Handbook on Teaching Social Issues

NCSS Bulletin No. 93

By:
Ronald W. Evans, San Diego State University
David W. Saxe

Published 2007

There’s no book like this one for educators interested in issues-centered teaching. More than 40 experts have contributed articles offering comprehensive coverageof the field of social issues education. In addition to a full examination of objectives and methods, contributors show how social issues can be taught as part of history, geography, the social sciences, and global and environmental studies. The challenges of assessment, curriculum, and effective teacher education are fully explored. With its teaching ideas and useful resource section, this book is an indispensable addition to your library!

Contributors include: Shirley Engle, Anna Ochoa-Becker, Jack Nelson, Carole Hahn, Byron Massialas, Jeff Passe, Jesus Garcia, Gloria Ladson-Billings, Merry Merryfield, Patricia Avery, Sam Totten, Bill Wraga, Walter Parker, and James Shaver.

CONTENTS
Foreword. Shirley H. Engle. Part 1. Definition and Rationale. Defining Issues-Centered Education; Building a Rationale for Issues-Centered Education; The Historical Imperative for Issues-Centered Education; Research on Issues-Centered Social Studies. Part 2: Reflective Teaching Strategies. Criteria for Issues-Centered Content; The Engle-Ochoa Decision Making Model for Citizenship Education; Preparing Citizens to Participate in Public Discourse: The Public Issues Model; Teaching Controversial Issues Through Massialas and Cox Inquiry; Critical Pedagogy and Social Education; Discussion Method in an Issues-Centered Curriculum. Part 3. Cultural Diversity. Multicultural Issues in the Classroom: Race, Class and Gender; Issues-Centered Education for Language-Minority Students; Issues-Centered Education in Multicultural Environments. Part 4. Historical Topics and Themes. Teaching Issues-Centered History; Using Issues in the Teaching of American History; A Critical Approach to Teaching United States History; World History and Issues-Centered Instruction. Part 5. Geography, Global Studies and the Environment. Issues-Centered Approaches to Teaching Geography Courses; Issues-Centered Global Education; Environmentalism and Environmental Issues. Part 6. Social Sciences. Issues-Centered Approaches to Teaching Civics and Government; An Approach to Issues-Oriented Economic Education; Teaching Issues-Centered Anthropology, Sociology, and Psychology. Part 7. An Issues-Centered Curriculum. An Issues-Centered Elementary Curriculum; Issues-Centered Curricula and Instruction at the Middle Level; Teaching Societal Issues in School Science and Mathematics; An Issues-Centered Curriculum for High School Social Studies; Teaching Societal Issues Across the Secondary Curriculum. Part 8. Assessment. Assessing Student Leanding of and Issue-Oriented Curriculum; Assesssing Discussion of Public Issues: A Scoring Guide. Part 9. Teacher Education and Supervision. An Issues-Centered Education; Supervision for Teacher Growth in Reflective, Issues-Centered Teaching Practice. Part 10. Future-Oriented, Issues-Centered Education. Alternative Futures and the Social Studies; International Social Studies: Alternative Futures. Part 11. Materials and Resources. Theory and Practice of Issues-Centered Education; Government Policy-Making Resources; International Relations/Foreign Policy Teaching Resources; Domestic Economic Policy; Bibliography on Science, Technology, and Society; Road Maps for Multi-Culturalisms; Global Development/Environmental Issues; Teaching About International Human Rights; Chiuldren’s Rights. Afterword. James P. Shaver.