Chapter Raport

8/8/2019 Chapter Raport

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Part

The Goal of Social

Studies Education

(Source: Robb Mitchell, Lake Washington School District, Seattle.)

Part I describes the goals of social studies education in a post-industrial world society and sets

forth the essential components of an effective social studies curriculum. Chapter 1 describes

some of the characteristics of the postindustrial world and the kind of social studies

curriculum needed to help students acquire the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to

become effective citizen actors in our nation and world. It presents a rationale for a social

studies curriculum focused on decision-making and reflective citizen action. The essential

components of decision-making are discussed and illustrated. They include scientific,

interdisciplinary, and higher-level knowledge, value analysis and clarification, and the

synthesis of knowledge and values.

2 The Goal of. Social Studies Education

Sound decisions must be derived from scientific and interdisciplinary

knowledge. Knowledge from any one discipline is. too limited to enable the citizen

actor to fully understand the complexity of human behavior and to make reflective

decisions on personal and public issues. Because each of the social science disciplines

provides us with a unique lens with which to view the human drama. the

reflective citizen actor must be able to see human behavior from diverse

disciplinary perspectives. Chapter 2 illustrates ways in which teachers can


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conceptualize, plan, and teach.rerdisciplinary social studies units that are based

on higher-level concepts and generalizations and that focus on important topics and

social issues.

Refl ective ci tizen act ors must not only be able to use interdisciplinary-knowledge

derived from s everal disciplines, t hey must also.understand the nature of social

inquiry. be aware of its assumptions, and be able to use the method themselves when

it is necessary and appropriate. The first part of Chapter 3 describes the nature of social

inquiry and illustrates ways in which teachers can help students to develop social inquiry

skills. The second part of the chapter discusses the nature of social knowledgefacts, concepts,

generalizations, and theories and ways to help students derive this knowledge. Chapter 4

focuses on questioning strategies, which are an integral and important part of social inquiry

and the decision-making process.

THE SOCIAL STUDIES

IN A POST-INDUSTRIAL WORLD SOCIETY

The social studies is that part of the elementary and high school curriculum which has the

primary responsibility for helping students to develop the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and

values needed to participate in the civic life of their local communities, the nation, and the

world. While the other curriculum areas also help students to attain some skills needed to

participate in a democratic society, the social studies is the only area that has the development

of civic competencies and skills as its primary goal.

Helping students become effective citizens in today's world is a tremendous challenge

because of the enormous changes in our global society. Futurists agree that we are living in a

world society characterized by rapid and tumultuous changes. The unprecedented changes


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sweeping our world society are neither temporary nor fleeting, but are signs that we are

entering a new society and age in which many of our traditional values, assumptions, and

behaviors will be challenged. New value problems and issues will also arise, as problems related

to such developments as the eroding of the ozone layer of the atmosphere, biogenetic

engineering, the nuclear challenge. and the aging of the population in Western societies

become increasingly important.

Futurists use different words to describe the emerging world society. Alvin Toffler

calls it the "Third Wave" society. John Naisbitt refers to it as the "information society.-:..Daniel

Bell prefers the term "post-industrial society."' These writers agree that the emerging

world society will differ markedly from the industrial age that dominated Western

democratic societies during the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth centuries. While

the indus-

tr ia l age was characterized by the production of 'goods. the pot -industrial society

will-

be increasingly characterized by services and the production of knowledge. Bell

believes that a knowledge or information class will emerge..

The post-industrial society will also be _characterized by global rather tha n

national economies. international problems that will require global rather than

national solutions, and diversity in life-styles, values, beliefs, cult in es. and political

sentiments. offler writes, ". . . begin to a new kind of social ordrno longer a

mass society, but a hi gh-cha nge, high -

,

de-massilied civilization."' 'Wrier believes that almost everyone


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be a member of some kind of minority group in the post-industrial society. whether

cultural, social, religious, or political.

The futurists also point out that participatory democracy will increasingly characterize

post-industrial societies. More peOple will want to participate in the decisions affecting

their livesnot only in polit ics, 'but on their jobs.' Much political activity will occur at

the local and regional rather than at the national level. Decentralization, or the

dispersal of power and decision-making, will be one of the characteristics of post-

industrial society.

A. social studies curriculum designed to help students develop the knowledge, skills, -

and values needed to effectively participate in a post-industrial world society must have

characteristics different from traditional social studies curricula. Traditional social

studies curricula emphasize the masterV of low-level facts, such as the names of rivers,

capital cities, and important dates. Traditional social studies is also characterized by a

focus on the Western world, the development of a tenacious and nonreflective

nationalism. textbook-centered teaching, and scant attention to citizen action.

A social studies curriculum consistent with the changing world society in which we

live must focus on higher levels of knowledge rather than on facts. teach about

developing as well as Westernized nations. use a variety of teaching materials, and help

students to develop clarified, reflective, and positive identifications with their local

cultures, nation-state, and the world.{

Helping students to develop a reflective identification with their nation, state is

necessary but not sufficient in today's world society. Solutions to many of the most pressing

world problems require cooperation by citizens in many different parts of the world. Citizens

who have a clarified and reflective identification with the world community are needed to


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help solve the most pressing problems that face humankind. A modernized social studies

curriculum should also help students to develop the knowledge, skills and commitment

needed to participate in action to shape public policy in their communities, nation,

and the world.

THE GOALS OF THE SOCIAL STUDIES

The major goal of t h'e social studies is to prepare citizens who can make reflective

decisions and participate successfully in the civic life of their communities, nation, and the

world. Goals in four categories contribute to this major goal: (1) knowledge, (2) skills, (3)

attitudes and values, and (4) citizen action.

PROFILE

Lester R. Brown

Analyzing Global Trends and Urging Action

Lester R. Brown is President and Senior Researcher with Worldwatch Institute, a nonprofit

Washington-based research institute devoted to the analysis of emerging global trends. In a

series of annually published books called State of the World. Brown and his colleagues at

the Worldwatch Institute describe the changing physical characteristics of the planet earth. A

recent edition indicates that the earth's forests are shrinking, its deserts expanding, and its

soils erodingall at record rates. Each year thousands of plants and animal species disappear,


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many before they are named or catalogued. The very temperature of the earth appears to be

rising, posing, a threat of unknown dimensions to virtually all the life-support systems on

which humanity depends."

Brown does not describe the deteriorating state of the earth to counsel despair. Rather,

he presents facts about the physical condition of the earth to urge world leaders and citi2.ens

to take decisive actions to save endangered earth and human life. Increasing public concern

about the eroding of the ozone layer of the atmosphere has given his work a growing

audience. He recommends specific actions to protect the earth. such as "reforesting the

earth, avoiding a mass extinction of species. redesigning farming and industry to curtail toxic

chemicals, and rene%%ing the global commitment to family planning." [Lester Brown et al..

State of the World 1988 (New York: W. W. Norton, 1988).]

- Knowledge

Students must master knowledge in order to make reflective decisions and to participate

effectively in their civic communities. Knowledge in the social studies curriculum is

usually drawn from the social. science disciplines and from history. However, it may

also be drawn from the humanities, as well as from other sources if it is needed by

the citizen actor to make decisions and to take actions. Philosophy is frequently

drawn upon iii the social studies help students identify and clarify their values.

To make reflective decisions. citizen actors must use higher levels of

knowledge, sack as concepts. generalizations, and theories. The social science

disciplines are discussed in Part III.

Skills


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Skill goals are very important in the social studies. They can he categorized as follows:

Thinking- Ski/t+: These skills include the ability to conceptualize, to interpret. to

analyze, to generalize, to apply knowledge, and to evaluate

k n o w l e d g e . ' -

Social Science Inquiry Skills: These skills include the ability to formulate scientific

questions and hypotheses, to collect pertinent data, and to use the data to test

hypotheses and to derive generalizations. Social science inquiry skills are discussed

in Chapter 3.

Academic or Study Skills: These skills include the ability to locate, organize, and

acquire information through reading, to acquire information through listening and

observing, to communicate orally and in writing. to interpret pictures, charts, graphs,

and tables, to construct time lines. to-take notes, to make charts, and to read and

interpret maps.6

Group Skills: These skills include the ability to perform effectively both as a leader

and as'a follower in solving group problems. to participate in group research

projects, t o help set group goals, t o use power effectively and fairly in group

situations, to make useful contributions to group projects, to communicate effectively

in a group, and to help resolVe controversy in groups.' Skills are discussed in Chapters

3, 4. 5. and 6.

Attitudes and Value Goals

Citizens must develop a commitment to democratic and humane values. such as human

dignity and equality, in order to make reflective decisions and to take action consistent with

the idealized values of the nation-state. However, it is inconsistent to try to develop


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commitments to democratic values by using

indoctrination approaches. Modern social studies curricula try to help students develop a

commitment to democratic values by teaching them a process for identifying the sources of

their values, analyzing and clarifying their values, and justifying their values. The.

social

studies should also help students to state the possible consequences of their value choices.

A value inquiry model is presented and discussed in Chapter 13.

Citizen Action Goals

The social studies curriculum should provide opportunities for students to participate in

projects and activities that will develop a greater sense of political efficacy and teach skills

useful in influencing social and civic institutions. The National Council for the Social

Studies Curriculum Guidelines emphasizes the importance of citizen action in the social

studies:

Extensive involvement by students of all ages in the activities of their community is

essential. Many of these activities may be in problem areas held, at least by some, to

be controversial. The involvement may take the form of observation or information-

seeking, attending meetings, and interviews. It may take the form of political

campaignihg. community service or improvement, or even responsible

demonstrations. The school should not only provide channels for such activities, but

build them into the design of its K-12 social studies program.8

The primary goal of citizen action projects undertaken in the social studies should be

to provide experiences whereby students can attain a sense of personal, social, and civic


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efficacy, and not simply serve the community However, the most effective projects contribute

to each of these goals. Citizen action is discussed in detail in Chapter 15.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A MODERN SOCIAL

STUDIES CURRICULUM

We stated that a modern social studies curriculum helps students develop the ability to make

reflective decisions and to successfully participate in the civic life of their communities. We

have also noted that it helps students develop mastery in four goal areas: (1) knowledge, (2)

skills, (3) attitudes and values, and (4) citizen action. The effective social studies curriculum

also has other characteristics.

It helps students develop the knowledge, attitudes, values, and skills needed to deal

reflectively with the major social issues and problems in our nation and world. The rights of

the handicapped, the problems of women, ethnic and racial problems, human rights, and the

problems of senior citizens are some of the salient and enduring unresolved social issues that

continue to evoke controversy within the United States and in other nations. Global and

The Goal of Social Studie's Education

The social studies curriculum should help students to develop the knowledge, skills,

and attitudes needed to participate in action to shape public policy in their

communities, nation, and world. (Source: Washington State Office of Public

instruction; Toledo Public Schools; Robb Mitchell. Lake Washington School District

(Seattle): Edna Kellman. Seattle Public Schools.)


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international topics, issues, and problems should also be an important part of the social

studies in all grades.

A major goal of the social studies should be to help develop citizens who have the

commitment and the skills needed to help close the gap between the democratic ideals of our

nation and societal realities. Throughout U.S. history, the rights of various groups have

continued to expand. However, there is still a wide gap between our democratic ideals and

societal realities. The social studies curriculum should provide a forum where students can

openly examine the conditions of various groups in society, analyze and clarify their values

related to these groups and issues. decide on courses of action, and take citizen action when

it is appropriate and feasible. Chapter 7 is devoted to teaching social issues.

A modern social studies curriculum is also characterized by unit teaching and the use of

a wide variety of resources. Wood defines a unit as:

The Social Studies: Nature and Goals

An organization of various activities, experiences, and types of learning around a

central problem, or purpose, developed cooperatively by a group of pupils under-

teacher leadership; involves planning, execution of plans, and evaluation of results.'

Units may or may not be developed cooperatively by the teacher and the students.

However, they do provide for both group and individual projects and activities and

consequently allow students to play an important role in determining the direction of their

own learning. A unit may be organized around a topic such as "Canada: Our Neighbor to

the North," around a concept such as culture, or around a decision-problem or issue such as

"What Actions Should We Take Regarding World Hunger and Poverty?"


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SCOPE AND SEQUENCE

IN THE SOCIAL STUDIES CURRICULUM

out the United States. In the earliest grades the social studies curriculum is usually characterized

by units and learning experiences fecusing on the most familiar institutions and social systems, such

as the home, the .family, the school, the neighborhood, and the community. State history is usually

studied in the. fourth .grade. United StateS history is usually studied in three grades: fifth, eighth, and

eleventh.

Within these broad topic categories, a wide variety of approaches are used to teach the social

studies in U.S. schools. At the high school level, many schools offer a variety of elective coursessuch

as sociology, psychology, and problems of democracy. Primary grade teachers use many different

approaches to teach about the school, the family, and the community.

Teachers can implement many of the characteristics of a modern social studies curriculum within

the traditional scope and sequence pattern that dominates U.S. schools. Primary grade teachers can

teach about the family and the community by requiring students to -Memorize isolated facts. Too

often this is done. However, topics such as the family and the community can also be taught by using

key concepts from the social science disciplineS to organize lessons and units, and to teach students

how to conceptualize, to generalize, and to analyze their values.j Chapter 2 illustrates how a unit

on the family can be organized around key social science concepts. A unit on "Women in

Amefican History-Textbooks" in Chapter 3 illustrates how topics in U.S. history can be taught

while teaching students social science inquiry skills. Throughout this book, we suggest ways in

which teachers can teach higher-level concepts and skills, value analySis, decision-making, and

citizen action within the context of the dominant social studies curriculum pattern in U.S. schools.


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THE EXPANDING COMMUNITIES. OF HUMANS

Thescope (what is taught and in what depth) andsequence (when it is taught) pattern' that

dominates the social studies curriculum in' the United States was heavily influenced by Paul R.

Hanna. Hanna believed students should study smaller communities first and then increasingly larger

ones. Hanna called this sequence the "Expanding Communities of Men." This pattern had dominated

the social studies curriculum for many years when Hanna restated it in an important article

published in 1963.' Hanna emphasized that students should study the various human

communities in the sequence described below. He noted that the specific grade placement of each

of these communities was less important than thesequence suggested.

The child's fanfily community The child's school

The child's neighborhood

The child's local communities: city, county, metropolis, country The child's state

community

The child's region-of-states community

The U.S. national community

U.S. and Inter-American community

U.S. ,and Atlantic community

U.S. and Pacific community

U.S. and world community

Hanna's expanding communities of humans concept was severely criticized by some

social studies educators during the 1960s and 1970s. They criticized it for a variety of

reasons. They questioned the assumption that students should only study those communities in

which they functioned most intimately and argued that television often brings distant


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communities within reach of today's youth. They also argued that the expanding

communities concept often leads to an overemphasis on the Western world and to the

neglect of non-Western nations, women's history and culture, and the experiences of ethnic

groups in the United States. However, despite the strong criticisms it received during the

1960s and 1970s, the expanding communities of humans pattern is the most common social

studies scope and sequence plan in the Lnited States. However, counties, states, and school

districts often implement the plan in diverse and creative ways. California departed from it

significantly in the framework it adopted in 1987 (see pages 15-16).

When Superka and his colleagues studied social studies topics in the United States. they

found that the following topics were the most frequently taught at the grade levels indicated."

Notice how similar this sequence is to Hanna's expanding communities of humans pattern.

Grade Topic

Kindergarten Self, school, community, home

1. Families2. Neighborhoods3. Communities4. State history, geographic regions5. United States history6. World cultures, Western hemisphere


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7. World geography or history8. American history

9. Civics or world cultures10.World history11.American history12.American government

The Goal of Social Studies Education

Examples of Topics and Units

for Grades Kindergarten Through Eight

Below is a list of social studies topics and units that are usually studied in the elementary and junior

high school grades. What is taught in each grade varies widely according to school district.

However, our intent bett. is to describe what might be a typical sequence of topics and units

foi-

level.

KINDERGARTEN

Social studies units in kindergarten usually help children to develop a better understanding of

themselves and other people. The school, the home, and holidays and celebrations are typical

topics.

How we are alike and different Rules at honk and

at school Holidays and celebrations


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Our wants and needs

FIRST GRADE

Units in the first grade often deal with relationships in the home and school. A range of social

science concepts can be used in the first grade to help students gain new perspectives on

family and school life.

What is a family:

Kinds of families

How we help our families

How families change

How schools and families are alike and different What people do in

schools

Conflict and cooperation at home and at school

SECOND GRADE

Units in the second grade often focus on the neighborhood, people in groups, and

groups and neighborhoods in other communities and nations.

What is a group?

Groups we belong to

What is a neighborhood?

Why do groups Change:

Why do neighborhoods change?


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Cooperation and- conflict in groups and neighborhoods

How groups and neighborhoods help us satisfy our needs and wants A neighborhood in

Japan

THIRD GRADE

Units in the third grade often focus on local communities, the city, and communities' and

cities in other nations.

What is a city?

What is a community?

How people meet their needs in communities

How people meet their needs in cities

A comparison of three cities: Washington, D.C., Tokyo, and Rome How cities are

governed

The economic life of cities

FOURTH GRADE

Common topics in the fourth grade are the state, the world as the home of humans. and

regions of the United States and the world.

The first peoples of our state

The government and economy of our state The history of our

sUnits in the sixth grSde often focus on the geography of the earth and thepeoples who live in various parts of the world.


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tate

Regions of South America

Regions of the United States

The peoples and cultures of Africa

FIFTH GRADE

The geography, history, and culture of the United States are the most common fifth-grade

topics. The early periods of United States history are usually emphasized. The rest of North

America and nations in South America are also sometimes studied.

The First Americans

European explorations in America

The growth of the European colonies in America

The quest for independence The birth of a new

nation

The people_s and cultures of the United States

Women in United States history

The cultures and peoples of Latin America

Canada: our northern neighbor

SIXTH GRADE

The geographic and cultural regions of the world The peoples and

cultures of Africa


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The peoples and cultures of Australia

The peoples and cultures of Asia

The peoples and cultures of Eastern Europe The peoples and

cultures of Western Europe The peoples and cultures of the

Middle East

SEVENTH GRADE

In the seventh grade, students frequently continue the study of world cultures and

regions begun in the sixth grade.

Greek and Roman civilizations

The spread of Islam

Medieval days and ways in Europe

The development of nations

Science. reason, and the Enlightenment The nature of the

non-Western world Conflict and challenge in the Middle

East

EIGHTH GRADE

The history and development of the United States is studied in the fifth, eighth, and

eleventh grades. The intent in the eighth grade is to give students a more in-depth

understanding of the nature of United States history and culture than was gained in

fifth grade.

The cultures of North America before the coming of the Europeans The Europeans


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explore the Americas

The European colonies in America The American

Revolution

A new nation

The westward movement

Ethnic groups in American history Women who left

their marks on history Slaves and the slave community

A divided nation

The long, sad war

The United States as a world power

THE SCOPE AND SEQUENCE DEBATE

The "Expanding Communities of Humans-

scope and sequence plan is the

dominant one in U.S. schools. It has, however, stimulated much controversy and

debate within the last decade. Few social studies educators are completely

satisfied with it. However, it has remained prevalent in part be cause there is little

agreement- about what should replace it. The National Council for the Social Studies

(NCSS) has been active in efforts to develop a new scope and sequence plan. It has

sponsored a number of debates and hearings at its national meetings about what

should be an appropriate social studies scope and sequence for the twenty-first

century. In 1982, the Council appointed a Task Force on Scope and Sequence to

develop a plan for the profession to consider, debate, and possibly endorse.

The plan developed by the Task Force, which was issued as a preliminary position


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statement by the Council, stimulated much discussion and debate.'`' However, it brought

social studies educators no closer to consensus about what should be an appropriate

scope and sequence plan for students in the twenty-first century. Many social studies

educators observed that obtaining national consensus about an appropriate social

studies scope and sequence plan for the United States was neither possible nor

desirable. However, other educators and many publishers believe that a nationally

accepted scope and sequence plan is both possible and essential. Publishers would like

such a plan to help them to develop and publish marketable textbooks. Some social

studies educators believe that all U.S. students should experience a common social

studies curriculum that will enable them to acquire essential knowledge, insights, and

values about their nation and the world.

The NCSS Task Force on Scope and Sequence did not embrace a particular scope

and sequence plan. However, it did develop an illustrative scope and sequence plan

(see Table 1.1) that can be used to develop the knowledge, values and beliefs, and

skills the Task Force identified. The NCSS continues its effort to identify the

knowledge and skills in the social studies needed for effective citizenship in the

nation and world. It has appointed a National Commission on the Social Studies to

identify the components of an effective social studies curriculum for U.S. citizens. The

Commission consists of distinguished scholars and social studies educators as well as

prominent citizens.

A HISTORY-BASED SOCIAL STUDIES CURRICULUM

In 1987, the California State Board of Education adopted a social studies curriculum

framework that differs in several significant ways from the expanding communities


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of humans framework described earlier in this chapter." It is centered in the

chronological study of history, emphasizes history as a story or narrative,

incorporates the study of literature to deepen historical understanding, and

introduces a new curricular approach for grades kindergarten through three (see

Table 1.2). Biographies, myths, fairy tales, and historical tales are used extensively

in these grades to evoke interest in history and to enhance historical understanding.

The California framework also emphasizes studying selected historical events in

depth rather than covering many events superficially, incorporates a multicultural

perspective throughout, and requires the study of world history in three

different

The Goal of Sqcial Studies Education

KindergartenAwareness of Self in a Social Setting

Grade 1The Individual in Primary Social Groups: Understanding School and

Family Life

Grade 2Meeting Basic Needs in Nearby Social Groups: The Neighborhood

Grade 3Sharing Earth-Space with Others: The Community

Grade 4Human Life in Varied Environments: The Region

Grade 5People of the Americas: The United States and Its Neighbors

Grade 6 People and Cultures: The Eastern Hemisphere .

Grade 7A Changing World of Many Nations: A Global View


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Grade 8Building a Strong and Free Nation: The United States

Grade 9Systems That Make a Democratic Society Work: Law, Justice, and

Economics

Grade 10Origins of Major Cultures: A World History

Grade 11The Maturing of America: United States History

Grade 12One-year course or courses requiredselection(s) to be made from

the following:

Isues and Problems of Modern Society

Introduction to the Social Sciences

The Arts in Human Societies

International Area Studies-

Social Science Elective Courses: Anthropology, Economics, Government,

Psychology, Sociology

SOURCE: Reprinted with permission of the National Council for the Social

Studies from "In Search of a Scope and Sequence for Social Studies," Social

Education, Vol. 48 (April 1984), pp. 254-255.

grades: six, seven, and ten. The framework also provides for students participate in

school and community service programs and activities. The California framework is

also unique because the study of U.S. history and geography is limited to the

twentieth century in the eleventh grade.


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THE PUSH FOR FACTS AND HISTORY

The debate about what should constitute the social studies curriculum was not

confined to social studies educators during the 1980s. Some of the harshest criticisms

of the social studies and the schools in general were penned by specialists in the

academic disciplines who argued that students were graduating from high school who

were culturally illiterate. These students, argued the critics, do not know basic facts

about U.S. history. such as when the Constitution was ratified or when the Civil War

occurred. E. D. Hirsch, Jr., made this argument in his highly successful and widely

reviewed book, Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know."This

book was on The New YorkTimesbest-seller list for almost six months. Its popularity

indicated that it articulated important concerns among U.S. citizens about what students

were

Learning and Working Now and Long Ago

A Child's Place in Time and Space

People Who Make a Difference

Continuity and Change

California: A Changing State

United States History and Geography: Making a New Nation World History

and Geography: Ancient Civilizations

World History and Geography: Medieval and Early Modern Times United States


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History and Geography: Growth and Conflict Elective Courses in History-Social

Science

World History and Geography: The Modern World

United States History and Geography: Continuity and Change in the Twentieth Century

Principles of American Democracy (One Semester) and Economics (One Semester)

SOURCE: Reprinted with permission fromHistory-Social Science Frameworkfor California

Public Schools Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve (Sacramento: California State Department

of Education, 1988), p. 29.

learning in school. An argument similar to Hirsch's was presented by Lynne V. Cheney,

Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities, in The Anierican 1.1emory: A

Report on the flumanities in the Nation' s Public Schools.'' Cheney argued that students

were not literate in U.S. history and literature because the schools emphasized process rather

than content.

Ravitch and Finn extended the argument developed by Hirsch and Cheney. They

attempted to document how little U.S. students know about history-and literature in their book,

What Do Our 17-Year-Olds Know?16

The authors described how students gave many

incorrect answers to multiple-choice test items that assessed their recall of factual knowledge in

history and literature. Ravitch has argued that the replacement of "history" teaching with the

teaching of the "social studies" is the primary cause of what she considers the cultural and

historical illiteracy of the nation's elementary and high school students.17

She believes that the

problem can be solved by teaching students larger doses of history throughout the elementary

and high school grades. She has called the teaching of the other social sciences in the schools

"tot sociology.-Is


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The push for more history in the schools was supported by a number of organizations

and institutions during the late 1980s, including the National Endowment for the

Humanities. In 1988, it funded a Center on History at the University of California

at Los Angeles.'9 The Center examined how history is taught in elementary and

secondary schools. The Bradley Commission on History in Schools developed

recommendations to improve the teaching of history in the nation's schools. The

Commission, foundation-funded, was made up of teachers and prominent historians. In

its rept rt, the Com-mission recommends the study of substantially more history in the

schools."

The tense debate between those who argue that history should be the focus of the

social studies and those who maintain that the social studies should be interdisciplinary, with

an important component of history, has existed for decades. This debate intensifies from

time to time, particularly when the schools are being attacked by reformers, especially by

those outside the formal educational establishment. The Ravitch and Finn book is similar i o

the report published by The New YorkTimes in 1943, which was based on the results of a-

U.S. history test given to college freshmen. It concluded that these students had a "deplorable

lack of knowledge about the United States' past."21

Social studies educators, such as Erling M.

Hunt, argued that the test was "of questionable validity, amateurishly graded, poorly administered,

and concerned exclusively with the ability to remember information.

We will present our interpretation of the new movement for more history and factual

information in the social studies curriculum in Chapter 9, which focuses on the nature and

teaching of history.History is viewedin this bookas animportant butnot dominant part

of the social studies curriculum. An interdisciplinary social studies curriculum, which

draws heavily upon history and geography, as well as upon the behavioral sciencesand

which focuses upon higher levels of knowledge and thinking skillsis essential to helping


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students develop the skills and values needed to make decisions on complex social, political,

and economic issues in our global world society.

DECISION-MAKING: THE HEART OF THE

SOCIAL STUDIES

In an important and influential article published in 1960, Shirley Engle stated that

decision-making should be a major goal of social studies instruction. More recently, Engle

and Ochoa have developed a curriculum framework for a decision-making focused social

studies curriculum.23

The urriculum proposed by Engle and Ochoa has these strands:

Environmental Studies

Institutional Studies

Cultural Studies

Social Problems

Problems in Decision-Making Internship in

Citizenship

Electives

A Democratic School Environment

We also believe that the social studies should help students attain the skills needed to

recognize and solve human problems, analyze and clarify values, and make sound,

reflective decisions that will contribute to the per-


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petuation and improvement of their communities, nation, and world. Our perception of

the proper goal for the social studies resulted largely from a realization that citizensstudents,

homemakers, factory workers, businesspersons, labor leaders, politicans, welfare recipients, and all

othersmust each day make personal and public decisions that will affect their lives and their

community, nation, and vorld. These are the kinds of nagging decision-problems with

which citizens must often deal:

Should I take the job at Tony's or at Bell's?

Should we buy a house, a condominium, or continue to rent? Should we stop

fertilizing our lawn so-

that more fertilizer will be available for crops?

Would Taylor be a better member of Congress than Kitano? Should I vote for or against the

school bond issue?

Should I become active in the Anti-Nuclear Weapons League?

Individuals are not born with the capacity to make reflective decisions. Decision-

making is a skill that must be developed and practiced. When indiViduals develop-

theability to make reflective decisions, they can act intelli-.gently. We believe that the most

important goal of the social studies should be to develop reflective citizen actors. We are

using citizento mean a member of a democratic state or nation. Citizen actorrefers to an

individual who makes a deliberate effort to influence his or her political environment,

including its laws, public policies, values, and the distribution of wealth. The activities in

which he or she participates are citizen ciction.Citizen action may, ofcourse. be effective or

ineffective.


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We are assuming that decision-making skills can be developed, that humans can be

trained to reflect before acting on problems, and that individuals can learn to act on their

freely made decisions. We cannot expect individuals to act on decisions they have been

forced to make. In the decision-making model introduced later in this chapter, the

individual must be able to choose freely from many alternative courses of action,

consistent with human dignity, before we can characterize his or her behavior as decision-

making. This model is discussed in detail in Chapter 15.

Essential Components of the Decision-Making Process

KNOWLEDGE

Reflective decisions cannot be made in a vacuum. Social knowledge is one necessary

component for sound decision-making. If two people (a couple) try to decide whether to join

and be active in the Anti-Nuclear Weapons League. they can make a better decision if they

know the extent of the nuclear buildup in each nation, how successful past negotiations

among the leading powers have been in reducing nuclear proliferation, and what steps

other

Social science inquiry produces the knowledge that students need to make

reflective decisions. This photograph shows a class visiting a community museum to

gather information about the history of their community. (Source: Tern Malinowski,

Northshore School District, Seattle.)

than a nuclear buildup might be successful in preventing conflict and war. By studying

historical and political information on the nuclear arms race, the couple would be able to

make some informed predictions about the possible consequences of an escalating nuclear race

among nations. They could consequently make a more reflective decision about whether to


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join and become active in the Anti-Nuclear Weapons League.

Methods and Ways of AttainingKnowledge Knowledge is needed to make reflective

decisions. There are many ways of knowing or attaining knowledge. Kerlinger has

summarized four methods of knowing described by Charles Peirce, a philosopher.24

When

people use the method of tenacity, they hold firmly to what they know to be trueit is true

because they hold firmly to it and have always believed it. Individuals seek out established

belief when they use the method of authority. When individuals argue that they know

something to be true because it is "agreeable to reason" and self-evident they are using the

a priori method. Peirce argues that we need a method to attain knowledge "by which our

beliefs may be determined by nothing human.. . . The method must be such that the

ultimate conclusion of every man shall be the same. Such is the method of science."25

A further discussion of the hypothetical couple ment_oned a'boy6, will clarify the four

methods of knowing. When trying to decide whether. They should join the Anti-Nuclear

Weapons League, the couple may derive knowledge related to their decision-problem by the

method of tenacityThe couple may conclude that an escalating nuclear race will help to prevent war

and maintain peace among nations. The couple reaches this conclusion because they have

always believed that nations tend to be aggressive and that only the threat of force can maintain

peace.

The couple may have no firm beliefs about the nuclear buildup and little information. They

may seek out an authority to get information about nuclear weapons and the nuclear buildup. The

couple may hear a professor of sociology talk about nuclear weapons on a television talk show.

The professor, who is a strong advocate of a nuclear buildup by his own nation, argues that this is

the only way to maintain peace. He also argues that the Western nations have experienced their

longest period of peace since nuclear weapons were invented and produced.


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The couple may use still a different method for obtaining knowledge about nuclear weapons

and the nuclear buildup. They may, without seeking

"As if worrying about a nuclear disaster isn't bad enough, now they tell us our

school is a fall-out shelter!" (Source: Ford Button. Reprinted with permission). an

authority, or sources of information about nuclear weapons, discuss them and conclude that it is self-

evident that nuclear weapons are needed to keep peace in the world.

Limitations of Ways ofKnowing. Itis not difficult to state the limitations of the ways of knowing

just discussed and illustrated. Some of the methods have more serious limitations than others. The

method of tenacity is not an effective way of gaining knowledge because humans are capable of

believing and holding firmly to almost anything imaginable. A brief study of history and

anthropology will reveal that humans, throughout history, have held beliefs that they later

considered outdated and bizarre. Beliefs in ancestor gods, shamans, witch doctors, and water

witching indicate. the tremendous range of human beliefs that have existed in many times and places.

People's capacity to create beliefs today is .as great as in any previoUs time in history. Some people

refuse to live on the thirteenth floor of an apartment building. Others carry charms, such as a rabbit's

foot, for good luck. Humankind's ability to create. and imagine is one of the most important

characteristics which distinguish h u m a n s f r o m o t h e r p r i m a t e s .

The _method of authority is perhaps the most valuable of the three methods discussed above.

We could not live organized and productive lives without relying a great deal on authorities because

we live in a highly specialized world. When a doctor prescribes medicine, we assume that it will

help heal our illness. We depend on authority when we plan trips using a road map, look up

words in a dictionary, have our income tax completed by an expert, or act on the advice of a

counselor.


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While authorities are necessary in our highly specialized world society, a reliance on authority is

unwise under certain conditions and in some situations. A sociology professor may state

publicly that nuclear arms are needed to keep peace in the world when he does not know

the key facts about nuclear weapons. The professor may be a specialist in small

organizations, and may base his opinions about nuclear war primarily on his. personal

values. Indi% iduals are often perceived as authorities when they lack specific training in a given

area. or they may be assumed to have conclusive information about problems when the

knowledge in the field is scant and sparse. Citizens tend to put too much faith in and to

expect too much from "experts." Persons with complicated medical or learning problems

often expect doctors or educational experts to give them rapid cures or quick solutions. They

are often disappointed-and angry when they discover that experts frequently disagree about

cures and solutions. In our discussion of the nature and teaching of history in Chapter 9, we note how

historians often present conflicting interpretations of the same past events.

As Kerlinger points out. the a priori method of knowing is very limited in deriving

knowledge, because what is self-evident to one person may not be self-evident to another.-

People can hold opposite beliefs about the same things. Each will argue that his or her

knowledge is self-evident. One person may argue that it is self-evident that rapid nuclear

buildups by the major

nations are needed to keep them at peace. Another may :Irgue just as strongly that it is obvious

that the rapid growth of nuclear buildup will lead to a nuclear holocaust.

The Scientific Method: a Way of AttainingKnowledge The limitations of the tenacity, authority,

and a priori methods suggest that we need a more reliable way of attaining valid knowledge.

We should not be bound either by traditional belief systems or the opinions of authorities. A

person should be able to repeat the procedures of the method and derive similar conclusions.


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Different people who use the method should derive similar, if not identical, conclusions. In other

words, the method should be public rather than private. It should be largely independent of the

values and biases of the individual using the method. The method that comes closest to meeting

these requirements is the scientific method. This is the method used by social scientists to derive

knowledge--facts, concepts, generalizations, and theories. We will refer to this method as social

science inquiry orsocialinquiry The steps in social science inquiry are discussed in detail in

Chapter 3.

If our hypothetical couple (trying to decide whether or not to join the Anti-Nuclear Weapons

League) were to use the scientific method to gain the knowledge needed to make a reflective

decision, they would do several specific things. First, they would state clear and researchable

questions related to the decision-problem, such as:

How many nuclear weapons are held by the major powers?

How successful have nuclear weapons been in deterring wars?

How successful have treaties designed to limit nuclear weapons been? What ways can be

used to maintain peace among nations other than a nuclear buildup?

What are the possibilities of a nuclear war starting accidentally?

What are the possibilities for the survival of humans after a nuclear war and a nuclear

winter?

After stating the major questions related to their decision-problem, the couple would then

try to define the major concepts in their questions, such as nuclear weapons, nuclear war,

treaties, andpeace.

Our hypothetical couple would then state some of their own hunches about nuclear weapons


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and their consequences. They would gather data to answer questions and to test hypotheses

from a wide variety of sources, including books, magazines, and primary documents. The

couple would then evaluate, compare, and analyze the data they had gathered. Even though the

couple would use the knowledge in making their decision, they would realize that the

knowledge is tentative and Must be constantly compared with new findings and discoveries.

Our preference for the scientific method is by now clear. While it is not a perfect method,

we believe that it is the most effective and efficient means of obtaining knowledge. Peirce

overstates the value of the scientific method

when he suggests that "our beliefs are determined by nothing

we will point out in our 'discussion of values, the scientific method is based on human values and

assumptions. Bernice Goldmark has insightfully pointed out some of the assumptions on which

this method is based:

The scientific method is based on the assumption that truth is neither absolute nor

unchanging. Rather, truth is a judgment that, by the agreement of an informed community,.

produces desirable results... .

It is on this assumption that we argue that all judgments should be held as hypotheses to be

tested, evaluated, and reconstructed

The scientific method also assumes that people can obtain consensus regarding generalizations

and statements by using a method that is public, systematic, and repeatable. Persons who accept this

method and reject the others value public over private and idiosyncratic knowledge. Thea priori

method, unlike the scientific method, is a private or "internal" method of knowing. An individual

using this method derives conclusions on the basis of what is self-evident to him or her. What's self-

evident to one person may not be self-evident to another. The scientific method attempts to derive


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knowledge that can be independently obtained by persons using the method at different times and

places. However, personal values and assumptions .do affect the products of this method. The

problems we select and the questions we formulate are determined by our values, purposes, and

social environment. These . factors influence the outcome of scientific inquiry. However, these

factors .are less important in social inquiry than they are in other methods of attaining knowledge.

As we indicated above, knowledge is one essential component of the decision-making

process. We prefer the scientific method for attainingknowledge because itis systematic, self-

correctin g, open-ended, and public. Knowledge used to make reflective decisions must be

derived by an inquiry process. Decisions made on the basis of knowledge derived by intuition or

tradition will not satisfy ourreflective criteria. Before students can make reflective decisions,

they must learn to use methods of social science inquiry to derive knowledge in the form of facts,

concepts, generalizations, and theories.

Reflective citizen actors need not independently derive every bit of knowledge they use in

making decisions and solving problems. This would be impractical. Not much human progress

would be made; few reflective decisions would be possible. However, citizen actors cannot

intelligently apply or judge knowledge unless they are aware of the processes used to derive it and

are able to use the methods of the social scientists to derive knowledge when it is necessary and

appropriate (for example, when authorities conflict). In a democratic nation, the scientific method

should not be the exclusive property of a scientific elite. It should be shared by all members of

the society who make decisions that affect the governing of the community, nation, and world.

INQUIRY AND DECISION-MAKING

Social knowledge, derived by a scientific process, is only one Of the essential components of the

decision-making process. Before we discuss other elements , of the process, it is appropriate (1) to


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indicate howsocial science inquiry differs from decision-making and (2) to point out why

social science inquiry is necessary but not sufficient for making reflective decisions. In this

discussion we will also suggest how the ends of social science inquiry and .decision-making

differ.

The basic aim of social science inquiry is to derive knowledge in the form of facts,

concepts, generalizations, and theories. The goal is to accumulate as much knowledge as possible.

While the social scientist is primarily interested in producing knowledge, the decision-maker or

citizen actor is mainly interested in how the knowledge derived by the social scientist can be used to

help him or her solve problems and make decisions.

Social science inquiry produces knowledge; in decision-making, knowledge i s selected,

synthesized, and applied.

However, as we have previously stated, the reflective consumer of knowledge must be familiar with

the methods used by the professional social scientist to derive knowledge and must be able to use

the method.

Knowledge in social science inquiry tends to be specialized. Each group of social

scientists studies only those aspects of reality they feel are the appropriate concerns of

their disciplines. They may ignore many important social problems and issues or study

them from a limited perspective. The social scientist fragments reality in order to study it

from a unique perspective. Reflective decision-makers and citizen actors must use the

knowledge from all the various social science disciplines to solve personal and public

problems. In decision makin g we select, synthesize, and apply knowledge from diverse

sources. No one discipline can adequately help citizen actors to make decisions about the

complex problems that confront humankind.


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Knowledge alone is insufficient for reflective decision-making.

Reflective citizen actors must learn how to synthesize the information they obtain

from many sources and apply it to complex social problems. Figure 1.1 and Tables 1.3 and

1.4 indicate how a citizen actor may attempt to decide what actions he or she should take

regarding global hunger and poverty. Figure 1.1 illustrates how various social scientists

may view the problem. Note how each of the social scientists views the problem from a

very restricted perspective, while the citizen actor attempts to synthesize knowledge

from various disciplines and sources (including his or her own inquiries) and use it in

making a decision that can guide his or her action regarding the problem of global

hunger and poverty. Table 1.3 shows how the decision-maker tries to clarify his or

her conflicting values about global hunger and

Chapter Raport

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