Renewing the Social Studies Curriculum
Walter C. Parker
(Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1991)
http://www.ascd.org/

My focus in this book is the art of local social studies curriculum deliberation and reform. Hence, it is a book about the possibility of home-grown curriculum renewal. Home-grown? By this I mean the sort of curriculum renewal that comes from the hearts and minds of people who actually work with children in the schools and on whose shoulders the burden of implementation lies. Renewal? With this term I emphasize that in all likelihood a social studies curriculum of some sort already exists; a social studies curriculum committee is rarely in the position of creating something from the ground up. Rather, committee members are revising an existing social studies program. This is curriculum "renewal." Deliberation? Indeed. Deliberation is weighing alternatives together, then deciding. An appreciation of curriculum renewal as deliberation reminds us that judgement, practical experience, study, and conversation, not doctrine, are the core of this activity. Art? Unquestionably. An appreciation of art in curriculum renewal nudges planners toward issues of quality, meaning, and sensibility. Art asks us to refine our "eye" so that we might sculpt a curriculum in which we can take deep satisfaction. Without art and the satisfaction it brings, curriculum planning easily becomes one more bureaucratic ritual-tasks, meetings, flowcharts, and timelines; motion masquerading as improvement. In this book, I apply the curriculum arts to considerations of planning and assessing learning in the social studies.

Chapter 1 Challenging Lessons on Essential Learnings
Chapter 2 Contexts of Renewal
Chapter 3 Deliberation for Change: a case study
Chapter 4 Renewal Principles and Procedures
Chapter 5 Goals, Issues, and Trends
Chapter 6 Thoughtful Learning and Authentic Assessment