The Teaching of Sociology in Secondary Schools: Problems and Prospects

Following the example of other scientists, the social scientists are indicating concern about the state of their disciplines in the secondary schools. In seeking to introduce their subject into the high school sociologists should encourage experimentation in respect to the content and the type of student for whom it will be offered. Upgrading of high school social studies teachers will, of course, be necessary, but an alternative approach to the problem of providing adequate instruction is possible. Teaching sociology in high school raises questions regarding its effect on adolescents, and it is likely to have a variety of consequences for the social system of the high school and the sociological profession. T hat an article on this topic should appear in a professional journal of sociology is certainly an indication that the winds of change are beginnin-g to stir the leaves of the sociological branch of the social science tree. And I believe there is some basis for saying that the present movement of the leaves bespeaks the gatlhering of more lusty breezes. Unlike the meteorologist, however, we presumably will determine if the windls are to gather force and in what direction they are to blow. Two years ago I submitted a paper on this subject to the Eastern Sociological Society with some trepidation, to put it mildly. There had been almost no discussion of sociology in the secondary schools in our professional journals,1 and a check of the programs of the annual meetings of the American Sociological Association, beginning with 1950, indicated that not until the 1962 meeting was a paper on this subject presented to one of the sections.2 *This article represents a revised version of a paper presented to the twenty-sixth annual meeting of the Southern Sociological Society, Durham, North Carolina, April 20, 1963. I wish to express my appreciation to Robert A. Feldmesser of Brandeis University for a critical reading of the initial paper. 1 A rather rapid check of the issues of three journals since the middle 1930's turned up three articles in Social Forces, one in the American Sociological Review, and none in the American Jotrnal of Sociology. Except for the one article the only mention of sociology in the secondary schools that appeared in the official publication of the American Sociological Association was the annual report of a Committee on the Teaching of Sociology in the Public Schools. This group was followed by a Committee for Liaison with the National Cotunicil for the Social Studies. As late as 1958 the latter committee saw as one of its functions the promotion of the teaching of sociology in the secondary schools, but the majority of the committee felt that top priority should go to ". . . the stimulation of sociological research on educational processes and institutions." "Report of the Committee . . . ," American Sociological Review, 23 (December 1958), p. 715. This committee went out of existence with the formation of the Section on the Sociology of Education. In view of present developments the following report is of interest: "The committee believes that the American Sociological Society should direct some of its efforts as follows: (1) keep in touch with developments in the social studies, (2) work on curriculum committees with teachers in local communities, (3) meet jointly (or attend) with the National Council for Social Studies and/or cooperate with its endeavors, (4) attend local social studies teachers organizations and participate in the programs , . . . (7) work for the inclusion of sociology in all teacher training curricula." "Report of the Committee on the Teaching of Sociology in the Public Schools," American Sociological Review, 13 (April 1948), pp. 212-213. The only articles to appear in a sociological journal in recent years have been Arthur Repke, "Sociology for High School," Sociology and Social Research, 44 (September-October 1959), pp. 37-41, and Stanley E. Grupp, "The Status of Teaching Sociology in High Schools," Sociology acnd Social Research, 45 (April 1961), pp. 327-331. 2 Robert A. Feldmesser, "Sociology and the Social Studies Curriculum of the American High This content downloaded from 157.55.39.183 on Sat, 10 Jun 2017 18:06:53 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms