Man in a Changing Society--MIS.

Described is the Man in a Changing Society (MIS) project in which K-12 Swedish children use parish records to study and research local history. Church records in Sweden contain detailed information about individuals living during the 18th and 19th centuries. To make this information accessible to researchers, the Swedish church records are being entered into a computerized demographic database. The records themselves are being stored in regional and city archives; they are also being transferred onto microcards. Students, with help from their teachers, choose topics to research, e.g., an overall picture of childhood in the 19th century, an investigation of family history and a compilation of family trees, a time strip for the local community. Using school-based computer terminals, students tap into the demographic database, usually available at a nearby university. MIS project staff are also conducting research on pupils' intellectual and conceptual development with regard to the concepts of time and space and students' use of information technology to study man in a changing society. (RM)