The author discusses the differing perspectives which the social sciences offer to young people to analyse problems. Perspectives from history, political science and geography are briefly discussed. The author stresses that the child's perspective of the social world differs from the ones offered by social scientists. Following a summary of the economic thinking of children and adolescents, the author stresses that economics also presents students with an important perspective through the application of economic principles involving choice, costs, incentives, rules, trade, and future consequences. These economic principles are explained by reference to an example of why the buffalo population in the United States nearly became extinct and why it is now recovering. The author concludes with suggestions for how teachers can bring an economic perspective into the classroom. Readers are provided with three 'economic mysteries' as examples of classroom activities. Reforms of the social studies curriculum in the United States have focused recently on the development of national standards. National standards were released in civics (Center for Civic Education, 1994), history (National Center for History in the Schools, 1994a, 1994b), and geography (Geography Education Standards Project, 1994). The National Council for the Social Studies (1994) published its own set of standards which it intends as an umbrella for these various standards documents. These efforts at standards development serve as the most recent reminder of the important role that academic content plays within the social studies curriculum in the United States. Table 1, for example, presents the first seven themes from the NCSS Standards (1994). As can be seen, these are statements describing key content within each of the social sciences. The remaining three themes of Science, Technology, and Society; Global Connections; and Civic Ideals and Practices, while stressing non-traditional content, still draw heavily on ideas from the social sciences.
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