SOCIAL-STUDIES ON THE BACK BURNER - VIEWS FROM THE FIELD

Elementary social studies is ''on the back burner''. Heavy competition for resources, low student interest and teacher concern, and a highly sanitized and uneven curriculum are among the conditions underlying i ts underrepresentation. Among the various effects of this back burner status, limited opportunity for substantive social development is perh aps the most important. Moving social studies to the forefront of the curriculum will require an understanding of the interrelated nature of the underlying conditions and an appreciation of the classroom practi tioners' considerable influence upon curriculum and instruction.