Archaeology and Precollege Education

Abstract

While archaeology never has been a regular part of the precollege curriculum, there have long been a few teachers, educators, and professional archaeologists who have believed in archaeology's educational potential for precollege students. Most often such teachers and educators have had a strong personal interest in the subject, and their enthusiasm provided the initial impetus for developing varied ways to incorporate archaeology into classroom teaching and school programs. Some educators have been further motivated to share their enthusiasm for archaeology, and for archaeology in precollege education, with other teachers and educators through the educational literature. Professional archaeologists, perhaps preoccupied with research and with the instruction of advanced students, have made a much smaller contribution to this literature; nevertheless, several have been heavily involved in programs for precollege students and teachers, and others have acted as consultants to classroom teachers on a less regular basis. Examples of the types of articles discussed here are listed in an annotated bibliography in Holm and Higgins (1985). See "For Further Reading". for complete bibliographic references to literature cited in this review.