The Russia Project: Building Digital Bridges and Meeting Adolescent Needs

Most educational historians and social education theorists such as Herbert Kliebard, have determined that social studies originated out of the 1916 National Education Association (NEA) Committee on Social Studies, chaired by Thomas Jesse Jones. David Saxe and other scholars have suggested that Arthur William Dunn was the originator of social studies because Dunn developed “Community Civics,” thereby making him the first person to utilize a social approach to civic education. Dunn’s early work in social studies predates the 1916 NEA Committee on Social Studies by eleven years. Debates on the origins of social studies will continue, however, no one has ever attempted to pinpoint the moment that the social studies became a viable part of the school curriculum. As a historian, I posit that this occurred with the development and implementation of the Rugg Social Studies Curriculum. If anyone can be credited with taking the quantum leap from a historically, single-discipline approach to a pluralistic, social studies approach, that person would be Harold Ordway Rugg, a professor of education at Columbia University’s Teachers College. In 1923, Rugg proposed that social studies should be one unified course in social science and not separate courses. He was one of the few educational theorists of his day who attempted to define the discipline of social studies as the science of society. In 1930, Rugg and his associates published History of American Civilization: Economic and Social followed in 1931 by A History of American Government and Culture. By examining the preface of these two works, one is able to gain insight into the philosophic basis of the textbook series. These two volumes represented a complete and unified history of the United States. The former was a cultural and geographic survey of American history, while the latter was a cultural and governmental history of the nation. The rationale for the texts was to help the students comprehend the major modes of living in their country. Rugg envisioned that his curriculum would allow young Americans to focus on the “American Problem.” Rugg identified the American Problem as follows: How could the United States develop a society of abundance, adhere to democratic principles, appreciate the integrity of expression, and develop the potential available for tomorrow? Students would investigate the American Problem by examining the difficulties confronted in the various modes of living presented in their historical perspective. Rugg included activities in a pupil’s workbook to stimulate thought on the American Problem. Students used the reading books and workbooks together to facilitate thought provoking activities. Rugg stated that his whole program introduced the students to the historical development of world civilization. He outlined his curriculum as follows: