ranging in age from very new to 30 years old have all found that this population consistently has been disappointing in the level of critical thinking that they have been able to achieve when social studies education begins in earnest in junior high school. One obvious possible solution is to begin social studies in earnest in elementary school rather than keep it as only a passing subject that is only briefly addressed. Bibliography lists 7 sources.
Page Count:
10 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_Socstud.doc
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
of given society and political norms shaped the message of many educators. Through each subsequent decade, curriculum has focused on the elements of social change and the important markers
of national progress and curriculum design has been determined as a feature of the changing times. Recognizing that many social studies programs focused more on memorization than on the
application of social learning, teachers in the 1990s have recognized the need to focus on integrating social problems and social action into the development of curriculum (McCall, 1996).
Just looking at differences between curriculum in the 1950s and curriculum in the 1990s suggests a major transformation in the development of both focus and teacher process in curriculum development
in social studies, and is important to recognizing the need for curriculum to reflect the values of society. Instructors in the 1950s, for example, focused on the post-War values,
the stabilization of the American family, and the acceptance of political elements as a dependent feature of social studies design. But in the 1990s, social studies often incorporates real
life problems, addressing everything from racism and sexism to AIDS and classicism (McCall, 1996). The progression of social studies curriculum since the post-World War II era has been marked by
the development of the National Council for Social Studies, the focus on interdepartmental programs that create more effective bases for the development of social studies programs, and has demonstrated both
political and social impacts significant in each decade. Because a look at the differences between the 1950s curricula and the 1990s curricula demonstrates such significant differentiation, it is necessary
to look at each decade to understand the progression of social studies programs. II. The 1950s The post-World War II era created fundamental educational change,
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