Professional preparation of teachers of the Social Sciences in the secondary school

The following abstract is taken from the introductory paragraph of the thesis. "Purpose. This study has grown out of a belief that the teacher-training institutions are overlooking many important factors in the preparation of the social science teacher for the secondary school. There was a time, and not long ago, when the teacher of social science was regarded as being of little value to the school system. This, of course, grew out of the fact that citizenship-training was considered a side issue or by-product of our educational organization. Such crude conceptions have begun to find no place in our educational thinking and today we regard citizenship-training as the ultimate aim of our public school system. The future of our experiment in democracy lies in the type of citizen produced. The true meaning of democracy must be taught to future citizens, if our nation is to attain the goal set for it. We recognize our place among world powers and feel the responsibility that has been placed upon us. Our public school system has been made the channel through which knowledge is to be imparted in the future. It is probable that the success or failure to train citizens for future responsibility depends largely upon the type of teacher who directs the social science course in the secondary school. It shall, therefore, be the purpose of this study to: 1. Determine the job of the secondary school social science teacher as related to aims, content, methods, psychology, and tests and measurements, 2. Determine the present status of the professional preparation of the secondary school social science teacher, 3. Make recommendations for the professional preparation of the social science teacher in the secondary school."