Dissertations and Theses @ UNI
Availability
Open Access Thesis
Keywords
American literature--Study and teaching; Social sciences--Study and teaching (Secondary);
Abstract
Today, as perhaps at no time previously, the English department of the American high school has come in for scrutiny and alteration. The most recent convention of Iowa English teachers (April, 1965) found new programs in literature to be "exciting," new approaches to writing "exciting," new developments in advanced classes "exciting". Innovation and renovation are a part of the scene. As many English teachers are beginning to learn, changes in curriculum and in text materials and in approach to the subject are coming so rapidly that no one has had time to assess the changes or to draw any concrete conclusions as to their probable success. Still, through all the seeming turmoil and chaos which attends any major change in education (and particularly in an area of education that affects so many students, teachers, and schools) certain patterns begin to emerge. Emphasis is finally being placed on a spot that many have long hoped to emphasize: more thorough, more advanced work as preparation for a more demanding college program in English. The English curriculum in many schools is beginning to take on a new dimension. What was once thought to be a sterile world of required courses far removed from the reality of everyday living is now being put into its rightful place as perhaps the focal center of many secondary schools' curricula. The directions that English may be taking are hard to define. Changes in materials and in programs are a daily event, often happening so rapidly that persons in the field are not aware of new trends. It is the purpose V of this paper, therefore, to present one such direction that English classes are now taking and to illustrate the means by which the social sciences have become a part of the program. It is interesting to observe that at least some English teachers are making more extended use of social science materials than previously to help supplement literature classes. The reverse has been true for some time in the past; i.e., social science classes used literature as a means of teaching history, sociology, government, and economics. If nothing else, this seems to indicate that the two fields of English and social science do have very much in common. They have been taught jointly in junior high schools for some period of time, and they are now seen to have something of a relationship at other levels of education. It may be too early to say, but perhaps the developments outlined in this paper tend to show a movement towards the desirable end of an integrated education rather than a series of haphazardly joined "course capsules."
Year of Submission
1965
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Education
Department
Department of Social Science
First Advisor
Erma Plaehn
Second Advisor
C. Wheeler
Date Original
1965
Object Description
1 PDF file (88 leaves)
Copyright
©1965 Allan F. Gates
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Gates, Allan F., "An Investigation of Social Science Materials That May Be Used as Background Reading in a Literature Program" (1965). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 2712.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/2712
Comments
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