Using student-centered teaching methods presents a great challenge to many new middle and high school history teachers. Having experienced mostly teacher-centered instructional approaches (such as lectures and teacher-led discussions) in secondary school and college classes, they begin student...

We contend that a major purpose of education is to prepare students to be active and critical partici-pants in our democracy. To facilitate this goal, students should acquire a repertoire of literacy skills that enable them to think critically about text and make judgments about what they read,...

Most educators recognize that social studies methods courses emphasize connecting knowledge to life, through experiential learning and actions based on individual and civic values. The authors developed a required participation lesson for secondary methods students to assure that future teachers...

Historical women played a key role as social advocates for people and most especially, children of immigrant families. Educators for social justice bring lives and actions of women into the social studies curriculum and instruction to inspire students to become critically questioning citizens...

Social studies teachers possess a daunting task in a 21 st century environment of economic-mindedness and technological infatuation. In a setting of individualism and instant gratification, enabling a future citizenry to realize the patterns of economic disparity and to accept their...