Promising Practices in Civic Education. INSTITUTION National Council for the Social Studies, Washington, D.C
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 037 807 EA 002 654 AUTHOR Robinson, Donald W.; And Others TITLE Promising Practices in Civic Education. INSTITUTION National Council for the Social Studies, Washington, D.C. SPONS AGENCY Danforth Foundation, St. Louis, Mo. PUB DATE 67 NOTE 381p. AVAILABLE FROM National Council for the Social Studies,Nat. Educ. Assn., 1201 Sixteenth St., N.W., Washington,D.C. 20036 ($4.00 paper, $5.00 cloth) EDRS PRICE EDRS Price MF-$1.50 HC Not Available fromEDRS. DESCRIPTORS *Citizenship, *Civics, Community, CreativeArt, Critical Thinking, Decision Making,*Democratic Values, *High Schools, Human Living,Information Seeking, Innovation, InternationalEducation, Objectives, Public Opinion, SocialSciences, *Social Studies, Technological Advancement ABSTRACT The survey reported in this volumeis one of four separate projects for an integrated studyof civic education financed by the Danforth Foundation. Visitswere made to 83 schools in 27 States selected from a list of 300 nominations.The selected junior and senior high schoolswere reputed to have promising practices in citizenship education. They representedall geographical areas - -miner -city, suburban, and rural--andwere located in communities with populations fromunder 2,000 to more thana million. The first three chapters of thisreport identify the project team's beliefs concerning contemporary educationalchallenges, goals for civic education, and methodsfor approaching these goals. Chapters 4, 5, and 6 include descriptions ofschool practices, arbitrarily grouped according to the citizenshipgoals they most strongly exemplify. Chapters 7 through 11 discussadministrative arrangements and other factors that facilitate civiceducation, Finally, chapter 12 presents a restatement of civiceducation ideals in the light of the practices observed in theschools. (MF) u I I 410 NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR THE SOCIAL STUDIES PROMISING PRACTICES IN PROCESS WITH MICROFICHE AND PUBLISHER'S PRICES. MICRO- FICHE REPRODUCTION ONLY CIVICEDUCATION By Donald W. R9binson In collaboration with U.S. DEPARTMENT Of HEALTH, EDUCATION & WELFARE Harold E. Oyer Of fICE Of EDUCATION Elmer F. Pflieger Daniel Roselle THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRODUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVEDFROM THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGINATING IT.POINTS Of VIEW OR OPINIONS STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT OFFICIAL OffICEOf EDUCATION POSITION OR POLICY. National Council for the SocialStudies A DEPARTMENT OF THE NATIONALEDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATION 11201 Sixteenth Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036 Price $4.00 paperbound; $5.00 clothbound at/ -J. 4 NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR THE SOCIAL STUDIES Civic Education Project Team Chairman: Donald W. Robinson Associate Editor, Phi Delta Kappan Harold E. Oyer Elmer F. Pflieger Superintendent of Public Schools Director, Department of Social Studies Elkhart, Indiana Detroit, Michigan, Public Schools Daniel Roselle Professor of History State University College Fredonia, New York Advisory Committee to the Civic Education Project Stanley E. Dimond, Chairman William H. Hartley University of Michigan Towson State College (Maryland) Adeline Brengle Merrill F. Hartshorn Elkhart, Indiana, Public Schools National Council for the Social Studies Rose Brennan Franklin Patterson Torrington, Connecticut, PublicSchools Hampshire College (Massachusetts) Richard E. Gross Natalie J. Ward Stanford University Los Angeles, California, Public Schools Permission to reproduce this copyrighted work has been granted to the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) and to the organization operating under contract Copyright 1967 by the National Council for the Social Studies Libra), of Congress Catalog Card Number 67-27006 ._ with the Office to Education to reproduce documentsin- cluded in the ERIC system bymeans of microfiche only, but this right is not conferred toany users of the micro- fkhe received from the ERIC Document Reproduction Service. Further reproduction ofany part requires per- mission of the copyright owner. To Howard E. Wilson 1901-1966 This book is dedicated to Howard E. Wilson,a pioneer in civic educa- tion, Past Secretary, Past President, and loyal supporter of the National Council for the Social Studies. Dr. Wilson first attracted national atten- tion by his investigation of the status of citizenship education in the State of New York, a study which resulted in the publication in 1938 of the book Education for Citizenship. Hewas one of the team members who wrote in 1940 the volume Learning the Ways of Democracy. In his last year of active service before his untimely death, he continued his .-apport of civic education projects at the University of California at Los Angeles, where he servedas Dean of the School of Education, and he strongly supported the project that culminated in thisreport. In a long and varied career as teacher, author, international educator, and dean, he always gave major interest to the social studies and civic education. NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR THE SOCIAL STUDIES Officers for 1967 President Directors Richard E. Gross School of Education Ruth 0. M. Andersen Stanford University James M. Becker Stanford, California Adeline Brengle President-Elect Ralph W. Cordier Rose L. Chow Hoy State University of Pennsylvania Indiana, Pennsylvania Helen M. Garrett Vice-President Jean D. Grambs Ronald 0. Smith William H. Hartley Portland Public Schools Portland, Oregon Francis W. Mann Editor, Social Education Lawrence E. Metcalf Lewis Paul Todd Washington, D.C. Isidore Starr Executive Secretary Merrill F. Hartshorn 1201 Sixteenth Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036 The National Council for the Social Studies is the Department of Social Studies of the National Education Association of the United States. It is the professional organization of teachers of social studies. It holdsa series of meetings each year and publishes materials of significance to those interested in this field. Membership in the National Council carries with ita subscrip- tion to the Council's official journal, Social Education, the monthlymaga- zine for social studies teachers, and the Yearbook. In addition, the Council publishes bulletins, pamphlets, and other materials of practicaluse for teachers of the social studies. Membership duesare $9 a year. Applications for membership and orders for the purchase of publications should be made to the Executive Secretary, 1201 Sixteenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036. vi PREFACE Here is essentially a most helpful NCSS handbook for civic learning and action. The many socio-civic qualities and competencies identified in this volume are organized for reference under 11 citizenship goals. These goals or overall categories were established byour visiting team of observers as they followed citizenship activities in visitsto 83 schools in 27 states. Although the focus is frequentlyon the social studies class, the heart of citizenship education, promising practiceswere often identified in many other elements of the schoolprogram as well. The socio-civic goals of society, those of the school, of citizenship education, and of the social studies are so intermingled that itwas not possible to delineate a single, all-encompassing definition of citizenship education. These diffi- culties proved a virtue, however, foras a result, we are provided with a wide variety of examples that have application in numerious and differ- ent situations. The Vietnam war, integration marches, youth in revolt, the "hippy" epidemics, narcotics arrests, draft card andeven flag burning have all vii Viii/ PROMISINGPRACTICES brought adults a mounting degree of irritation andworry. The pendulum of public concern now, once again,vings toward the challenges of citizenship education. This volumeapp, s at a propitious time, with its valuable guidelines which should enable instructorsto help channel youthful energy and concern into positive citizenship practices. Herein we are introduce(' again and again to themeans that teachers and schools are employing to meet the dilemma of citizenshipeducation: How ate we to promote healthy value orientations at thesame time that we develop objective young social analysts? We are indebted toour team of observersHarold Oyer, Elmer Pflieger, Donald Robinson,and Daniel Rosellefor the insights they have provided towardanswering the foregoing dilemma. To the pupils, teachers, and officials of themany schools contacted, who so graciously receivedour representatives, the National Council for the Social Studies isvery thankful. We appreciate the efforts of NCSS leaders and committees, especially the guidance of the Advisory Committee chaired by Stanley E. Dimond, who helped shape the study and eventually this report. On behalf of the writingteam we express our appreciation to Aleta Clayton for her editorial assistance and for seeing the manuscript through the printingprocess. We also extend our gratitude to the Danforth Foundation for itssupport in hi, *king this study. Richard E. Gross 1 INTRODUCTION ORIGINS AND PURPOSES OF THE STUDY In the fall of 1963, negotiations were begun by the Committee for Edu- cational Policies (now the Council on Civic Education) for support of an integrated study of civic education. The Danforth Foundation of St. Louis granted $500,000 for the study, which included four separate projects. One of these, conducted by the Survey Research Center at the University of Michigan, was a nationwide survey of political socializa- tion of high school seniors. Another, centered at the University of Cali- fornia at Los Angeles, concentrated on the construction of a 5th-grade teaching unit