Critics of traditional K-3 social studies curricula have claimed, without presenting evidence, that many topics commonly addressed in the primary grades do not need to be taught because students already know about them from everyday experience. Data obtained from middle-class second graders dispute this claim, at least as it applies to the topic of shelter. These students did understand that shelter is a basic need, could talk about some of the formal aspects of different types of homes, and displayed at (...) least tacit knowledge of certain norms (e.g., people need to pay for their shelter, and most prefer home ownership over apartment rental). However, their ideas about these topics were not always accurate and were not embedded within elaborated structures that included connections and cause-effect relationships. Furthermore, they did not understand much about the historical, geographical, or cultural reasons for differences in housing styles, the economics of housing purchase or rental, or the mechanisms through which modern houses are supplied with utilities and other conveniences. These findings are discussed with reference to potential implications for curriculum and instruction. (shrink)

Written by a former corporate manager pursuing counseling as a 2nd career, this article offers pointed views on managed mental health care. Values of practitioners that are a mismatch for managed care are noted, and more specific disadvantages and advantages are examined. Loss of client confidentiality is addressed and procedures and technologies for its reclamation are noted. Negative effects on therapy are acknowledged and potential for better accountability and research are pointed out. Economic disadvantages of a small provider's practice as (...) well as opportunities for creating new value and additional income are reviewed. The relatively sudden emergence of managed care is credited with a natural time lag preceding regulatory responses. Acknowledging that most new practitioners have little choice about the clients they serve, the article concludes that it would be shortsighted to rule managed care out of one's practice. (shrink)

K-3 students were interviewed to elicit their knowledge and thinking (including misconceptions) about families, a major topic in primary social studies. Along with valid knowledge, the students displayed significant knowledge gaps and misconceptions about marriage, kinship relations, and family life in the past, in other cultures, and in urban vs. rural communities within the contemporary United States. These findings are discussed with reference to implications for teaching about families in primary social studies, emphasizing commonalities rooted in the shared human condition (...) as a way to counteract children’s orientation toward presentism and chauvinism. (shrink)

As part of a larger study of children's knowledge and thinking about the topic of shelter, individual interviews were conducted with 216 K-3 students, stratified according to grade, socioeconomic status, achievement level, and gender. The interviews included questions about the physical characteristics and geographical locations of the types of homes in which the children would prefer to reside as adults. Analyses indicated that most students depicted single family homes located in suburban or semi-rural areas, near relatives and friends but removed (...) from urban density and crime. Overall, the students emphasized many of the same home features and location considerations that their parents might have mentioned in response to the same questions, except that many responses emphasized home features that have special relevance for young children and only a few students talked about locating near the parents' workplaces or the children's schools. Findings are discussed with reference to curriculum and instruction in the primary grades. (shrink)