A Position on K-12 Social Studies for Nebraska Schools.

A tentative educational program proposed by the 1967 workshop regarding social studies education and curriculum is presented. They have evaluated the existent philosophy, curriculum, materials and methods, in terms of new developments in order to develop a more effective program. The primary objective is education for citizenship. The component parts are described and specific behavioral objectives are designed to permeate the entire curriculum sequence. The five major components of citizenship education discussed are: decision-making skills; democratic value development; individual development and self concept; problem-solving (individual and societal controversial issues); and interpersonal competence in the governing process. The methodology emphasized is the inductive problem-solving (inquiry) approach through active in-depth participation of students in problem identification and solution within their changing communities social and physical environments. This method is combined with an in-depth multidisciplinary social science study of basic human activities. Course content and logical sequence emphasize transition to provide a common element at each grade level. A tentative sequence of topics and units is summarized for K-6 and grades 7-12 using multi-media and texts. An extensive bibliography of books on social studies is included. (SBE)