The Study of American Political Behavior. An Occasional Paper.

This progress report, issued by the Indiana University High School Curriculum Center in Government, attempts to make clear the Center's position on certain issues in social studies curriculum development and the rationale behind these positions. The paper's first section considers complaints about present government courses and examines existing assumptions regarding (1) the process by which American youngsters are socialized into the political culture, (2) the role in political education of high school civics and government courses, (3) the purposes and goals of experimental curriculum development projects in government, and (4) the selection of specific course content. The second section, "A Course in American Political Behavior," describes the essential characteristics of an experimental two-semester course in civics and government: the structure of the discipline, the concepts and values of the course, and the inquiry skills to be developed in the students. The actual course is still under development. (MP)