The Bradley Commission in the Context of 1980s Curriculum Reform in the Social Studies

Abstract

THE 1980S HAVE BEEN YEARS OF SERIOUS CONCERN about the contents of the curriculum in elementary and secondary schools. The central questions in the 1980s curriculum reform literature have been about selection, organization, and presentation of academic subject matter to all students as part of their general education for citizenship. The 1988 Bradley Commission report, Building a History Curriculum, is one of the recent contributions to this genre of educational literature.1 Secretary of Education T.H. Bell started it in 1981 with the creation of his National Commission on Excellence in Education, which issued its provocative report, A Nation at Risk, in April 1983.2 Several other reports followed in the same vein; each one restated, reinforced, and extended the original message about the imperative for reform of the curriculum.3 The reports were filled with bad news, such as low and steadily declining levels of student achievement in basic subjects (sciences, mathematics, literature, languages, and social studies, including history) and in processes and skills (reading, writing, speaking, and reasoning). The reports also raised hopes about how to improve teaching and learning of basic subjects in schools.