The new social studies,textbooks, and reform in social studies

The New Social Studies curriculum development movement was short-lived, in part because project staff were not sensitive to the realities of the educational context within which their materials and methods would be used. Although textbook-based recitation persists in social studies classrooms, textbooks are not a ready mechanism for reform. Among the reasons are the institutional constraints on publishers and the difficulty in effecting curricular change without appropriate teacher preparation and modifications in the educational environment. James P. Shaver id professor of secondary education, associate dean for research, College of Education, and acting dean of the School of Graduate Studies, Utah State University, Logan. He has been president of the National Council for the Social Studies and has received NCSS’s Citation for Exemplary Research. His numerous books and articles include materials for students, research reports, and discussion of educational rationale-building, rationales for social studies education, and research philosophy.     

Correlates of verbally aggressive communication in adolescents

This investigation identifies demographic, media, and social correlates of verbally aggressive communication in adolescence. Mail surveys were completed and returned by 2,300 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 15. These adolescents were asked about the prevalence of verbal and physical aggression, the context in which it occurred, demographics, and the interpersonal and media influences in their lives. The results indicate that verbal aggression is widespread, that committing and experiencing verbal aggression is largely reciprocal, that there is a strong relationship between committing verbal and physical aggression, and that peer social influence and listening to violently oriented music are mildly related to verbal aggression in adolescents. These findings suggest more resources should be allocated to teaching adolescents to understand and control verbal aggression. Further, they provide important answers to many prevention and intervention programmatic questions, including context, content, and targeting concerns. Since the negative consequences of verbal aggression are severe and long lasting, decreasing this destructive communication behavior should significantly improve the lives of many adolescents. These and other practical implications are expanded upon and discussed.     

Among the eminent,the aspiring,and the young: A short history of new world writing

New World Writing, a magazine founded by New American Library in 1952, quickly became an important vehicle for liberal intellectual and literary thought. In addition to providing an outlet for new writing, the magazine became an important acquisitions tool for NAL. Throughout its lifetime, New World Writing remained a showcase for many of the finest writers of the 1950s, including Christopher Isherwood, Louis Auchincloss, Tennessee Williams, Flannery O’Connor, Jack Kerouac, and Gore Vidal. He is the author of Under Cover: An Illustrated History of American Mass Market Paperbacksand Heavy Traffic and High Culture: The New American Library as Literary Gatekeeper. He is working on a study of American literary agents