Recent Happenings in the Social Studies

This article details the “journey box” project process enacted by two elementary preservice teacher cohorts. Engaging in activities and projects that promote a sense of investment in not only consuming but producing historical narratives, preservice teachers potentially become interested in sharing this type of learning with their students.     

The History and Status of Social Workers in the American Psychoanalytic Association

Historic changes within the American Psychoanalytic Association (APsaA) in the 1980s eventually allowed social workers and other non-medical professionals to train in clinical psychoanalysis as regular “candidates”. The steps to work through organizational resistance to this change are traced. The present level of activity of those analysts who began as social workers is discussed, with numeric data showing expansion of involvement in training and organizational life. Analysts with a background in social work are beginning to make significant positive contributions to APsaA. There is a more rapid pace of inclusion of analysts from social work in the governance side of APsaA than the educational. The ultimate impact on the organization is difficult to anticipate.

Beyond Presentism and Historicism: Understanding the History of Social Science

The revival of interest in the social scientific past has stimulated a growing literature on the methodology of the history of social science. Existing "presentist" type histories have been criticized for their "Whiggish" assumptions about scientific progress. The critique of presentism is the product of a new school of historians of social science who advocate a "historicist" historiography. My paper is addressed to this discussion and falls into three parts. First, I review the principles of presentist and historicist historiographies, relating their methodological positions to their theories of science. Second, I take up the argument of the "new historicism" in more detail, criticizing its theory of textual interpretation and its theory of social scientific development. I conclude by offering an alternative historiographic model of social scientific development based upon a theory of science that I outline.     

Social Democratic Programs: What Is Worth Modeling (for the United States)

This article argues that the United States could improve social welfare outcomes by adopting effective and efficient elements from nations that excel in social welfare areas of employment, education, health care and income support. Using secondary data for comparison the article explores four foreign model programs that are worth modeling for the United States, which include employment in Norway, education in Finland, and health care and income support in Sweden. Each program is framed within its national context and is qualitatively described and linked to three essential social democratic values: universalism, equality and comprehensiveness     

The Vocabulary Levels of Social Science Magazines

With the realities of standards-based accountability, it is imperative to model and demonstrate for students how subject areas and teaching methods transcend across traditional boundaries. In an effort to prepare future social studies educators to teach for global awareness and to meaningfully integrate critical literacy skills into their instruction, we initiated a collaborative model in our university's middle grades teacher education program with language arts and social studies methods courses. The development of cultural competency not only provides preservice teachers with the knowledge of diverse populations but also enables them to have an increased ability to affirm the cultures of others.     

III. Implications of the Report of the Commission on the Social Studies of the American Historical Association

In a world that is, on the one hand, determined to sustain distinct national and group identities and, on the other hand, becoming increasingly globalized, interconnected and interdependent, social studies educators are regularly faced with the challenge of supporting diversity, creating a unified national community, and promoting global perspectives through education. This paper explores how the Singapore education system addresses these disparate goals through its national social studies curriculum for secondary schools, particularly through its use of international case studies. The Singapore social studies curriculum also serves as an interesting case study of how a national social studies curriculum has been shifted away from an exclusive focus on a nation-centric paradigm to one that is more globally oriented in nature, while still being firmly anchored to the nation-state and its priorites.     

The History of Social Thought and the History of Sociology

Abstract

Just as sociologists in the past have been insistent upon making a distinction between the history of social thought and sociological theory, so is it argued here than an equally important distinction be made between the history of social thought and the history of sociology. It is suggested that the history of social thought is no more useful to the advance of sociological theory than any other contiguously related field of study. Since the history of social thought is not directly concerned with the discipline of sociology, it is suggested that it be eliminated from the curricula of sociology. Not only is this area of study unlikely to contribute to the development of sociological theory but also such a study can have unanticipated consequences that hinder such a contribution. The genetic fallacy is less likely to be committed when the distinction between the history of social thought and the history of sociology is kept clearly in mind.     

Reflecting the Nepali Social Forum processes and 2018 event

ABSTRACT

This article reflects on one experiment that grounds the politics of World Social Forum in national and regional struggles. Nepal has now built a dynamic but fragile democratic process after a decade long Maoist insurgency that led to political transformation including secularism, republicanism, etc. The analysis is particularly relevant for political movements seeking ways forward in a political situation marked by sectarian struggles but also by the need to bring unity in the struggle against externally induced forces of oppression and exploitation.     

Democratizing States and the Use of History*

Abstract A pervasive anti‐statism often blinds us to the democratic victories in the past and thus to possibilities in our future. This article argues that big government can democratize society and uses historical investigation to make the point. The study of history emancipates us from the tyranny of the present. Progressive social change has come about in the United States and elsewhere as combined bottom‐up, top‐down initiatives. I present two such cases of democratization during the New Deal era. The first is about rural sociologists' participatory‐action research with local citizens for policy planning. This program, while short‐lived, fed into the creation of the field of community development. The other is a land‐reform experiment among poor African Americans. In the 1960s these “resettlement communities” became local strongholds of the civil‐rights movement, and their descendants carry on the struggle today. I use these two historical instances to show that big states as well as social scientists have been effective agents of democracy, and suggest that they can be again. History then enable us to re‐imagine, re‐new, and re‐form our democratic tradition of rural sociology.     

The Science of Practice and the Practice of Science: Pierre Bourdieu and the History of Science

Pierre Bourdieu is one of the most celebrated and widely known French sociologists of his time. During his long and very productive career, Bourdieu worked not only on very diverse areas of sociology, such as art, religion, the legal system, and education, but also on the culture of the Kabyle, on the marriage strategies of bachelors in Southern France, and on the sociology of the French intellectuals of his era. However, despite his international influence, his work has remained virtually unutilized within most contemporary historiography of science. This article aims to fill this lacuna. After a short presentation of his main theoretical concepts, I discuss Bourdieu's work on scientific practice. I then present his more historically oriented work and finish by suggesting some ways Bourdieu's insights can be useful for history of science.     

Community Relationships and the Course in Social Problems

This article describes the Native American History in a Box curriculum which is designed to introduce elementary and middle-level students to Native American cultures. The curriculum consists of a five day unit addressing the following concepts pertaining to Native American Nations: settlements, tools, sustenance, pottery, and contact with Europeans. In addition, the development of the curriculum, the daily lessons, and the activities are discussed. Each daily lesson includes step-by-step instructions and the required materials. Finally, the authors discuss some of the pragmatic issues that influenced the development and implementation of the curriculum.     

Social work doctoral education in the United States: examining the past,preparing for the future

The relevance of doctoral education is being questioned across a wide spectrum of disciplines, and social work is no exception. An examination of the history of social work education in the United States provides a backdrop to the current challenges in doctoral education in the field. The historical role of research and teaching in social work education, the structure of doctoral social work education in the United States including the Ph.D. vs. the DSW, and the growth of doctoral programs are all examined. Current issues explored include: the interdisciplinary nature of practice; increased institutional focus on funded research; support for underrepresented doctoral students; and the need for doctoral students to be trained in pedagogy. Suggestions on how to address these issues are provided in order to enhance social work’s mission of teaching, research and service.     

History of the American College Health Association

Abstract

Following Dr Edward Hitchcock's lead at Amherst College in 1861, soon other institutions of higher education established physical education departments that evolved into independent college health programs. As the field of college health expanded, leaders from numerous campuses began meeting to share information and discuss formation of a national organization. As a result, the American Student Health Association was founded in 1920 to promote campus health care for students and advance the interests of college health. The name was changed to the American College Health Association in 1948. The past history of this organization has been well documented in the literature, so this review will focus more on ACHA's accomplishments over the past 20 years. ¹ Turner, H S and Hurley, J L. 2002. The History and Practice of College Health., Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky.  [Google Scholar] ^{, 2} American College Health Association. A brief history, Available at: http://www.acha.org/About_ACHA/docs/ACHA_Brief_History.pdf Published 2002. Accessed February 26, 2011 [Google Scholar] ^{, 3} Boynton, RE. 1971. The first fifty years: a history of the American College Health Association. J Am Coll Health Assoc, 19: 269–288.  [Google Scholar] ^{, 4} Christmas, W A. 1992. The history of sections in the American College Health Association. J Am Coll Health, 41: 121–125. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]     

A Comparison of Public and Charter School Board Governance in Three States

In this article we compare the governance behaviors and preferences of nonprofit charter school board members with traditional elected public school board members in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Using originally collected survey data, we find that nonprofit charter school board members are less likely to place emphasis on relations with the public, engage in conflict, be ideologically diverse, and perceive the executive as responsible for key governance tasks than traditionally elected public school board members. The findings provide new information for policymakers weighing the potential benefits of education privatization through the use of nonprofit charter schools against the potential loss of democratic board accountability.     

A Program for the Improvement of Instruction in American History

Although much energy has been spent designing children's books and curriculum to bring issues of diversity and acceptance into classrooms, perhaps the most meaningful and relevant curricular materials only require a digital camera and a space for students to talk about photos of their own classroom community, creating an organic and everyday curriculum. From over three years of research in a preschool classroom, the researcher-author tells how she uses digital photography to allow students to examine and reimagine their own social community. She revives the pedagogies of seminal social educators like Vivian Paley and Fannie Shaftel while offering a photo methodology for researchers of children who are interested in better understanding children's peer culture. As play is perhaps the most important vehicle of social education, carving out a time and space in the school day for a reflective component with digital photography can be an interesting and empowering way for children to examine social dilemmas and confront inequities.