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College of Education Publications College of Education
4-1-1985
eory and research in social education 13/01
National Council for the Social Studies. College and University Faculty Assembly
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in Social Education
Vol
. XIII
No
. 1
Spring 1985
i
Newmann
~
The Radical Perspective on Social Studies
: A
Synthesis and Critique
Burts, McKinney
~
Effects of Teacher Enthusiasm on Three and
and Burts
~
Four-Year-Old Children's Acquisition of Four
Concepts
Schug and Birkey
~
The Development of Children's Economic
Reasoning
Barnes and Curlette
Effects of Instruction on Teachers' Global
Mindedness and Patriotism
Theory and Research in Social
Education
Volume XIII
~
Number 1
~
Spring 1985
TRSE
is the official journal of the College and University Faculty Assembly
of the National Council for the Social Studies
. Published quarterly, it is a
general review open to all social studies educators, social scientists, histor-
ians and philosophers . A general statement of purpose, and submission,
subscription and advertising information may be found at the end of the
journal
. ° 1985 by the College and University Faculty Assembly of the Na-
tional Council for the Social Studies
. All rights reserved
.
Editor
:
A
. Guy Larkins
University of Georgia
Associate Editors
:
Charles Berryman
Judith P
. Goetz
University of Georgia
Book Review Editor
:
C
. Warren McKinney
University of Southern Mississippi
Editorial Assistant
:
Carolyn Bashaw
Editorial Board
:
Mary Jo Brown
University of Georgia
Charles K
. Curtis
University of British Columbia
Janet Eyler
Vanderbilt University
John Haas
University of Colorado
Richard C
. Hunnicutt
Georgia Pacific Corporation
Sandra J
. Lesourd
Washburn University
Jack L
. Nelson
Rutgers University
James P
. Shaver
Utah State University
William Stanley
Louisiana State University
11
The College and University Faculty
Assembly Executive Committee 1984-85
Chair
:
Catherine Cornbleth
University of Pittsburgh
Secretary
:
William Stanley
Louisiana State University
Treasurer
:
Samuel R
. Bell
Bradley University
1985 Program Co-Chairs
.-
Charlotte Anderson
American Bar Association, Chicago
Samuel R
. Bell
Bradley University
Members
:
Janet Alleman-Brooks
Michigan State University
Millard Clements
New York University
Catherine Cornbleth
University of Pittsburgh
Charles Myers
Vanderbilt University
Susanne M
. Shafer
Arizona State University
S
. Samuel Shermis
Purdue University
William Stanley
Louisiana State University
Mary Kay Tetreault
Lewis and Clark College
Jane White
U
iversity of Maryla
d
The Natio
al Cou
cil for the Social Studies
Officers 1984-85
Preside
t
:
Do
ald H
. Bragaw,
New York State Departme
t
of Educatio
, Alba
y
Preside
t-Elect
:
Paul Shires
Gle
dale-Nicolei High School
Milwaukee, WI
Vice Preside
t
:
Ja Tucker
Florida I
ter
atio
al U
iversity
Executive Director
:
Fra
ces Haley
Reviewers for this Issue of TRSE
The editors wish to express special appreciatio
to the followi
g scholars
who served as referees of ma
uscripts submitted
.
Buckley Bar
es, Georgia State U
iversity
Millard Cleme
ts, New York U
iversity
Richard Diem, U
iversity of Texas at Sa
A
to
io
Kiera
Ega
, Simo
Frazier U
iversity
Ja
et Eyler, Va derbilt U
iversity
Jack Frae
kel, Sa
Fra
cisco State U
iversity
Madelei
e Grumet, Hobart a
d William Smith Colleges
Joh
Haas, U
iversity of Colorado
Carole Hah
, Emory U
iversity
Michael Hartoo
ia
, Departme
t of Public I
structio
, Madiso
,
Wisco
si
Milto Kleg, Norther
Illi
ois U
iversity
Murry Nelso
, Pe
sylva
ia State U
iversity
James P
. Shaver, Utah State U
iversity
Ro
ald Va
Sickle, U
iversity of Georgia
William Sta
ley, Louisia
a State U
iversity
Mary Kay Tetreault, Lewis a
d Clark College
L
. David Weller, U
iversity of Georgia
Volume XIII
Number 1
Spring, 1985
V
CONTENTS
Fred M
. Newmann
The Radical Perspective on Social
Studies
: A Synthesis and Critique
1
Diane C
. Burts,
C
. Warren McKinney
and Benny L
. Burts
Effects of Teacher Enthusiasm on
Three- and Four-Year-Old Children's
Acquisition of Four Concepts
19
Mark C
. Schug and
C
. Jean Birkey
The Development of Children's
Economic Reasoning
31
Buckley R
. Barnes and
William L
. Curlette
Effects of Instruction on Teachers'
Global Mindedness and Patriotism
43
Theory and Research in Social Education
Spring, 1985
. Volume XIII Number 1, pp
. 1-18
° by The College and University Faculty Assembly
of the National Council for the Social Studies
The Radical Perspective on Social
Studies
: A Synthesis and Critique
Fred M
. Newmann
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Abstract
Radical writing in education suggests a) that emancipation should be the guiding
social ideal
; b) social life should be understood largely in terms of such concepts as
domination, autonomy, contradiction, and the social construction of knowledge
;
and c) that teaching should emphasize the development of critical discourse
. If
potentially appealing aspects of these ideas are to be incorporated into social studies,
research is needed to develop more specific social visions consistent with the value of
emancipation, to determine what organizational changes must be made in schools,
and to identify specific teaching practices that maximize the intellectual accomplish-
ment and emotional rewards of critical inquiry
.
In comparison to the 1960s and early 1970s, social studies literature in the
past ten years has seen few attempts to develop rationales for social educa-
tion
. A significant body of social thought, the radical perspective, has
emerged in academia, however, and its implications for social studies should
be explored
. For a variety of reasons, radical writing has not produced spe-
cific proposals for social studies curriculum, but this paper synthesizes the
work of various authors into a set of propositions whose implications for
curriculum and teaching can be examined
. It then discusses the strengths
and weaknesses of these propositions, and proposes an agenda for research
that must be undertaken if potentially appealing aspects of radical thought
are to be incorporated into social studies teaching
.
The Mainstream
U
.S
. citizens take pride in local control of education, and there is con-
siderable diversity between schools in demography and educational climate,
but the topics that students study in social studies, the sequence in which
they occur, and teaching practices are remarkably similar throughout the
country
. Several studies have confirmed the existence of a modal pattern
characterized by the teaching of isolated facts focused on life in the United
States and its history, a passive acceptance of dominant social institutions
1
and roles, and the acquisition of social knowledge as something to be re-
ceived as authoritative rather than to be understood or constructed as prob-
lematic
. )
This modal pattern, or mainstream, has come about not through
the development of an explicit comprehensive rationale, nor through cen-
tralized political control, but apparently through unique historical events
(such as recommendations from influential professional organizations, see
Hertzberg, 1981), the politics and economics of textbook publishing (Fitz-
gerald, 1979), the effects of teaching students massed in large groups within
bureaucratic structures (Bidwell, 1965), and the absence of debate on fun-
damental issues of political-economic ideology in the society at large
.
Of course there are many exceptions to the mainstream pattern, and
social studies educators often speak about lack of agreement within the
field
.' Teachers have been bombarded with proposals to increase attention
to various topics
: global education, law-related education, economics,
ethnic studies, area studies, environmental issues, the holocaust, or preven-
tion of nuclear war . Beyond such proposals for the study of particular
topics, four general curriculum rationales have critiqued mainstream cur-
riculum in the last twenty years
: social science inquiry (Morrissett & Stevens,
1971)
; critical thinking on public controversy (Oliver & Shaver, 1974)
;
moral development (Kohlberg, 1981)
; and social action (Newmann, 1975)
.
Each has articulated a theoretical rationale, has developed materials or spe-
cific programs for schools, and has been tried in the schools
. The impact of
each on the mainstream curriculum has been almost negligible, with social
science inquiry having probably the most and social action the least in-
fluence
.
These alternatives proposed substantial departures from classroom prac-
tice, and they failed to take root, but not because of their political
radicalism-none of them directly challenged central assumptions of
political-economic organization in the United States
. Even the citizen action
rationale which taught students to take assertive action to influence public
policy was grounded in liberal political theory, emphasizing participatory
democracy and consent of the governed
.
The reform rationales in social studies did question conventional ways of
packaging knowledge for students, and they asked teachers to engage
students in more active forms of inquiry, where the process of reflection
would be given more attention than recall of information
. In many ways,
however, the curriculum projects were unresponsive to the perspectives and
working environments of teachers
. Without offering broadly based pro-
grams of teacher education to inspire new visions of social education, they
asked for professional commitments much at variance with teachers'
previous training
. In their zeal to promote reflective skills, they neglected
the importance of mastery of content as a basis for organized reflection and
as a requirement for advancement in the credentialing system
. The projects
required increased preparation time for teachers and increased oppor-
2
tunities for teachers to respond to individual students' ideas, without alter-
ing time schedules in schools that already stretched teachers to their limit
.
Studies have shown that innovations unresponsive to such conditions in the
schools are unlikely to be widely implemented (Haas, 1977
; Berman &
McLaughlin, 1978
; Shaver, Davis & Helburn, 1978
; Hertzberg, 1981)
.
In contrast to the ferment stimulated by curriculum development during
the 1960s and early 1970s, the recent period has been quiet, some would say
virtually dead
. Special topics have been advocated continuously, but since
Newmann (1975), I have seen only one attempt to develop a new rationale
for the field, namely, the social roles approach presented by Superka and
Hawke (1982)
.
3
This proposal was limited to a conceptual argument without
ensuing development of materials
. The apparent failures of earlier reform
efforts have perhaps discouraged academics in social studies from further
inquiry into alternative rationales
.
In short, we continue to lack a comprehensive rationale for social educa-
tion that articulates and defends the prescriptive social and ethical theory on
which it stands,- the major explanatory-descriptive assumptions it holds
about society, conditions of schooling and social change, and the theories
of teaching and learning it supports (Newmann, 1977)
. Of course, we have
witnessed a host of reports on the general reform of schooling, reflecting
both conservative attempts to strengthen mainstream trends and statements
that advocate more progressive schooling,
,
but none offers a fresh or even a
detailed rationale for social education
.' An important literature related to
social studies, though not focused upon it, has, however, blossomed
. A
radical perspective has gained increased attention in academia, and its
relevance to social studies demands that we consider it in some detail
.
Propositions-in the Radical Perspective
I define the radical perspective as the set of propositions presented below
.
It is gleaned primarily from the writing of U
.S
. authors such as Cherry-
holmes (1980), Apple (1982), and Giroux (1983)
. Others
(e
.g
.,
Anyon, 1979
;
Popkewitz, 1978
; Whitty, 1976) have also articulated some of the proposi-
tions in one form or another, and those who share this perspective often
rely on Marxian thought and work of authors outside the U
.S
. such as
Habermas, Gramsci, Friere, Bernstein, Young, and Bordieu
. My purpose is
not a comprehensive literature review, nor careful scrutiny of any individual
author
. Rather, it is to identify some themes which seemed stressed in an in-
creasingly visible network of discourse in U
.S
. journals and graduate study,
and which offer, in my judgment, important challenges to the way in which
U
.S
. citizens view social studies education
.
The perspective includes propositions which promote a central social
value or ideal, which describe the nature of social life, and which suggest
strategies for improving education . Main propositions on these three mat-
ters are summarized as follows
.
3
Emancipation,
the social ideal
.
Much radical writing begins with the
critique of social life presented below . The critique is usually not formally
derived from a statement of preferred values or social ideals, but the central
ideal can easily be inferred
. If there is any single theme pervading these
analyses, it is emancipation . The ultimate social ideal, and thus the purpose
of education, ought to be the emancipation of all people such that none are
subject to domination or exploitation by others economically, politically,
sexually, intellectually, or spiritually
.
Social Life
: dominant interests, autonomy, and contradiction
.
Schooling
and teaching in social studies must be understood in terms of at least the
following broad insights on the nature of social life
.
Almost all policies and social practices tend to serve the interests of par-
ticular groups by violating or repressing the interests of others, especially
minorities, the poor, and women
. Persistent patterns of domination are
typically legitimated through subtle methods not apparent to those
dominated, and even persons of dominant classes are victimized
. The net
result in most social structures, especially capitalistic ones, is injustice,
alienation and dehumanization-in spite of aggregate increases over time in
material standards of living and in personal choice for segments of the
population
.
Dominant interests, however, cannot entirely suppress the spirit of subor-
dinated interests, because individuals and organizations always retain some
measure of autonomy, some potential to resist and to force compromise
upon dominant interests
.
Social life involves a host of contradictions with which humans must
deal
; for example, the resistance of working class students to the dominant
culture can further subordinate their own interests
; oppressed groups may
gain access and power, but then join the establishment in dominating
others
; vivid expressions of individuality may be generated by pressures for
conformity to group pressure
.
Knowledge itself is socially constructed and validated through human
perception, guided by human purposes
. Thus knowledge is constructed to
serve human ends, and its public use usually serves to legitimate dominant
interests
. Nevertheless, if the quest for knowledge is addressed to the
understanding of contradictions and creative uses of conflict, it offers
resources for emancipation
.
Education strategies
: social knowledge, practical skills, critical discourse
.
The responsibility of educators is to teach knowledge, skills, and critical
discourse that generate action toward emancipation
. School programs and
teaching procedures would seem to be guided by at least the following prin-
ciples
:
The knowledge to be taught should concentrate on ideas regarding social
life mentioned above, emphasizing the significance of dominant interests,
struggles for autonomy, contradictions, and the social construction of
4
knowledge
. Such ideas should not, however, be foisted upon students and
teachers through a centrally developed curriculum
. They must be for-
mulated in response to particular, local circumstances through a process
that connects teachers and students to their own cultural histories and that
empowers them to define the curriculum
.
Analytic understandings should be taught in conjunction with specific
tools of literacy, numeracy, academic basics, and interpersonal communica-
tion skills that build personal efficacy to act in the imperfect world-as-it-is
.
Such skills are needed for individual survival and development, but their
mastery should be inspired by a commitment to work for a collectively
emancipated world
.
Teaching must be guided by continuous examinations of one's own ex-
periences, of common sense, and of expert knowledge
. Relationships must
be created in which teachers and students can subject their fundamental
beliefs to the scrutiny of one another and to a continuous process of dialec-
tical revision
. Such discourse creates new demands for knowledge itself in
the quest to determine the nature of a better world and to arrive at guides
for action
.
This abbreviated synthesis may be challenged, for it does not include a
full discussion of two important issues
: selectivity and originality
. I have
selected particular aspects of radical writing that focus on education and
schooling, without analyzing radical scholarship on more general social,
economic, and political issues
. Within the work on schooling, I have
selected ideas that have implications for the deliberate planning of cur-
riculum and instruction in schools
. Neglected here are theories about society
and hidden curriculum, some of which suggest there is no point in attempt-
ing to affect schools until more fundamental structural changes occur (such
theories offer no assistance in the task of school improvements)
. I also rely
primarily on U
.S
. authors speaking presumably to conditions within the
U
.S
. I offer no discussion of the historical or conceptual (disciplinary) con-
texts from which the selected propositions emerge
. I risk creating a
strawman, because authors give varying degrees of emphasis to different
parts of the perspective, and some may even reject some of its propositions
.
Those familiar with the history of U
.S
. education may find nothing new or
unique in themes above considered radical
. In the
U
.S
.,
the work of Dewey,
Counts, or Rugg might be cited as offering intellectual roots for several of
the ideas, and connections might also be drawn to other work (some much
earlier) in philosophy and social analysis
. Progressive educators and cur-
riculum reformers within the inquiry movement of the new social studies in
the late 1960s may identify with the goal of emancipation and may equate
previous approaches to the teaching of critical thinking with the teaching of
critical discourse
. Workers in alternative schools, advocates of experiential
education, and classroom teachers may also subscribe to these ideas
. I do
not mean to suggest that each theme in the perspective has been developed
5
originally by the authors cited
. Distinctions among the propositions of dif-
ferent reformers at different historical periods may be useful, but this is not
the purpose here
. The propositions I have presented are radical in the sense
that they tend to recur in the writings of educators identified with a radical
tradition of scholarship, and that, if implemented, these propositions would
represent major departures from conventional practice in schools
.
There are risks in presenting an oversimplified rendition of radical
thought, in possibly appropriating ideas for purposes not intended by
authors and in neglecting the contextual development of these ideas in rela-
tion to other traditions such as American liberalism, progressivism, or
European radical thought
. A parsimonious summary is necessary, however,
if U
.S, social educators are to consider radical work carefully
. Scholars and
practitioners often dismiss the writing of individual radical authors because
of mystifying jargon, excessively abstract and deterministic analyses, im-
practical or politically threatening proposals . Unfortunately, deficiencies of
this sort in some of the writing tend to deflect attention from significant
propositions that deserve careful analysis
. Because this work represents a
conception of social education distinct from the mainstream, and because it
contains in my view powerful, though insufficiently developed, ideas, it
deserves more careful formal examination than the social studies community
has offered
. The risks of oversimplification have been taken in the hope
that propositions stated in this way will stimulate a more thorough and
focused response to radical thought
.
Strengths
Each of the propositions can be defended as fundamental to education
for social democracy
. The central social ideal of human emancipation has
been justified through an extensive literature in the Western tradition
. Of
course, appeal to the general value of emancipation alone may not resolve a
number of issues in attaining social justice
. Unregulated liberty to pursue
private economic interests will generate inequalities of wealth that reinforce
political and social domination
; the apparent emancipation of some is won
through the exploitation of others
. If emancipation is interpreted as
unrestrained personal choice, it will threaten the degree of social cohesion
and order required for equal protection of individuals' rights
. If it is inter-
preted primarily as the right of groups to collective self-determination, this
may threaten the rights of individuals within a collective
. If emancipation is
viewed as the right of man to be free from forces of nature, it may lead to
ecological disaster
. In spite of these difficulties, almost all concepts of
justice, fairness, democracy, and human dignity in Western liberal thought
assume an equal entitlement to liberty or to emancipation from unreason-
able constraints on liberty
. In this sense emancipation constitutes a power-
ful normative basis for evaluating the quality of social life, and for
establishing social goals
.
6
Radical propositions also offer helpful constructs for describing and ex-
plaining social life
. The themes of domination, special interests and tech-
niques of legitimation offer a continuous invitation to search for the subtle
ways in which we are affected by institutions and the ways in which our own
participation tends to reinforce or to oppose dominant interests
. Such con-
cepts challenge conventional notions of pluralism that assume a more
egalitarian and open exchange among different interests
.
The theme of human agency and autonomy is powerful, because it
represents a fundamental human aspiration and requirement for social
justice
. It seems particularly relevant to the concerns of youth who struggle
to build unique personal identities in spite of adults' efforts to socialize
them into preconceived forms
. Similarly, the concepts of contradiction and
conflict call attention to persistent intellectual and emotional challenges to
youth and adults alike
: Must one tell the truth even if it hurts someone? To
gain enough influence to change institutions, one must first advance to posi-
tions of influence, but does that very effort serve to perpetuate the status
quo? When expert witnesses disagree on technical matters, whom am I to
believe? By focusing upon contradictions and conflict, radical interpreta-
tions of social life can offer students the resources to reflect upon important
problems that conventional teaching tends to avoid
.
The radical perspective directs close attention to the relationship between
knowledge and values, and it candidly acknowledges human emancipation
as the particular social value that guides its own inquiry
. This offers a more
accurate account of the social function of knowledge than does the inter-
pretation of science as a value-neutral search for authoritative truth
.
Searching for truth in an emancipatory fashion requires an unending dialec-
tic in which authoritative truth is never discovered in any final sense
. Such a
conception of knowledge is powerful, because it invites continuous revision
and reexamination, and because it is deliberately connected to the broad
human aspiration for social justice
.
Presumably a radical curriculum would emphasize social concepts
already discussed, along with basic skills of literacy, and these would be
directed toward action to empower students in both school and nonschool
situations
. What seems most unique among radical educational ideas is the
emphasis on critical discourse, the conception of learning, and the creation
of meaning as an intersubjective experience
. Rather than viewing the
teacher as a dispenser of truth and the student as a receptor who ac-
cumulates knowledge for future use, both are seen as participating in a
search, the success of which requires mutual adaptation to the other's social
constructs ; each must learn to suspend one's views sufficiently to allow the
other's to penetrate
. Requiring a high degree of interpersonal trust, this
dialectic process transforms learning from a one-way transmission process
between superior teacher and inferior students into a cooperative activity
among persons who genuinely need one another in order to enhance their
7
knowledge and personal agency
. This is not to suggest that students and
teachers are intellectual equals, for the teacher has many tools that the stu-
dent must learn to use
. This conception of the learning process, however,
enchances the human connection and reduces alienation between teacher
and student
.'
Radical strategies for school improvement would seem to avoid strategic
mistakes of previous school reform efforts
. Recognizing teachers' need for
empowerment over their curriculum and pedagogy, radicals avoid the pro-
mulgation of centrally developed curriculum
. Instead, the specific content
of radical social studies must be developed in response to needs of local
teachers and students
. Radical groups publish teaching materials intended
for national or international audiences on sexism, prisons, or social class,
and they assist in the formation of broad support networks for radical
teachers, but they do not advocate single programatic solutions to cur-
riculum improvement
. This is consistent with concern for emancipation and
with the long U
.S
. tradition of local control of education
. It is also sup-
ported by recent research on effective innovations which endorses the
significance of local, school-based reform and teacher ownership of im-
provement efforts (Little, 1982
; Popkewitz, Tabachnick & Wellage, 1982
;
Purkey & Smith, 1983)
.
According to the radical perspective, however, working toward greater
teacher control over curriculum and the nature of discourse in school can-
not be achieved by focusing on life in schools alone
. Because school life is so
intimately connected with culture beyond school, patterns of domination in
school are unlikely to change unless patterns in the community beyond
schools are also challenged
. In this sense, reform within schools is viewed
not as a search for technical or administrative solutions to professional pro-
blems, but as a broad political challenge requiring simultaneous work in
school and community
. This view of educational reform is more politically
astute, and of special significance to issues in social education, than the
assumption that education can be improved simply through the discovery of
more effective techniques by professional educators
.
To summarize, impressive strengths of the radical perspective include the
explicit connection of knowledge with the legitimate social purpose of
human emancipation
; several substantive concepts that probe more deeply
into the nature of social life than does conventional curriculum
; a process of
teaching focused on critical, cooperative discourse
; and an approach to
reform that respects the culture of local teachers and students
.
Weaknesses
In spite of the strengths just summarized, considerable resistance to the
radical perspective is well-known
. The failure of the perspective to take root
in U
.S
. politics or education can be explained through radical ideology as
the work of dominant interests to suppress opposition
(e .g
., by creating
8
myths of equality and justice, by co-opting potential dissidents to become
part of the establishment, etc
.)
. Lack of support, however, can also be at-
tributed to weaknesses in the perspective itself
;
i
.e
.,
its inadequate response
to important human concerns
. Among educators, much resistance seems to
flow from objections to its ideological substance, its neglect of organiza-
tional constraints on teaching and its relative silence about pedagogy for
dealing with ambiguity, contradiction, and criticism
. These problems repre-
sent challenges to the radical perspective that can reasonably be made even
by persons who subscribe to its central propositions
.
Ideological substance
.
In the U
.S
. many people hold a sanguine view of
the economic-political system
; they fail to see the patterns of domination
and exploitation that concern radicals
. In spite of much evidence to the con-
trary, the U
.S
. public generally maintains faith in equal opportunity,
meritocracy, technological progress and openness in the political system
.
When so many believe that comparatively high levels of emancipation have
already been achieved, interest in the radical view is dampened
.
Some radicals explain this as false consciousness, generated by dominant
interests (corporations, government agencies, professional groups) to main-
tain their influence in a capitalistic system
. Without trying to document here
the specific extent of domination or the needs for emancipation in the U
.S
.,
it should be recognized that observable, objective differences in the nature
of domination-exploitation can be found in different societies, and that
those who compare societies' standards of material well-being and oppor-
tunities for political and expressive freedom may find a radical perspective
more or less useful, depending upon the social context
. To the extent that
radical propositions about social life are considered alien to persons' lived
experiences, the ideology will be understandably resisted
.
Both liberal and radical political theory hold up the hope of minimizing
the domination of some people by others
. Liberal theory has emphasized
democratic procedures for regulating political conflict, aimed at the plural-
istic ideal of individuals and groups free to pursue private interests without
getting in one another's way
. Radical studies have exposed the persistence of
domination and exploitative relationships even within democracies sup-
porting constitutional liberties, collective bargaining, and populist political
reforms
. But both liberal and radical theory have been criticized for holding
up a naive hope that social domination can be eliminated
. All societies and
their sub-groups perpetuate dominant norms, positions, offices, to which
people must conform, but many of these can be defended as necessary for
that degree of order in social life necessary to the dignity of participants
.
From this point of view, relations of domination must be expected
; the
challenge is to fashion them in the most just forms or in the ways that
enhance human dignity (emancipation)
.
What particular social structures are most likely to accomplish this?
Liberal theory emphasizing governmental regulation primarily to maintain
9
fair competition among private interests has been criticized for its failure to
define a more substantive vision of the public good (Lowi, 1979
; Stanley,
1981)
. The radical perspective in education seems to assume democratic
socialism as an ultimate goal, but the specific outlines of that social order
remain vague
. How centralized or decentralized will government be? What
forms of private property and private financial gain will be acceptable?
What levels of status or privilege will differentiate people from one
another? What levels of personal choice will be available in career, con-
sumption patterns, or child rearing? To the extent that the laudable goals of
equality and emancipation remain unconnected to specific policy proposals,
the social vision of the radical perspective is considered to offer no mean-
ingful alternative
.
Organizational constraints on teaching
.
Several aspects of teachers' work
make it difficult to offer a critical social education
. As an employee ac-
countable to a school board that derives its authority from the state and the
public at large, the teacher will be at risk in teaching students to evaluate
critically the economic-political system
. The teacher's dependence upon the
employing organization thus constrains the arenas to which critical social
thought can be applied
.' Rather than having the opportunity to build their
own curriculum according to locally defined needs, teachers must plan in-
struction to fit into a credentialing system of grades and tests so that student
mastery of standard content can be compared across the nation (or the
world)
. The credentialing system is built on a conception of knowledge as
certain and conclusive
: One demonstrates knowledge by producing right in-
stead of wrong answers
. In contrast, radical education cannot easily be in-
corporated into the conventional credentialing system, because it assumes
significant areas of knowledge to be problematic and tentative
. Finally,
teachers' interaction with students is organized in ways that stifle critical
discourse
. Because they must teach students in large groups, teachers can
spend very little time responding to individual work
. For managerial
reasons, certain instructional activities prevail
(e .g
.,
lectures, films, silent
seatwork, short-answer objective tests, discussions requiring short verbal
responses)
. Activities more conducive to critical inquiry present cumber-
some logistical problems
(e
.g
., discussions soliciting lengthy student
responses, one-to-one dialogues between teacher and student, small group
projects)
. The radical literature has analyzed alienation in bureacratic work
settings, and radical writing in education has described subtle ways in which
schooling denies empowerment to both students and teachers alike
. The
radical critique has not, however, included proposals that specify how
teachers' work in schools might be reorganized to permit more authentic
critical discourse with students
.
Ambiguity, contradictions and criticism
.
As mentioned earlier, radical in-
sights into social life offer exciting possibilities for inquiry that respond to
personal concerns for justice, autonomy, the resolution of dilemmas, etc
.
1
0
On the other hand, these ideas and the process of critical discourse can be
disquieting, because they
ask
us to demystify what has been taken for
granted, to search for exploitation in relationships that on the surface may
appear voluntary and harmonious, to continue to work for a better world
rather than accepting what we have
. Even in the most supportive settings,
humans have great difficulty subjecting their own beliefs to continuous
scrutiny, difficulty in resolving ambiguity and contradiction, difficulty in
sustaining interest in abstract issues of social justice, especially when
criticism highlights negative features in the human condition
. In short,
radical education for many people is likely to involve a painful struggle, not
an immediate sense of joy, growth or positive accomplishment
. Given cer-
tain limits on the degree of ambiguity, contradiction and criticism which
humans find constructive or tolerable, it is not surprising that teachers often
emphasize consensus over conflict, certainty over ambiguity, and a hopeful,
positive view of social life
. Radical writing on education, concerned
heretofore largely with how schools reflect structural domination or how
aspects of resistance may develop, has given almost no attention to the
specific pedagogical problem of teaching social criticism and coping with
ambiguity and contradiction in intellectually constructive and emotionally
rewarding ways
.
Having summarized central propositions, strengths, and weaknesses of
the radical perspective, consider now an agenda for intellectual work that
seems necessary to deal with the weaknesses so that appealing aspects of the
perspective might find their way into social studies education
.
A
Research Agenda
If the gulf between mainstream academics and social studies teachers is as
wide as several observers have noted (Shaver, et al
., 1978
; Mehlinger, 1981),
the gulf between teachers and radical academics may be even wider, because
the radical perspective seems to demand a fundamental shift in conven-
tional views of social life and of learning
. This gulf between academics and
school teachers can be expected to persist so long as organizational struc-
tures within which they work hold neither group accountable for serving the
other's interests (each can attain success in their own domain without re-
sponding seriously to the concerns of the other domain)
. Without discussing
here organizational reforms for bridging the gap between academics and
teachers, I shall attempt the more modest task of suggesting forms of in-
tellectual work and research that seem necessary to resolve legitimate con-
cerns that mainstream educators have with the radical perspective
. This
agenda addresses each of the weaknesses just discussed
.
Social alternatives
.
Radical social ideas and the critique of social life must
be refined to convey a more coherent vision of the social alternatives to be
pursued and more persuasive arguments to justify the apparent benefits of
radical social change in relation to apparent costs
. The need to elaborate
1 1
upon the meaning of emancipation and preferred forms of democratic
socialism has aleady been mentioned
. Scholarly work should help to clarify
conceptions of emancipation such as individual freedom, collective self-
determination and the expression of individuality guided by the constraints
of collective purpose (as well as discussion of which constraints are most
justifiable)
. It should attempt to reconcile the need for local empowerment
and decentralized authority with the facts of global interdependence and the
imperative to work for certain universal ideals (e
.g
., economic equality)
which can conflict with local empowerment
. Economic analysis and policy
argument is needed to show how particular policies or reorganized institu-
tions could be expected to accomplish many goals simultaneously
; for ex-
ample, more equitable distribution of wealth, increased productivity,
decreased worker alienation, reduction of threats to peace and to the en-
vironment
. Scholarly work on such unfinished aspects of radical social
ideology is critical if the perspective is to attract broader interest
. It may be
inappropriate to expect educationist academics to undertake this work, but
they could help to convey the work of policy theorists who tackle these
issues
.
Structures of schooling
.
We must study how the structures of schooling
might be revised to permit the kind of interaction among teachers and
students which radical teaching demands
. Radical interpretations of social
life can, of course, be taught through a traditional text and lecture format
to large groups of students required to recapitulate the transmitted content
on standardized tests
. If used exclusively, however, such methods violate
the principle of critical discourse
. The development of understanding
through critical discourse would seem to require much different conditions
of teaching
.
If students are to be active learners, critically examining problems of
social life, dealing seriously with ambiguity, conflict and contradiction, at a
minimum they require opportunities to express themselves frequently
(orally and in writing) and to receive prompt, detailed feedback on their
views
. They must have an opportunity to pursue topics in depth and com-
plexity, rather than being pressured to master superficial surveys of many
topics . To engage in honest critiques of one another's ideas, they must learn
within an atmosphere of cooperation and trust, not competition and in-
dividual isolation
. If students are to take the process of schooling seriously
(as opposed to mechanistically meeting its demands), schools must
minimize student alienation
; for example, by offering opportunities for stu-
dent choice in school work, by cultivating consensus among faculty and
students on the central purposes of the school
; by integrating various
aspects of schoolwork (Newmann, 1981)
. To develop school cultures of this
sort would require substantial changes in mainstream schooling (e
.g
.,
much
less emphasis on standardized testing
; much more time for collaborative
teacher planning)
. Research should concentrate on which particular changes
1
2
in school organization and the working conditions of teachers and students
seem most necessary to the practice of radical education and how these
might be stimulated in U
.S
. schools
.
Pedagogical issues
.
Beyond organizational issues such as course re-
quirements, teachers' time to work with individual students, testing and
credentialing systems, we must address questions of pedagogy, and try to
identify the kinds of teaching that constructively guide our encounters with
ambiguity, contradiction, and criticism
. We need more knowledge on at
least two problems
: a) What teaching strategies and classroom norms will
build sufficient trust among students and teachers so that they will authen-
tically risk themselves in discussions of social life? b) What teaching
strategies can guide critical inquiry so as to minimize frustration and max-
imize a sense of positive intellectual accomplishment leading to constructive
action?
For years, social studies educators have called for the teaching of critical
thinking, but without developing a pedagogy for building the foundation of
interpersonal trust on which such inquiry must rest
. Critical discourse must
focus relentlessly on exposing our errors in perception, our lack of
knowledge, our failure in logic, and other inadequacies in our understand-
ing of social life
. We learn in part only by exposing our inadequacies, so
that they may be corrected
. Because it is often personally threatening to ex-
pose oneself to such scrutiny, we refrain from risking ourselves in this way
(and many educators often respect our vulnerability by not demanding it of
us)
. As a result of this negotiated agreement between student and teacher
not to risk oneself, very little learning, in the radical sense, ever occurs
.
We could benefit from description of specific classroom practices show-
ing how teachers give critical feedback that enhances, rather than dimin-
ishes the dignity of students
. Approaches to coaching and socratic teaching
(see Adler, 1982
; Sizer, 1984), to cooperative learning (see Johnson,
Maruyama, Johnson, Nelson, & Skon, 1981
; Slavin, 1983), and to other
forms of student empowerment within the classroom
(e
.g
.,
Schor, 1980)
should be studied not only for their effect on student mastery of subject
matter, but most importantly for their contribution to a climate of discus-
sion in which participants feel secure enough to submit their ideas to serious
critique
.
A climate of open sharing is necessary, but not sufficient
. The products
or outcomes of that sharing must represent to students and to teachers con-
structive intellectual accomplishment . At one extreme, rigorous social in-
quiry can accentuate a perception of conflict and persistent negative ap-
praisal
: history becomes a continuous tale of exploitation and unjustice,
punctuated by a host of tragic human clashes
. Careful thought about solu-
tions to such problems often magnifies a sense of complexity and ambiguity
regarding the facts of social life, legitimate ideals, and constructive courses
of action . This can lead to student frustration, cynicism, nihilism, and
1
3
moral relativism which inhibit both further inquiry and purposeful social
action . In contrast, teaching which conveys knowledge about social life as
authoritative and which presents an essentially positive assessment (through
a beneficient view of social institutions and praise of human progress)
avoids these problems
.
Research should help identify teaching practices that maximize students'
sense of accomplishment
: for example, teacher and peer praise for
individual progress in articulating a more defensible position on a con-
troversial problem, opportunities for students to create concrete products
of inquiry
(e .g
.,
a publication or a broadcast), or using methods of inquiry
to exert influence in some area of public life
. Literature of experiential
education suggests guidelines for student activities to enhance motivation
and sense of accomplishment, but there is virtually no scholarly work on
pedagogy to maximize the rewards of problematic social inquiry
.'
The frustrations of problematic inquiry visit themselves upon teachers as
well as students
. In spite of much rhetoric about the need to teach thinking
skills, research on teaching offers few clues on how to do this successfully
.
In the absence of clear pedagogies that have proven effective in the teaching
of critical thought, teachers understandably direct efforts toward instruc-
tional ends over which they feel more command
. Thus, teachers' sense of
professional worth is built largely upon a conception of self as master of a
subject, who has good rapport with students, not as a skilled socratic in-
vestigator committed to clarifying the nature of what we do not know as a
way of understanding what we do know
. If the teacher's sense of profes-
sional competence rests primarily in transmitting certainties about social life
to students, the teacher trying to conduct critical discourse may feel not
only intellectually lost, but even deprived of the opportunity to contribute
his/her own professional assets
. Research is needed on ways of making
problematic inquiry rewarding to teachers who have previously depended
upon more authoritative ways of expressing their competence
.
By accentuating the need for intellectual work in these areas I do not in-
tend to minimize the substantial political obstacles which a radical perspec-
tive on social education must confront
. Even if some of this research is
fruitfully pursued, groups with political and economic clout will act to sup-
press radical approaches to social education
. In this sense, political
organization and action demands as much attention as research
. In my
view, however, a substantial portion of resistance comes not from doc-
trinaire opponents of critical thought or of socialism, but from persons who
actually subscribe to general radical propositions, yet who have understand-
able difficulty implementing them for the reasons discussed
. To the extent
that research helps to resolve some of these issues, it will facilitate the
engagement of these educators
. Without such research, even the appealing
dimensions of the radical perspective will be ignored by mainstream
academics and school teachers
.
1
4
The cry for educational reform is out in the U
.S . Lip service is given to
the development of reasoning skills, but most emphasis is placed upon
mastery of content in the main disciplines through increased course re-
quirements and increased testing of students, with almost no attention to
the problem of equity for disadvantaged students
. Progressive educators
have critiqued these trends
; Adler (1982), Goodlad (1983), and Sizer (1984),
for example, emphasize the teaching of critical thought
. Nevertheless, if
reform is enacted in response to many of the other commission reports, it
will proceed in a conservative, even repressive direction
.
Scholarship on the issues raised here is not simply the responsibility of
radical writers in education
. Other academics should join in the task
.
Radical and progressive educators may differ in their social analyses, but
their common concern for critical social inquiry would seem to require
significant changes in the way teachers' work is organized and changes in
pedagogy that several current reform reports either neglect or oppose
. Un-
fortunately, neither radicals nor progressive have developed adequate
responses to the problems of ideological substance, school organization and
pedagogy raised here
. Unless academics devote scholarly attention to prob-
lems such as these, we shall offer only impotent challenges to mainstream
reform, now in the process of further solidifying historically persistent,
regressive forms of social education
.'
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. Critical teaching and everyday life
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Endnotes
1
. For summaries of several studies see Shaver et al
. (1978), and Morrissett (1982)
. Although
not focused on social studies, general reports on schooling by Goodlad (1983), Boyer (1983),
and Sizer (1984) also confirm aspects of this picture
.
2
. For descriptions of alternative approaches to social studies in America, see Barr, Barth,
and Shermis (1978)
; Mehlinger and Davis (1981)
; Morrissett and Haas (1982)
.
3
. Butts (1980) offered a thoughtful analysis of the history of citizenship education in the
U
.S
. and a rationale for a conception of citizenship of pluralism within national unity, but this
reaffirmed previous democratic conceptions of polity and citizenship, emphasizing the
significance of public good over private interests
.
1
7
4
.
Newmann (1985) provides a review of the implications of these general reports for social
studies
.
5
. Teachers who consider themselves to be politically radical may not practice critical
discourse in the classroom
. Their teaching can be doctrinaire or dogmatic, and such teaching
can be found in the classrooms of teachers of diverse political commitments
. Radical writers
who focus on the teaching process, however, emphasize the ideal of critical discourse
.
6
. Stake and Easley (1978) found that U
.S
. social studies teachers generally do not feel cen-
sored or limited by their school administrations or parents in the community, apparently
because teachers' social values and attitudes generally match those of the communities where
they teach
. Bitter controversy between individual teachers and administrators or citizens does
erupt occasionally, but the prevailing harmony can be explained by the fact that schools usually
hire teachers who subscribe to dominant community values
.
7
. Some efforts along these lines were made when Newmann and Oliver (1970) addressed
problems in the teaching of public controversy in classrooms, and when Newmann (1975, 1977)
addressed ways of responding to the frustrations of social action
.
8
. This article is based on a paper presented to the Annual Meeting of the Social Science
Education Consortium, hosted by the Bundeszentrale fur Politsiche Bildung, at Irsee, Federal
Republic of Germany, June 18-23, 1984
.
The research was supported in part by the Wisconsin Center for Education Research which is
supported in part by a grant from the National Institute of Education (Grant No
. NIE-
G-84-0008)
. The opinions expressed in this paper do not necessarily reflect the position, policy,
or endorsement of the National Institute of Education
.
I am most grateful for the assistance from Michael Apple, Cleo Cherryholmes, Henry
Giroux, Michael Hartoonian, Tom Kelly, Alan Lockwood, Fay Metcalf, Jack Nelson, Tom
Popkewitz, Stewart Purkey, Robert Rutter, Gary Wehlage and Geoff Whitty
.
1
8
Theory and Research in Social Education
Spring, 1985
. Volume XIII Number 1, pp
. 19-29
by The College and University Faculty Assembly
of the National Council for the Social Studies
Effects of Teacher Enthusiasm on
Three- and Four-Year-Old Children's
Acquisition of Four Concepts
Diane C
. Burts
Louisiana State University
C
. Warren McKinney
University of Southern Mississippi
Benny L
. Burts
Southeastern Louisiana University
Abstract
This study tested the effects of three levels of teacher enthusiasm on 3- (n = 26)
and 4- (n = 29) year-old children's acquisition
of
four concepts
. Subjects were ran-
domly assigned to one of three treatment groups (low, medium, high enthusiasm) by
stratified randomization
. The interactions of (a) age, (b) sex, and (c) age and sex with
enthusiasm were examined, and informal observations concerning behavioral dif-
ferences among treatment groups were made
. Results of a 3 x 2 x 2 ANOVA in-
dicated that there were no significant differences in achievement
. Differences in
behavior among the three treatment groups were reported by the teachers, with sub-
jects taught at a high level of enthusiasm characterized as more attentive, interested,
and responsive than subjects in the other two groups
.
There is much in the literature concerning the general topic of teacher ef-
fectiveness and how to define, identify, measure, evaluate, and train for it
(Biddle & Ellena, 1964)
. One of the teacher behaviors which is frequently
linked with effective teaching is that of enthusiasm (Bettencourt, 1979)
.
Correlational studies have shown a relationship between teacher enthusiasm
and achievement (Rosenshine & Furst, 1971), while results of experimental
studies have been less clear
.
A number of studies have examined the effects of teacher enthusiasm on
student achievement
. Most of these studies, however, have utilized junior
high
(e
.g
.,
Bettencourt, 1979
; Larkins & McKinney, 1982
; Malcolm, 1977
;
McKinney & Larkins, 1982), high school
(e .g
.,
Mastin, 1963
; Sneed, 1977
;
Young, 1973), or college level students
(e .g
.,
Land, 1980
; Ware & Williams,
1
9
1975 ; Williams & Ware, 1977)
. Few studies have tested the relationship with
elementary subjects
(e
.g
.,
Brophy & Evertson, 1974
; McKinney, Larkins, &
Burts, 1984
; McKinney, Larkins, Kazelskis, Ford, Allen, & Davis, 1983),
and none have examined the relationship with preschool children
.
Three studies (Brophy & Evertson, 1974
; McKinney, et al
., 1984
; McKin-
ney et al
., 1983) were found that utilized subjects from the lower elementary
grades . Brophy and Evertson (1974) included teacher enthusiasm as one of
several variables in a correlational study of achievement at the second-grade
level
. They reported no correlation between teacher enthusiasm and student
achievement
.
McKinney et al
. (1984) examined the effects of teacher enthusiasm on
first-grade students' achievement
. Fifty-two subjects were randomly as-
signed to one of three treatments (low, medium, and high enthusiasm)
.
Three social studies concepts were taught by a single teacher over a three-
day period
. No significant differences were reported on the first and second
days of the study
. However, the mean for the medium treatment level dif-
fered significantly from the low and high groups on Day 3 and on a com-
posite score for the three days
. This difference was small and lacked practi-
cal significance
. In an attempt to help explain their findings, the researchers
reported casual observations of student behavior
. They noted that students
in the high enthusiasm group appeared to be more disruptive, while the low
enthusiasm group was more lethargic
. Subjects in the medium enthusiasm
group displayed more emotion and interest in the lessons than the other two
groups
.
McKinney et al
. (1983) also examined the effects of teacher enthusiasm
on fourth-grade students' achievement (n = 160)
. Six teachers, who were
trained to exhibit the three enthusiasm levels (low, medium, high), taught
three social studies concepts
. Results showed that no significant differences
existed between or among the three groups (low = 70
.24, medium = 72
.64,
and high = 71
.37)
. Similar student behavior was noted as in the McKinney
et al
. (1984) study
. Students in the high enthusiasm groups were reported to
be "climbing the walls," while students in the low enthusiasm groups were
described as bored . They concluded by stating that elementary students
appeared to show more appropriate behavior when teachers conveyed a
medium level of enthusiasm
.
Although enthusiasm is considered by many concerned with early
childhood education to be an important teacher characteristic (Eliason &
Jenkins, 1977 ; Evans, 1974
; Hymes, 1974
; Katz, 1978
; Todd & Heffernan,
1977), results of recent research raise questions as to the importance of en-
thusiastic teaching with younger children
. The primary purpose of this
study was to determine the effects of three levels of teacher enthusiasm-
low, medium, and high-on 3- and 4-year old children's acquisition of four
concepts
. The secondary purposes were to determine a) the differential ef-
fects or interactions between age and level of teacher enthusiasm relative to
20
concept acquisition, b) the differential effects or interactions between sex
and level of teacher enthusiasm relative to concept acquisition, and c) the
interaction effects among the levels of teacher enthusiasm, age, and sex rela-
tive to concept acquisition . The researchers were also interested in obtaining
information concerning the relationship between level of teacher enthusiasm
and the observed group behavior of the 3-and 4-year-old subjects
. It was
hypothesized that there would be a significant difference in the task achieve-
ment of 3- and 4-year-old children taught under the three levels of enthu-
siasm but that there would not be any significant interactions
.
Procedures
Sample
The sample consisted of 55 subjects drawn from a population of 3- and
4-year-old children attending a day care program in a medium-sized
southern city
. There were 26 three-year-old (7 male and 19 female) and 29
four-year-old children (10 male and 19 female) used in the study . Because of
the age of the groups involved, the test had to be individually administered
.
Therefore, the sample size was kept small to keep the testing procedure
manageable
. Subjects were assigned to one of three treatment groups by
stratified randomization based upon age and sex
.
Treatment
The study was conducted for eight days and consisted of three experimen-
tal treatment groups (low, medium, and high enthusiasm)
. The medium
level was included since findings from several previous studies dealing with
younger children indicated behavioral differences as well as significant dif-
ferences in achievement of subjects when teachers conveyed a medium level
of enthusiasm
. All subjects were presented the same controlled (scripted) in-
structional lessons by two white, female, experienced early childhood
teachers . Treatment varied according to the level of enthusiasm exhibited by
the teacher during the lesson presentations
. A modification of the descrip-
tors of enthusiasm developed by Collins (1976) was used to define each level
and included vocal delivery, eye contact and expression, gestures, body
movements, facial expressions, acceptance of ideas and feelings, and overall
energy level
. One of Collins' descriptors, word selection, was not included
because the lessons were scripted to maintain consistency of lesson content
among treatment groups
.
Low teacher enthusiasm was defined as speaking in a monotone voice
; ex-
hibiting little eye contact and expression
; utilizing few gestures and body
movements
; showing little facial expressions or feelings
; indicating little
ac-
ceptance of subjects' ideas and feelings
; and generally appearing lethargic
.
Medium enthusiasm was described as pleasant variations in the pitch and
speed of vocal delivery
; appearing interested with some eye contact
; main-
taining a steady pace of gesturing ; moving freely, slowly, and steadily
; look-
2
1
ing pleased, happy, or sad as called for
; accepting ideas and feelings with
some variation in response to subjects
; and an even level of overall energy
with some variations from high to low
. The high treatment level was
characterized by great and sudden changes from rapid excited speech to a
whisper
; good eye contact and variations in expression
; quick and
demonstrative movements of the body, head, arms, and face
; large body
movements
; vibrant, demonstrative facial expressions with quick and sud-
den changes when obviously called for
; ready to accept and praise, en-
courage, and clarify students' ideas and feelings with many variations in
response
; and an overall high energy level maintained
.
Teacher training
.
In order for the teachers to be able to effectively present
the lessons at the specified level of enthusiasm, extensive training of the
teachers, including a pilot study, was conducted
. The training procedure
utilized both individual and group training sessions and included
: a) reading
and discussing studies concerning teacher enthusiasm, b) discussion and
demonstration of the operational definition of the three levels of teacher en-
thusiasm, c) taping sessions with feedback, and d) practice sessions with
feedback
. Training continued until each teacher was able to clearly differen-
tiate the three treatment levels
. No additional training was required after the
pilot study
.
Rater training
. To
verify that level of teacher enthusiasm remained con-
stant throughout the study, raters were trained to observe and rate the two
teachers during the lesson presentations
. Raters were rotated daily so that
each could observe and rate each teacher
. To help control for bias in rating,
the raters were not informed as to which treatment condition was being
observed at any time thoughout the study
.
Training of the raters was conducted prior to the study utilizing an adap-
tation of the Collins' Rater's Tally Sheet on Teacher Enthusiasm (Collins,
1976)
. The training process included a) reading and discussing studies con-
cerning teacher enthusiasm, b) discussion and demonstration of the rater's
tally sheet, c) practice sessions with feedback, and d) practice and feedback
during the pilot study
.
To establish that the raters were able to rate the teachers in a like manner,
for the first six days of the pilot study, both raters were assigned to one
teacher each day where they observed and made independent ratings as the
lessons were presented at the three levels of enthusiasm
. On the last two
days of the pilot study, the two raters independently rated different
teachers
.
High interrater reliability between the raters, utilizing a
Spearman's
rho
correlation coefficient, was established during the pilot
study (Q
S
=
.
83 to 1 .00) and maintained throughout the main study
(Q
S
=
.89 to 1
.00)
.
Lessons
The social studies concepts of land, air, water, and sound pollution were
selected as the topics to be taught
. Scripted lessons relating to the different
22
kinds of pollution were developed
. The lessons followed the Merrill and
Tennyson (1977) instructional design for concept teaching which consisted
of five parts- definition, expository presentation, attribute isolation, in-
quisitory practice presentation, and test
. During the definition phase, the
name of the concept and its critical (essential characteristics) and variable
attributes (nonessential characteristics) were presented
. The expository
presentation consisted of sets of matched example and nonexample pairs
which ranged in difficulty from easy to hard and which were divergent so as
to cover the full range of the concept . The teacher stated whether the
photograph or drawing was or was not an example of the concept as she
pointed out the presence or absence of the critical attributes (attribute isola-
tion)
. During the inquisitory practice presentation, the subjects were
presented with new, randomly ordered, different examples and nonex-
amples
. Subjects were asked to classify each picture as an example or
nonexample of the concept and to give a reason for their choice
. Immediate
feedback and clarification were provided by the teacher
.
To control for the effect of the teacher and time of day that the groups
were presented the lessons, a counterbalanced design was employed
. Both
teachers taught all groups of subjects an equal number of days, and treat-
ment was rotated so that groups receiving the lessons first one day were last
the following day, second the next day, and so forth
. Due to the age and
characteristics of the subjects, the two teachers presented the lessons to an
assigned age group (3s or 4s) for the first four days of the study
. On the fifth
day, the teachers switched age groups
.
Data Collection
Posttest
.
The dependent variable, achievement, was measured by means
of a 48-item criterion-referenced test
. Because of the age of the subjects,
this test was divided into subtests, each containing six items which were ad-
ministered daily throughout the eight-day study
. The reliability of the in-
strument, as estimated by Cronbach's alpha, was
.895
.
The test was individually administered to each subject at the end of each
day's lesson by one of five trained testers
. To eliminate the effect of both the
tester and the amount of time-lapse between the lessons and test taking, a
counterbalanced design was employed
.
The test items included an equal number of new randomly ordered ex-
amples and nonexamples of the concept and were constructed to be con-
gruent with daily instructional objectives
. Slides were taken of magazine
pictures and line drawings and were used as the method of presenting the
test items
. The subject was presented the slide and was requested to indicate
whether the picture was or was not an example of the concept and to give
a reason for the answer
. A score of 1 was given for each incorrect response,
a score of 3 for a correct response without an acceptable explanation, and a
score of 5 for a correct response with an acceptable explanation
. Each
child's daily response scores were summated to give a daily total with a
2
3
range of from 6 to 30
. The achievement score for each subject was the mean
of the subject's daily response totals
. Mean daily scores were used in the
analysis because of the number of absentees
. Subjects who missed more
than two days were not included in the data analysis
.
Anecdotal Observations
. A
secondary purpose of this study was to ex-
amine the relationship between teacher's level of enthusiasm and student
group behavior
. In order to gather information concerning the behavior of
subjects in the different treatment groups, observations were recorded daily
.
The researchers planned to have two outside observers record behavior
;
however, when the observers became unavailable, the two teachers were
used to gather this information
. Immediately after each presentation, the
teachers recorded their perceptions of group behavior on daily log sheets
.
Teachers were instructed to observe for the following behaviors
: a) atten-
tion to the lesson presentation, b) interest in the lesson, c) responsiveness
to the questions posed by the teacher, d) accuracy and completeness of the
answers given by the subjects, and e) indication of understanding of the
concepts presented
.
Design and Analysis
A
randomized posttest only design was used
.
A
3 x 2 x 2 (enthusiasm
x age x sex) factorial
ANOVA
was used to test for differences in the
main effect of enthusiasm and for possible interaction effects
. The rejection
level used for all tests of the hypotheses was
.05
.
Findings
Achievement
.
Findings reported in Table 1 indicate that the overall F for
treatment was nonsignificant
.
As
shown in Table 2, the least squares means
for the three levels of enthusiasm were virtually the same (low = 20
.85,
medium = 20
.50, high = 20
.97)
. In addition, no interaction effects of en-
Table 1
Summary Table of Analysis of Variance Comparisons
of Achievement Scores for Three Levels of Enthusiasm
24
Source
SS
df
MS F
P
ENTHUSIASM
1
.77
2
.89
.05 .95
Age
269
.96
1
269
.96
15
.67
.0003
ENTHUSIASM x AGE
65
.92
2
32
.96
1
.91
.16
Sex
7
.92
1
7
.92 .46 .50
ENTHUSIASM x SEX
16
.09
2
8
.05 .47 .63
Age x Sex
1
.72
1
1
.72 .10 .75
ENTHUSIASM x AGE
x SEX
71
.16
2
8
.58
2
.07 .14
Error
740
.77
43
17
.23
Total 1277
.09
54
Table 2
Least Squares Means and Standard Error for
Treatment Groups, Age, and Sex
2
5
n
X
SE
Treatment I (Low Enthusiasm)
17
20
.85
1
.31
Age
- - -
3 7
19
.60
2
.24
4 10
22
.10
1
.34
Sex
-
-
-
Male
5
22
.06
2
.32
Female
12 19
.64
1
.20
Age/Sex
-
-
-
3-Year Males
1
22
.50
4
.15
3-Year Females
6 16
.69
1
.69
4-Year Males
4
21
.63
2
.08
4-Year Females
6
22
.58
1
.69
Treatment II (Medium Enthusiasm)
17
20
.50
1
.12
Age
-
- -
3 9 16
.10
1
.47
4
8
24
.90
1
.69
Sex
-
-
-
Male
5
20
.09
1
.89
Female
12
20
.91
1
.20
Age/Sex
- -
-
3-Year Males
3
14
.05
2
.40
3-Year Females
6
18
.16
1
.69
4-Year Males
2
26
.13
2
.93
4-Year Females
6 23
.67
1
.69
Treatment III (High Enthusiasm)
21
20
.97 .97
Age
-
-
-
3
10 18
.81
1
.43
4
11
24
.13
1
.30
Sex
-
-
-
Male
7 21
.51
1
.59
Female
14
20
.43
1
.11
Age/Sex
-
-
-
3-Year Males
3 19
.92
2
.40
3-Year Females
7 17
.69
1
.57
4-Year Males
4 23
.10
2
.08
4-Year Females
7 23
.17
1
.57
thusiasm with age, sex, or age and sex relative to task achievement were
found (See Tables 1 and 2)
. Therefore, for this study, teacher enthusiasm
was not found to have an effect on the acquisition of the concepts by the
3-and 4-year-old children, and that lack of effect was the same across age
levels and sex
.
Anecdotal Observations
.
Observations recorded by the teachers did seem
to indicate differences in group behavior as it related to level of teacher en-
thusiasm
. Generally, subjects who were taught at a high level of enthusiasm
appeared more attentive, more interested, and more responsive to the
teachers' questions than did the other two groups
. They were more vocal in
their answers, as opposed to merely nodding yes or no or inactively answer-
ing
. They also appeared to show more sympathy for the animals harmed by
pollution
. Although they usually answered most of the questions correctly,
they did not seem to be much different from the two other groups in this
respect
.
The 4-year-old subjects in the medium enthusiasm group were attentive
and responsive throughout the study, but 3-year-old subjects in this group
were frequently inattentive, especially during the last five days of the in-
vestigation
.
Subjects in the low enthusiasm group were often characterized as restless,
inattentive, uninterested, bored, and unresponsive
. The 4-year-olds were
described as "wild" on the last day of the study
.
Discussion
There are several possible explanations why this study did not find that
level of teacher enthusiasm affects achievement
. One explanation is that
because enthusiasm is such an ambiguous human characteristic, it is dif-
ficult to quantify and accurately measure results
. Another reason may be
that, as Brophy and Evertson (1974) and Rosenshine (1979) have
postulated, teacher enthusiasm is less important for younger children than it
is for older children
. Bettencourt (1979) has suggested that perhaps enthu-
siasm covaries with some other teacher characteristic
. Enthusiastic teachers
may devote more time to planning lessons and have more energy to sustain
them than less enthusiastic teachers . These variables
(e .g
., scripted lessons
prepared for the teachers) were controlled in the present experiment
. Only
two teachers were used in this study
. Future researchers may want to include
more teachers to see if the present findings can be replicated
.
The lack of measurable differences could also have been related to the
amount of time the teacher spent teaching the subjects
. The lessons were
brief (15 minutes) due to the short attention span of the children, but
perhaps the daily contact was not long enough for teacher behavior to make
any real difference
. However the amount of time occupied by the lessons
and testing each day approached the limits of 3- and 4-year-old children's
attention span
.
26
Another possible explanation has to do with the interruptions of the
children from their regular daily program
. Although the researchers rotated
groups in an attempt to eliminate any effects that discontinuance from the
various activities of the children might produce, there remains the possi-
bility that the number and the timing of the interruptions were difficult for
the children to adjust to, thus resulting in negative effects
. Future research
should be structured so that there are few interruptions in the daily routine
.
Additionally, investigators may want to sample subjects who are not enrolled
in a preschool program
.
As hypothesized, no significant interactions were reported in this study
.
This finding does not lend support to an interaction effect between sex and
enthusiasm as suggested by the research of Land (1980) and McKinney and
Larkins (1982)
.
Although the analysis did not produce significant F ratios between and
among groups, differences were observed in the behavior of the children in
the three treatment groups
. Subjects who were presented the lessons at a
high level of enthusiasm were characterized as more attentive, interested,
and responsive than subjects in the other two groups
. These data lend sup-
port to the findings reported by Gillett (1980) that teacher enthusiasm
positively affects student on-task behavior
. Readers should keep in mind,
however, that observational data were recorded by the instructors who
taught the lessons, and thus have a possibility for bias
. These findings are
not in agreement with the informal teacher and observer observations of
first- and fourth-grade students reported by McKinney et al
. (1984) and
McKinney et al
. (1983)
. The level of a teacher's overt enthusiasm may have a
different effect on the behavior of younger children
. In order to more ade-
quately address the question of the relationship between teacher enthusiasm
and student group behavior, blind observers should be used in future
studies
.
Evidence is mounting to support the contention that teacher enthusiasm
may be less important for younger children, especially in relationship to
achievement, than is commonly believed
. Further research is needed to an-
swer questions raised in this study in order to help clarify the role of teacher
enthusiasm in the educative process
.
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. M
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Evans, E
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in elementary classes
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. (1974)
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. L
.
(1980)
. Joint effects of teacher structure and teacher enthusiasm on stu-
dent achievement
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: Southwest Educational Research Associa-
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. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No
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., & McKinney, C
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. (1981, November)
.
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.
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Association, Lexington, KY
.
Larkins, A
. G
., & McKinney, C
. W
. (1982)
. Two studies of the effects of teacher en-
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.
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.
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. Effects of high, normal, and low en-
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.
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.
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. (1984)
. Effects of overt teacher
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.
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Theory and Research in Social Education
Spring, 1985
. Volume XIII Number 1, pp
. 31-42
° by The College and University Faculty Assembly
of the National Council for the Social Studies
The Development of Children's
Economic Reasoning
Mark C
. Schug and C
. Jean Birkey
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Abstract
This study was designed to extend earlier research on the development of economic
reasoning by focusing on how young children think about economic problems and
ideas
. A total of 70 children from an urban preschool and two urban elementary
schools participated in the study
. They were interviewed using a structured interview
protocol which presented questions and hypothetical problems about such economic
concepts as scarcity, choice, opportunity cost, and monetary value
. The participants'
responses were divided into theoretical categories labelled unreflective reasoning and
emerging reasoning and were examined for statistically significant differences
. Using
the unreflective and emerging classifications, the authors describe the participants'
responses
. The authors conclude that the nature of children's economic reasoning is
supportive of cognitive development theory, that children's economic reasoning
varies somewhat by personal experiences, and that the intermediate grades are an ap-
propriate level to emphasize economic instruction
.
Concern about low levels of economic literacy in the United States has led
to increased interest in teaching economics at the elementary grades
. Many
elementary social studies textbook series beginning in the primary grades
give attention to economic concepts such as needs, wants, specialization,
and division of labor
. A survey by Yankelovich, Shelly, and White (1981)
found that 16 states require or recommend that economics instruction be in-
cluded at the K-8 or K-12 levels
. The Joint Council on Economic Education
has produced primary grades (Davison, 1977) and intermediate grades
(Kourilsky, 1978) curriculum materials for teaching economics
. The Na-
tional Center for Economic Education for Children produces and distrib-
utes nationally the
Elementary Economist
which contains specific teaching
suggestions for teachers in grades K-2, 3-4, 5-6 . In addition, the Primary In-
dustry Education Project in England (1983) has developed an economics
program for the elementary grades
.
These curriculum materials are produced without the benefit of extensive
research about how children think about economic problems and ideas
. Stu-
dying the development of children's economic reasoning can help insure
3
1
that there is more congruence between approaches for teaching economics
and children's understanding of economic ideas
. Some recent studies have
found evidence that children's economic reasoning develops in a manner
similar to what might be expected according to cognitive development
theory
. Burris (1976) found discrete stages in children's thinking about the
economic ideas of exchange, value, and property rights
. In her study of
children's understanding of pricing, Fox (1978) found that the reasoning of
eight-year-old children was qualitatively different from that of younger
children
. Studies of Armento (1982) and Schug (1983) found some evidence
to support the notion that economic reasoning develops in a manner consis-
tent with cognitive development theory
.
The present study was designed to extend earlier research on the develop-
ment of economic reasoning by having as its central purpose the examina-
tion of the economic reasoning of young children (preschool, grade one and
grade three)
. While some earlier studies have included young children as
part of the sample, they have not been the central target of any investiga-
tion . The result is that we know very little about how young children reason
about basic concepts
.
The broad precepts of cognitive development theory served as the basis
for this study (Brainerd, 1978
; Flavell, 1963)
. We believed that qualitative
differences in the types of reasons children use to approach economic prob-
lems by grade level would support cognitive development theory
. It was an-
ticipated that the participants' reasoning would move from simple at earlier
ages to more complex for older children
.
Research Design
Participants in this study included a total of 70 children who were ran-
domly selected from classes in an urban preschool and two nearby elemen-
tary schools
. Twenty-five children were four-five years of age, 23 children
were six-seven years old, and 22 children were eight-nine years old
.
A structured interview protocol served as the main instrument for the
study
. The interview consisted of a series of questions and hypothetical
problems intended to elicit responses illustrating children's reasoning about
basic economic concepts
. Scarcity, choice, opportunity cost, monetary
value, price, exchange, and advertising were the concepts selected for in-
vestigation
. Six of these concepts-scarcity, choice, opportunity cost,
monetary value, price and exchange -were selected because they are widely
recognized as being basic economic ideas (Hansen, Bach, Calderwood, &
Saunders, 1977)
. Advertising was added because of interest in how ideas
about personal economics might develop
. The interview protocol was an
adaption of an earlier version used by Schug (1980) and included some
modified questions from Burris (1976)
.'
Each of the 70 individual interviews was tape recorded . The audio tapes
were used to prepare verbatim transcripts
. Data from the interview
3 2
transcripts
were
coded into descriptive categories by two independent
readers using a code manual developed for the project . Differences between
the readers were discussed and a consensus was reached on the coding of all
responses
. Next, the descriptive categories were inspected and reclassified
on a theoretical basis into broad categories approximating stages of
cognitive development
. Finally, the percentages of student categorical
responses were tested for statistical significance by a series of chi square
tests
. Chi square tests were judged to be an appropriate form of analysis
because of the nominal nature of the data in this study
.
Students' responses were classified into one of two theoretical categories
-unreflective reasoning and emerging reasoning
. Unreflective reasoning
was characterized by ideas which were highly literal, linear, or tautological
responses
. Often, unreflective responses were based upon the physical
properties of the object or process being discussed
. Also included were
responses wherein students were unable to give a reason beyond a yes or no
response or were unable to give reasons beyond their own immediate in-
dividual needs
. Emerging reasoning was considered to be a higher order of
reasoning wherein the participants were able to identify reciprocal relation-
ships, see the viewpoint of others in a concrete context, and were less literal,
more flexible in their responses
. The following paragraphs describe specific
examples of unreflective and emerging reasoning about the economic con-
cepts used in this study
.
Results and Discussion
To explore children's thinking about the concept of scarcity, the par-
ticipants were asked to imagine that they had one hundred dollars to spend
and to identify some of the things they would like to buy
. The participants
were next questioned about whether they believed they had all the things
they wanted
. About 55% of the participants' responses were unreflective
statements which tended to be tautological or failed to elaborate any sup-
porting reasons beyond a yes or no statement
. "I have everything I want but
I don't want anymore" was an example of this type of thinking
. Other
unreflective statements suggested that economic needs and wants could or
could not be met due to the rules or guidelines established by their parents
:
"Cause my mom says no," or "You have to live with that," were typical
responses
.
Table 1 indicates that emerging reasoning was a common type of response
among a large percentage of the participants at each grade level . Chi square
tests revealed no meaningful grade differences
. Many children in the study
were able to recognize that their economic wants could not always be met
either because their income was limited or because their own economic
needs and wants would continue to be unfulfilled
. The following are typical
responses
.
3
3
*p<
.05
**p <
.01
***p <
.001
"My mom don't have that much money to spend for me
."
"I might want something and it might cost more [and I won't] have
enough money
."
"I want a doll house-a big doll house
."
"I'd like an expansion module so that I could play other cartridges
that are on Atari
."
The relatively high percentage of participants using emerging reasoning at
each grade level is noteworthy because it suggests that the concepts of scar-
city might be more highly developed in children than was reported in earlier
research
. Data reported by Schug (1983) suggested that the concept of scar-
city was slower to develop among children in the early grades
.
The concept of choice was investigated by asking the participants
how
families, when they are unable to buy all that they want, decide what to buy
now and what to buy later
. This concept was difficult for many children in
this study
. Table 1 shows that emerging reasoning develops differentially by
grade level and was widely used only among the grade three participants
.
The most common unreflective response about the concept of choice
(19%) was that the participant simply did not know how such a decision
would be made
. In 16% of the unreflective responses the participants
list
the things the children or their family wanted rather than describe a
Table 1
Chi Square Tests of Emerging Economic Reasoning
by Concept and Grade Level
3
4
Percentage
Economic Concept
Preschool
Kindergarten
Grade
1
Grade
3
df
X
2
Scarcity
44 44
55
2
.71
Choice
12
22 68
2
18 .66***
Opportunity Cost
36 22
68
2
10
.47**
Monetary Value
36 44
64
2
3
.78
Price (High)
24
35 68 2 10 .04**
Price (Low)
4 9 55 2
21
.06***
Exchange (Store)
64 78 77
2
1
.55
Exchange (After initial
transaction)
0
44
82 2 32
.81
Function of Advertising
36
74
77 2
10
.67**
Truthfulness of
Advertising
8
44
82 2 32 .36***
decision-making process . "[I want] a purse and a dress," was a typical
response
. Other unreflective responses suggested that the families should
just get more money . Characteristic comments were, "They can buy money"
and "Get more money from the bank
."
Emerging reasoning about the concept of choice was represented by
responses which involved establishing economic need or want as criteria for
decision making
. The following are examples of responses characterizing
emerging reasoning
.
"They would buy things that they really need now and buy things that
they don't really need
.
.
.
later
."
"If you have enough money for what you need to buy, like for food
and stuff, it comes first
."
"The things that we'd need more we'd get, but the things that we
didn't desperately need, we'll get later
."
"I think that the gas bill and the telephone bill and electric and other
sorts of things would come first to their minds
."
The concept of opportunity cost is fundamental in economics
. It refers to
the idea that whenever a choice is made, a cost is incurred
. That cost is the
foregone alternative or the opportunity
. To study this concept with
children, each participant was presented with a box filled with similarly
priced, inexpensive items such as paper pads, stickers, pencils, and felt tip
pens
. The children were asked to identify which two items they would like to
keep and why
. Next, the participants were asked if they gave up anything
when they selected one item over another
.
Unreflective reasoning about opportunity cost was characterized by the
failure to recognize that one alternative was foregone when the decision was
made
. The most common unreflective responses were yes or no answers
with no supporting reasons or a simple "I don't know
."
Emerging reasons regarding opportunity cost were those wherein the par-
ticipants was able to recognize that something was given up when the deci-
sion was made
. The following are examples of emerging economic reason-
ing regarding opportunity cost
.
•
~
-
"When you picked the stickers instead of the note pad, Nathan,
was there anything that you were giving up?"
A -
"Yeah
. I was giving up having a note pad that I could really use
.
Cause I like to draw and all that
."
•
~
-
"When you selected the game instead of the stickers, Rachita,
was there anything that you were giving up?"
A -
"Yes
."
•
~
-
"How were you giving something up?"
A -
"Because, these I need to put in my sticker collection, but I really
could play the game
."
3
5
Table 1 shows that there is a pattern in the development of emerging
reasoning by grade level
. Emerging reasoning about opportunity cost is the
only concept in the study which does not show steady upward progression
by grade level
. The emerging responses of the first grade students declined
from the level of the preschool/kindergarten participants before increasing
again at grade three
. It is difficult to explain this result
. One explanation
might be that the concept of opportunity cost is a fairly difficult one to
measure and that our set of questions did not measure children's reasoning
as effectively as we would have liked
.
The concept of monetary value was studied by presenting the participants
with a real dollar bill and a play dollar bill
. They were asked which dollar
they preferred to have
. All of the participants selected the real dollar
. It was
pointed out by the interviewer that the real dollar and the play dollar were
alike in many ways
. Next, the participants were asked why the real dollar
was considered to be valuable while the play dollar was not
.
Two types of responses were characteristic of unreflective reasoning
which declined significantly with grade level (X
2
= 6
.63
; p <
.05)
.
The
most frequent unreflective response (over 50%) was the simple assertation
that one dollar was real and the other was not
. "This one is just pretend and
this one is real" and, "This one is a fake dollar and this one is not" were
common responses
. Thirty-six percent of the unreflective responses sug-
gested that the participants were distracted by the physical characteristics of
the dollars and used those to describe why the dollars were valuable or not
.
Typical responses were the following
.
"This one has more ones
."
"This one has George Washington on it
."
"Children would like this one better cause it says $90
."
"This one is green and this one is red
."
Table 1 shows that the percentage of emerging reasoning increased with
grade level but not significantly
. The type of reasoning used by the par-
ticipants is, however, still of interest to help understand how young people
think about why money is valuable
. Over three-fourths of the emerging
responses suggested that value was associated with the fact that the real
dollar was functional
. It could be used to purchase things which people
want while the play dollar could not be used for purchases
. The importance
of functionality is reflected in responses such as "This dollar is not real
because you can't buy anything with it" and "I can buy real stuff with this
but not with this
."
Reasoning about the concept of price was investigated in two ways
. First,
the participants were asked to name some things which cost a lot of money
.
They were then asked to explain why the items listed cost so much
. Second,
the participants were asked to name some things which were inexpensive
.
3
6
The children were then asked to explain why the items mentioned cost so lit-
tle
.
Unreflective reasoning about price was characterized by two types of
responses
. First, about 40% of the total responses suggested that price was
related to the physical characteristics of the item
. Some goods were expen-
sive because of their large size
. "Some games [cost a lot] and some laser
pistols [cost a lot] because they're big" and "A bed [costs a lot] because
they're so big" were typical responses
. Similarly, inexpensive products were
those which were small in size
. Characteristic reasons were as "Gum costs
a
little 'cause it's little
." A second common unreflective reason was a single
tautology
. "A new phone [costs a lot] because of the price tag" and "[A play
car costs a little] because the price tag says it doesn't cost a lot of money
."
Table 1 shows that emerging reasoning about price developed by grade
level
. Characteristics of emerging reasoning included mentioning factors of
production such as labor and tools or the function of the product as criteria
which make an item expensive or inexpensive
. Emerging reasons related to
higher prices were "A lot of things are hand made and nowadays they make
things more by machine than by hand" and "A refrigerator [costs a lot]
because
.
.
.
it's cold and you can really put your food in there and make it
cold
." Emerging reasons related to lower prices were "A pencil cost a little
because it's not that big and it doesn't take that much to put it together and
make it" and "It's just candy-they don't have to make it
."
The preceding paragraphs correctly suggest that the types of reasoning
used by the participants to explain high or low prices of particular products
were very similar
. It is important to note that emerging reasoning was 20%
and 26% higher for the younger children in the study when they were
discussing why some products cost more
. Perhaps because these children
have lived through some periods of difficult inflation, they are more mature
in their responses regarding higher prices rather than lower prices
. It should
also be noted that the types of reasons children used in this study regarding
price are supportive of earlier research by Burris (1976)
.
The concept of exchange was explored by asking the participants first
about their experiences shopping at stores
. The participants were then asked
why people give money when they buy things at the store
. A follow-up ques-
tion was then posed to probe the participants' understanding of economic
exchange relationships beyond simple store transactions
. The participants
were asked what the store owner did with the money after he/she received
it
. These interview questions were adapted from earlier research by Burris
(1976)
.
Unreflective responses about why we give money at the store were most
often yes or no responses which were not supported by reasons
. In about
one-third of the unreflective responses the participants tended to focus on
the superficial aspects of the transaction
. They saw money changing hands
but did not understand that an exchange was taking place
. This kind of
3
7
reasoning was suggested in comments such as, "We give money, then, when
other people get theirs they can still get some money back," and "You pay
money and get money back
."
Emerging responses about why we give money at the store showed no
grade level differences and began at a high level (64%) for the preschool/
kindergarten participants
. Emerging reasons recognized that an exchange
was taking place . The most frequent reason from all the responses men-
tioned that money is given at the store in order to purchase merchandise
.
"So we can get the things we want," and "Because if you don't pay, then you
probably won't have any food at home to eat," were typical responses
. The
next most common emerging responses suggested that money is given at the
store in order to provide income to the store owner and the workers or to
enable the store owner to purchase merchandise
. Representative comments
here include
: "So people at the store can pay their rent," and "The store
wants to have a lot of money to buy more stuff
."
The most advanced type of emerging reasoning recognized that money
was the basis for transaction in which both parties receive some benefit
.
This type of reasoning was rare, making up only 8% of the total responses
and was present only among the first and third grade participants . The
following are quotes suggestive of this type of reasoning
:
"It's like a trade
. If you want to trade-give somebody something-
and if they have a really neat thing, and you want that, you ask them
.
. .
I'll trade you this for that
."
"This is like trading
. When you trade, they're not going to give you a
box of stickers-they're not just going to give it to you-you have to
give them something back
."
The question used to further explore the participants' thinking about ex-
change asked what the store owners did with the money they received
.
Unreflected reasoning was characterized by a literal and superficial inter-
pretation of what happens
. Over 25% of the unreflective responses sug-
gested that the store owner simply puts the money into the cash register
.
"Put it in the cash register" and "She puts it in a little box" were typical
responses
. Another type of unreflective response stated that the store owner
takes the money and "keeps it" or "puts it in the bank
."
Emerging reasoning regarding the store owner's use of money developed
by grade level and involved an understanding of additional exchanges and
interdependent relationships
. Three-quarters of the reflective responses
mentioned that the money was used to purchase additional merchandise,
pay employees, or pay other expenses
. Fifteen percent of the responses im-
plied that the owner took a profit
. The following are some representative
comments
:
3
8
"They do a lot of things
: they buy more merchandise, they fix up the
store more
. Like if it's Easter [and] the store has nothing they buy
Easter decorations for it
."
"Buys some more new things and then he sells them and gets more
money
."
"He gives some of it to the place that makes the things and keeps
some for paying his workers and then keeps a little for himself
."
Table 1 shows that there is a dramatic shift between the youngest children
in the study and those in grades one and three
. Virtually none of the pre-
school/kindergarten participants used emerging reasoning
. At grade one,
however, over 40% of the participants were at this level and by grade three,
the percentage is still higher
. It appears that children's experiences in the
early grades are highly influential in expanding their understanding of the
exchange relationship
. These findings are also supported by research con-
ducted by Burris (1976)
.
Reasoning about the concept of advertising was studied by asking the
participants about commercials they see on television
. The participants were
questioned about what commercials they liked and why
. Next, they were
asked why we have commercials and if commercials always tell the truth
.
Unreflective comments about the purpose of commercial were most com-
mon in the youngest children in the study
. Over 40% of the unreflective
responses indicated difficulty in distinguishing television commercials from
other types of programming, often confusing commercials with news or
weather shows
. "Because you know how cold it is outside," and "There's a
house on fire-they're talking about that," were typical comments
. Another
type of unreflective response suggested that the purpose of commercials was
to give television viewers a break from regular programming
. "You can't go
right ahead without having a rest
. .
."
was an example of this type of com-
ment
.
Emerging reasoning about the function of television advertising devel-
oped in a meaningful fashion by grade level and was characterized three-
quarters of the time by the idea that commercials provide consumers with
information about available goods and services
. Some comments also re-
flected a suggestion that commercials manipulate consumers by making
them want to buy things
. The following are some typical responses
:
"So people know what's in the store and what flakes they can get and
how much money they would need
."
"So they know what to buy
."
"To make people buy something
. To make you want to go to the
store and buy that kind of thing
."
"So they can show things, so they don't surprise people when they go
to the store
. They can advertise them on TV commercials
."
3
9
It is noteworthy that two third grade participants used the more abstract
idea that the purpose of television commercials was to support other televi-
sion programming
. The following are their comments
:
"Cause the TV commercials help the TV show that it's on
. Like when
they have to take breaks, and that's how they stay on, I think
. Like the
TV commercials pay them to cut into the show
."
"Well, sometimes they are to keep the TV show running
. You know,
so it stays on TV
. Like we saw this one show
. Now, it's not on television
cause it didn't have enough commercials supporting it
."
Unreflective reasoning about the truthfulness of television commercials
most often involved statements about the correct information provided by
advertising
. These comments suggested that the individual had actually seen
the advertised product at the store and, therefore, the commercial was ac-
curate
. The following quotes are examples
:
"
.
.
. I go to the store and I see that food that they show on the com-
mercials
.'
"In the two commercials they really tell us the truth because I believe
them because I've seen the He Man figures before
."
"Cause a commercial said something and I thought it was true so I
went to the store and it was true
."
Emerging reasoning about whether commercials tell the truth was over-
whelmingly characterized by responses suggesting that advertised products
do not measure up to claims or that commercials provided information
which was not correct
. The following are some typical comments
:
"They said that Fiesta, that new soap called Fiesta, that it will make
you sing, and I tried it and it never made me sing
."
"The last time they had a toy out and I bought it-it was a
Slinky- and then I tried to make it go downstairs and it don't
."
"Like Era Plus or something like that
.
. .
they have a protein and
they have all this thing
. I had a big stain here and I put some Era Plus
on this right away
. I got it all over and it won't come out cause my Mom
tried it, and it won't come out at all
."
Table I shows that over one third of the preschool and kindergarten
children in this study were becoming aware of the purpose of advertising
and that this understanding increased dramatically for the children in grade
one
. Few, however, of the youngest children in this study challenged the
truthfulness of television advertising
. This changes for the first and third
grade students
. The percentage of emerging reasoning about the truthful-
4
0
ness of commercials increases markedly between preschool/kindergarten
and grade one and between grade one and three
. It appears that between
grades one and three young consumers and their families are having some
unsatisfactory experiences with products they or their families purchase
.
Some cynicism toward marketing practices begins to develop already in the
primary grades
.
Conclusions
This paper has presented a description of how young children think about
basic economic ideas and problems
. We think that several important con-
clusions can be drawn from this information
. First, it seems clear that
economic understanding develops in a manner supportive of aspects of
cognitive development theory
. For example, the type of the participants'
reasoning was significantly different by grade level for five out of seven
concepts in the study
. In addition, the pattern of responses in all but one
case showed an upward progression from simple to more abstract forms of
reasoning by grade level as characterized by what has been defined as
unreflective and emerging economic thinking
.
Second, the findings of this study suggest that economic understanding
varies somewhat depending upon children's experiences
. Understanding
about ideas related to aspects of exchange and television advertising, for ex-
ample, develop more quickly than such fundamental economic concepts as
choice, opportunity cost, and monetary value
. This implies that young
children's economic reasoning can be enhanced by providing them with per-
sonal economic experiences
. Primary grade teachers can introduce
economic related experiences involving simulations of stores, banks, and
assembly lines
. In addition, community based experiences, such as a visit to
a factory, bank, police department, or fire station can be redesigned to em-
phasize the economic ideas involved
.
A third and perhaps most difficult conclusion from this study relates to
what economic education is appropriate for young children . Some children
as early as preschool/kindergarten and grade one are already developing a
basic understanding of some economic ideas such as scarcity and the pur-
pose of advertising
. Clearly, some instruction in basic economic concepts
can begin at this level especially if tied to children's personal economic ex-
periences
. Yet, the majority of children in these young age groups are still
reasoning about economic problems in a literal and superficial fashion
. The
majority of children in grade three are beginning to use more advanced
types of economic reasoning
. One reason for this may be that young con-
sumers in grade three and above are having more economic experiences and
are starting to make some economic decisions
. The present study, rein-
forced by earlier research (Schug, 1983) suggests that the upper primary or
the intermediate grades are an appropriate level at which to emphasize in-
struction about fundamental economic concepts
.'
4
1
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.
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.
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.
Davison, D
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. (1977)
.
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.
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: Joint
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.
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.
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., Bach, G
. L
., Calderwood, J
. D
., & Saunders, P
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.
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economic concepts
.
New York
: Joint Council on Economic Education
.
Kourilsky, M
. (1978)
.
Master curriculum guide for the nation's schools, part II,
strategies for teaching economics
: Intermediate level (grades
4-6)
.
New York
:
Joint Council on Economic Education
.
National survey
of
economic education
.
(1981)
. New York
: Yankelovich, Skelly and
White
.
Report
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.
(1983)
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.
Schug, M
. C
. (1983)
. The development of economic thinking in children and
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.
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.
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.
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Endnotes
1
. It is clear that the precise wording of the interview can influence the type of response
.
Researchers who are interested in seeing the complete protocol are encouraged to contact the
authors
.
2
. This research was partially funded by a grant from the Joint Council on Economic
Education
.
4
2
Theory and Research in Social Education
Spring, 1985
. Volume XIII Number 1, pp
. 43-49
by The College and University Faculty Assembly
of the National Council for the Social Studies
Effects of Instruction on Teachers' Global
Mindedness and Patriotism
Buckley R
. Barnes and William L
. Curlette
Georgia State University
Abstract
In 1981, NCSS adopted a resolution supporting the teaching of global education
.
In this study, pre and posttreatment standardized attitude scales were administered
to graduate education students taking a course about global education, and to a
suitable control group
. Students who took the global education course became more
favorable toward global mindedness and world order
. They became less favorable
toward the nationcentric perspective
. The experimental group's attitude toward
patriotism was unaffected
.
Traditionally, the world has been perceived as a collection of nation-
states, occasionally isolationist, frequently joining in alliances and often-
times engaging in bitter conflict, but almost always striving to advance their
individual interests, sometimes at the expense of other nations
. This nation-
centric perspective, the one most commonly taught in schools (Naylor,
1973
; Nelson, 1976), has been challenged by those who perceive the world
more broadly
. This challenge was institutionalized in 1981 by the National
Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) which passed a resolution calling for
the social studies curriculum to include a global emphasis so that broad rela-
tionships, which transcend intergovernmental relations, might be addressed
.
Consistent with the NCSS resolution which calls for a global emphasis
and with our perception that society considers patriotism desirable, we
sought to determine
: a) if teachers' attitudes toward global mindedness
could be positively influenced by a graduate education course in global
understanding and b) if Goodlad's (Becker, 1979, p
. xvi) assertion that such
a change does not diminish teachers' level of patriotism could be substan-
tiated
.
Ways of Viewing the World
Nationcentric View
.
People view the world using concepts which serve as
filters
. One of those conceptual filters is the nationcentric perspective
.
Though useful in the past, it does "not ease our understanding of a contem-
4
3
porary
scene
characterized
by an
ever
increasing
interdependence
of
mankind and the accelerating globalization of culture" (Mehlinger, Hutson,
Smith, & Wright, 1979, p
. 9)
.
Advocates of the nationcentric perspective place the good of one's own
country as the supreme value
. They see the world not as a connected whole,
but as a group of individual sovereign states each legitimately attempting to
protect and advance its own interests even at the expense of people in other
countries . They often favor strict immigration controls, a strong national
defense and support their country's dominant race, religion and work force
while excluding all others
. They oppose their country's involvement in sup-
porting world standards of freedom and working conditions and are
generally suspicious of international involvements, especially if such
liaisons cause their country to give up anything to others
.
Global View
.
A contrasting option held by some is the global minded
perspective
. Subscribers emphasize belonging to the world community-the
oneness and interconnectedness of all peoples on the planet
. They manifest
this belief by holding that people should be free to live wherever they wish in
the world, schools should teach world history rather than only national
history, decisions should be made on the basis of what is best for people
worldwide (even at the expense of an individual country such as the United
States), and acknowledge that their own country may be no better than
many others
.
World Order View
.
A third conceptual option for viewing the world is the
world order perspective
. Proponents of this viewpoint charge that the other
two perspectives are inadequate to deal effectively with the complex issues
facing humankind today
. They believe that everyone is a citizen of the
world and, as such, there should be one world government, complete with
regulatory committees and a police force
. They oppose the continuation of
national governments
. For an expanded discussion of the world order
perspective, as well as the global minded and nationcentric perspectives, see
Abdi (1979, pp
. 33-45)
.
Patriotic View
.
Patriotism refers to a sense of pride in one's own country,
a desire to live there, respect for and loyalty toward its people
. It differs
markedly from the nationcentric perspective, with which it is sometimes
confused, in that it lacks exclusivity and rejection of others
. The difference
is sharply illustrated by the patriotic statement, "The fact that I love my
country doesn't make me feel less kindly toward other countries
."
Prior Research
Various factors have been found to relate to teachers' attitudes toward
global mindedness
. Wilson (1975) found that teachers who have traveled
outside the United States were more worldminded, as measured by the
Worldmindedness Scale (Sampson & Smith, 1957), than their colleagues
who had not traveled
. Worldmindedness, as measured by this attitude scale,
44
encompasses both the world order and global minded perspectives
. Factors
which did not distinguish between the two groups were
: sex, age, and grade
level taught
.
Using the same instrument, Ernster (1976) investigated the attitudes of
secondary teachers toward worldmindedness and confirmed Wilson's find-
ings that foreign travel, rather than grade level taught, related positively to
a worldminded attitude
. In contrast to Wilson's findings, Ernster concluded
that, with her subjects, sex differences existed between those who demon-
strated worldminded attitudes and those who did not and also found that
social studies teachers' views were more worldminded than were the views of
teachers of other subjects
. In general, both the Wilson and Ernster studies
indicate that foreign travel appears to be associated with a more favorable
attitude toward worldmindedness
.
Procedures
Sample
.
A sample of convenience was used to form the experimental and
control groups . All 19 students enrolled in a 5-quarter-hour, 10-week
graduate education course entitled Social Studies for Global Understanding
served as the experimental group
. This course, which met weekly, consisted
of 5 (26
.3%) males and 14 (73
.7%) females
. The mean age was 30
.2 years
.
On average, this group had completed 1
.2 years of graduate school
. Thir-
teen (68
.4%) had taught and their experience was about equally distributed
from kindergarten through high school
. Six were social studies teachers
.
Two-thirds of the group had traveled outside the United States
; seven
(38
.8%) to from one to four countries and five (26 .3%) to five or more
countries
.
The control group was comprised of 30 students, the total enrollment in
the following courses at the same university
: Educational Statistics, Cur-
riculum Planning, and Social Studies Concepts and Issues
. There was no
discussion of global mindedness in either the statistics or curriculum course
.
In the social studies concepts and issues course some of the content had
global ramifications, but global understanding was not the major thrust of
the course
.
The control group's sexual composition, 8 (26
.7%) males and 22 (73
.3%)
females, was almost identical to that of the experimental group
. The control
group averaged 2
.2 years of graduate school completed, a year more than the
comparison group
. This group's mean age was 34
.2 years, four years older
than its counterpart
. The control group had done less teaching than the ex-
perimental group with only 16 (53%) reporting such experience
. As with the
experimental group, these subjects taught about equally in grades kinder-
garten through high school . Control group participants were more widely
traveled than their opposites, reporting that 11 (36
.7%) had been to be-
tween one and four countries and 12 (40%) to 5 or more nations outside the
United States
.
4
5
Treatment
.
The objectives of the experimental treatment were to a) define
global education, b) state its purpose, c) provide a rationale for its inclusion
in the social studies curriculum, d) describe a variety of methods and
materials suitable for teaching global education, e) describe the effects of
several existing programs, and f) outline a way in which global education
can be introduced into their school's social studies curriculum
. To meet
these objectives, students were required to read and discuss the text,
School-
ing for a Global Age,
edited by James M
. Becker, and a wide variety of
periodicals and literature produced by educational groups
.'
Instruments
.
Pre- and post-tests were administered to assess each group's
attitude toward global mindedness, world order, nationcentricity and
patriotism using two standardized tests, The Worldmindedness Scale
(Sampson & Smith, 1957) and the Patriotism Scale (Christiansen, 1959)
.
The Worldmindedness Scale consists of 32 items, each using a 5-point
Likert scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree (coded in the analysis
from 1 to 5, respectively)
. This instrument has a published reliability coeffi-
cient of
.93 and has been judged to have acceptable criterion-related validity
(Shaw & Wright, 1969, p
. 204)
.
Both Forms A and B of the Patriotism Scale, totaling 40 items, were com-
bined and administered as one test
. This instrument has reported reliability
coefficients ranging from
.69 to
.83 and has also been deemed to have con-
tent validity (Shaw & Wright, 1969, p
. 208)
. To minimize testing effect ap-
proximately half of the subjects took the Patriotism Scale first followed by
the Worldmindedness Scale while the remaining subjects were tested in the
reverse order
.
Because we believe that the construct of worldmindedness is multidimen-
sional, we created three subscales by grouping items that logically fit into
three defined categories
: global mindedness, world order and nationcentric
.
The reliability of these subscales, using coefficient alpha based on our data,
are
.64,
.64 and
.78, respectively
.
Analysis
.
Four analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs) were used to analyze
the attitude data
. In each ANCOVA, the pretest served as the covariate and
the posttest as the dependent variable
. An assumption of ANCOVA is that
within-group regression lines are parallel for the experimental and control
groups
. This assumption of equality of slopes was tested for each analysis at
alpha equal to
.05
. Type I error was controlled by using the Bonferroni Ine-
quality to set alpha (
.05/5) for making decisions regarding statistical
significance for the effect of the treatment on adjusted means
. We selected
the univariate analysis to allow us to look at each dimension separately in
line with our hypotheses rather than the more omnibus hypothesis tested in
a multivariate analysis
.
Results
Table 1 shows that the difference between pre- and post-test means on
any particular variable for the control group never exceeds approximately 1
46
Table 1
Means and Standard Deviations for Pretests and Posttests
point
. From a practical viewpoint, this indicates that group means of the at-
titudes measured in the control group remained stable
. It also -provides
some support for the belief that the experience of taking the pretest did not
affect the scores on the posttest
.
Using ANCOVA to compare the experimental and control groups,
significant differences (p < .01) were found on all three subscales (global
mindedness, world order and nationcentric) created from the Worldminded-
ness Scale (see Table 2)
.
As
can be seen in Table 3, the experimental group
became more favorable toward global mindedness and world order and less
favorable toward the nationcentric perspective in comparison to the control
group
. Thus, the hypothesis that a graduate course on global understanding
can favorably change teachers' attitudes toward global mindedness was
supported
.
The ANCOVA results for the Patriotism Scale indicated no significant
adjusted mean difference between the experimental and control groups
(p <
.75)
.
This combination of results supports Goodlad's (Becker,
1979)
Table 2
Summary of Analysis of Covariance Significance Testing
aProbabilities for test of equality of slopes are from
F(1,45)
.
bProbabilities for test
of
adjusted means are from
F(1,46)
.
4
7
Significance Test for
Equality of Slopes
Significance Test for
Equality of Adjusted Means
Variable
F-value
Probabilitya
F-value
Probabilityb
World Order
1
.44
.2367 17
.47
.0001
Global Mindedness
.17
.6843
17
.56
.0001
Nationcentric
3
.69
.0609 10
.12
.0026
Patriotism
2
.11
.1537
.10
.7516
Experimental Group
Control Group
Variables
Means
Standard
Deviations
Means
Standard
Deviations
World order pretest
16
.58
3
.45
15
.37
4
.89
World order posttest
19
.68
4
.82
14
.63
3
.86
Global mindedness pretest
19
.84
5
.63
18
.60
4
.40
Global mindedness posttest
23
.95
4
.02
19
.03
4
.33
Nationcentric pretest
33
.47
6
.92
35
.00
8
.75
Nationcentric posttest
28
.90
10
.11
35
.43
5
.93
Patriotism pretest
105
.26
12
.41
105
.37
9
.70
Patriotism posttest
105
.05
10
.39
104
.33
10
.44
Table 3
Adjusted Posttest Means Using Pretest as Covariate
view that acquiring a rich appreciation of the whole of humankind (global
mindedness) does not contribute to a lessening of national pride (patriot-
ism)
. These results may be generalized on logical grounds to students who
elect to take a course in global understanding and who are similar to those
in this study
.
In none of the four ANCOVAs was the test for equality of slopes signifi-
cant at alpha equal to
.05
. This provides some evidence that the assumption
of equality of slopes in ANCOVA was satisified
. It may also be observed
that the covariance adjustment changed the posttest groups mean very little
.
Discussion
One way to interpret the results is to look at the magnitude of the changes
that are statistically significant
. For example, in Table 3, the difference be-
tween the adjusted group means of 19
.28 and 14
.89 is 4
.39
. Thus, the
average (hypothetical) person in the experimental group gained slightly
more than 4 points on the World Order Subscale
. In comparison to the con-
trol group, the effect of the global understanding course is to move the
hypothetical person one point more favorable
(e .g
.,
from neutral to agree)
on four of the seven items on the subscale
.
It is also interesting to translate the means back to the original 5-point
Likert scale to interpret the descriptive categories (from strongly disagree to
strongly agree)
. For instance, in Table 1, the mean of the experimental
group on the Patriotism Scale pretest was 105
.26
. Because there were 40
items on this scale, the equivalent mean on the Likert Scale is 105 .26 divided
by 40 or 2
.63
. Hence, the experimental group was about midway between
disagree and neutral toward patriotism at the beginning of the course
. After
completing the course, the experimental group's mean on the Patriotism
Scale was still 2
.63 (105
.05/40)
. In this study, clearly the global under-
standing course did not change attitudes toward patriotism
.
In conclusion, graduate courses such as the one offered the experimental
group appear to increase both global mindedness and a world order
perspective
. As a group, these students became more aware of world pro-
blems and issues and more supportive of world government, rather than na-
tional governments, as a vehicle for addressing these concerns
. At the same
time, they continued to value their national identity
.
4
8
Scale
Experimental Group
Control Group
World Order
19
.28
14
.89
Global Mindedness
23
.57
19
.27
Nationcentric
29
.48
35
.06
Patriotism
105 .09
104
.31
Shaver, Davis & Helburn
(1979, p
. 151)
and Gross
(1977, p
. 199) found
evidence to support the notion that teachers may reflect their beliefs in their
classrooms
. Their results, in conjunction with our research, suggest that
more global-minded teachers will teach in ways consistent with these views,
thus, in turn, passing this perspective on to their students
.
References
Abdi,
E
. G
. (1979)
. The teaching of selected international relations concepts in
Georgia public high schools
.
Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Georgia State
University, Atlanta, GA
.
Becker, J
. M
.
(Ed
.)
.
(1979) . Schooling for a global age
.
New York
: McGraw-Hill
.
Christiansen, B
.
(1959)
. The patriotism scale
. Oslo
:
The Norwegian Research Coun-
cil for Sciences and Humanities
.
Ernster, J
.
(1976)
. An examination of factors related to worldmindedness in secon-
dary school teachers
.
Unpublished doctoral dissertation, South Dakota State
University, Brookings, SD
.
Gross, R
. E
.
(1977)
.
The status of the social studies in the public schools of the
United States
: Facts and impressions of a national survey
.
Social Education, 41,
194-200, 205
.
Mehlinger, H
. D
., Hutson, H
., Smith, V
., & Wright, B
.
(1979)
. Global studies for
American schools
.
Washington, DC
: National Education Association
.
National Council for the Social Studies
.
(1981)
. Global education position state-
ment
.
Washington, DC
: Author
.
Naylor, D
.
T
. (1973)
.
A study of the perceptions of New Jersey educators regarding
nationalistic instruction
.
Theory and Research in Social Education,
1(1),
59-73
.
Nelson, J
. L
.
(1976)
.
Nationalistic vs
. global education
: An examination of national
bias in the schools and its implications for a global society
.
Theory and Research
in Social Education,
4(1),
33-50
.
Sampson, D
. L
., & Smith, H
. P
.
(1957)
. The worldmindedness scale
.
Provincetown,
MA
: The Journal Press
.
Shaver, J
. P
., Davis, O
. L
., Jr
., & Helburn, S
. W
.
(1979)
.
The status of social studies
education
: Impressions from three NSF studies
.
Social Education, 43, 150
.
Shaw, M
. E
., & Wright, J
. M
.
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.
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.
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Moines, IA
.
Endnote
1
. An
overview of the treatment
is
available from the authors
.
49
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. The pur-
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.
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;
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;
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;
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